The Gift of Nothingness

The Gift of Nothingness

by | Sep 12, 2025 | Identity Shifts, Inspiration, Practice Leadership

This post is an excerpt from The Significance Project. If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to be part of the community..

You can sign up here.

Blog fanner for greatness and safety

Why Successful Leaders Mistake Nothingness for Failure (and How to Reframe It as Growth)

High achievers are rewarded for being “on.” Quick answers. Big vision. A track record of execution that proves they can deliver again and again. Over time, producing on demand doesn’t just become a skill—it becomes an identity.

Which is why the blank page feels so brutal.

When the spark doesn’t come, when the ideas stall, when momentum slows, many leaders interpret it as a personal breakdown:

I’ve lost my edge. What if nothing else comes? Maybe I’ve peaked.

But here’s the truth: the problem isn’t the nothingness. The problem is how it’s interpreted.

Nothingness isn’t absence. It isn’t collapse. It’s a gift.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about aliveness as strategy—the fire that jolts us awake, pulls us back into the arena, and transforms what we create into something significant. But aliveness isn’t the whole story.

Because just as aliveness ignites, nothingness dissolves. It clears the ground so the old scaffolding can fall away.

Both are profound. Both are required when you’re doing meaningful work.

The Paradox of High Achievement

My clients want freedom, autonomy, and agency. They imagine space opening up in their lives and leadership. And yet—these are people with powerful doing muscles. They are most comfortable in motion.

So when space actually arrives, it often doesn’t feel like freedom. It feels like danger. A stalled project. A season of silence. And instead of seeing this as the opening they longed for, they mistake it for something being wrong.

This is the paradox of success: the very system that rewarded relentless producing also conditions you to fear the pause.

Practices for Meeting Nothingness

Here’s the invitation: treat nothingness as arrival, not absence. Curiosity, not collapse.

  • Name it. When it shows up, acknowledge it: Ah, this is nothingness.

  • Stay with it. Sit with the page, the pause, the silence—just a little longer than you want to.

     

  • Disrupt the spiral. When the old story surfaces—I’m failing, I’m slipping—don’t chase it. Get up. Move your body. Take a walk, dance, breathe. Let your system reset.

     

From Success to Significance

Significance doesn’t come only from fire and momentum. It comes from leaders who can hold both—the spark of aliveness and the space of nothingness—and trust that each is shaping them for the work only they can do.

The next time nothing comes, remember: this isn’t the end of your edge. It’s the start of your next one.

Jen Karofsky | Thought Partner & Coach for Visionary Leaders & Significance Seekers

 Jen Karofsky collaborates with leaders who are ready to disrupt the status quo and craft a life of legacy, deep connection, and purposeful impact. Through intentional coaching and bold thought partnership, Jen helps you align your work, your values, and your vision to create transformational change in your world.

Join The Significance Project to redefine success and step into your power.

Join

The Significance Project

My monthly(ish) newsletter for the tools, tips and provocations you need to live your life of significance.

More on the BLG:

I AM HERE FOR THE GRAPPLERS

by | , ,

Explore the unique challenges and triumphs of ambitious leaders who embrace both personal and professional growth. Learn how “The Significance Project” helps leaders transform all aspects of their lives, not just their careers. Dive into our insights on holistic growth and discover how you can become a grappler, a warrior in your own life journey.

read more

The Gift of Nothingness

by | , ,

In the dance of leadership, the moments of stillness can feel like a void, but what if we reimagined this nothingness as fertile ground for renewal rather than a harbinger of failure? It’s in these quiet interludes that we can gather our thoughts and rediscover our purpose, allowing the pressures of constant output to dissolve. Rather than seeing the blank page as a threat, let it be a canvas for creativity, an invitation to reflect deeply and cultivate ideas that resonate with our truest selves. Embracing these pauses nurtures resilience, transforming what once felt like an absence into a powerful opportunity for insight and growth, reminding us that even in silence, we are preparing for the next great leap forward.

read more

Why Successful Leaders Are Secretly Dying Inside (And How to Wake Up)

by | ,

Aliveness is what wakes us up from autopilot.
You remember when the work felt electric. When every project sparked something new. That aliveness brought the recognition, the awards, the kind of success most people dream about.
But then, slowly, what once felt alive became… routine. The systems that served you started running you. Autopilot isn’t the enemy—there’s a time and place to just do. But when autopilot becomes the only mode, success turns beige.

