168: Why I've Changed My Mind About Chasing Success

I’ve changed the way I think about success. I don’t see it as a finish line anymore, but as a pursuit rooted in purpose, obedience, and who I’m becoming along the way. In this episode, I reflect on failure, legacy, faith, and why chasing money, status, or approval will always leave you empty if the mission behind your work isn’t clear. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Why This Matters 02:40 Success Is a Pursuit 06:28 Stop Being Impressed 09:04 Character Over Strategy 13:15 Mission Not Milestones 17:29 Hard Work Without Hustle 22:28 Heath Evans Wake Up Call 28:41 Legacy for My Kids 32:57 Ecclesiastes Chasing Wind 35:33 Rest Without Guilt 40:07 Envy Drives the Grind 41:28 Final Charge Purposeful Work ORDER MY BOOK HERE: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Go-One-More-Intentional-Life-Changing/dp/1637746210 FOLLOW: Become a BPN member FOR FREE - Unlock 25% off FOR LIFE ⁠ https://www.bareperformancenutrition.com/collections/performance-nutrition IG: ⁠instagram.com/nickbarefitness/⁠ YT: ⁠youtube.com/@nickbarefitness This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal [health or profession] advice. Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN) is not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. This podcast is not intended to replace professional medical advice. This podcast may not be republished without the written consent of Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN)

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Nick Bare?

  Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the podcast.

• 0:11Nick Bare?

  Today's episode is all about why I've changed my mind about chasing, not pursuing, chasing success. And to be honest, I feel a lot of weight around this topic.

• 0:31Nick Bare?

  I feel a huge responsibility to really deliver on this one because I believe it is very, very important.

• 0:41Nick Bare?

  So I'm a little intimidated, to be honest, about this conversation that I'm about to have with you guys. Because I want to make sure that it, it just comes across in the way that I intend to. And that all of these thoughts that have been circulating my mind for the last year plus, can be articulated in a way that is, is clear. It makes sense and it hits right where I intend to. And I just want to share that because

• 1:24Nick Bare?

  this is a really important topic to me. Uh, this is something that I struggled with for a long time. And to be honest, as I spend time with

• 1:36Nick Bare?

  team members, employees, athletes, friends, peers, people in the space and industry.

• 1:43Nick Bare?

  I have observed that a lot of people struggle with chasing success. And chasing success for the wrong reasons that leave you empty, unfulfilled, wanting and needing more and more and more and more. And it is this endless chase

• 2:05Nick Bare?

  for the wind, something that is fleeting, something that is intangible.

• 2:12Nick Bare?

  Something that comes and goes over and over and over again. I see this in a lot of, not just younger people, people my age, people older than me. And I don't say that I have it all figured out.

• 2:29Nick Bare?

  But I've learned a lot in my short 35 years of life so far.

• 2:40Nick Bare?

  And as I was planning out this conversation, I wrote down this quote that I want to share with you. That's inspired by some, some people, entrepreneurs, leaders, speakers that I'll be referencing. But the quote is that, "Success is a purposeful pursuit, not driven by the carrot,

• 3:04Nick Bare?

  but by the character refining failures."

• 3:10Nick Bare?

  A few notes here, purposeful pursuit, success is a purposeful pursuit. It is not a finish line, it is not an end goal, it is not a milestone, it is a pursuit.

• 3:26Nick Bare?

  Always ongoing, success is a purposeful pursuit, not driven by the carrot.

• 3:32Nick Bare?

  I use the word carrot because I think of someone who is running and there is a vehicle in front of them and they're dangling this carrot that has the person running chasing the carrot. But the person driving can speed up and slow down to keep the person running forever. You're chasing this thing you'll never get, not driven by the carrot,

• 4:01Nick Bare?

  but by the character refining failures.

• 4:07Nick Bare?

  We are on this purposeful pursuit, on a mission,

• 4:12Nick Bare?

  pursuing failure because we know failure defines character and character produces endurance to keep going for a long period of time.

• 4:29Nick Bare?

  Success is a purposeful pursuit, not driven by the carrot, but by the character refining failures. I don't want this episode to come across as me preaching to you guys.

• 4:45Nick Bare?

  That's not the intent. It is me sharing what I have learned in my lifetime up until this point. I'll turn 36 years old this coming summer in August, August 1st, 2026, I'll turn 36 years old. I'm very grateful and appreciative for what I've learned in my 35 years up until this point. But every year, every quarter, every day, it feels like I'm learning so much. I'm being humbled.

• 5:23Nick Bare?

