Introduction: Success at What Cost?
Francis Chan’s quote strikes at the core of modern ambition:
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
It’s a piercing indictment of how easily we can mistake motion for progress, busyness for purpose, and achievement for meaning. This fear—succeeding at meaningless things—is echoed by Stephen Covey, who warned:
“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”
In both cases, the central insight is this: Direction matters more than speed. Without purpose aligned to truth, our accomplishments can become tragic illusions. We end up building lives, careers, empires—on foundations that have no eternal significance.
Idol Worship and False Centers: Gileadi and Covey’s Warning
Isaiah scholar Avraham Gileadi teaches that societies fall when they abandon covenantal living and substitute God’s laws with cultural idols. These idols aren’t just golden calves—they’re paradigms of wealth, power, control, ego, and fear. They become false centers, redirecting us from the divine purpose of life.
Stephen Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, defines this as miscentered living:
- Possession-centered: We obsess over material gain
- Spouse- or child-centered: Our identity is tied solely to others
- Work-centered: Career defines our worth
- Self-centered: We become emotionally reactive, ego-driven
These centers lead us into spiritual bondage and confusion. When our lives orbit around these false cores, we risk succeeding in things that ultimately don’t matter.
The Arbinger Insight: Inward vs. Outward Mindset
The Arbinger Institute contributes another crucial dimension through its concept of the inward and outward mindset:
- The inward mindset sees others as obstacles or tools.
- The outward mindset sees people as people—with hopes, fears, needs, and divine worth.
When we live inwardly—chasing self-serving goals, status, or validation—we create a false paradigm. We start climbing the ladder of “success” by using others, or by comparing, blaming, and controlling. Even if we reach the top, we do so alienated, shallow, and empty.
Living in the Box: Psychological and Spiritual Blindness
Covey and Arbinger both describe being “in the box”—a metaphor for living in denial, self-justification, and pride. From inside the box:
- We measure life by external achievement, not internal alignment.
- We confuse motion with meaning, and approval with purpose.
- We cling to cultural scripts that reward productivity over virtue, appearance over character, convenience over conscience.
The box is reinforced by social structures that elevate the wrong goals:
- Consumerism makes shopping a form of identity.
- Politics makes power the ultimate goal.
- Entertainment deifies fame.
- Even religion, if misused, becomes a source of performance, not transformation.
Spiritual Reorientation: Turning the Ladder
So how do we turn the ladder toward the right wall?
- Rediscover God as Center
Like Gileadi teaches, societies thrive when they return to covenant—personal commitment to divine truth and justice. - Choose Principle-Centered Living
Covey urges us to organize our lives around unchanging principles: integrity, service, humility, courage, and love. - Adopt the Outward Mindset
Arbinger calls us to see people as sacred, not as stepping stones. Relationships are not tools—they are the purpose. - Measure Success Differently
Jesus asked: “What good is it to gain the whole world, but lose your soul?”
True success is alignment with truth, not applause or trophies. - Practice Daily Reflection
Ask: Is my ladder leaning against the right wall today? Am I climbing toward ego or eternity?
Conclusion: Choose the Narrow Way
When Francis Chan warns of succeeding at what doesn’t matter, he is pointing to the tragic comedy of modern life: striving hard, sacrificing deeply, and finally arriving—only to find it was all for nothing. Like a man who breaks himself to build a temple to himself, only to see it crumble in the wind.
Success only matters when it is anchored to the eternal.
- To worship God is to realign.
- To live from truth is to escape the box.
- To love deeply is to rise, no matter the circumstance.
And as Covey wisely said:
“Some people achieve the top of the ladder and only then realize it was standing against the wrong wall.”
Let’s not wait until the top. Let’s turn now.