read more

The Burden and the Gift of Being Skilled

by | , ,

When Being Good at Something Becomes a Role You Didn’t Mean to Keep
There’s a particular weight that comes with being highly skilled. Not just capable—but trusted, leaned on, counted on. You do something well—maybe better than anyone else in the room—and over time, it becomes expected. Natural. Automatic. You show up, and without even offering, you’re tapped.

read more

The Burden and the Gift of Being Skilled

The Burden and the Gift of Being Skilled

by | Jul 31, 2025 | Identity Shifts, Inspiration, Isolation

This post is an excerpt from The Significance Project. If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to be part of the community..

You can sign up here.

Blog fanner for greatness and safety

When Being Good at Something Becomes a Role You Didn’t Mean to Keep

There’s a particular weight that comes with being highly skilled.

Not just capable—but trusted, leaned on, counted on.
 You do something well—maybe better than anyone else in the room—and over time, it becomes expected. Natural. Automatic.

You show up, and without even offering, you’re tapped.

At first, it feels like power.
 It feels like usefulness, purpose, identity.

But eventually, something shifts.

The Quiet Rise of Frustration

You start to feel it—quiet at first. A low, steady frustration.

It stirs when you walk into familiar spaces and sense the unspoken expectation:
 You’ll lead.
 You’ll guide.
 You’ll hold the tension.
 You’ll do what you always do so well.

At work, maybe it’s when you join a team offsite and someone says, “Can you just kick us off?”
 Not because you offered—but because that’s what you’ve always done.

Or as a founder, when your team hits a wall and—even though you’re no longer in the weeds—everyone looks to you to vision your way through it. They want direction, clarity, perspective. And you have it. But you’re tired. You were hoping this time, someone else might step up.

Or in your family, when the emotional temperature shifts and all eyes instinctively turn to you to mediate, translate, make it better.

You do it, of course. You always have.
 But something in you tightens.
 Because this time, it doesn’t feel like contribution. 
 It feels like performance.

When Excellence Becomes Exhaustion

Not because the skill disappeared. But because it’s being overused.
 Because it’s become reflex, not alignment.

Most people don’t name this moment clearly.
 They chalk it up to stress or being overextended. But underneath, there’s often something deeper:
 a signal that your identity is shifting.
 That the way you’ve always shown up isn’t quite right anymore.
 That the skill you’ve been praised for—the one that’s built your success—may now be the very thing keeping you from your next level of significance.

That quiet frustration, the sudden resistance to showing up in certain rooms, the impulse to withdraw or overfunction—these are not failures of character.
 They are thresholds.

The Threshold Between Success and Significance

You don’t need to stop being excellent. But you do need to pause long enough to ask:
 Where am I using this skill out of habit, not alignment?
 Where am I unconsciously reinforcing an identity I’ve already outgrown?

When you’re in a season of evolution, these moments matter.

Because significance doesn’t emerge from reflex.
 It emerges from discernment. From courage. From choosing on purpose.

The real discipline isn’t in continuing to offer your gifts.
 It’s in knowing when to not.
 When to lead, and when to let the silence hold.
 When to allow yourself to just be in the room—not function in it.

Becoming More of Who You Are Now

This is the edge where I meet many of my clients.
 They’re not looking to hustle harder or refine the performance.
 They’re looking to reclaim their energy, their clarity, and their identity.

They want to matter, not just succeed.

And that requires more than new strategy.
 It requires new agreements with self.
 It requires a willingness to listen to the signals and step into something more honest, more vital, more aligned.

You’re not less of who you were.
 You’re just becoming more of who you are now.

And that’s where significance begins.


Sign up for the newsletter here.

Jen Karofsky | Thought Partner & Coach for Visionary Leaders & Significance Seekers

 Jen Karofsky collaborates with leaders who are ready to disrupt the status quo and craft a life of legacy, deep connection, and purposeful impact. Through intentional coaching and bold thought partnership, Jen helps you align your work, your values, and your vision to create transformational change in your world.

Join The Significance Project to redefine success and step into your power.

Join

The Significance Project

My monthly(ish) newsletter for the tools, tips and provocations you need to live your life of significance.

