At 25, I thought success meant making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, growing my co
By Laura Meyer · October 14, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
At 25, I thought success meant making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, growing my company’s headcount, and being the likable boss of the millennial era.
I was ambitious, eager to prove myself, and convinced that success was measured by how quickly I could get somewhere.
Ten years later, I’m arguably more ambitious than ever. But my understanding of success, happiness, and what actually matters has evolved.
We live in a world that glorifies getting rich quickly. Social media makes entrepreneurship look like a race toward some grand finish line.
But my biggest lesson over the past decade?
There is no finish line.
For the first five years of building Envision Horizons, I operated with the mindset that if I could just hurry to make that next hire, sign that next client, or hit that next milestone, everything would finally fall into place.
And sometimes it did.
For a little while.
But accomplishments don’t make problems disappear. They solve certain problems, and inevitably, new ones emerge. The challenges simply evolve alongside your business and your life.
The promotion, the exit, the house, the financial milestone. These things can create freedom and open incredible doors, but they don’t guarantee lasting happiness or a life without challenges.
One of the things I appreciate most about getting older is the self-assurance that comes with it.
I rarely find myself feeling insecure in the face of someone else’s success. Not because I’ve accomplished everything I want to, but because I’ve realized we never truly know someone’s entire story.
We see the accomplishments, beautiful families, vacations, and business exits. We don’t always see the sacrifices, struggles, or things someone wishes were different.
No one’s life is perfect.
There can be areas of life that feel perfect, sometimes wonderfully so. But perfection is fleeting. And thankfully, so is chaos.
I’ve learned to pay attention to the world around me, celebrate what others accomplish, and learn from their experiences. But to use those observations as data points, not as the motivation or measuring stick for my own life.
Because ultimately, the goal isn’t to build a life that looks impressive to someone else.
It’s to build one you’re personally proud of.
At 35, I still want to build extraordinary things. Grow a great company. Raise wonderful daughters. Create opportunities for others. Experience as much of life as I can.
But I’m less concerned with chasing someone else’s definition of success and more intentional about becoming the person I want to be.
Maybe that’s the greatest gift of getting older.
Not fewer problems. But certainly less concern about what others think.
Here’s to 35.