How Do You Define Success?

Going Off Script

4/27/25 —
I’m writing this one last minute, right before I hit publish—and honestly, I think that’s exactly how it was meant to happen.

Originally, I planned to pick up where I left off last week and share the incredible investment opportunities that came from our trip to Midlothian to check out my friend’s restaurant.
Had I written this earlier, that's exactly what you would've gotten.
But this letter is called Navigating the Storm for a reason — it’s unpredictable.

When I started this, I didn’t have a rigid plan. I just knew I wanted to talk about what matters…to me.

Had I stuck to the recent script, I would've been talking about what I thought you would find impressive — the money, the opportunities, the "success."
But that's not what’s most important to me.
And I realized that yesterday...during a bit of an unexpected mushroom journey.

A Trip I Didn't Plan For

Yesterday, Kallie and her mom went out of town for a concert.
My plan was to take a little dose, get into a good meditative state, and reflect on how I could better serve the people in my life.
Instead... I overdid it a bit. (Okay, a lot.)

I forgot that I’ve been eating extremely clean and detoxing my system — and when that’s the case, shrooms can hit hard.
So, I ended up going to outer space for a few hours.
But maybe that was exactly what I needed. A complete reset.

As I was coming back down to earth, I put on a Jim Carrey video I’d come across earlier that morning — The Real You.

I don't recommend YouTube videos lightly — people send me reels and clips all the time, and honestly, I rarely watch them.
Not because I don't appreciate it — but because if I watched everything sent my way, I’d never get anything done.

But this one? This one hit different.
There are too many incredible one-liners to pick just one.
So if you can, take a few deep breaths, clear the distractions, and feel what hits you.

Anyway — I closed my eyes, listened, and felt every word.
And it made me ask myself a simple but important question:

What does success really mean to me?

Redefining Success

When I opened my eyes, this was the world I saw:

• A beautiful sunny Saturday.
  

• Flowers blooming in the planters.
  

• My dogs laying in the sun.
  

• A cucumber I grew myself, sliced up and shared with the dogs.
  

• Thoughts of Kallie, my beautiful wife who loves me unconditionally.
  

I was completely present.
Completely full.
Completely successful.

Not in the way society tends to define it.
Not in the way my younger self might have.
But in the way that actually matters.

The Life I'm Already Living

I sat down and wrote what success looks like to me:

• Taking every other Friday morning to go fishing.
  

• Eating food grown with my own hands.
  

• Camping out on the deck with the dogs (even if we got too sweaty overnight).
  

• Slow Sunday mornings drinking coffee and writing.
  

• Doodling ridiculous alien drawings between tackling goals.
  

• Having friends who answer the phone when you're clinging to the surface of the earth after accidentally overdoing the shrooms.
  

• Parents and in-laws who love and support you, no matter what.
  

• Living simply.
  

• Slowing down enough to actually feel life happening.
  

• Admiring the miracle of a garden.
  

Do I need some money to do these things?
Sure.
But not $2.5 million a year like I plan to earn someday.
That’ll be icing on the cake — but this is the cake.
And if I can’t appreciate the cake now, no amount of icing will ever be enough.

The Hardest Skill

It’s easy to grind.
Easy to chase.
Especially in a world like ours — surrounded by other hungry, driven people.

But what’s hard — and what’s rare — is slowing down.
Feeling the moment.
Recognizing that the life you’re chasing might already be right here, right now.

There will always be more.
There will never be another this.

Final Thought

My point is simple:
While you're chasing your dreams, don't forget to appreciate the one you're already living.

As always, thanks for reading.

Kyle

Song

Faces - Oohh La La: Again, just another one that hit in the moment…especially the line, I wish I knew what I know now, when I was younger…don’t we all?