More on the BLG:

I AM HERE FOR THE GRAPPLERS

by | , ,

Explore the unique challenges and triumphs of ambitious leaders who embrace both personal and professional growth. Learn how “The Significance Project” helps leaders transform all aspects of their lives, not just their careers. Dive into our insights on holistic growth and discover how you can become a grappler, a warrior in your own life journey.

read more

The Gift of Nothingness

by | , ,

In the dance of leadership, the moments of stillness can feel like a void, but what if we reimagined this nothingness as fertile ground for renewal rather than a harbinger of failure? It’s in these quiet interludes that we can gather our thoughts and rediscover our purpose, allowing the pressures of constant output to dissolve. Rather than seeing the blank page as a threat, let it be a canvas for creativity, an invitation to reflect deeply and cultivate ideas that resonate with our truest selves. Embracing these pauses nurtures resilience, transforming what once felt like an absence into a powerful opportunity for insight and growth, reminding us that even in silence, we are preparing for the next great leap forward.

read more

Why Successful Leaders Are Secretly Dying Inside (And How to Wake Up)

by | ,

Aliveness is what wakes us up from autopilot.
You remember when the work felt electric. When every project sparked something new. That aliveness brought the recognition, the awards, the kind of success most people dream about.
But then, slowly, what once felt alive became… routine. The systems that served you started running you. Autopilot isn’t the enemy—there’s a time and place to just do. But when autopilot becomes the only mode, success turns beige.

read more

The Burden and the Gift of Being Skilled

by | , ,

When Being Good at Something Becomes a Role You Didn’t Mean to Keep
There’s a particular weight that comes with being highly skilled. Not just capable—but trusted, leaned on, counted on. You do something well—maybe better than anyone else in the room—and over time, it becomes expected. Natural. Automatic. You show up, and without even offering, you’re tapped.

read more

Significance Doesn’t Perform, It Provides

Significance Doesn’t Perform, It Provides

by | Jun 29, 2025 | Inspiration, Practice Leadership

This post is an excerpt from The Significance Project. If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to be part of the community..

You can sign up here.

A new kind of presence for a new kind of chapter.

Part 4: Let’s be honest: Success was always easier to measure.
 It gives you something to point to. Something others can applaud.
 It shows up well in metrics, bios, and conversations at a dinner party.

Significance doesn’t work that way.

It’s not designed for performance.
 It doesn’t need to prove.
 It doesn’t crave visibility or feedback loops.

And that’s what can make it disorienting at first—especially for those of us raised in systems where achievement was the language of worth.

Because when you start shifting toward Significance, it can feel like something’s missing.
 The tempo slows. The spotlight dims. The applause fades.
 And for a moment, you wonder:
 Am I doing enough?
 Am I still growing?
 Am I falling behind?

But what’s really happening isn’t a loss.
 It’s a recalibration.
 You’re not disappearing.
 You’re grounding.

Significance doesn’t perform. It provides.

It’s not here to entertain your ego.
 It’s here to anchor your life.

It provides presence.
 It provides clarity.
 It provides discernment when the world is noisy and everyone’s trying to sell you a new version of yourself.

It provides a foundation that’s not built on urgency, optics, or hustle—but on truth.

Significance doesn’t need to outshine Success.
 It just needs to be welcomed to the table as an equal source of power.

And when it is?
 Your life starts to shift—not dramatically, but unmistakably.

You become less reactive, more intentional.
 Less performative, more connected.
 Less interested in being impressive, more interested in being honest.

It’s not about abandoning your ambition.
 It’s about rooting it in something real.

So if you’ve found yourself in a slower season…
 If your pace has changed, or your drive feels different…
 If you’re not chasing like you used to—but you still care deeply…

That might not be confusion.
 That might be capacity building.
 That might be the presence of Significance.

Not clapping for you from the sidelines.
 But standing quietly beside you, saying:
 This. This is the real work now.

 

A Moment for Significance

Ask yourself:

  1. What am I no longer willing to perform?
  2. What is quietly providing me strength, clarity, or alignment right now?
  3. What does it mean to lead from a place that doesn’t need applause?

You don’t need to perform this season.
 You just need to be present for it.

Love + The Power Beneath the Performance,
Jen

 

PS- This is what I help high-achieving leaders reclaim—not just success, but source.

If you’re ready to let Significance provide the clarity, stability, and wisdom for what comes next—Let’s talk.

