THEY tell me now that I am a victim of my own success. Oh, how I laugh at them! I know my success rubs them up the wrong way. There was a time when they said I would never make it big in the slimy, slippery world of small-time crime. I would like to think I have gone up in the world from the time I started as a beggar on the streets when I was a child of six. They used to laugh at me and tell me I didn’t have the ghost of a chance of surviving on the footpath.

At 14, I came into contact with the man I later came to regard as my teacher. He was the first to tell me that I had it in me to hit the big time as a thief. With my sneaky manner and slight built, I had all the making of a thief. He said that if only I was willing to give up grovelling before strangers for alms, I would go places. His faith in me made all the difference to my self-confidence and before I knew it I was making a killing as a pickpocket.

I went from strength to strength and soon I had made a small fortune. I had never realised that the simple act of slipping my hand into people’s pockets could be such a money spinner!

They whisper my name with respect now, those very same people who laughed at me once upon a time. From begging at street corners, to leaving my mark on the street where I have lived all my life, I have come a long way.

Someone/something is a victim of their/its own success: when success has negative effects as well as or instead of positive ones on someone or something

Rub someone up the wrong way: annoy someone

Make it big: become very successful

Go up/come down in the world: to have more/less money or a better/worse social position than before

Someone doesn’t have the ghost of a chance: they have no chance at all

Have it in you: possess the ability

Hit the big time: be successful and make lots of money

Have the makings of something: to have the qualities or skills needed to become a particular kind of person or thing

Would go places: would be successful

Make all the difference (to something): have a very good effect on a situation or a thing

Make a killing: earn a lot of money very easily

Go from strength to strength: get better and better

A small fortune: a lot of money

Be a money spinner: be a successful way of making money.

Someone/something leaves their/its mark on: they have/it has a permanent, usually negative, effect on

Come a long way: made great progress

The term acid test means a crucial test that determines worth, truth, reliability etc. The phrase goes back to the Middle Ages when nitric acid was used to test the authenticity of gold, which is not effected by the action of other acids. This test was used to make valuations when buying or selling.

(Reference: English Idioms in Use)