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The rules were clear.
Some schools were off-limits. Some careers were not meant for people like him. Funding for his education was a fraction of what others received.
The message was unspoken but deafening: stay in your place.
Most people in his position would have accepted these limitations. Adjusted their ambitions. Found a way to fit within the boundaries that had been set for them.
He never accepted that.
While others adapted to the constraints, he ignored them. He studied harder, worked smarter, and redefined what was possible.
It was never about ambition only. It was about refusing to let the world decide his worth.
Afterall…
Your worth is not determined by someone’s
ability to appreciate it.
But even when people around you are not pressuring you to settle for a mediocre life. When, in fact, they have big plans for you, things go wrong frequently, too.
Why?
Most professionals believe they are free. They follow the expected path: university, corporate ladder, titles, achievements. But at some point, they start to feel something is off.
They look at their success and wonder why it feels somewhat like prison. Like “another day, another dollar.”
Where is joy? Where is the excitement? Forget excitement; at this point, many feel they would settle for just still being somewhat interested in what they are doing.
I remember during my MBA, I once spoke to an investment banker. He looked tired and beaten down. I asked him what got him out of bed in the morning.
He said,
“Mortgage.”
That feeling doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of years, sometimes decades, of playing by rules they never set.
You don’t notice it at first.
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It starts with small compromises. Accepting the path that was laid out for you. Or selecting a path that looks like a path to success.
Like selecting consulting or investment banking during an MBA because it is prestigious. Because you know you will be making a good living.
Doing what is expected. Meeting obligations. Getting good grades.
But over time, those compromises accumulate. They shape your choices, your opportunities, and even your sense of identity. Until one day, you wake up and realize:
You built something people are jealous of…
But you would rather be someplace else,
doing almost anything else.
This program, among many other things, “manufactures” that moment.
The moment you recognize that your definition of success may not actually be your own. The moment you start to question whether the career, the status, and the life you’ve built is actually aligned with who you want to be or if it was shaped by obligations and expectations (yours or someone else’s), which you never questioned.
Next, the hardest part becomes giving yourself permission to go after what you actually want.
This program won’t give you an easy answer. It will help you find an answer uniquely suitable for your life. What it will do is challenge the way you think about your career, your ambitions, and the hidden forces shaping your decisions.
Because once you see the real game, you can finally decide how you want to play it.
The first four episodes of The Annual are now fully available to Insiders and Legacy members.
This is the conversation you’ve been waiting to have with yourself. Don’t delay working through these episodes. And submit questions that will come up to [email protected]. We will be addressing those soon.
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At every level and every step of someone’s career or life, we are a place where members and clients can build their dreams with people they trust. This is what 2025 will be about.
If you want to be a part of this, if you want to have a trusted advisor, make 2025 a year where you stay relevant, transcend to the next level, and remain in a position to continue being relevant as the world changes at an unprecedented rate.
If you are ready to build your dream, make sure you access Insider or Legacy now so you don’t miss the goal-setting part of the program and so you can be with us from the beginning of The Annual 2025 program.
If you also want to work with us personally, email [email protected] with your resume (in any format it is currently available).
I’m looking forward to the rest of 2025 and what we will do together, what we can achieve together.
I hope you will use these first few months of 2025 to hit the ground running with The Annual together.
Enroll in Insider or Legacy membership at StrategyTraining.com so you don’t miss the beginning of The Annual.
(Not a member yet? Access here as an Insider or Legacy member after scrolling down to membership options and enrolling as a member).