 

Jen Karofsky | Thought Partner & Coach for Visionary Leaders & Significance Seekers

 Jen Karofsky collaborates with leaders who are ready to disrupt the status quo and craft a life of legacy, deep connection, and purposeful impact. Through intentional coaching and bold thought partnership, Jen helps you align your work, your values, and your vision to create transformational change in your world.

Join The Significance Project to redefine success and step into your power.

Join

The Significance Project

My monthly(ish) newsletter for the tools, tips and provocations you need to live your life of significance.

More on the BLG:

I AM HERE FOR THE GRAPPLERS

by | , ,

Explore the unique challenges and triumphs of ambitious leaders who embrace both personal and professional growth. Learn how “The Significance Project” helps leaders transform all aspects of their lives, not just their careers. Dive into our insights on holistic growth and discover how you can become a grappler, a warrior in your own life journey.

read more

The Gift of Nothingness

by | , ,

In the dance of leadership, the moments of stillness can feel like a void, but what if we reimagined this nothingness as fertile ground for renewal rather than a harbinger of failure? It’s in these quiet interludes that we can gather our thoughts and rediscover our purpose, allowing the pressures of constant output to dissolve. Rather than seeing the blank page as a threat, let it be a canvas for creativity, an invitation to reflect deeply and cultivate ideas that resonate with our truest selves. Embracing these pauses nurtures resilience, transforming what once felt like an absence into a powerful opportunity for insight and growth, reminding us that even in silence, we are preparing for the next great leap forward.

read more

Why Successful Leaders Are Secretly Dying Inside (And How to Wake Up)

by | ,

Aliveness is what wakes us up from autopilot.
You remember when the work felt electric. When every project sparked something new. That aliveness brought the recognition, the awards, the kind of success most people dream about.
But then, slowly, what once felt alive became… routine. The systems that served you started running you. Autopilot isn’t the enemy—there’s a time and place to just do. But when autopilot becomes the only mode, success turns beige.

read more

The Burden and the Gift of Being Skilled

by | , ,

When Being Good at Something Becomes a Role You Didn’t Mean to Keep
There’s a particular weight that comes with being highly skilled. Not just capable—but trusted, leaned on, counted on. You do something well—maybe better than anyone else in the room—and over time, it becomes expected. Natural. Automatic. You show up, and without even offering, you’re tapped.

read more

When Success and Significance Become Co-Creators

When Success and Significance Become Co-Creators

by | Jun 19, 2025 | Identity Shifts, Inspiration

This post is an excerpt from The Significance Project. If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to be part of the community..

You can sign up here.

The conversation that changes everything.

Part 3: So far, we’ve named the two siblings:
 Success—the magnetic, outcome-driven, high-achieving force who built the world you live in.
 And Significance—the quieter, inward-facing part of you who’s now asking deeper questions about meaning, alignment, and legacy.

For many people, these two parts have never been in real conversation.
 They’ve either taken turns in the driver’s seat…
 Or worse—stood in silent opposition.
 One seen as the “productive” self.
 The other as the “emotional” or “indulgent” self.
 (Guess which one gets more budget in most organizations—and internal operating systems.)

But something profound happens when we stop pitting them against each other.

We realize: they were never meant to compete.
They were meant to collaborate.

Think of this as family therapy for your inner operating system.

Success is still sharp, strategic, visionary.
 But now? They’re learning to listen.
 To pause. To consider why we’re doing the thing—not just how fast we can get it done.

Significance is still thoughtful, rooted, impact-driven.
 But now? They’re learning to speak up.
 To make requests. To show up at the whiteboard instead of just journaling in the corner.

We’re not choosing one over the other.
 We’re building with both.

Because real leadership—the kind that creates a life of depth, integrity, and momentum—comes from integrating these two parts into a cohesive whole.

Success without Significance is hollow.
 Significance without Success is stuck in the clouds.
 But together?
 They’re a force.

This isn’t always easy.

It takes unlearning.
 It takes reparenting parts of yourself that learned early on which sibling was “good” and which one was “frivolous.”
 It takes reimagining what ambition looks like when it’s in service of something greater than applause.

But here’s the payoff:
 When you let Success and Significance become co-creators, you unlock a different kind of power.
 One that isn’t about volume—it’s about resonance.
 One that doesn’t just scale—it sustains.

You stop hustling for your worth.
 And start building from your truth.

