Welcome to The Quiet Rich, the weekly email for “rich life” and a “quiet mind.” Today we’re talking about the 7 lies you’ve been told about success (and what it actually is).

CONTEXT

“Success” is often talked about as external things. Fame. Wealth. A certain title and salary. A certain house. A certain car. A certain family.

The truth? There’s a different version of “success” for every person—but most people never spend the time to find out what truly matters to them (until it’s too late).

And here's the uncomfortable truth: Most of us are climbing a ladder that's leaning against the wrong wall. We're chasing society's definition of success without stopping to ask if it's even ours. I certainly did this at Google.

Let’s bust 7 of the most common myths we’re all told about success.

THE 7 LIES

1. “Success = having a lot of money.”

There’s no problem with wanting money. You deserve it. 👍

But true success? That comes from within. Personal growth, meaningful relationships, and a sense of purpose.

Money can’t buy that kind of fulfillment.

Morgan Housel wrote it perfectly in a letter to his newborn son: "You might think you want an expensive car, a fancy watch, and a huge house. But I'm telling you, you don't. What you want is respect and admiration from other people, and you think having expensive stuff will bring it. It almost never does."

—

2. “You’re not allowed to fail.”

We’re taught as kids that failing is bad, and should be avoided at all costs.

The thing is…the more risks you take, the more likely you are to achieve your dreams! The only real “failure” is not taking any chances at all.

Astro Teller leads one of the most interesting teams at Google. They’re responsible for all of Google’s insane “moonshot” ideas. And he gave this incredible TED Talk called “The unexpected benefit of celebrating failure.” (Definitely worth watching. It’s only 15 mins.)

—

3. “Your worth = your achievements.”

Nope. You are so much more than your number of followers, your job title, or your salary.

Get a pen and paper, and decide what the best version of your life actually looks like to you—not what society has told you it is. What are the most important experiences you want to have in the next 10 years (across your career, health, lifestyle, relationships, and social good)?

I put together an easy workbook for this exercise, and it went viral. (It's free.) Download a PDF of my free workbook here. Curious what’s on my list? On the last few pages of the workbook, I wrote down the 50 experiences I personally would regret never doing.

Forward this email to someone you want to do this exercise with. It’s so fun to dream up your next 10 years of peak experiences with someone else. 🙌

—

4. “There is one perfect person for you out there. You just have to find each other.”

I disagree. 

You don’t find a perfect person. You both put in the work to build the right relationship together. Find someone who is a builder.

Lewis Howes and Matthew Hussey diver deeper in this great podcast episode about how to build a lasting love (rather than love at first sight).

—

5. “Always put others first.”

Ok, this one took me forever to learn (and I still haven’t fully).

Yes, of course it’s important to be kind and considerate of others… but pleasing everyone else is the fastest path to burnout.

You have to fill your own cup before you can pour into everyone else’s.

Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy. So I wrote these 3 scripts for an “elegant” no. (#2 is my favorite way of declining something kindly.)

—

6. “You have to be perfect.”

The best advice I got in my early 20s was to “be interesting—not perfect.”

Why?

Perfection is an unattainable standard. It leads to feelings of inadequacy (and a crippling fear of making any mistakes).

Embrace your quirks. If you just present a smooth surface to others, there are no ‘cracks’ for someone to grip onto and get close to you. I wrote an entire LinkedIn post about the importance of imperfection today.

—

7. “Just wait for the right time.”

I’ll let you in on a secret. There’s never going to be a “perfect time.” If you keep waiting for it, you’ll never start. So do it scared.

There’s someone else out there right now living the life you want… simply because they took action.

2.5 years ago, I decided to write my first post on LinkedIn. It wasn’t perfect. 12 months later, I’ve completely changed the trajectory of my life. (Thank you to everyone who wrote kind comments on this post about my 450,000 milestone on LinkedIn last week.) ❤️

CLOSING THOUGHTS

If you don’t create your own definition of success, you’ll be assigned one.

My definition of success is closing the gap between who I am now, and what my true potential is.

Personally, I don’t just want to be rich in money. I also want to be “rich” in time, health, a quiet mind, slow mornings, the ability to travel, and a house full of love.

And I just want to say the warmest thank you for the birthday love you showed me on the 7th. You wrote the kindest comments on my birthday post on LinkedIn, you sent me the most wonderful DMs and emails. I just can’t thank you enough for being part of my past year. You are what makes my life feel quietly rich. ❤️

Much love,

Jade

P.S. I’ve been getting questions about our next Archimedes cohort. Good news! We are going to run one final program in 2025. The last day to join is November 28th. If you’re ready to build your personal brand on LinkedIn, Ben Meer and I teamed up to teach you the proven systems that worked for us and 850+ others.

We’ll start sending out acceptance letters in 2 short weeks. Read the member reviews and apply now at JoinArchimedes.com. (The application form takes 3 mins.) I hope to meet you soon.