When Success Stops Satisfying

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National Quitter’s Day

National Quitter’s Day had already passed.

Last week, I had the gym almost entirely to myself. The crowds were gone. The resolutions had faded. The same thing happens every year.

That empty gym mirrored something I have felt for a long time but could not fully articulate. I have never been a big “goal” guy. Not because goals are bad, but because of what happens after you hit them.

You achieve the goal. Then what?

For me, it always ended up in the same cycle. The brief satisfaction. The quiet emptiness. The immediate urge to chase the next thing. More money. More achievement. More validation.

There was never enough.

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I see this constantly with entrepreneurs and high performers. We chase numbers because they are measurable, socially rewarded, and externally impressive. But numbers only satisfy the ego. They do not satisfy the soul.

And lately, I have felt the absence of something deeper. A larger purpose. A reason that goes beyond achievement.

When Success Is Not Enough

Two stories validated this feeling for me.

The first is Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes. By every external measure, his life was a success. He built a globally recognized brand, donated over 100 million pairs of shoes to children in need, and sold his company for around $625 million.

And yet, he nearly took his own life.

Blake now speaks openly about depression, emptiness, and the dangerous myth that success will eventually make you feel whole. His work today, through his ENOUGH company, is centered on one idea most high achievers struggle to accept.

You are already enough.

Not once you hit a certain number. Not once you reach a certain milestone. Right now.

The second example came from a deep dive into the minds of Tony Robbins and Alex Hormozi. 👇

Alex opens by admitting he has never been satisfied and even coined the phrase “Fuck Happiness.” I understand that feeling. I relate to it. The drive. The hunger. The restlessness.

But Tony takes the conversation somewhere deeper.

He explains that high performers are often wired to chase achievement, but achievement alone does not answer the question of meaning. He shares how he has coached astronauts who accomplished what many consider the ultimate goal: walking on the moon.

Imagine that.

You walk on the moon. A literal once-in-human-history achievement.

What the hell do you do next?

If that does not deliver lasting fulfillment, no goal ever will.

To Whom Much Is Given

Both Tony Robbins and Alex Hormozi reference the quote from Luke 12:48: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.”

That line has stayed with me.

Last year, visiting Africa sparked something I could not ignore. I saw people with so little materially who seemed far more content, connected, and present than many people I know back home.

Meanwhile, I had been blessed in countless ways. Opportunity. Resources. Freedom. And yet, something inside felt unsatisfied.

That contrast forced an uncomfortable realization. The problem was not that I lacked success. It was that I lacked alignment.

With privilege comes responsibility. With abundance comes a deeper obligation to ask better questions.

Not “How do I get more?”

But “What am I meant to do with what I already have?”

Goals Versus Meaning

This is where goal setting started to fall apart for me.

Goals are not wrong. They are just incomplete.

They are excellent at driving behavior and terrible at providing meaning. They push you forward, but they do not tell you why you are moving.

Once you hit the goal, the void reappears. So you raise the bar. Bigger number. Bigger target. Bigger chase.

That cycle works until it doesn’t.

What I was missing was not another objective. It was a pursuit that mattered.

Discovering The Idea Of A Misogi

That search led me to Jesse Itzler’s concept of a Misogi, a one-year defining event designed to stretch you physically, mentally, and spiritually.

A Misogi is not a checklist item. It is not incremental. It is something so meaningful and uncomfortable that it becomes a reference point for who you are becoming.

For me, my Misogi centers around a personal passion: reconnecting people with nature and transforming profit into purpose.

It is less about achieving something and more about becoming someone.

Enough Changes Everything

Here is the truth I keep coming back to.

If goal setting works for you, that is great. Keep going.

But if you have hit goals and still feel restless, dissatisfied, or empty, you are not broken.

You do not need to earn your worth through achievement. You do not need another milestone to justify your existence.

You are already enough.

The question now is not what you will accomplish next, but why it matters and whom it serves.

That is the pursuit I am choosing now.

Not more numbers.

More meaning.

Thanks for reading, Luke Templin!

P.S. When you’re ready to grow your CAS offerings, here are a few ways I can help:

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