  Significantly being humbled, making me feel smaller.

• 5:30Nick Bare?

  To really gain wisdom and knowledge and understanding of what really matters and what really doesn't. I spent most of my life up until this point, like 90% of it,

• 5:47Nick Bare?

  building and accumulating on this mission to build and accumulate

• 5:54Nick Bare?

  a resume, accomplishments, money, wealth, success.

• 6:03Nick Bare?

  To come to realize that none of it really matters that much in the grand scheme of things.

• 6:14Nick Bare?

  And I've also realized that.

• 6:21Nick Bare?

  Living a life to try to be impressive is meaningless.

• 6:28Nick Bare?

  I was having a conversation with one of my mentors last week.

• 6:33Nick Bare?

  And one of the things he told me is that he is no longer impressed by other people. Because we're all weak on our own. We're all sinners. We all have problems. We're all trying to figure it out.

• 6:50Nick Bare?

  We will never have arrived fully.

• 6:54Nick Bare?

  So to put someone else on a pedestal and view them as impressive, not knowing their true character sometimes, their flaws, their mistakes, their weaknesses.

• 7:10Nick Bare?

  That puts a lot of power in that individual in your eyes.

• 7:18Nick Bare?

  So I've come to the realization through what I've learned over my lifetime and talking to people who mentor me on a regular basis and experience and and failures and successes is that I don't look at other people as impressive

• 7:41Nick Bare?

  anymore. And that's not in a way of putting me above others. It's just I've learned and realized that

• 7:54Nick Bare?

  it's useless and meaningless to idolize other people, not knowing the true intent, character and drive behind

• 8:04Nick Bare?

  their work, their actions, their being.

• 8:08Nick Bare?

  So in a sense, we should also stop trying to be impressive to other people. If I think of why I've done certain things over the course of my lifetime, it is to be impressive,

• 8:21Nick Bare?

  to be relevant, to be known, to be idolized and praised.

• 8:31Nick Bare?

  But how would your work change? How would your pursuit change

• 8:37Nick Bare?

  if you were no longer driven by trying to be impressive?

• 8:44Nick Bare?

  To others around you.

• 8:49Nick Bare?

  So it's a hard conversation. It's a, it's a deep question, but I challenge you to challenge yourself.

• 8:58Nick Bare?

  Why are you doing certain things? And is it to be impressive to others? So last week I was in my Bible and the Bible that I read is the John Maxwell Leadership Bible. And I really enjoyed this Bible because throughout Scripture, he has excerpts and sections that relate the teachings in the Bible to leadership principles. Some really good key takeaways. And last week I was in Deuteronomy and there was a section added in there that quoted General Norman Schwarzkopf.

• 9:37Nick Bare?

  His, his last name is a mouthful. It's S C H W A R Z K O P F. General Norman Schwarzkopf. And the quote is, "Leadership is a potent combination of character and strategy. But if you must be without one, be without strategy." Leadership is a potent combination of character and strategy, but if you must be without one, be without strategy. That's how meaningful character is. Character development.

• 10:24Nick Bare?

  This past week, it just so happened that John Maxwell

• 10:31Nick Bare?

  was speaking at our church, Celebration Church.

• 10:35Nick Bare?

  And I mean, John Maxwell is such a wise man.

• 10:44Nick Bare?

  He is one of the best to teach in terms of leadership.

• 10:52Nick Bare?

  And there was a faith foundation, a faith component as a Christian to his leadership principles. Just really good stuff. And he came to speak this past Sunday.

• 11:09Nick Bare?

  And as I watched him walk up on stage, I mean, you could,

• 11:15Nick Bare?

  you could feel his presence.

• 11:18Nick Bare?

  It was incredible. You could, you could feel the wisdom in this man. You could feel, just being around him, the experience that he brought, the lessons that he has learned over decades of leadership.

• 11:38Nick Bare?

  And as he walked on stage, I mean, you could just feel it. The energy shifted in the room, which I haven't been in many places before where that has happened.

• 11:49Nick Bare?

  And I was taking notes in my phone, and the first note I took was on that. And Steph leaned over, she's like, what did you just write? And I said, you can feel the, the, the wisdom that this man brings.

• 12:05Nick Bare?

  And his whole sermon was all about the valuable lessons around failing.

• 12:17Nick Bare?

  Small failures, big failures. But these failures being character defining.

• 12:27Nick Bare?

  Just as General Norman Shorzkoff said, "If you must be without one, be without strategy because character is that important." And one of the ways that we refine character over years and years and years and years is not through success, it is through failure.

