Financial success becomes unstable when image demands constant feeding.

Once a certain image has to be maintained, income becomes an obligation rather than a resource. The house, the schools, the appearances, the expectations of people around you, all of it needs feeding regardless of how any particular year goes. Success built this way cannot survive a pause.

Ask what would have to change if your income halved for a year, and how much of that change would be about how things looked. That proportion tells you how exposed you are.