 

A Moment for Significance

Try this brief thought experiment:

  1. What does Success in me want right now?

  2. What does Significance in me want right now?

  3. If I let them build something together—what might they create?

Let it be a brainstorming session. A negotiation.
 You might be surprised how much these two want the same thing—just with different language

Love + The Art of Building with Both Hands,
 Jen

 

PS- This is where the real work begins—not in abandoning what made you successful, but in expanding it to include what matters most.

If you’re ready to let Success and Significance become co-creators in your life and leadership, Let’s talk.

 

Jen Karofsky | Thought Partner & Coach for Visionary Leaders & Significance Seekers

Jen Karofsky collaborates with leaders who are ready to disrupt the status quo and craft a life of legacy, deep connection, and purposeful impact. Through intentional coaching and bold thought partnership, Jen helps you align your work, your values, and your vision to create transformational change in your world.

Join The Significance Project to redefine success and step into your power.

Join

The Significance Project

My monthly(ish) newsletter for the tools, tips and provocations you need to live your life of significance.

More on the BLG:

I AM HERE FOR THE GRAPPLERS

by | , ,

Explore the unique challenges and triumphs of ambitious leaders who embrace both personal and professional growth. Learn how “The Significance Project” helps leaders transform all aspects of their lives, not just their careers. Dive into our insights on holistic growth and discover how you can become a grappler, a warrior in your own life journey.

read more

The Gift of Nothingness

by | , ,

In the dance of leadership, the moments of stillness can feel like a void, but what if we reimagined this nothingness as fertile ground for renewal rather than a harbinger of failure? It’s in these quiet interludes that we can gather our thoughts and rediscover our purpose, allowing the pressures of constant output to dissolve. Rather than seeing the blank page as a threat, let it be a canvas for creativity, an invitation to reflect deeply and cultivate ideas that resonate with our truest selves. Embracing these pauses nurtures resilience, transforming what once felt like an absence into a powerful opportunity for insight and growth, reminding us that even in silence, we are preparing for the next great leap forward.

read more

Why Successful Leaders Are Secretly Dying Inside (And How to Wake Up)

by | ,

Aliveness is what wakes us up from autopilot.
You remember when the work felt electric. When every project sparked something new. That aliveness brought the recognition, the awards, the kind of success most people dream about.
But then, slowly, what once felt alive became… routine. The systems that served you started running you. Autopilot isn’t the enemy—there’s a time and place to just do. But when autopilot becomes the only mode, success turns beige.

read more

The Burden and the Gift of Being Skilled

by | , ,

When Being Good at Something Becomes a Role You Didn’t Mean to Keep
There’s a particular weight that comes with being highly skilled. Not just capable—but trusted, leaned on, counted on. You do something well—maybe better than anyone else in the room—and over time, it becomes expected. Natural. Automatic. You show up, and without even offering, you’re tapped.

read more

When Success Gets Bored

When Success Gets Bored

by | Jun 12, 2025 | Inspiration

This post is an excerpt from The Significance Project. If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to be part of the community..

You can sign up here.

The touch point between what used to matter and what matters now.

Part 2:Let me start with a quick disclaimer:

I’m going to press on some deeply conditioned ideas here—especially around success.
 And to be clear: I am for success. Deeply.

Whatever success means to you—financial stability, big impact, industry recognition, a healthy business, or a life that’s designed on your own terms—I want that for you.

I work with high-achieving, high-performing humans who have done extraordinary things.
 But what I’m noticing more and more is this:

It’s not always enough anymore.

The metrics that once meant everything…
 The milestones that once lit you up…
 The lifestyle you once dreamed of…

It’s all still good. But for some of you?
 It’s not giving you the feeling you thought it would.

And that can be incredibly confusing.
 Because by all conventional measures, you’ve made it.
 You did everything “right.”
 You played the game well.
 And now?

It’s just not landing the same.

That doesn’t mean you’re broken.
 That doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful.
 It means you’re at a touch point.

A moment of recalibration.
 Where the system you once thrived in starts to feel too small for who you’ve become.

This is when Success—the older sibling—starts to lose a little of her luster.
 And her quieter sibling, Significance, begins to stir.

We talked about her before.

She’s not here to cancel your ambition.
She’s not here to shame your achievements.
She’s here to expand the story.

Because success got you here.
But it might not get you where you want to go next.

 

You might not even know what that next thing is yet.
 You just know that success—at least, how we’ve been taught to define it—feels a little… tired.
 You still want growth, but not just growth for growth’s sake.
 You still want impact, but not without alignment.

