To envy someone is not a bad thing in of itself. It can become a powerful drive in your life that can propel you to the upper echelons if you are able to harness the desire to have what others have and apply your efforts to emulate their efforts. As long as the person you envy isn't doing anything illegal, you can learn allot by studying what they have done and doing the same. You CAN envy someone's good fortune while at the same time NOT begrudge them for it. If everyone used the stories that of how people came about their good fortune we could all learn a lot as well. As a bonus, retelling some of those stories can also be a source of entertainment.
That's true. Every time I see someone who has something that I don't have but would like to, I look at him and say to myself that I am going to have something even better and cooler than that. It motivates me when I envy someone because this drives me to work harder in order to achieve those things that I envy.