• 12:50Nick Bare?

  That's what drove that quote that I shared in the beginning of this conversation. "Success is a purposeful pursuit, not driven by the carrot, but by the character refining failures." Our character is rarely refined by success and wins.

• 13:07Nick Bare?

  But it is more frequently refined and defined by our failures.

• 13:15Nick Bare?

  This was the, the, the foundation of what John Maxwell was speaking about at Celebration Church this past week.

• 13:25Nick Bare?

  And some notes that I took away from his teaching was that we have to pursue a mission in life, not success. There have been many years of my life where I have been driven by success, numbers, money, accumulation, a resume. And it was very unfulfilling, it was very fleeting. But when I've pursued a mission, that fills my cup. That responsibility feels much heavier. It's weighty. It's important. It is legacy.

• 14:07Nick Bare?

  It is legacy. One of the things he spoke about this past weekend was the importance of keeping success and failure together. Because when we keep success and failure together, not separated, it helps us value failure. He said that, remember, when you lose, you don't have to lose the lesson. There are lessons learned through failure.

• 14:39Nick Bare?

  And he was talking about how by grace, by God's grace, we oftentimes get a second chance. And I was thinking about this a lot. You know, there are a lot of opportunities and moments to fail in life. And there will be many moments in my future that I will fail as well.

• 15:19Nick Bare?

  And by grace, I get a second chance. But we have to make the decision and choice to go for that second chance. Because if we don't try, we don't actually believe that we can do it better than the way that we did it before. Failure develops character. And the greater the risk, the greater the return.

• 15:54Nick Bare?

  When there is a risk and that risk involves other people,

• 16:00Nick Bare?

  that risk is greater than when we fail and it only affects ourselves and our personal interests.

• 16:11Nick Bare?

  John Maxwell is also talking about the difference between a divine comeback and a personal comeback.

• 16:19Nick Bare?

  A divine comeback is a spiritual restoration where God intervenes to turn setbacks into success,

• 16:28Nick Bare?

  often bringing greater blessings than before. A personal comeback is a self-driven internal process of rebuilding, resilience, and personal growth after hardships, both aimed to overcome adversity, but divine relies on faith while personal relies on willpower.

• 16:50Nick Bare?

  With all that being shared,

• 16:56Nick Bare?

  what I'm trying to get across here is I used to view success as financial targets, milestones, accumulation of things.

• 17:14Nick Bare?

  But I've come to realize and learn that success is a mission

• 17:21Nick Bare?

  of a purposeful pursuit.

• 17:29Nick Bare?

  As my mind has changed about chasing success, I want to be very clear,

• 17:38Nick Bare?

  I don't value hard work any less.

• 17:42Nick Bare?

  And this is the hardest part to understand, comprehend, and put into practice. As I've had this conversation with a lot of people and I struggle with myself,

• 17:57Nick Bare?

  how do we put success into a perspective that is a purposeful pursuit, but still be really ambitious and driven to go after these big goals that we have? How do you balance those two?

• 18:16Nick Bare?

  I don't have all the answers to it. I'm still trying to figure it out.

• 18:21Nick Bare?

  But if you're asking those questions, you're on the path.

• 18:26Nick Bare?

  You're on the path to finding the answers, to gaining the wisdom. I value hard work so much. So much. I appreciate hard work. I believe in hard work.

• 18:40Nick Bare?

  I've seen what hard work has done for my life. I've seen what hard work has done for other people's lives. I grew up surrounded by hard work. Both sides of my family were very hard workers, driven on a purposeful pursuit.

• 19:01Nick Bare?

  It's not the what that I'm questioning, but the how and why that I am, and I think we should be.

• 19:11Nick Bare?

  This, for me, puts it into perspective. Hard work is and should be purposeful. It is not punishment.

• 19:23Nick Bare?

  Hard work is not punishment. It doesn't have to be punishment.

• 19:31Nick Bare?

  This is why I think hustle culture

• 19:34Nick Bare?

  is dying and should die.

• 19:38Nick Bare?

  Hustle culture,

• 19:41Nick Bare?

  the lifestyle of grinding,

• 19:46Nick Bare?

  it is put on this pedestal as a punishment, as opposed to being purposeful.

• 19:56Nick Bare?

  Hard work is a calling on every one of us to steward our talents well and serve others appropriately.

• 20:10Nick Bare?

  Large goals, ambitious missions, and failed attempts. They forge character.

• 20:19Nick Bare?

  Character is not redefined by easy work.

