I don’t even like the sound of the word: WHO – BRIS.

Hubris is an overarching self-importance. Someone who thinks that he or she is different from (a better version of) the rest of us.

Oftentimes hubris is the result of some high level of success. That to me is particularly galling because after studying success stories for many years, I have concluded that some people just catch the wave right, while others don’t. Call it luck, right place/right time, or whatever you want, but there are some people whose particular abilities and efforts just match up perfectly with what the world wants at a particular point in time. And big-time success ensues.

And you know what? I am OK with that. I accept it and believe that all any of us can do is optimize the probability of our success by doing the right things as much as we can. That does not mean, however, I accept people who don’t get it that their success is to some degree good fortune.

In Ancient Greece (the root of hubris is a Greek word), hubris described those who challenged the gods or their laws – resulting in the hubristic actor’s downfall. And now I must admit to a particular character flaw. When I meet someone with hubris, I sometimes wish them a fall from grace. I wish they would learn to be like the rest of us mortals – struggling to do our best in the hopes of catching a wave like they did.

The Greeks actually believed that the gods would in fact strike down those with hubris. Here is what the Greek historian Herodotus had to say:

” … lighting always strikes the biggest animals … bolts fall ever on the highest houses and the tallest trees.”

I prefer my own little mantra: “Time wounds all heels.”

Life is a slugfest at times. Juggling obligations, struggling to make ends meet, trying our best to move one step up the ladder of personal or financial success.

I am perfectly comfortable with the fact that some people get a bigger share of the pie than others – whether they actually deserve it or not. I just hate when they don’t realize or acknowledge their good fortune. In other words, I hate hubris.

Jim Randel is the founder of The Skinny On book series. His latest book, The Skinny on Success, is in stores now.