There are a lot of quotes about success:
“Success is not a destination, it’s a journey.”
“Success does not come to those who wait.”
“Choice, not circumstances, determines your success.”
“As you climb the ladder of success, make sure it’s leaning against the right wall.”
Everyone wants to be successful. What most people ignore is that success usually comes down to a series of right decisions made over time. More often than not, it’s the decisions people make that hold them back more than a lack of opportunity. The part people forget about success is that it has to be maintained.
What happens when you can no longer maintain your success? When the decisions that once worked stop working, but you keep making them anyway? Do you want to be remembered as someone who was great, or as someone who drove themselves into failure?
When Success Turns Into Failure
An episode of Grey’s Anatomy titled “An Honest Mistake” does a solid job showing how quickly things can unravel when the wrong decisions are made.
Derek Shepherd is told by a patient’s husband that if it comes down to saving the wife or the baby, save the wife. Derek believes he can save both. His refusal to accept his limits leads to the wife’s death. When Derek apologizes, the husband calls him a murderer.
Derek is a great surgeon, that’s not the issue. The problem is that he lets ego and attachment override judgment. He forgets that being skilled doesn’t make him an all-powerful god.
The episode also introduces Dr. Campbell, a legendary surgeon with a reputation built over decades. Cristina soon realizes that Dr. Campbell is no longer fit to operate. During a corrective surgery, Dr. Campbell criticizes modern techniques and refuses to take responsibility for her mistakes. When confronted with the truth, she orders Cristina out of the operating room.
Later, Owen explains to Dr. Campbell that the army knew when it was time for him to step aside. Only then does Dr. Campbell finally accepts reality and chooses to retire.
Both Derek and Dr. Campbell were successful surgeons. They also made decisions that put lives at risk. The difference is that one refused to let go, and the other eventually did.
The Burning Building Analogy
Swoozie once used a burning building as an analogy for relationships, but it applies to success as well.
You’re inside a building. Smoke slowly fills the room, but you don’t notice it at first. From the outside, the danger is obvious. From the inside, emotions and your expectations cloud judgment.
That’s how people talk themselves into bad decisions.
Derek kept taking risks with no real upside because he believed he could fix everything. Dr. Campbell kept operating because she was holding on to who she used to be.
Risk is part of success while stupidity is a part of failure.
When you can no longer tell the difference between the two, you’re done. If you’re standing too close to someone who refuses to leave the building, you’re going down with them.
At some point, the smartest move is to get out.
Boundaries Are the Difference Between Growth and Failure
Success requires boundaries.
As Swoozie explained, some behaviors aren’t deal breakers. Others are signs that you should end the relationship immediately. That same logic applies to your professional and personal life.
If you do certain things, you move toward success. If you do something foolish, you move away from it. When people fail, it’s because they keep negotiating with themselves instead of being honest about what needs to stop. People fail when they cling to the past instead of acknowledging the present.
Knowing When to Walk Away
I used to be a huge Michael Jordan fan. Watching him play fascinated me. It’d gotten to the point where I started collecting basketball cards just to get his cards. When he retired after the Bulls won their sixth championship in 1998, it felt right. He left while he was on top.
When he came back in 2001, something was different. He was still good, but he was no longer great. I couldn’t watch him play anymore because I knew he was past his prime. I heard about his last game where he was sitting on the bench (but he got a 3 minute standing ovation). His team, the Washington Wizards lost. He was fired as Washington’s President of Basketball Operations.
He didn’t quit while he was legendary. He drove himself into failure.
Walking away at the right time isn’t a weakness, but staying too long often is.
In the End
People maintain success by continuing to make the right decisions over time.
Success is not a joke or something to play with. It takes hard work.
Success is meant to be enjoyed, but not at the expense of losing it.
Some people reach success, while a small number maintain it.
In the end, it comes down to one thing:
“The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing a thing exactly right.”
📌 Changelog
- December 20, 2025: Changed the formatting and re-wrote some sections to improve the flow.
- February 22, 2009: Date article was originally published.
