Have you ever felt like giving up? Like no matter how hard you try, you’re stuck in the same cycle, chasing a dream that never quite feels like your own? A few years ago, I found myself in that exact place—trapped, frustrated, and questioning everything I had worked for.
Now, I want you to picture a 10-year-old boy in Mumbai, India. A boy longing for his father, bouncing from one city to another, one family member’s home to the next, yearning for the day he could finally be reunited with the man who had sold everything to build a future in America. That boy was me.
And then, one day, my prayers were answered—I was finally coming to America. But just before I boarded the plane, my aunt stopped me and said something that would stay with me forever:
“You have to become successful. The entire family is depending on you.”
I carried that weight with me through every chapter of my life. I worked tirelessly in school, got good grades, made my way through community college to afford an undergrad degree, then pushed myself further—earning an MBA, becoming a CPA, and building a career that looked, on the surface, like the very definition of success.
But something wasn’t right.
Despite doing everything I was “supposed” to do, despite the credentials, the career, the accomplishments—I didn’t feel successful. Don’t get me wrong, I was great at my job, and helping clients brought a sense of fulfillment. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. Life felt like an endless cycle of working, paying bills, and waiting for the weekend. And I kept wondering: Is this it? Is this what I worked so hard for?
For 25 years, I chased society’s version of success. I sacrificed time, relationships, and dreams—convinced that the destination would bring me joy, peace, and a sense of arrival. But when I got there, I felt nothing. I felt robbed. I felt angry. I felt lost.
Thomas Merton once said, “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.”
That was me. I had spent decades climbing, but I never stopped to ask myself if I was on the right path. I was chasing a definition of success that wasn’t mine—it was my family’s, society’s, the world’s—but not my own.
At first, I felt foolish. I felt guilty. I even felt like a failure. But then I did something different.
I asked myself the hard questions:
The answers were brutally honest. My own fears and insecurities had kept me stuck. I had convinced myself that no one would support my dreams, so I played it safe. I settled—not just in my career, but in life.
And then, I made a choice.
I quit my job. Sold my house. Packed my savings. Moved to a new state. And for the first time, I took a leap of faith—not because it was logical or safe, but because I finally chose to believe in myself. I finally trusted that if I walked toward my purpose, God would support me every step of the way.
That, to me, is success.
I may be starting late, but I’ve come to realize—sometimes, the universe delays you for a reason. Sometimes, the detour is the path. And right now, I know I am exactly where I’m meant to be.
So I leave you with this: You are capable of more than you believe. If you haven’t yet, I challenge you—define success on your own terms. Not by anyone else’s expectations, but by your own vision, your own values, your own purpose.
Because in the end, success isn’t about what you take from the world—it’s about what you give back to it.
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