In the midst of a little doom-scrolling, this message punched me in the gut:
Oof. If this tweet was meant to be a scroll-stopper, then mission accomplished.
I don’t know Alex personally, but I have immense respect for his achievements. I’m not in the business of tearing others down or criticizing for the sake of controversy. But this particular message struck a nerve—one that resonates with a dangerous undercurrent in hustle culture.
For years, my drive was relentless, fueled by a cocktail of shame, pain, and an insatiable need to prove myself. I thought this was my superpower – the secret sauce that would propel me to heights others could only dream of.
And in many ways, it worked. I built and sold a successful company. I checked all the boxes of what success should look like. Exotic vacations, supercars, a beautiful family – I had it all.
Or so I thought.
Two years after my exit, I hit rock bottom. I had bought a distressed company and I was injecting $100,000 a month just to keep it limping along. There were some days I didn’t even want to get out of bed to face the day.
My wealth was evaporating, along with my self-confidence.
I was running on empty, sprinting on a treadmill that never stopped or slowed. No matter how fast I ran, the finish line always moved just out of reach.
The truth is, my drive, as powerful as it was, came from a place of lack – a bottomless pit that no amount of success could fill.
What’s worse is that I never even should have been in the situation in the first place. I didn’t need to work again. I didn’t need another exit. I didn’t need another win.
This is the dirty secret of pain-driven success: it’s never enough.
There’s always another mountain to climb, another zero to add to your bank account, another accolade to chase. The goalpost keeps moving because the real goal – healing that core wound – remains untouched.
I’ve seen this play out countless times with the founders I work with. They achieve their wildest dreams only to find themselves standing at the summit, wondering, “Is this it?”
The hard truth is this: If you’re driven by shame, anger, or pain, no external success will ever be truly satisfying. You can’t outrun your demons by building bigger empires.
You can’t make your absentee dad love you. You can’t make the kids who bullied you see the error of their ways. You can’t achieve your way to enoughness.
But here’s the good news: there’s another way.
Founders who are starting to step into the work often ask, “What if I lose my edge?”
My answer is that if your edge is fueled by darkness, you might. But the edge that you create in its place is even more powerful.
It’s possible to build from a place of wholeness. To be driven by genuine passion and purpose rather than the ghosts of your past. This doesn’t mean you lose your edge or your ambition. If anything, it sharpens them.
When you’re no longer pouring all your energy into outrunning your pain, you have so much more to give to your vision. Your creativity flows more freely. Your decision-making improves. You become a better leader, a better innovator, a better human.
This transformation isn’t easy. It requires facing those dark parts of yourself head-on. It means doing the inner work that’s often far more challenging than any business problem you’ll ever tackle.
I’m not preaching from a place of perfection. This is a daily practice for me, a constant choice to build from light rather than shadow. But I can tell you this: the view from here is breathtaking. And the climb, while still challenging, no longer feels like a desperate scramble to prove my worth.
Start by asking yourself: What’s really fueling your ambition? Is it passion and purpose? Or are you running from old wounds?
If it’s the latter, know this: you’re not alone. And you have the power to change it.
You don’t have to sacrifice your mental health on the altar of success. You can build something truly remarkable from a place of wholeness and joy.
The choice is yours.
To finding your new edge,
Mike