• 20:29Nick Bare?

  You can't accept this massive goal,

• 20:34Nick Bare?

  this ambitious target that is purposeful in pursuit, and then not try to go do it and learn something from it. Your character isn't defined or refined in the easy work.

• 20:50Nick Bare?

  Your character is built. It is forged when you set these massive targets, and you work really, really hard to go chase them down, and then you fail. You fail and you learn. And then you get a second chance, and you work even harder to go back again and to succeed.

• 21:11Nick Bare?

  That is how we improve. That is how we get better. That is how we steward our skills. We steward our talents and we serve others on a purposeful pursuit. It's not a punishment. I think we have to stop viewing hard work as a sacrifice and a punishment. It is purposeful.

• 21:36Nick Bare?

  That is one of the biggest mindset shifts that I've had in terms of the way that I view pursuing or chasing success.

• 21:47Nick Bare?

  Chasing success before was a punishment. It was, "I'm gonna put my head down and work and suffer and suck

• 21:57Nick Bare?

  just to get the carrot at the other end." And then realizing that, once you get the carrot, you have to go chase the second carrot, and the third carrot, and the fourth carrot, because that carrot doesn't bring the fulfillment and joy that you were hoping for or wanting.

• 22:16Nick Bare?

  It is this endless journey. It is a chase after wind.

• 22:28Nick Bare?

  One of my favorite people to follow online is Heath Evans.

• 22:38Nick Bare?

  I'm gonna have Heath Evans on the podcast in the next couple of weeks. We've been talking back and forth.

• 22:45Nick Bare?

  He's an NFL vet and then gave his life to Christ, was saved, and the good news that he shares on his platforms online is so wise and insightful and just powerful and humbling.

• 23:06Nick Bare?

  And he had this post the other day. We transcribed it and I'm gonna read it to you guys. It's so powerful and it hit me so hard, which sparked the want and need to record this episode.

• 23:30Nick Bare?

  I'm gonna read it and it's gonna set the stage for what we're gonna talk about next. Heath Evans, and the guy brings so much passion to the message that he delivers. There's so much passion. You can see it behind his eyes. You can hear it in his voice.

• 23:53Nick Bare?

  "Grind harder, stack more, sleep less, hustle until you drop. That's the false gospel of every motivational page you follow, and it's a lie straight from the pit of hell. You're not building an empire. You're building an idol. And the thing that you're killing yourself to get, God says, is already gone. Here's your proverb a day keeps the stupid away. Proverbs 23, 4 and 5. Do not toil to acquire wealth. Be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone. For suddenly it sprouts wings like an eagle flying towards heaven."

• 24:33Nick Bare?

  2026 translation. Stop killing yourself for money that's already leaving. That bag you're chasing has wings and it will fly away faster than you ever earned it.

• 24:47Nick Bare?

  Did you catch that proverb? God didn't say that wealth is evil. Wealth is not evil. He said, "The obsession with it is stupid." You're grinding 80 hours a week, missing dinner with your kids, neglecting your wife, skipping prayer, skipping time in the Word. All this stacked paper that Scripture says is gonna sprout wings and fly away. You're sacrificing the eternal for something that was never meant to stay. I've been a man who thought more money meant more peace and more success would give me more significance and more hustle would give me more self-worth. But God broke that idol in me, not by giving me less, but by showing me that everything

• 25:32Nick Bare?

  I was chasing was never meant to satisfy what only Christ can fill. So let me ask you something, men. What is your grind actually costing you? Your health? Your marriage? Your relationship with your kids? Your walk with God? Because if you're gaining the world, but your soul is starving, that's not winning. That's the most expensive L you're ever gonna take. You've got men out here who can close the business deal in their sleep, but they can't lead their family in prayer. Men who can build a business from nothing, but they can't muster up one word of encouragement for their wife.

• 26:15Nick Bare?

  Men who hustle all day for a boss, but won't open God's Word for five minutes for the King of Glory. That is not strength. That is slavery with a salary. Men, be discerning. Be discerning enough to stop. Don't be lazy. Be discerning. No one that grind has become your God. No one provision has turned into obsession. Don't be lazy.

• 26:48Nick Bare?

  Be discerning.

• 26:51Nick Bare?

  You can work hard and still be discerning.

• 26:57Nick Bare?

  I highly recommend, go follow Heath Evans. The man is wise.

• 27:04Nick Bare?

  And there's so many people in this world who have succeeded significantly.

• 27:12Nick Bare?

  To come to realize that they've been chasing the wrong thing for a long time. And something has to change.

