I chased milestones like they were map pins to fulfillment. Spoiler: wrong coordinates.

I thought success came with a title, a raise, and a brand name people recognized at dinner parties.

So I hired a coach. Set ambitious goals.
Salary bump? Check.
Prestigious logo? Check.
Feeling fulfilled? …Not exactly.

Turns out, I was chasing what looked good, not what felt right.

Those were vanity metrics.
All shine, no soul.

Don’t get me wrong—I believe in being well-paid. I know my worth, and I never lowball myself.
But I also don’t trade peace for prestige or skip dinner with my family to impress LinkedIn.

What I’ve learned, through experience, not theory, is this:
Fulfillment doesn’t arrive in your inbox with a job offer.
It lives in the spaces where you feel safe, seen, and strong.

These days, I pause on purpose.
Not because I’m lost but because I’m clear.
My worth isn’t measured by a title. It’s felt in the way I walk into a room with nothing to prove.

And the real flex?

Working with a team that leads with empathy.
Where emotional intelligence is baked into the culture, not just thrown around in off-sites.
Where you’re heard without having to shout, and kindness isn’t performative—it’s policy.

I’ve been part of that magic. Twice.
Ten years apart.
Both times, I didn’t just grow professionally—I exhaled.
I felt whole. Aligned. Like I belonged to something that didn’t require me to shrink.

So no, I’m not chasing ladders.
I’m building tables where I can sit as my whole self.
And I’ll always choose soul over status.

And money?

Believe me, money is energy.
When your alignment is right, it doesn’t just trickle in—it multiplies.
You don’t chase it.
It flows to you.
Tenfold.

Because vanity metrics might impress the world—
But soul purpose?
They change your world.