Balance Success and Personal Fulfillment: How to Succeed Without Losing Yourself
Exploring the Intersection of Personal Fulfillment and Creative Ambition for Entrepreneurs and Creatives
Balance Success and Personal Fulfillment: How to Succeed Without Losing Yourself. Hello everyone, and welcome to Depth and Drive: Finding Success Without Losing Yourself. I’m Lauren Polly, and I’m thrilled you’ve joined me today.
If you were a fan of the Lighten Up podcast, don’t worry—you’re still in the right place. I’m making a pivot, and today I want to explore why. My hope is to inspire you and offer actionable steps if you’re considering a pivot of your own. Many of us feel the call to evolve, change, and create.
But what does that look like for entrepreneurs, creatives, and founders? Even if you don’t run a business, if you have a life, you’re an entrepreneur. Running a household is like managing a business. If you care about your impact on others, you’re a creative. We all have choices about how we influence the world around us.
For me, it’s not just about making an impact—it’s also about finding personal fulfillment. I love creating a ripple effect through my businesses and creative pursuits. But I also need that fulfillment for myself. I won’t sacrifice my soul for success. This pivot in my podcast and blog is an invitation to explore how we can have both emotional depth and meaningful fulfillment without giving up on our dreams.
We can succeed in today’s world without sacrificing our emotional depth.
Now, I know it can feel like success in today’s world means sacrificing your emotional depth. Sometimes, being soulful and deep doesn’t seem to fit well with business. I’ve struggled with SEO for my new blog because I don’t speak like a robot. I value emotion, depth, and a bit of flowery language. I get to the point, but I also like to illustrate ideas and give them space.
A lot of us who value emotional connection can feel out of place online. We see what’s trending, and it feels disconnected from who we are. In corporate roles, there’s often pressure to stay cold, professional, and buttoned-up. I understand that tension. There’s a fine line between sharing personal, emotional depth and maintaining professionalism.
Balancing Creative Ambition with Well-Being
This podcast is an invitation to explore how we can keep our emotional depth without compromising who we are. It’s not just about depth but also about drive. What if we could balance well-being with creative ambition? This has been a huge focus for me.
For those who know my story, I grew up with a bipolar diagnosis. My multi-award-winning book is about breaking free from that stigma and the limits it placed on me. That’s where my personal development journey began—pushing beyond those limits. It’s also where my professional drive comes from.
As a speech-language pathologist, I’ve worked in hospitals for over 20 years. I’ve run a department for many years, focusing on maximizing potential—whether my own or my clients’. Helping people recover from brain injuries, strokes, and developmental disorders led me to coaching. It’s all connected.
The Importance of Emotional Regulation in Decision-Making
But how do we bring that focus into our businesses and consulting work? How can we tap into our potential and maximize it in a way that fuels our drive to evolve and succeed? Many people reach success but follow rigid methods that sacrifice their emotional depth and well-being.
This hustle culture—constant productivity and keeping up with the Joneses—can be damaging. For me, curiosity has always driven me. Over the last couple of years, I’ve felt the need to pivot. I wanted to change but didn’t want to lose everything I’ve built. Lived experience, both professional and personal, is the essence of a fulfilling life and business.
I didn’t want to give up the depth of experience I’ve gained or the emotional intelligence I’ve cultivated. But I also wanted to honor my drive and need to evolve. This led to an interesting tension—one I’ve noticed in myself and in conversations with friends. Fellow creators, tech founders, and business owners all face this challenge. How do we stay true to ourselves, maintain integrity, and still succeed?
How to Pivot Without Losing Your Identity
Many people struggle with this. I’ve worked with successful individuals who have beautiful, shining lives. From the outside, they seem to have it all. But beneath the surface, there’s often a sense of emptiness. It’s been fascinating to observe this in my clients, my friends, and myself. We’re all striving to make an impact, but many of us sacrifice well-being along the way.
Sacrificing well-being eventually leads to losing emotional depth and fulfillment. That’s not okay. This podcast is a safe space to explore how to balance depth and drive. We won’t dive into a rabbit hole of just feeling good without pushing ourselves. It’s about finding that sweet spot where we can thrive.
Finding Success Without Sacrificing Your Soul
How can we take care of ourselves while making decisions that work in the world? How can we achieve impact without sacrificing our soul or emotional depth? Pivoting is fascinating, and there are two types of people. Some want to pivot because what they’ve been doing just isn’t working. They’re frustrated and face roadblocks, so they seek change.
Others want to pivot even though they’re already successful. They have things that are working, but it’s not working for them personally. They feel isolated, stressed, and unable to let go. This isn’t sustainable. Whether you’re on one extreme or somewhere in the middle, this podcast is for you.
Embracing Experimentation in Your Entrepreneurial Journey
Sometimes, you think you have to follow a set path because someone said so. I’ve been down many rabbit holes myself, so I get it. Let’s be honest about where you are in your journey. What does success mean to you? How are you feeling? How are your relationships—with yourself, your body, and others?
Is your body calm, or is it showing signs of burnout? These are signs of emotional dysregulation. In future episodes, we’ll explore emotional regulation techniques and somatic practices. Managing your emotional state makes a huge difference in decision-making. But first, be honest with yourself about your current emotional regulation.
Where is your success marker, and where is your depth? What’s needed to move the needle in both directions? Be with whatever answer comes up. Don’t feel pressured to act immediately. Calm yourself, calm your body, and just be with it. It’s okay. You can make a decision next week.
Take it a step further. Start looking at what you might need to do in an experimental mode to move the dial for yourself. If you’ve been staring at a possibility without action, it’s probably causing stress. If you’ve been taking action without reflection, that’s likely dysregulating you too.
Find moments of space to get clear on what’s needed next. Try something, then give yourself time to process and see how it feels. Even if you’re busy, take five minutes to connect with yourself. Those little windows can unlock a lot of magic.
Creating a Meaningful Life While Achieving Success
I hope this conversation was helpful. This is the new direction for this podcast and blog—exploring the intersection of depth, emotional connection, meaningful fulfillment, and the drive to succeed. It’s about living the life you dream of without sacrificing your foundation.
Drive, emotional intelligence, and creative integrity nourish our personal identity. Deep down, beyond external success, most of us are seeking that sense of personal identity. We want to know ourselves and show up in the world as we’re truly meant to. That’s where we’re headed together.
Remember to take space with all of this—don’t feel pressured to fix anything or rush to answers. It’s about being with it, developing awareness around what you truly want, and creating a fulfilling and meaningful life. I’ll chat with you soon.
Join us for the FREE 5-Day Solopreneur Success Challenge!
I also want to let you know about a new challenge I’ve launched—it’s called the Solopreneur Success Skills challenge. It’s a five-day challenge where we dive into topics like vulnerability and authenticity, tackling imposter syndrome (which is huge when we’re talking about this stuff), managing stress and anxiety, and using your unique qualities to stand out in a crowded market as your authentic self. And of course, my favorite, which is the focus of day five—self-trust. It’s all about trusting your decision-making and refining that emotional regulation process we discussed earlier.
If you’d like to join, go here to register. We’re going to dive in together, and there’s a live call with me attached for those joining us live in September.
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