The life of a leader is not easy. Couple that with entrepreneurship, and you’re choosing the proverbial road less traveled. As I sit and write this, I look over my portfolio of companies. A key team member, essential for operations across four of them, has been knocked out of commission due to a personal life event, leaving us with a gaping hole despite our best efforts to build in redundancies. Another company is going to make payroll by pennies this week. A third is dealing with employee embezzlement. A fourth is navigating a merger, and yet another is struggling with clients who aren’t paying on time. And that’s just today.

As I was privileged to share during my opening keynote at the Academy of Private Practice Annual Meeting this year, I reached a point where I thought I had made it, only to watch as everything I thought I had built came crumbling down around me. I was burning the candle at both ends, and reality hit–I was chasing success over significance. 

As business owners, we’re conditioned to equate success with how much we can juggle—how full our schedule is, how high our revenue climbs, how many people recognize our name. I’ve been there—sending emails at 2:00 AM, priding myself on how little sleep I could function on, and thinking that busyness was a badge of honor. But the truth is, busyness is not a leading indicator of success. It’s a trap that lures us in with the promise of achievement but leaves us drained, questioning whether all the sacrifices were really worth it.

In moments like this, as leaders we need to step outside of our immediate situation and look at the big picture. We need to say are we chasing a fleeting, light and momentary success, or are we actually making an impact that is significant. We need to ask the question: “Is it worth it?” It’s a simple question, but the answer often isn’t. Because when you say yes to something—even something good—you’re also saying no to something else. The real challenge lies in recognizing what you’re sacrificing with every yes. It might be time with your family, your health, your peace of mind, or even your own sense of purpose. And that’s where the real work begins—deciding what is truly worth it.

For years, I chased after what I thought was success. I had clear goals: hit a certain dollar amount in the bank, drive a certain car, build a custom house, hold the title that commanded respect. I wanted to be on TV, and after countless national TV, radio, and podcast interviews, I checked that box. I dreamed of seeing my face on magazine covers, and it happened. I’ve been featured, written about, and had my byline in more publications than I ever imagined. But after each new achievement, I came back to a fundamental idea, “Am I leading a life of significance or am I trying to chase some preconceived notion of fleeting success?” Every milestone came with its own cost, and I started to realize that what I was gaining wasn’t compensating for what I was losing.

This realization led me to re-evaluate my definition of success. I began to see that real success isn’t about how many hours you work or how many accolades you collect. It’s not about the car you drive or the balance in your bank account. Real success is about significance—making a meaningful impact on the lives around you and building something that lasts. It’s about knowing that your work, your efforts, and your time are contributing to something greater than yourself. But more than that, it’s about making sure that what you’re building doesn’t come at the expense of what truly matters in your life.

So, I want to ask you the same question I asked myself: “Are you leading a life of significance over chasing success?” Is the success you’re chasing worth the sacrifices you’re making? If the answer is yes, then keep going—but do it with full awareness of what you’re giving up. If the answer is no, then it’s time to make some changes. Because every yes to one thing is a no to something else. And sometimes, saying no to what the world defines as success is the only way to say yes to a life of significance.

Since that turning point, I’ve made it my mission to help others build a life of significance instead of chasing after success. I don’t want you to wait for a catastrophic event to force you to re-evaluate everything, like I did. I want you to see now that the endless grind doesn’t have to be your story. Life is too short to spend it running on fumes, chasing a version of success that leaves you feeling empty.

Let’s focus on building something truly meaningful—something that endures beyond the next quarterly report, something that brings you peace instead of stress, fulfillment instead of exhaustion. Let’s choose significance over success.