Have you ever felt like you’re chasing a number that will finally make you feel successful?

Maybe it’s six figures. Maybe it’s multiple six figures. Maybe it’s seven figures. Maybe it’s just “I want to make $5,000 a month.”

Whatever it is that you’re chasing, there’s probably a number attached to it. Something that you feel like once you hit that number, you will have arrived and you will feel successful.

I have to confess something to you.

I’ve never made six figures in my business.

And it’s really hard to admit that. Because for so long, I’ve deemed six figures as the mark of success in my business. For years, I was chasing six figures.

And if I’m honest? There’s still a little part of me that thinks when I hit six figures one day, I will have arrived.

But I know that’s a lie from the enemy.

I’m sharing this with you because I think some of you listening right now have been chasing the same thing.

And I’m here to tell you: I’ve been on that hamster wheel for 13 years.

Actually, the last year I’ve completely pivoted and changed. I’m on a new trajectory now. But I’m still battling with some of the things we’re going to talk about over the next few days.

So let’s be open. Let’s be honest. Let’s be real. Let’s show each other our cards.

Because Satan so desperately wants us to be alone and isolated and to think that we are the only ones struggling with the worldly view of success.

You can’t experience God’s best while chasing worldly success.

I’ll say it again: You can’t experience God’s best while you’re chasing worldly success.

Romans 12:2 says: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

I was wrestling with this verse, asking myself: What does it mean to “test and approve”?

So I looked it up. In the original Greek, it means to examine or discern or prove something’s quality.

So when the verse says, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is,” it’s talking about discernment.

Then we will be able to:

• Recognize God’s voice and leading
• Distinguish His will from the world’s agenda
• Evaluate opportunities and decisions through God’s lens, not worldly metrics

And what I love about this verse is that it talks about the root: the mind is where everything starts. If we can renew our mind, that can change our actions.

It all starts with the mind.

Redefining Success: Building on a Solid Foundation

I don’t know about you, but I have spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars chasing six figures. Hiring business coaches who told me all I needed to do was their strategy, and then I would be successful. I would find the financial freedom I was looking for.

And time and time again, I came up empty handed.

Because that was not the way God wanted me to run my business.

I needed to stop listening to worldly strategies. I needed to trade what I thought was important when it came to success.

I thought income was my measure of success. But the Kingdom measure of success is impact.

The World’s Measure vs. God’s Measure of Success

Let me paint a picture for you.

If I gave you $200,000 today, would that mean you were successful?

Now imagine this: You get off this podcast episode and run into somebody on the street. You have a conversation, and at the end they say:

“You know what? I really needed this conversation. Thank you so much. What you just said changed the game for me. You changed my perspective about something, and my life will never be the same.”

Which one feels like success to you?

The gift of $200,000, or the impact you just had on someone’s life which will ripple down to the next person they talk to and the next person they talk to?

I’m gonna venture to guess you’d say you’d rather have the impact. (Of course you’d want $200,000 as well, but that doesn’t equal success.)

Right there, you can see: It doesn’t matter how much money you have. That does not equal success. What equals success is the impact we have on other people.

Let’s break down the four worldly measures of success and what God says instead:

1. Income vs. Impact

The World Says: Success = How much money you make

God Says: Success = The impact you have on others

Income is temporary. Impact is eternal.

The world will tell you that if you just made more money, all your problems would go away. But that’s a lie from the pit of hell.

Satan wants us chasing after these worldly measures of success because he knows we will come up short. He knows we will not be able to do this in our own strength.

But the Lord wants to step in and say: Change your focus from income to impact.

2. Popularity vs. Purpose

The World Says: Success = Likes, shares, comments, visibility, being seen

God Says: Success = Fulfilling the purpose God has called you to

Popularity is seeking validation through likes and shares and comments. Striving after that visibility aspect. Always wanting to be just a little bit more seen.

We love the comments. We love the DMs. We love when people are knocking on our door wanting to work with us. It makes us feel so successful when we are popular.

But it’s not about being popular. It’s not about chasing the strategies. It’s not about chasing the income.

It’s making sure it aligns with God’s purpose for you.

I’ve struggled with this in my own business. I started as a wedding photographer, and then God called me into community building and coaching. I had two different loves.

I was making really great money as a photographer, and it was so hard for me to let photography go because it was paying the bills.

But when God is calling you to something, a bigger, greater purpose, it’s so important that we say yes and obediently walk in that way. Even if it’s not the thing that is bringing us the most money in that exact time.

The world will say that popularity is success. But God will say that purpose is success.

3. Accumulating vs. Abiding

The World Says: Success = Getting more, more, more

God Says: Success = Abiding in Christ and resting in His provision

There’s this trend going around on Instagram where you buy a new car, take a picture of yourself with your car, post it on Instagram, and hashtag #blessed.

I don’t know who started that, but it makes me feel like I’m not enough.

You see people flashing around the things they’ve accumulated. Business owners do this in hopes of you seeing their accumulation and thinking, “That equals success.”

All the influencers with the nice clothes, the fancy spa days. We look at that and think, “Man, I will have arrived when I get a massage every month and have a team that does my hair every time I go live.”

But that’s not what God wants for us. That’s the world’s measure of success.