• 27:22Nick Bare?

  To actually feel fulfilled and at peace and rest and full of joy. It's not one or the other. That's what I want to get across in this. It's not you either work hard.

• 27:36Nick Bare?

  And succeed.

• 27:39Nick Bare?

  And you're unhappy and unfulfilled. Or you don't work hard and you aren't successful and you lose. But you are fulfilled and joyful and happy. It's not one or the other.

• 27:58Nick Bare?

  That's what I've come to learn this last year, and that's why I feel so called and responsible to share.

• 28:07Nick Bare?

  Because I meet a lot of people, especially men, especially guys. Because that's just who's in my circle, who are chasing.

• 28:19Nick Bare?

  One thing after the next, after the next, after the next. And it's not only a purposeful pursuit.

• 28:27Nick Bare?

  But it's because their grind is their idol. The grind, which is a punishment, is their God.

• 28:41Nick Bare?

  And I think that a lot of what has shifted my perspective and narrative around chasing success has been starting a family and putting more time in my marriage and raising children. What drives my content, what drives the messages that I share? If I think, like, why am I talking about certain things? I want to leave a legacy for my kids that they can go back and watch and listen to and learn from.

• 29:23Nick Bare?

  That teaches them the lessons that I have learned in my lifetime. So that they don't make the same mistakes that I made. They avoid some failures through my lessons. And they approach life differently. At the end of the day, that is why I share these messages. Yeah, I want you guys to benefit. But I want my kids to have these legacy pieces

• 30:02Nick Bare?

  that set them on the right path. That follows the truth. That doesn't leave them chasing something that is fleeting. I want my kids to work really hard. I want them to live a life that is on this purposeful pursuit to change the world, change people's lives, do good in society, within their community.

• 30:41Nick Bare?

  I want my kids to work really hard, to do really meaningful work. But for me, I will have failed as a leader and as a father and as a family man if my kids pursue this life of chasing success for all the wrong reasons. That for me will hurt really bad.

• 31:10Nick Bare?

  I will view myself as

• 31:14Nick Bare?

  a failure and an unintentional father

• 31:20Nick Bare?

  if my kids don't understand these lessons that I've learned

• 31:25Nick Bare?

  in my now 35 years of life.

• 31:29Nick Bare?

  We live in a world

• 31:34Nick Bare?

  where the lost are leading the lost. It's cyclical in nature due to ignorance and lack of wisdom.

• 31:46Nick Bare?

  We have the lost leading the lost.

• 31:56Nick Bare?

  We have to break that cycle.

• 32:03Nick Bare?

  I can't lead or disciple my children if I myself am not being discipled.

• 32:11Nick Bare?

  We can't do it on our own. Deuteronomy 8:5, "Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you."

• 32:25Nick Bare?

  I can't lead my children.

• 32:30Nick Bare?

  I can't disciple my children if I am not being disciplined and discipled myself.

• 32:37Nick Bare?

  That's my personal responsibility. I have to be led by God so I can lead my children

• 32:46Nick Bare?

  to pursue a purposeful mission in life that is driven by the right things for the right reasons.

• 32:57Nick Bare?

  If you haven't spent much time in the book of Ecclesiastes, I highly recommend it. It is a humbling read, a very insightful read, but also a pessimistic read with an optimistic...

• 33:20Nick Bare?

  Perspective, I guess you could say.

• 33:26Nick Bare?

  The question that people ask all the time is how do you work hard and pursue your goals?

• 33:32Nick Bare?

  While simultaneously experiencing rest and peace?

• 33:39Nick Bare?

  As I've shared, that's probably going to be a question that I ask myself for a long time.

• 33:50Nick Bare?

  Ecclesiastes 4:6. "Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil in chasing after the wind."

• 34:03Nick Bare?

  Within Ecclesiastes, there's a lot of reference to chasing after the wind.

• 34:11Nick Bare?

  Which we replace with chasing after success.

• 34:17Nick Bare?

  The wind, just like success, just like money, just like things. It is a metaphor for meaningless, intemporary human pursuits that lack eternal significance.

• 34:34Nick Bare?

  World achievements like wealth, pleasure, and wisdom.

• 34:41Nick Bare?

  Are intangible, fleeting, and impossible to truly grasp.

• 34:48Nick Bare?

  Just as you can't catch or hold the wind.

• 34:52Nick Bare?

  You cannot find lasting satisfaction in material accomplishments.

• 35:00Nick Bare?

  Life under the sun is repetitive and transitory. Success are short-lived.

