The Goal of Success Is to Build a Life You Actually Get to Enjoy

“What? You walked away from your six figure job? I don’t think I could ever do that.”

That has been, by far, the most common reaction I get when I tell people I quit my job to pursue the kind of life that brings me the most joy.

For 15 years, my career was my identity. The goal of success at that time was to accumulate promotions, pay raises, and accolades. I was gung-ho on becoming someone, in proving myself, and I was going to do it regardless of the price I had to pay.

Then a strange feeling starting bugging me. Is this really what I want? What exactly am I working for? It it money? Is it status? Then winter of 2026 came – a blizzard to be exact. We were sitting at the kitchen table, a bottle of wine open, a puzzle spread out between us, music playing in the background. Nothing fancy, just a quiet mid-week night, a couple of laughs, and the comfort of being together at the end of a long day.

At one point I paused and thought… This is the kind of life I am usually too busy to enjoy, and exactly the kind of life I want. While bunkered at home I watched the cardinals at the feeder, and for the first time in a long time I had an overwhelming feeling that I had forgotten: peace.

I have been building my photography business for six years, and during much of that time, a weekday night like this would have been rare. By the end of the day, after working 12 hours between my full time job and photography, I was usually too tired to enjoy anything simple. My job had a way of following me home mentally, emotionally, and sometimes even physically. The weeks moved quickly, the weekends disappeared, and Monday was always waiting just around the corner.

From the outside, life looked successful. I had built a successful career, bought a big house, and followed the path most people believe leads to happiness. But somewhere along the way, I started to notice something strange.

The things I was working so hard to achieve were quietly stealing the time, joy and energy that actually make life enjoyable.

The promotions meant more responsibility.
The bigger house meant more maintenance.
The busier calendar meant less space to breathe.

For a long time, I believed what many people believe: work hard now so that someday, eventually, you can slow down and enjoy life. We were convinced that, as we move through our careers, success meant building a bigger life, full of “things” and indulgences. The paradox was that the bigger it got, the harder it became to actually enjoy it.

But what if the goal of success isn’t to delay enjoyment until the end of your career? What if the goal of success is to build a life you actually get to enjoy along the way?

Those questions changed the way I looked at everything.

It changed how Josh and I thought about our money, our time, our priorities, and even our definition of wealth. Instead of asking what would make us look successful, we started asking a different question:

What kind of life do we actually want to wake up to every day?

For us, the answer wasn’t bigger. It was simpler.

We wanted more mornings without rushing. More time to make fresh lunches, exercise for more than just 20 minutes, and enjoy the day instead of racing through it. More evenings like that quiet puzzle night at the kitchen table. More space to experience, to stay curious, and to breathe.

None of those things required a bigger title or a bigger paycheck.They required more intentional decisions.

And intentional we got.

When I started my photography business in May of 2020, it had two clear purposes: to bring me unlimited joy and to grow big enough to give me the option to walk away from my 9 to 5 and focus solely on what makes me happy. And that winter day, watching my backyard birds I made the decision to quit my day job. I was ready to enjoy my success.

We had been pursuing that version of success for years, and it shaped every decision we made over those years. We sold the big expensive house and downsized to a condo. We saved and invested as much as one full paycheck a month. We avoided debt like the plague. We started aligning our decisions with our values instead of with appearances.

My business became the six-year runway that allowed me to confidently and courageously say the four words I never thought I could: Here is my resignation.

Now I get to plan my days around my passions, my creativity, and my needs. I wake up with intention and purpose, coffee in hand, deep breaths and a meaningful workout that never feels rushed, and none of it would have happened if I hadn’t redefined what success meant for me so many years ago.

This new life looks completely different from the one I spent 15 years building, climbing the ladder and buying status symbols to prove I had made it. It took me 15 years to design a life worth waking up to, and that is the definition of success that matters to me.

Ask Yourself This:

If success truly meant building a life you enjoy, what would look different in your day?

Would your mornings change?
Your evenings?
The way you spend your time or money?

You do not have to redesign everything at once, but sometimes the smallest shifts begin with asking a better question.

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