by Christan Hiscock, CEO and co-founder of Kardia Financial Group
The continuous pursuit of success will destroy your life and happiness. That is probably not what you expected to hear from a business expert, right? Yes, there are countless entrepreneurial books out there trying to teach readers how to level up and grow their enterprises until they reach greater levels of prosperity and profits.
However, it is true that the whole myth of success is negatively impacting the growth that your business can attain (while lowering your contentment). Here is why.
Success Is Based on Other People’s Ideals, Not Yours
You only have to look at the headlines to see individuals like Robin Williams, Kate Spade or Anthony Bourdain, who were all very successful and devastatingly unhappy. That clearly shows that success is the WRONG goal to chase in your entrepreneurial journey. Success is most often built on other people’s ideals of what life should be like, such as the amount of money your business should be making, the kind of car you should drive, and the sort of lifestyle you should be living.
There are so many societal pressures reinforcing these false depictions of the “ultimate life goals”. We are constantly bombarded by TV and magazine ads that tell us to buy new car models, the latest phone release, luxury handbags, etc. We also see people flaunting opulent lifestyles on social media, which can cause us to compare our own lives to them and wish we had more than we need. These pressures can make us think that success is the only thing that really matters in life. This isn’t true!
Why Fulfillment Needs to Be the Ultimate Business Goal
Every single time you take a step in the direction of someone else’s ideal of success, you run the risk of living a life that’s less than. You have been duped into thinking that success equals satisfaction, but the issue with this mode of thinking is that you won’t feel truly content in life no matter how much money your business makes. Thus, it is so important to start having a very different conversation: why FULFILLMENT is the ideal we should all be focused on achieving in our business endeavors.
Think about it… if you’re deeply fulfilled, isn’t success a given? Fulfillment is intrinsic; it’s defined by your values, what you value in life (such as helping others), and your natural gifts. If you make these factors your north star in your business journey, you will elevate all that you do. On the other hand, if you take a step away, you will pull yourself away from the very things that make you great and from your true purpose. There’s power in that knowledge. There’s more power when you choose to let it be your guide.
Pursuing Fulfillment Will Bring You Incredible Opportunities
Are you on a mission to save animals, help small businesses compete with major corporations in their industry, or lower the poverty level in a certain region? Do you love painting or creating other forms of art and want to make that your full-time career? Striving after these life goals will help you reach true fulfillment and satisfaction. My own journey to fulfillment lead me to launch 17 highly impactful companies, including Kardia Financial Group, in only 4 years. Mind-blowing things can and will happen in this new journey!
As you start striving after these new goals, you will attract the kind of enterprising people who have a similar mission. Then, together, you all can create the opportunity to combine your efforts and enthusiasm to make an impact like nothing else this world has ever seen! You can start a non-profit in a sector you’ve always wanted to make a difference in, or launch a business where you can donate a portion of proceeds to a cause that really matters to you. Wouldn’t that be incredibly fulfilling?
To Wrap It All Up
The whole idea of success is a façade created and reinforced by other people’s ideals and the media. If success is your main business goal, you will never feel satisfied and like you have achieved enough. In contrast, attaining fulfillment needs to be the ultimate ideal that you strive for in your entrepreneurial journey. Think about the change you wish to create in the world and how to make it happen. It’s all just one decision away.
Christan Hiscock is the CEO and co-founder of Kardia Financial Group, which was born from the desire to change the financial services industry through heart-centered services that focus on what’s truly important; the people. Based in Calgary, Kardia Financial Group believes that the financial services industry should not be solely focused on dollars, but on helping people truly get to the heart of their financial goals.