That’s where Significance starts to enter the room.

Not as a dramatic arrival.
But as a new orientation.
A different kind of signal.

We’ll define her more fully later.
 But for now, think of Significance as the part of you that wants what’s real.
 The part that asks:

  • Does this still feel true? 
  • What am I building—and why? 
  • Who do I want to be inside this success? 

This isn’t a breakdown.
 It’s an evolution.

A shift from success as performance to success as presence.
A shift from doing what works to doing what matters.
A shift from “I’ve made it” to “What does a life well lived actually look like?”

You’re not walking away from everything you’ve built.
 You’re just beginning to build with a new framework.

A Moment for Significance

Block 10 minutes. No performance. No pressure. Just reflection.

Ask yourself:

  1. Where am I still winning—but no longer feeling it?
  2. What part of my current success feels like a past version of me?
  3. What would it mean to lead from Significance—even if I don’t fully know what that looks like yet?

Let yourself not have the answers yet.
 Just start asking better questions.

Love + The Permission to Want More,
Jen

PS-This is the exact moment where I meet many of my clients—at the edge of enough.
 Still high-achieving, still ambitious, but hungry for something deeper.

If you’re at this touch point—where the old Success story is no longer the whole story—let’s talk.

 

Jen Karofsky | Thought Partner & Coach for Visionary Leaders & Significance Seekers

 Jen Karofsky collaborates with leaders who are ready to disrupt the status quo and craft a life of legacy, deep connection, and purposeful impact. Through intentional coaching and bold thought partnership, Jen helps you align your work, your values, and your vision to create transformational change in your world.

Join The Significance Project to redefine success and step into your power.

Join

The Significance Project

My monthly(ish) newsletter for the tools, tips and provocations you need to live your life of significance.

More on the BLG:

I AM HERE FOR THE GRAPPLERS

by | , ,

Explore the unique challenges and triumphs of ambitious leaders who embrace both personal and professional growth. Learn how “The Significance Project” helps leaders transform all aspects of their lives, not just their careers. Dive into our insights on holistic growth and discover how you can become a grappler, a warrior in your own life journey.

read more

The Gift of Nothingness

by | , ,

In the dance of leadership, the moments of stillness can feel like a void, but what if we reimagined this nothingness as fertile ground for renewal rather than a harbinger of failure? It’s in these quiet interludes that we can gather our thoughts and rediscover our purpose, allowing the pressures of constant output to dissolve. Rather than seeing the blank page as a threat, let it be a canvas for creativity, an invitation to reflect deeply and cultivate ideas that resonate with our truest selves. Embracing these pauses nurtures resilience, transforming what once felt like an absence into a powerful opportunity for insight and growth, reminding us that even in silence, we are preparing for the next great leap forward.

read more

Why Successful Leaders Are Secretly Dying Inside (And How to Wake Up)

by | ,

Aliveness is what wakes us up from autopilot.
You remember when the work felt electric. When every project sparked something new. That aliveness brought the recognition, the awards, the kind of success most people dream about.
But then, slowly, what once felt alive became… routine. The systems that served you started running you. Autopilot isn’t the enemy—there’s a time and place to just do. But when autopilot becomes the only mode, success turns beige.

read more

The Burden and the Gift of Being Skilled

by | , ,

When Being Good at Something Becomes a Role You Didn’t Mean to Keep
There’s a particular weight that comes with being highly skilled. Not just capable—but trusted, leaned on, counted on. You do something well—maybe better than anyone else in the room—and over time, it becomes expected. Natural. Automatic. You show up, and without even offering, you’re tapped.

read more

The Siblings at the Center of a Life Well Lived

The Siblings at the Center of a Life Well Lived

by | Jun 11, 2025 | Identity Shifts, Innovation, Inspiration

This post is an excerpt from The Significance Project. If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to be part of the community..

You can sign up here.

Success Raised You—Significance is Calling

Part 1: Success and Significance: The Siblings at the Center of a Life Well Lived

This month, I’m sharing a five-part series exploring what happens when success stops feeling like enough, and something deeper begins to call.

If you’re someone who’s achieved a lot—and yet you’re starting to ask what now? or what for?—this is for you.

Each week, we’ll explore a different facet of the evolving relationship between Success and Significance—how they show up, how they push against each other, and how they might begin to work together.

