We think of success as a final destination, / but it’s not. // We think once / we’ve achieved it, we’ve arrived, /but we haven’t. // We think once there it’s easy money, smooth sailing, but it’s not / because Wonderhell / teaches us / that success is not a final destination at all, / but merely an inflection point / along the way. // So once I realized I wasn’t at the end of my journey, but merely in the middle, / I set about to do some homework. // I read all the books. // I read the books telling me to crush it, / to lean in, / and to 10x. // And I read their polar opposites, / the ones telling me to stop apologizing and wash my face. // And what was on offer on social media was not / much better. // There were the slicked-back bros, / the hustle porn dudes / jetting off the internet deal, / yeah. // And then there were the boho chic instafluencers / telling me to follow my passion, / telling me I’d find happiness if only I’d breathe into the right energy crystals. // What even is an energy crystal, / anyway? // Neither of these worked for me. // I'm guessing neither of these work / for you / either. // They didn’t work for thousands of leaders whom I stewarded through massive moments of career and life shift during those 20 years in executive search. // And they certainly didn’t work for nearly 100 glass-ceiling shatterers, / Olympic medalists, / start-up unicorns, / and everyday people like me / and like you, who I sought out / to interview to find a way out / of Wonderhell. // Each one of them told me / how / they did things they never thought possible. // And each one of them also told me / that, at every phase / and at every stage, / they experienced crushing imposter syndrome, / doubt, / vulnerability, / uncertainty, / envy, / exhaustion, / and burnout. // But each one of them / made it to the other side / and the better for it. // So, / how did they do it? //Three ways: // First, / they came to terms with their ambition. // Do you know why internal candidates always leave if they don’t get the job? // It’s because the very process of interviewing / for that bigger job / means that they literally had to, even just for a moment, / answer questions in that role, / speak in the voice of that role, / wear the clothes of that role, / and once they saw part of themselves in this new way, / they couldn't / unsee themselves / in this new way. // And just like these internal candidates, / you can’t unsee this new you / either. // Each time we envision success, even before we achieve it, / we see a version of ourselves we never thought real, a potential. // We never thought possible, a promise / of everything we can be / and all that we can embody. // There is the you / before this realization, / and then there is the you / after. // Second, / the mixed emotions surrounding this realization / - the good, / the bad, / and the ugly. // They aren’t limitations / but invitations. // For each of the people I spoke to who had a track record of thriving in Wonderhell, / they understood that these / uncomfortable feelings weren’t just part of the process. // They were actually incredibly / helpful allies. // So, / they’re able to stop, / reflect on these emotions, / listen to these emotions, / renegotiate the relationship with these emotions, / because we think about these chaotic reactions / as slings and arrows to be absorbed in silence and pushed down and muscled through, but / that’s a lie. // And that lie / is stopping us / from capitalizing on our Wonderhell, / because Wonderhell is / the excitement / and the fear. // It’s the joy / and the uncertainty. // It's the possibility / and the chaos. // And it is the promise and the potential / that you feel when you see this new you, / and you realize the only one who gets to choose which you, / you become is, / well, / you. // And that means changing the voice inside your head, warning, / “You haven’t done this before!” / and warning you to run away from your potential / into a cheerleader, / yelling, / “You haven’t done this / before!” / and encouraging you to run / towards it. // Wonderhell is the sign that you were on the right track / to new opportunity / and new growth. //