Hi, Reader,

I saw a reel the other day that I keep thinking about.

I don't even remember who posted it. I never finished watching because I got stuck on the question they opened with:

"How do you know when you've made it?"

It's everywhere, isn't it? This idea that there's a point out there, somewhere ahead of us, where we arrive. Where we've made it. Where we can finally exhale and feel satisfied with ourselves and our lives.

We even have the "metrics" for it. A certain amount of money. A title. A number of followers, clients, accolades.

But the more I thought about this question, the more resistance I felt toward it. And I realized why.

I spent a big part of my life trying to answer it. I didn't know exactly how, but I kept thinking that once I make enough impact, enough money, and achieved enough success, then I could say I've made it. (And then I can feel like I've done enough and I am enough.)

Here's the thing about that question, though: it's not just unanswerable, it's dangerous because it guides us away from what’s true for us.

A decade ago, I was running a company I'd founded, helping hundreds of thousands of people live happier lives. By every external metric, I had made it. I went from coming to this country as a refugee, building a very successful corporate career and now I was leading a company that was helping many others. We’d gotten tons of recognition (including a cover story for the New York Times business section, with the photo of me next to my Happier-branded Mini Cooper).

By many external measures, I’d “made it”.

But I didn’t.

I burned out so completely that "burnout" doesn't even feel like the right word. It was more like a life out. The lights just went out.

It wasn't really that I was overworking, though I was. It was that I'd become so disconnected from myself, from what energized me and what felt true, all in service of a finish line that kept moving every time I got close to it.

I see this constantly with the people I work with, too. So many brilliant, accomplished humans asking themselves one of two questions: Have I made it yet? or How do I make it?

And it's gotten so much louder with social media. Every scroll is someone else's milestone or accomplishment. It's easy to feel like everyone else is closer to "made it" than you are. Like you're behind in a race that was never actually real to begin with.

(Do you ever feel this way?)

Here's what I believe now, and it's become the foundation of how I live and the work I do:

There is no "making it." There's only creating your next.

When you stop asking "how do I make it" and start asking "what's the next thing I'm excited to create," everything shifts. The external scoreboard stops running the show. You re-anchor to what's actually yours: your sense of purpose, what's meaningful to you, what genuinely feels good.

To be clear, this isn't a "stop being ambitious" message. What you want to create next might be wildly ambitious. Maybe it's launching a new business. Stepping into a bigger leadership role. Writing a book. Showing and selling your art.

The difference is why you're doing it. You're not doing it to finally prove you've made it. You're doing it because it's pulling at you. It’s something you’re genuinely excited about. It's something you actually want to do.

That shift is what let me build work that's more successful and more impactful than anything I did while I was busy trying to "make it."

It doesn't feel like climbing toward a finish line anymore. It feels like I'm always creating my next from purpose and desire, not from pressure.

Which brings me to this week's podcast episode.

I recorded it a couple weeks after I turned 50, when I dared myself to create my next: To do my first big art show.

🎧 This week on the DARE YOURSELF Podcast

Your Someday Dream Is a Today Calling: My First Art Show at 50

For most of my life, I never gave myself permission to call myself an artist. It didn't fit the box I'd put myself in. And it definitely didn’t align with what “making it” looked like to me at the time.

Last year, for my 50th birthday, I dared myself to do something that terrified me: have my first big art show.

I didn’t know where or how, but once you decide on what you want, the universe has a surprising way of bringing opportunities your way.

In this episode, I'm sharing how that dare became real, and why your "someday" dream is actually a "today" calling.

​Listen on Apple Podcasts​

​Listen on Spotify​

​Watch on YouTube​

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​Here's your dare for the week:

Notice the next time you catch yourself thinking "once I ___, then I'll feel like I've made it."

Don't judge it, just notice it.

Then ask yourself the better question: What do I want to create next? What’s been pulling at me that I want to begin to explore?

Write down what comes up and then dare yourself to take one step towards it. It can be a really tiny step, that’s totally fine. That’s how you create anything: by taking many small, bold steps, learning, experimenting, and evolving from there.

As always, I love hearing from you.

Reply and let me know how this week's email or podcast resonates with you.

Have a great week!

Nataly

P.S. I’ll be announcing the next cohort for my Create Your Next™ mentorship soon. If you want to make sure you hear about it, read more here and join the waitlist.