When Success Grows in Business, Does Your Identity Grow With It? Ch. 2
When success grows, does your identity grow with it — or does it become more firmly rooted in Christ?
Early in my career, I measured success the way most builders do — by visible growth. Larger projects meant progress. Stronger revenue meant validation. Recognition felt like confirmation. If the business was expanding, I assumed I was succeeding. From the outside, it looked like acceleration. From the inside, it felt like pressure.
What I didn’t recognize was this: business growth can outpace formation. The company was developing faster than I was.
“It is possible to grow a business faster than you grow as a person — but only your character will determine how long that success survives.” — Jerry Meek
That realization did not arrive in a devotional setting. It arrived under strain.
In 2008, when the economy collapsed, we secured a contract for a new Personal Resort®. As we reviewed the construction budget, the client studied the bottom line, picked up a Sharpie, and wrote “D.O.A.” — dead on arrival — across the cover.
It was not a good day.
His tone shifted from confidence to skepticism. And for the first time, I was not thinking about the project. I was thinking about our reputation. Our clients all knew each other. Would he tell them we were unaffordable? Would one conversation ripple into others?
Ego surfaced. Not loud arrogance, but protective ego. The instinct to defend. The subtle belief that if this project collapsed, something about me would collapse with it.
In the end, we were not overpriced. The client had not fully seen everything that was designed, and we tightened our pricing. We moved forward and, over time, became great friends with him and his wife.
But that moment exposed something deeper. I noticed how easily success fed identity. When projects went well, I felt strong. When recognition increased, I felt secure. When numbers climbed, I felt validated. And when any of those wavered, I felt it internally.
If peace rises and falls with performance, something deeper is misplaced.
“If your peace rises and falls with performance, success has become your identity instead of your assignment.” — Jerry Meek
For years, what Paul the Apostle wrote sounded inspirational: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Eventually, it became confrontational. If God is truly for me, why am I still chasing validation? Why does criticism unsettle me? Why does growth feel necessary to my security?
Paul the Apostle reframed work when he wrote, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” My audience changed. My work was not ultimately for clients, competitors, or perception. It was for Him.
Success began to shift. Expansion mattered less than alignment. Scale mattered less than surrender. Achievement mattered less than obedience. Growth was only meaningful if character was strong enough to sustain it.
Because it is possible to win publicly and erode privately. It is possible to grow externally and weaken internally.
True success does not lie in what you build. It lies in who you are becoming while you build it. And who you become privately will eventually be tested in public.
Reflection
- Where in your life has outward growth started to outpace what’s happening inside of you?
- Is there an outcome right now that has too much control over your peace?
- If everything visible—titles, achievements, recognition—were stripped away, who would you still be?
Keep building, keep growing, and never settle,
-Jerry.
Application Business Leadership
