Look at these names, and you may start believing it.

Tiger Woods.
World No. 1 golfer.

Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Mr. Olympia. Hollywood star. Governor of California.

Astronomer’s CEO.
Caught on a Coldplay kiss cam with a colleague.

Jensen Huang.
Built Nvidia over 33 years.
This week, in his own words: “I was unfaithful to my wife.”
Three days later, he resigned as CEO.

Fame. Money. Power.
And an affair.

So is that the formula?

NO.

They did not rise because of the affair.
They rose because of years of practice, discipline and hard work.

The affair came later.
With the power.

Power gives you everything.
Money. Attention. People who say “yes”.

And it quietly takes away the people who say “no”.

Research says it too.
The more power people have, the more likely they are to cheat.
Men and women alike.

Power is not the problem.
Power without responsibility is.

And look at how these stories usually end.

Marriages end.
Relationships break.
Families fall apart.
Careers built over decades end at their peak.
Businesses and reputations collapse.
Peace of mind goes.
And the top becomes a very lonely place.

It is never just one life.
The powerful person loses.
The other person in the affair loses too. Their name, their work, their peace.
The spouse who trusted loses.
The children carry it for years.

One misuse of power.
Many lives broken.

So don’t give in to power.
Handle it.

With power comes responsibility.

Four things to remember:

1. Power is given to serve, not to take. Use it as if it can be taken back tomorrow.
2. Set your boundaries before the moment comes. In the moment, it is too late.
3. A lapse of a few minutes can undo a lifetime.
4. Remember what love is.
Two people who promised to laugh together, cry together and face this world together.
Don’t let a moment of lust overpower a lifetime of love.

Power can take you to the top.
Only responsibility keeps you there.

What is harder to handle: failure or power?

— CA Ravi Taori