Every single one of my clients is on the very same quest. And so am I.

The quest to “make it.”

The problem seems to be that no one seems to know exactly where making it is, and how exactly you’re supposed to get there. The only thing anyone seems to know is that they’re going to get there, no matter what it takes.

Which is why I’m excited to share that I’ve discovered a foolproof method for knowing when you’ve made it. And here it is: You decide.

I know, kind of a let-down, right? And yet it really is that simple. The problem with the illusion of making it is that we think everything will change when we do—and as far as I can tell, this never happens.

Mostly what happens when we make it is we decide we really haven’t. We decide this isn’t enough and we choose something else. We choose some new goal line to pursue, some new venture to undertake. We decide that we can’t relax, we can’t enjoy where we’re at, and that things can’t feel easy for us. Instead we have to make it hard again. We have to start over.

And this is a choice. But this is not our only option.

The other option is this: we can allow ourselves to make it. We can allow ourselves to enjoy where we are. Appreciate how lucky we are to be doing work we longed to do. And then from this place choose what we want to create.

After all, life, success, and mastery isn’t about reaching some mountain peak. It’s about the process of greater refinement. One that starts with our honing of skills and being, and ends in full engagement with our work at a depth that expands us beyond the boundaries of who we are.