• 35:11Nick Bare?

  Go spend some time in Ecclesiastes.

• 35:15Nick Bare?

  And it will humble you, it will shift your perspective on all that is meaningless.

• 35:27Nick Bare?

  But not in the absence of a purposeful pursuit. One of the things I struggled with for a long time that I was just having a conversation with someone yesterday about that they are also struggling with is the guilt that is associated with rest, recovery, and enjoyment. I talked about this before, but I used to be a horrible person to vacation with, or even weekends. Like Steph can attest to this. When I used to go on vacations, family vacations, I was a miserable person because I felt guilty

• 36:07Nick Bare?

  that I wasn't working. I felt guilty that I wasn't training twice a day. I felt guilty because I wasn't perfectly hitting my nutrition plan and all of my macros for every single meal of the day. There was a lot of guilt that I carried going into vacation. Same with weekends. Come Saturday morning till Sunday night, I was angry because I wasn't working. I felt guilty that I had rest and recovery and enjoyment. Because I viewed

• 36:52Nick Bare?

  hard work as punishment and that punishment necessary to succeed and succeed and success being the only thing that mattered in life, that was this chase after the wind. And I was just talking to someone about this yesterday, a good friend that I'm now mentoring. And he also struggles with the ability to rest and celebrate wins and take time off from work. There's this huge guilt that just like weighs on his shoulders. And I encouraged

• 37:36Nick Bare?

  him to like, one, go celebrate the wins that he's experienced his last couple of years because he's had a bunch of wins personally and professionally.

• 37:48Nick Bare?

  And go take your significant other on a vacation, rest, recover, and try to do this without feeling guilty. And I will, I will work with you through that journey.

• 38:08Nick Bare?

  I used to hold on to my life with just like the tightest fists ever, white knuckling everything, trying to control every moment of the day, every moment of the week, everything I was doing.

• 38:24Nick Bare?

  Because I wanted to be in control. I wanted to be God. I wanted to be the God of my life.

• 38:31Nick Bare?

  And I eventually realized that I can't do this all my own. I can't white knuckle my way through life.

• 38:38Nick Bare?

  I could probably do it and accomplish the things that I want to, but at what cost? Being burnt out, exhausted, resentful, angry, irritable? That's where I found myself.

• 38:57Nick Bare?

  And I've come to learn and realize that as crazy as it sounds, rest is important. Recovery is important.

• 39:10Nick Bare?

  Being able to enjoy the moments where we're not working is absolutely critical and important. But we're chasing success. We're chasing the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. For so many of us, we can't appreciate the downtime

• 39:31Nick Bare?

  because it's not punishing to us. And we thrive in punishment because punishment is hard work. And hard work is what leads to success. And success is what we hope leads to fulfillment and enjoyment. And it doesn't.

• 39:47Nick Bare?

  And then we're on this hamster wheel of chasing after the wind.

• 39:56Nick Bare?

  Something that is meaningless,

• 40:00Nick Bare?

  lacks eternal significance,

• 40:03Nick Bare?

  and is of the world.

• 40:07Nick Bare?

  Ecclesiastes 4:4.

• 40:11Nick Bare?

  "And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another."

• 40:19Nick Bare?

  This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

• 40:25Nick Bare?

  Are we toiling? And are we wanting and trying to achieve?

• 40:33Nick Bare?

  Not for a purposeful pursuit, but because we have envy of what someone else has.

• 40:42Nick Bare?

  A bigger house. A faster marathon time.

• 40:48Nick Bare?

  Better abs.

• 40:51Nick Bare?

  A happier marriage. More money in the bank.

• 40:58Nick Bare?

  A newer car.

• 41:01Nick Bare?

  All these things. Is that's what drives our toil? And our chase? Is it the envy of what someone else has?

• 41:15Nick Bare?

  And if so,

• 41:19Nick Bare?

  all that work is meaningless.

• 41:23Nick Bare?

  It's chasing after the wind.

• 41:28Nick Bare?

  Success is a purposeful pursuit, not driven by the carrot, but by the character refining failures.

• 41:39Nick Bare?

  Be on a purposeful pursuit, work really hard.

• 41:44Nick Bare?

  Work really hard. And fail.

• 41:51Nick Bare?

  Because that failure is going to refine our character

• 41:57Nick Bare?

  and put us on a path that is fulfilling, that is meaningful,

• 42:04Nick Bare?

  and that is successful.

• 42:08Nick Bare?

  But in terms that we define it,

• 42:12Nick Bare?

  not the world.