God’s measure of success is abiding and going after eternal blessings, not just immediate materialistic blessings.

Abiding means:

• Living with less
• Being content with the provision God has already blessed us with
• Not wishing or hoping or coveting for someone else’s blessing

I heard this phrase from Priscilla Shirer in a Bible study, and it stuck with me:

“The grass is always greener on the other side.”

But Priscilla says: “The grass is greener wherever you water it.”

We have to tend to the season we are in with care. We have to water the provision God has already given us and be grateful for what He has blessed us with.

Because if we’re not content where we are right now, we’re definitely not gonna be content where we’re going.

4. Striving vs. Surrender

The World Says: Success = Hustle harder, add more to the plate, be busy, go after it

God Says: Success = Surrender to God’s leading and rest in His strength

I have spent years and years and years and years and more years striving. And it did not work.

Now that I have traded striving for surrender, which is the Godly Kingdom measure of success, I have never felt more peace in my life. I have never felt more joy. I have never felt more connection to my spouse and my children.

I also have never made as much money as I am today.

I don’t say that to toot my own horn, because it’s not me. It’s God.

But it’s just saying that when we can transfer our striving and replace it with surrender, God shows up.

Matthew 11:28-30 says: “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for the yoke that I give you is easy and the burden I give you is light.”

That has been my motto over the past year. The Lord wants us to have an easy yoke and a light burden.

Yet we go through life striving, accumulating, chasing popularity, thinking that if we just made more money, all our problems would go away.

It’s not true. It’s a lie from the pit of hell.

Satan wants us chasing after these worldly measures of success because he knows we will come up short. He knows we will not be able to do this in our own strength.

But the Lord wants to step in and say:

• Change your striving to surrender
• Change your accumulating and desire for more to abiding and resting in My provision
• Trade your popularity-seeking for purpose
• Go after impact over income

This, my friends, is where we’re gonna find true lasting contentment. This is how we are going to trade worldly success for Kingdom success.

Join Us for Rested and Rooted Workshop

If you want to dive deeper into what we’re talking about this month, and you truly want 2026 to look different, and you want your business to start shifting and aligning with God and allowing Him to lead, then you’re not gonna want to miss our Rested and Rooted Workshop.

When: January 21st Where: Gilbert, Arizona (in-person)

I’ll be teaching on how to stay rooted in Christ while building a business. Carla will be sharing all about practically what it looks like to plan for your business.

Because I think a lot of us toe this really hard line of “we wanna surrender, but we don’t know what that looks like.” So we either wait for God and don’t do anything, or we kind of run without any direction.

We have to find this balance between planning and surrendering. That’s what Carla’s talk is going to be all about.

Can’t make it in person? We have a replay option available so you can experience this entire workshop from home at your own pace with lifetime access.

Whether you join us in person or grab the replay, this is for you if:

• You’re ready to do business differently
• You want peace and rest and still want success (but Kingdom success)
• You’re craving community with other faith-based business owners
• You’re looking for practical guidance on what it looks like to truly allow God to lead your business

Check out both options: thepurposegathering.com/workshop

This is not about more strategies or more hustle. It’s truly about alignment. This is all about surrender and more of Jesus in your business.

Final Words From My Heart

If you are chasing success the world’s way, today can be the day you draw a line in the sand and decide you’re ready to lead a Kingdom business. You’re ready to trade those worldly ways for God’s Kingdom ways.

It’s not easy. But in community and surrounded by like-minded mamas who get the struggle, it’s possible.

It is possible to walk in obedience with God and still find success in business. It is possible to be a present mom and a present wife and not lose who you are as a woman.

The Lord can provide the way. All we have to do is slow down long enough to listen and lean in.

Take a moment this week and ask: Which worldly measure of success am I chasing, and how can I trade it for God’s Kingdom measure?

Start there, surrender it, and trust that God will multiply your efforts.

With love and grace,

Related Podcast Episodes: 

1. Ep 212. Cultivating Godly Contentment in a World That Screams “Not Enough”
2. Ep 211. Choosing Aligned Coaches: How to Discern the Right Fit (Part 2)
3. Ep 210. Choosing Aligned Coaches: Expanding YOU, Not Just Your Strategy (Part 1)

Resources:

1. Purpose Gathering Workshop Rested and Rooted (January 21st, 9AM-2PM) – A Spirit-led morning to refocus, reconnect & recharge in Downtown Gilbert, AZ. Live worship, speaker sessions, guided reflection, and intentional connection with faith-driven moms in business. Lunch included! Grab your ticket
2. Learn more about the Collective Mastermind – A Christ-centered space for ambitious mompreneurs who are ready to align their life and business with the Lord.
3. Join the Faith-Fueled Fireside on December 16th at 10AM (AZ Time) – This virtual gathering is an opportunity to connect with like minded mamas who are ready to trade hustle for peace this season.
4. Join the Free Purpose Gathering Community – A welcoming space for Christian mompreneurs to connect, grow, and be encouraged in both life and business.
5. Have a question for me? Or a specific struggle you’re dealing with? I’ll address your question on the podcast. Submit your ‘Ask Ashley’ question here.
6. Please connect with me on Instagram @thepurposegathering.