Sustainable Success
Success is Expensive
When I read Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger last year, I expected stories about extraordinary success. What surprised me most wasn't his ambition; it was his willingness to share his failures. Success inspires us, but failure often teaches us far more.
A few months later, I watched the documentary based on his book and life. I found myself feeling compassion for a man who had achieved nearly everything the world celebrates, yet now sat alone in a large house without the family he loved. He accomplished incredible things, but the cost of success may have been greater than he ever intended to pay.
Most of us can empathize. We’ve all made sacrifices and compromises for something we believed would make us happy, only to find empty promises and unfulfilled hopes. I’m no stranger to foolish sacrifices:
Neglecting sleep and rest to be the dedicated hero in the office
Trading financial peace for an investment property that I wasn’t ready for
Sacrificing unity within my relationships for the prize of “winning” an argument
Despite the short-term appearance of success, these were unequivocal failures in my judgment. Time and reflection have made me appreciative of the hard lessons, and relieved that those losses were recoverable. I’ve been a slow-study, but I’m learning that if “success” requires me to sacrifice a priority, like health or relationships, it’s probably not worth the price. If it steals my peace, joy, or love, it might even be damaging the roots to my source of true success.
It’s human nature; we’re drawn to people who are exceptional in their chosen fields. We marvel at the gold medalists of the Olympics, the grand masters in chess, and the captivating artists on the headliner stage. Watching someone operate at the highest level of their craft is inspiring.
True value, worthy sacrifice, and healthy balance have been recurring themes for me over the past year. As someone who leans too far into extremes, I’ve had a lot of practice with realigning. When I wanted to improve my health, expand my portfolio, or conquer a new goal, it quickly became all-consuming — it was all I could focus on. Every unhealthy extreme comes with an invoice, and this year, my work was too important to overlook hidden expenses. So, the question that has quietly shaped nearly every decision I've made this year is: How can I make my faithfulness more sustainable?
Sustainable success isn't about achieving more; it's about faithfully stewarding today's priorities in a way that allows every area of life to flourish.
Is Balance Really the Goal?
We often say we're looking for balance. More time. More margin. Better rhythms. But perhaps balance isn't really what we're after. Perhaps what we're really longing for is faithfulness.
If we’re honest, most of us don’t feel comfortable with unclaimed space. We rush to fill the long, awkward pauses in conversations. We carefully decorate every blank surface in our homes and offices. We fill the time spent in waiting rooms and long lines with scrolling feeds and checking inboxes.
What if a lack of time isn't the real problem? What if our loving Creator, in His infinite wisdom, gave us exactly what we need: a 24-hour day, a weekly Sabbath, and dependable seasons of sowing and harvest? Perhaps we attempt to carry too much with our tendency to borrow tomorrow’s troubles and replay yesterday’s regrets. Perhaps the problem isn't God's design, but our insatiable desire for more and our failure to discern the true priority in each present moment.
Balance is a Verb
Balance isn't something we achieve once. It's something we must practice every day. Like riding a bike, it isn't found in perfect stillness but through subtle, continuous adjustments. It’s a living, active process that requires us to keep moving forward while responding to the changing terrain and conditions that surround us.
But movement without intentional direction begins to resemble a wrecking ball. I've fallen into this disorder before, swinging wildly from one ambitious goal to another, alternating between seasons of relentless consumption and exhausting production. Every area of life suffered.
Unsurprisingly, Scripture doesn't call us toward reckless intensity either. The teacher in Ecclesiastes shares this wisdom on balance, “Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise—why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool—why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.”
I’m drawn to the book of Ecclesiastes. It both intrigues and bewilders me. Yet every time I read it, I seem to arrive at the same conclusion: God isn’t calling us to live along the ditches of extremes. He’s inviting us to enjoy a beautiful but narrow road. He calls us to work diligently and play wholeheartedly; to pursue righteousness while remembering we’re sinners in desperate need of His grace; to steward wisely, give generously, and enjoy His lavish gifts with grateful hearts. Like every good Father, He delights in watching His children enjoy and share what He’s entrusted to them.
Building Margin for What Matters
This summer I've taken on a project that has stretched me in the best way possible. It was an answer to a prayer after a season of waiting, but it's also been demanding of my focus with a steep learning curve, aggressive timeline, heavy workload, and very little room for wasted energy. Instead of causing burnout, it's taught me that endurance requires intentional recovery.
Even though my days are very structured, I have more margin built in than ever before, and it’s improving my capacity instead of limiting my productivity. I am more reliable for the people who matter most and more flexible to respond to urgent tasks as they arise.
When Faithfulness Creates Flourishing
Adding this challenging new passion project is causing me to flourish in all these other categories. I've become healthier spiritually, mentally, and physically; more present as a wife; more attentive as a friend; and I've even found energy to improve systems inside my business. By every worldly measure, it shouldn't work, but while we may not have time to do EVERYTHING on our list, I’m discovering we can accomplish more than we ever imagined if we are faithful with the things God is entrusting us with today.
The success I’ve experienced in the past was often isolated and at the expense of something dear to me. Flourishing success, within God’s design, has room for everything that truly matters in this season. It grows through faithful rhythms rather than frantic striving. Its momentum overflows, taking other areas to higher levels. Faithful success doesn’t neglect the people God gave you to love and care for. It doesn’t require you to compromise your values. Real success doesn’t isolate you from the whole, healthy, faithful person He has called you to be. Real, whole-life success requires us to wake up every day, open our hands, and ask God what’s important for today — seeking His Kingdom first.
One Faithful Step
Gary Keller asks a powerful question: "What's the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else becomes easier or unnecessary?" It's a helpful question. But before asking ourselves, perhaps we should ask God…
Every morning we have an opportunity to open our hands and seek His will:
"Father, what is the one faithful step You're inviting me to take today?"
We don't need tomorrow's strength. We don't need next year's wisdom. We simply need enough faithfulness for today. Sustainable success isn't built in extraordinary moments. It's cultivated through ordinary acts of obedience repeated over time.