In a recent LinkedIn post, Vanessa Van Edwards discusses a significant personal and professional paradigm shift: moving away from a relentless focus on traditional metrics towards a more meaningful measure of success. The behavioral expert shared her journey of feeling perpetually unfulfilled despite achieving various milestones, ultimately finding a new definition of success rooted in helpfulness and positive impact.
Van Edwards recounts her past obsession with quantifiable achievements, stating:
“For years, I got lost in metrics. Views. Followers. Revenue. Opportunities. Growth. Achievement. I kept chasing the next number, convinced that once I hit a certain milestone, I’d finally feel successful.”
She elaborates on the exhausting nature of this pursuit, noting how the goalposts always seemed to move. This constant striving, according to Van Edwards, led to a feeling of never quite being “there yet.” The cyclical nature of chasing numbers, she explains, was ultimately unsustainable.
The Pivot to Purpose: Asking “How Can I Help?”
The turning point for Van Edwards came with a simple, yet profound, reframing of her core question. Instead of focusing on personal progress and external validation, she began to center her efforts on service and impact.
“The shift that changed everything was surprisingly simple: I stopped asking, ‘How am I doing?’ and started asking, ‘How can I help?'” Van Edwards shared in her post.
This fundamental change in perspective, she explains, redirected her energy and redefined her understanding of accomplishment. The focus shifted from what she was gaining to what she was giving.
Measuring Impact Over Attention
Van Edwards highlights the inherent limitation of traditional metrics: they measure attention, not necessarily impact. While numbers can indicate visibility and reach, they fail to capture the true essence of making a difference in the lives of others.
“Numbers can tell you how much attention you’re getting. They can’t tell you whether you’re making a difference.”
She posits that her new, preferred metric is simply “whether I was useful.” This involves assessing whether her contributions genuinely assisted individuals, helped them overcome obstacles, or provided the necessary encouragement and information to move forward.
The Fulfillment of Being Useful
The irony, as Van Edwards points out, is that this outward-focused approach has paradoxically led to greater personal fulfillment than her previous metric-driven endeavors ever did. By prioritizing the act of being helpful, she found a deeper sense of success and satisfaction.
“Ironically, focusing less on myself and more on being helpful brought me more fulfillment than any metric ever did,” she wrote.
This perspective suggests that true achievement lies not in accumulating accolades or numbers, but in positively influencing the lives of others. Van Edwards concludes by offering her evolved definition of success:
“These days, my definition of success is simple: leave people better than you found them.”
By sharing her personal evolution, Vanessa Van Edwards offers a valuable lesson for professionals and individuals alike, encouraging a re-evaluation of what truly constitutes success in both personal and professional spheres.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Vanessa Van Edwards on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on July 6, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →