Why "Making It" Was Never the Point: Lessons in Reinvention

At the AAJA National Convention, Lucy Liu said something that’s been echoing in my head ever since:

“I’ve never thought I’ve made it. Making it sometimes makes you stop.”

Honestly, it wasn’t what I expected to take away from her interview. But it reframed something I’ve been carrying for a long time.

The Chase for Enough

I never wanted to blend in. I chased making it. The titles. The revenue goals. The launches. Every milestone felt like progress—until it didn’t.

As a founder—and someone who has built and rebuilt careers—I know how easy it is to confuse motion with meaning. To keep climbing because slowing down feels like failure.

As a first-generation child of immigrants, I was raised to work harder than everyone else. Keep going. Stay sharp. Be the best.

For years, I measured progress by how far I could climb, how much I could build, how well I could prove I was doing “enough.”

But survival doesn’t build legacies. And it doesn’t build leaders.

What Lucy Got Right

Lucy talked about not rewatching her old films—not because they weren’t meaningful, but because she’s grown. What felt right 20 years ago wouldn’t be her choice today.
That evolution? That’s the point.

It reminded me: what we think leadership is in the beginning—climbing, proving, performing—is rarely what leadership actually becomes.

Letting go.
Reimagining.
Becoming.

Reinvention in Real Time

I’ve been thinking about that a lot since last week’s AI House event in Seattle—connecting with people like Shauna and Kevin.

• Shauna Causey is building a school and uplifting Seattle’s startup ecosystem in the same breath.

• Kevin Urie is scaling a venture-backed company and racing cars.

Multifaceted doesn’t even begin to cover it.
They’re living proof that reinvention isn’t optional—it’s the throughline.

What I’m Holding Onto

• Reinvention isn’t a detour. It’s the path.

• Growth means outgrowing even your proudest chapters.

• And “making it” isn’t the point. It’s just one more starting line.

What version of yourself have you outgrown?
And what might be waiting if you let go of “making it”?

Here’s to what’s still ahead.
And here’s to the next version of you—of all of us.