Posted by Have you ever achieved success, then felt an increased hunger to achieve something bigger, only to be left feeling weighed down by uncertainty, self-doubt, anxiety and stress? Best-selling author, international speaker and renowned life coach Laura Gassner Otting says if the answer is yes, you’ve had, what she describes as a “Wonderhell” moment. “Success is wonderful, but it’s also hell,” she admits.
She first put a name to this feeling when her book Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life hit #2 on the Washington Post best-seller list and she wondered what she could reach for next. That’s when the former political appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House and the founder and president of an international executive search firm realized she had to share this Wonderhell idea with more people.
Gassner Otting interviewed more than 100 leaders or “glass ceiling shatterers,” as she calls them. In the book, readers will meet Olympic athletes, startup unicorns, and others to understand how they can overcome the crushing combination of doubt, vulnerability, impostor syndrome and burnout that comes along with success. The book is mapped out like an amusement park and addresses the roller coaster highs and lows we come across in life. To date, her TED Talk “Why Doesn’t Success Bring Happiness” has more than one million views.
She sat down with Jessica Abo to not only talk about her book and what readers will learn but also broke down how you can navigate the volatile mix of emotions that come with achieving your wildest dreams.