18/06/2026
What Happens When Success Doesn't Make You Happy?
One of the things that stayed with me from my conversation with Nathan Miglani was his reflection on success.
Nathan shared that he still remembers making his first million dollars. It was exciting, it felt significant, it felt like proof that all the effort, sacrifice and hard work had been worth it.
Like many people, he had attached a lot of meaning to that milestone and achieving it felt deeply rewarding.
What fascinated me was what happened next.
The second million didn't feel quite the same, and the third million felt different again. In fact, by the time he reached it, there was very little emotional impact at all.
The achievement was there, but the fulfilment he expected wasn't.
That experience led Nathan to ask a question that many people never stop long enough to ask themselves... Why am I not happy?
It's an uncomfortable question because we're taught from a very young age that happiness sits on the other side of achievement.
We believe that if we can just reach the next milestone, earn the next promotion, build the business, make the money or achieve the goal, then everything will fall into place.
Sometimes those achievements do bring happiness. But what I've observed over many years of working with people is that achievements often don't give us what we think they're going to give us.
They may create a temporary feeling of success, but they don't necessarily create peace, fulfilment or contentment.
What Nathan discovered was that the money was never really the point. There was a deeper story driving him.
There were beliefs, assumptions and unconscious motivations that had been shaping his decisions for years.
The financial success wasn't the problem. The problem was that he had been looking to success to provide something it was never designed to provide.
I think this is something many high performers can relate to.
The challenge isn't that we're ambitious. Ambition can be a wonderful thing. The challenge is when we attach our happiness to an outcome.
When we convince ourselves that life will finally begin once we achieve a particular result.
The irony is that many of the people who seem happiest are not necessarily those who have achieved the most.
They are often the people who have developed a deeper understanding of themselves. They know what matters to them.
They know what they value. They know who they are beyond their achievements.
Because sometimes the most important question isn't whether you're successful, It's whether you're building a life that genuinely feels good to live.
Listen to The Mind Shift with Sridhar:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Nenjad3PvTUwH4cBeve62
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-mind-shift-with-sridhar/id1767519494
YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6W2hMWGT_7yTVKzPeG290Z8cGclizsbU&si=ucWNPoJx6-IOxnYh
