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I hate Mr. Wonderful.
I do not hate Kevin O’Leary. Why would I? How could I? I don’t know him. I have only watched him on Shark Tank and followed him on LinkedIn.
I hate Mr. Wonderful, the arrogant, self-absorbed, shock-value-laden persona O’Leary fronts. I cannot believe he is actually that person in person. It is his Deion Sanders’ “PrimeTime” persona or Terry Gene Bollea’s “Hulk Hogan”. It is not really who he is. Surely…
Kevin O’Leary is not Mr. Wonderful
In fact, if you look at O’Leary’s LinkedIn, he is clearly a brilliant businessman, wise in his dealings, and thoughtful in his advice. His simple teachings about establishing credit and understanding you “can’t game the system” (his words) are spot on.
I love to glean the wisdom of the successful. O’Leary enjoys the financial success that makes you sit up and listen when he discusses business principles and keys to success.
It’s Mr. Wonderful I find objectionable.
Maybe you remember this stupid Tweet?
You may lose your wife, you may lose your dog, your mother may hate you. None of those things matter. What matters is that you achieve success and become free. Then you can do whatever you like.
“” Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) February 11, 2023
Shock value. Getting real. Whatever. People? Meh. Success matters more than people. This from the same guy who shared on LinkedIn about teaching his son about credit. Which is it? Mr. Wonderful the jerk or Kevin O’Leary, the insightful investor willing to share secrets of his success?
Mr. Wonderful is not wonderful
The WWF-like persona, the one that pounds his chest like a silverback letting everyone know he is it, turns me off. It smacks of the kind of self-absorption that dismisses the contribution and importance of others in your personal journey. No person is an island. No one succeeds in a vacuum.
An ounce of humility is better than a pound of braggadocio. When you make everything about yourself, you suck up the oxygen in the room. You are doing more than promoting yourself. You are demoting others.
On the other hand, be careful of false humility, which is a more sickening pride than braggadocio because it is the wolf (pride) in the sheep’s (humility) skin.
Mark Twain said, “There’s a breed of humility which is itself a species of showing off.”
He nailed it.
Rich Man, Poor Man
Your version of Mr. Wonderful might be like Kevin O’Leary’s chest-thumping braggart or he might be the “Aw shucks” kind who seeks attention by faking humility. Either way, Mr. Wonderful is anything but wonderful. Don’t be that.
Imagine that! You can be better than a billionaire by just mixing in a little humility.