Your Definition of Success is Holding you Back

In a recent coaching session, we talked about the suit. Not just any suit — the one that used to feel like a symbol of success. The one that made him feel like he had arrived.

Only… it never really fit – it was uncomfortable, stiff, not quite his authentic and more laid back style.  And now? It doesn’t reflect who he is or where he wants to go.

But he kept it.  Why? Because it represented something: status, acceptance, the image of what success was supposed to look like.

And here’s what I asked him — the same questions I asked another client just last week:

• Are you building a business based on a future vision… or old standards?

• What habits, styles, or strategies are you clinging to that reflect who you were, not who you’re becoming?

• Where are you holding on to old validations of success, versus defining the future?

This isn’t about a suit.  But it is about how we lead and the thinking that guides our direction. It is easy to carry outdated approaches into a future that demands something different.

So here’s your What If for today:

What if the next version of success requires you to outgrow what once worked?

• What assumptions or models are you still operating from that no longer reflect today’s clients, team, or goals?

• What “suit” are you wearing to prove something… when it’s time to design something new?

• What needs to evolve — not just externally, but in how you define value, lead, and grow?

Future growth requires present alignment. Old thinking won’t carry you into a new chapter.