When you’re in the lead, you should expect every trick in the book to be thrown at you. Your competition can and will bring it all to the table.
In some cases, it’s quite fair. Many games and competitions have rules that specifically handicap the leader(s) as a way of keeping the contest competitive and engaging. Sometimes, it’s not fair at all – but you should expect it either way.
Part of the price of being in first place is that whatever game you’re playing becomes harder, simply by virtue of the competition looking for every possible advantage against an opponent who might beat them otherwise.
Forget about whether it’s fair or not. Just be ready for it.
The Opportunity Machine 