When my kids went back to school this year, I thought I’d finally hit my productivity stride — uninterrupted hours, fewer distractions, all the time in the world to get things done.

But reality check: between drop-offs, pick-ups, and running two businesses, I have about five solid hours a day to do everything. And for the last couple of months, I’ve been operating reactively — moving my to-do list around daily and feeling like I’m constantly catching up.

So I sat down and asked myself one big question:
“What does success look like for me right now?”

Not my goals from last year. Not what someone else is doing online. Not even my annual business plan — but today. This week. This month.

And my answer was simple: Move the needle and stop making excuses.

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The Leap That Changed Everything

Over the summer, our family hit a huge milestone. My husband, Robby, started his pool company about three years ago, and it’s grown every single year. Because of that growth, I was able to leave my full-time role as VP of Marketing and officially step into entrepreneurship full-time at the end of 2024.

It was a leap of faith. We weren’t sure it would work, but we asked ourselves an honest question:

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

If it didn’t work, one of us could go back to a 9–5. Not ideal, but manageable. We weren’t going to let things get to a breaking point. That perspective made the decision easier — because we realized staying where we were was actually scarier.

It was scarier to work for someone else with capped income.
Scarier to trade time for money without control over our future.
Scarier to sacrifice for someone else’s dream instead of our own.

So, we picked our “scary,” and it paid off.

In June, Robby hit the company’s annual goal — six months early. It was one of those moments that made every risk, every “what if,” completely worth it.

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Redefining What “Success” Really Means

That milestone brought a new kind of peace — and a new set of challenges. We had solved the financial problem, but now we were facing one of time and presence.

Robby went all-in on the business, and I went all-in on the kids for the summer. It was a huge shift, but it worked for us. We’ve learned that our version of balance doesn’t look 50/50 — it looks like 100% as a team.

Sometimes that means he’s doing 10% of the kid pickups and I’m doing 90%. Other times it’s the reverse. What matters is that together, we’re making 100%.

We’ve learned to measure success not just by income, but by peace, freedom, and quality of life. We still live in our manufactured home because our dream home isn’t in the budget yet. We could build a house that isn’t quite what we want — but we’re choosing to wait for the one that is. That’s our version of success right now.

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Handling the “New Season” of Growth

When your circumstances change, your mindset doesn’t automatically adjust.
Even good seasons — seasons of growth and answered prayers — come with their own learning curves.

For me, that’s meant asking deeper questions:

• What does success look like in this season?
• What’s actually important right now?
• Where does my value come from when my role shifts?

It’s been a humbling reminder that seasons will change, but your purpose doesn’t. You just have to realign how you show up for it.

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When Motivation Fades — Follow the Plan

One of my favorite quotes from Leila Hormozi is, “F** your feelings and follow the plan.”*
It sounds harsh, but it’s true. You can’t always wait to feel motivated.

So when I’m not feeling it, I ask myself:

“If I was motivated right now, what would I do?”

Then I do that.
Same goes for any emotion:

• “I’m not happy right now, but if I was — what would I do?”
• “I’m not feeling productive today, but if I was — what would I do?”

Eventually, your actions start to lead your emotions instead of the other way around.

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Embracing Your Season

No, I’m not jumping out of bed at 6 a.m. feeling unstoppable. But I’m showing up — even when it’s messy, inconvenient, or different than I pictured.

Because that’s what this season requires.

And that’s really the point:
Success looks different in every season. Sometimes it’s a big business win. Sometimes it’s being fully present with your family. Both matter. Both count.

So wherever you are right now — building, resting, or figuring it out — give yourself permission to win in this season.

You’re not behind. You’re evolving.