At the end of each note, I’ll offer a small reflection or prompt—nothing formal, just something to think about as you consider your own relationship to both.

Let’s begin.

You’ve built something. Many things, actually.
 And for a long time, the formula worked: show up, deliver, grow, repeat.
 But lately?
 That same formula feels a little… thin.
 You’re not broken. You’re not lost.
 You’re evolving.
 This is a story for those who are waking up to that shift—the one where ambition matures into something deeper.

Success and Significance.
 At first glance, they look like cousins. Maybe close friends.
 But I’ve come to think of them as siblings.

Success is the older one—flashy, charismatic, competitive.
 They want to win. They need to be seen.
 They know how to pitch, scale, impress.
 They show up early, stay late, collect the accolades, and work the room like a pro.

They’ve got presence. Swagger. A little ego, sure—but they get things done.

They’re also the one who got all the charts on the wall.
 The milestone books. The play-by-play development notes.
 Success was raised inside systems that thrive on measurement.
 Grades. Points. GPAs. Letters on jackets. Honors cords and Ivy Leagues.
 Tassels turned, titles earned.
 Fit the mold. Climb the ladder. Play the part.

And truthfully? It worked.
 That path built things. Created opportunity.
 Gave many of us a chance to grow, contribute, make a mark.

But then there’s the younger sibling: Significance.

They were raised with less structure.
 Fewer gold stars.
 A little more room to breathe.

Significance is quieter.
 Less concerned with milestones, more curious about meaning.
 They’re not chasing applause—they’re asking deeper questions.

They notice what gets lost in the noise.
 They ask:

  • Does this matter?
  • Is it mine?
  • Is there a different way?

And here’s what I’ve noticed about the clients I work with:

They’ve spent decades partnered with Success.
 They’ve played the game—and played it well.
 They’ve built. Led. Achieved. Checked all the boxes.

But eventually, something shifts.

Maybe it’s midlife.
 Maybe it’s after a big win that doesn’t land quite right.
 Maybe it’s just the whisper of fatigue after years of doing everything “right.”

And suddenly—quietly—Success starts to feel incomplete.

That’s when Significance starts to stir.

And those whispers?
 They aren’t about doing more.
 They’re about doing differently.

They nudge us to expand our metrics:
 Not just revenue or reach, but connection. Wholeness. Integrity.
 They push us to consider our relationships, our values, our presence.

They invite us to stop outsourcing our worth to systems that never really knew us.

And that’s where the real work begins.

Not to fire Success.
 But to bring Significance to the table.
 To let them collaborate on what comes next.

If you’re feeling restless…
 If you’re craving something more whole, more human, more true…

You’re not broken.
 You’re not lost.
 You’re simply evolving.

You’re learning to listen to the sibling who was always there.
 And they might just change everything.

A Moment for Significance

Set a timer for 5–10 minutes. No distractions. No performance—just honest reflection.

Ask yourself:

  1. What part of me has been leading for years?
     What strategies, traits, or defaults have driven my decisions and defined my leadership?
  2. What part of me is ready to lead now?
     What’s emerging that might offer a different kind of strength, alignment, or clarity?
  3. If I were designing a life of significance—not just success—what would it look like now?
     Not the version I was taught to want. The version I actually want to live.

Write it down. No editing. No optimizing. Just notice what comes up.

Because Significance doesn’t shout.
But if you pause and listen, it usually has something important to say.

 

Love + Both Siblings,

Jen

PS- You don’t have to abandon everything you’ve built. But you might be called to build differently now.

This is the work I do with visionary leaders who are ready to recalibrate their ambition, reconnect with their values, and lead from a more integrated place.

If you’re craving a deeper kind of success—one that includes meaning, impact, and inner congruence— Let’s talk.
 Because Significance isn’t the end of achievement. It’s what gives it soul.

 

Jen Karofsky | Thought Partner & Coach for Visionary Leaders & Significance Seekers

 Jen Karofsky collaborates with leaders who are ready to disrupt the status quo and craft a life of legacy, deep connection, and purposeful impact. Through intentional coaching and bold thought partnership, Jen helps you align your work, your values, and your vision to create transformational change in your world.

Join The Significance Project to redefine success and step into your power.

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The Significance Project

My monthly(ish) newsletter for the tools, tips and provocations you need to live your life of significance.

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