How Do We Know When We’ve “Made It”?
Pretty much from birth we all learn about working hard to achieve something.
We need to strive to get somewhere – to finally arrive in life.
But then, when we get to wherever that “somewhere” is, we often forget that once that was a huge big deal and our sole focus and just move on to the next thing.
Which raises the question – do we ever get there?
How do we know when we’ve “made it”?
This is particularly poignant in business because theoretically we could just keep going and going and feel constantly in a state of striving, and never arriving.
And honestly, this was my path for a while.
In school everything seemed to lead to exams. Exams led to uni, uni led to having to get a grown up job (Gah!). Okay I did travel for a while.
As soon as I had a job I was working on how to make it better, how could I move abroad, how I could earn more without becoming a manager.
Then I discovered freelancing which at the time sounded like “loads of money and the summers off” unfortunately only half of that was true by the time I got there (the money part, definitely no summers off).
Then some years on, I started my business.
Business, just like life, is a journey not a destination
And for me, at least at first, the striving continued.
First client – check.
Second client – check.
Larger offers – check.
$10k month – check.
High end 1:1 coaching program – check.
Group program with fancy funnel – check.
$20k month – check.
Getting myself published – check.
Online program – check.
But you know what never got checked?
Feeling like I’d made it – NOT CHECKED
And seriously in retrospect I have to ask myself “Why the fuck not?!” What else could I need?
I literally did not celebrate my first $20k month because I thought I should be further along by that point and some people I knew had hit 7 figures.
Like, REALLY?!
Feeling like you’ve made it comes from inside
And what I’ve learned from that is feeling like you’ve made it comes from inside.
The reason I couldn’t experience it before was I was in a constant state of pushing myself and focusing on the future.
This was really the only way I knew to get shit done.
And in the beginning in business there is a period of needing to hustle and push past your fears and get things done.
But then comes a period of easing into it.
A period of finding your feet and adjusting so it all works for you.
And then if you’ve been on the right path you realise you love your work.
The thing to know here is this:
In the beginning it’s impossible to feel like you love your work because you’re uncomfortable with all the newness. When you get good at it is when you grow to love it.
But when you’ve had enough practise you’ll wake up one day and think to yourself:
“I could happily do this until the day I die. Because this is important work, and I love it”.
What does this mean for you?
Partly this depends on where you are right now.
- If you haven’t started yet because you are afraid it means there will be a period of unknown, which if you keep going and learn to enjoy it, leads to you having found your life’s work.
- If you’re in the pushing and striving part you can know you’ll get there and you will reach a place of ease – again, if you take a moment to notice.
I think it also means the only way to true satisfaction is to do the internal work.
Have you ever heard someone say “You’re exactly where you need to be” and want to kill them? I have, but I think I’m finally ‘getting’ it.
In the beginning we are striving but at some point we reach a place of “being”.
At some point you reach a place of realising actually – the aim is not to do nothing, it’s to do this.
And you could happily do this until the day you die. Why would you ever stop?
And that’s not to say that you are “there” and you stay there, there’s always more to come.
But it means you are actually enjoying and fully present in what’s happening right now. Instead of being purely focused on the future.
So what’s your important work?
If you don’t know what it is yet don’t worry, I didn’t know in the beginning either.
The journey goes from finding something you CAN do, to really finding your place in what you can do, to shifting around until you really feel comfortable.
Then waking up one day and realising maybe actually there’s nowhere to go. You really can just be.
Because the work you are doing right now is important work.