Starting the Next Chapter: Why Real Leadership Requires Letting Go

Life doesn’t move in a straight line. It moves in chapters.

And real leadership begins the moment you’re willing to start the next one—without clinging to the last.

Looking back, the last few months gave me something I didn’t know I needed at the time: space. Space to slow down. Space to reflect. Space to recalibrate what growth and leadership actually mean.

That reflection was shaped in part by ongoing conversations with Bob McDonald, and by his Harvard Business School article, “Still Leading.” Every conversation with Bob leaves me thinking more clearly—not just about leadership, but about life.

One idea, in particular, stayed with me:

Life isn’t a continuous ascent. It’s a series of chapters.

Between those chapters, there’s often a temporary loss of status. That moment matters more than most people realize. If status becomes too important, it can quietly freeze you in place—keeping you anchored to what was, instead of moving toward what’s next.

I’ve seen this play out repeatedly.

People don’t stop growing because they can’t.

They stop because moving forward might look like moving backward.

Bob reinforced something simple, but uncomfortable:

Growth requires starting over—again and again.

Life works in cycles. You reach a level of mastery, then you begin anew. That process only works if you’re willing to look forward, resist nostalgia for past wins, and avoid letting old accomplishments define your next move.

Another lesson that resonated deeply: don’t let others define success for you.

If your definition of success is borrowed, your progress will always be capped. Titles fade. Optics shift. Expectations change. Real momentum comes when success is defined by your own purpose and values—not by someone else’s scoreboard.

One of the most counterintuitive truths I’ve learned from Bob is this:

Starting over isn’t a setback. Sometimes, it’s the most direct path to delivering your purpose at a higher level.

That perspective has stayed with me.

And it’s the lens I’m carrying forward as a new chapter begins—lighter, clearer, and more intentional than the last.

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