Medium-level successful

Here’s a belief that I have:

“Given enough time, anyone can become medium-level successful.” 

I only realized I had this belief recently. I was talking to a client at the beginning of a career transition to a creative, competitive industry, and she was nervous: would this whole thing be a waste of her time? Maybe she’d never get anywhere? 

She was comparing herself — as we all do — to the shooting stars of her industry. To those who start, and woooosh, 18 months later… are wildly famous and successful. 

And that’s when I said to her: 

“It’s certainly possible that your trajectory might look like theirs’.
“But even if it doesn’t: I have the belief that given enough time, anyone can become medium-level successful.”

We talked about some folks whose work she admired, who she would consider “medium-level successful.” She admired their work, they had respectable (but not huge) followings, they made a living through a few different revenue streams. They weren’t super wealthy, but they did work they liked, and they made a living at it. 

Was this a future that she would be okay with? Certainly, she might be even more successful (and she would still shoot for that!) – but if it ended up with “medium-level” successful? 

The more that we talked, the more that her shoulders dropped. She seemed calmer, and happier. 

If you want, I told her, you could have this belief, too. 

She said she would like that. 

…

In my own career, I am not a shooting star. I don’t have a New York Times bestselling book. I’m not a celebrity coach with my own reality tv show. 

But I would say that I am medium-level successful: I have a meaningful, interesting, flexible career that provides a professional living for me and my family. And I think that’s pretty darn awesome. 

Of course, it took me a number of years to get that way. I’ve been coaching for a decade, in fact.  It has been a decently-long time horizon. 

And I apply this thought to other areas of my life. I’ve trying to get stronger and more fit recently, for example, and well, the results aren’t super obvious yet. But I believe that given enough time, I can become medium-level successful in this area, too.

So I’m willing to let the time horizon be long, and I’m willing to be medium-level successful. 

…

I hesitated to even write this piece. It’s not the most sparklingly inspirational thought of all time, after all. 

But here’s why I shared it, anyway: 

Thinking “Given enough time, anyone can become medium-level successful” doesn’t limit my dreams. I still have big dreams and ambitions.

But this belief does give me a certain felt sense of safety — that I can relax into, and stop worrying too much that all of my efforts will be pointless. 

Paradoxically, I think I achieve more when I feel more confidence that if I keep going, for long enough, I will get at least medium-level results.*

I wonder if you do, too. 

…

As always, I’m rooting for you in the week ahead. You’ve got this.  

Katie



*It’s worthwhile acknowledging: “medium-level successful” is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s “medium-level” might not be good enough for another, and at times, flexibility is required. “Medium-level” in certain creative fields, for example, might end up with you teaching while creating your own work, for example.

But I find the spirit of this thought really has served me — and it seemed like it served my client. Maybe there’s a part of your life it can apply to, too.

And if not, as with all thoughts I suggest: you can let it go.





p.s. Knowing yourself is a skill — like tying your shoes. Some people get it more intuitively, and for others, it takes a bit of practice + maybe a bit of support.

Life coaching can be very, very helpful with this. If you’d like to work with me, you can ​learn more + reach out here.