What if chasing “having it all” is exactly what’s making you miserable?

In this episode, Bill challenges what “having it all” means and explores what actually creates sustainable happiness for high-performing leaders. He shares moments from when he had money, success, and recognition, but still felt empty, and explains why joy often comes from subtraction of things.

Topics explored in this episode:

(03:40) Success Without Joy Is Emptiness

*Bill reflects on hitting financial and professional milestones; yet still feeling a strange emptiness.

*Challenge the belief that: achievement = happiness.

*External wins don’t always translate to internal satisfaction.

(07:15) Why the Gratitude Advice Doesn’t Always Work

*Break “Thanksgiving” into two core practices: Thanks (appreciation) and Giving (generosity).

*Start with gratitude for team members, family, and yourself.

*Let go of expectations, and express that through generous action.

(10:50) The Secret Might Be: Wanting Less

*True happiness often comes from removing things, not adding more.

*Reconsider the idea of “having it all.”

*Creating fewer goals for yourself actually might be the real key to fulfillment.

Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the Scaling Up Business podcast, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.

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Visit https://ScalingUp.com to learn more about Verne Harnish, our team of Scaling Up Coaches, and the Scaling Up Performance Platform, which includes coaching, learning, software, and summit. We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around people, strategy, execution, and cash so that they can scale up successfully and beat the odds of business growth.

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Can You Be Happy and Have It All?

Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher