Brian O’Kelley sold his company for $1.6 billion. Sounds like the kind of story that ends with yachts, mansions, and magazine covers, right? 

Except he did the opposite. 

He kept less than $100 million and gave the rest away. 

He doesn’t believe in billionaires. 

He thinks hoarding that much wealth makes you disconnected from reality, and he wants to stay grounded.

When I first read that, it makes me think

It wasn’t the billions that caught my attention, it was the word “enough”. 

O’Kelley and his wife literally sat down, calculated what they’d need to live comfortably, doubled it, and decided everything else would go to causes they cared about. 

That hit me because earlier this year, I went through a similar realization, but on a much smaller scale. 

I don’t run a billion-dollar startup.
I run a branding and design agency. 

And for the longest time, I thought the golden number I needed to hit was $1M in revenue.

Not because I really wanted that, but because everyone around me was aiming for it. 

Every business coach, every influencer, every LinkedIn “success story” made it seem like if you weren’t scaling toward seven figures, you weren’t doing it right.

Reading O’Kelley’s story made me pause and ask, who decided that $1M is the benchmark for success in my world? 

Why did I adopt it without questioning, am I chasing a number because it truly matters to me?

Or because everyone else says it should?

Redefining My Version of ‘Enough’

Earlier this year, I decided to run the numbers for myself. 

Not the “how do I hit $1M in revenue?”, but the “what do we actually need to live well and be happy?” version.

I listed out the basics, housing, school fees, food, a little cushion for travel and fun, and then added some breathing room for emergencies and savings.

The total surprised me. 

It was nowhere near $1M. In fact, when I ran the numbers, it came out to about $600K, just a little more than half.

Once I saw the figure, I felt this massive wave of relief wash over me. 

Suddenly, the pressure to keep sprinting toward a finish line started to fade. 

I didn’t need to sacrifice my time, my family, or my sanity just to chase a milestone that looked good on Instagram.

Instead of obsessing over “scale at all costs,” I started asking better questions: 

What kind of clients do I actually want to work with? 

What kind of projects light me up instead of draining me?

How can I build an agency that supports my life, not the other way around?

It sounds simple, but that shift changed everything. 

By removing the noise of arbitrary goals, I could finally focus on what mattered most,

Doing meaningful work with people I respect, and creating enough stability for my family to thrive.

Why Your Brand (and Your Life) Needs Its Own Version of Enough

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this isn’t just a personal money lesson, it’s a branding lesson too. 

In branding, the biggest mistake a business can make is copying what everyone else is doing. 

You see competitors positioning themselves a certain way, so you follow. 

They pick a color palette, so you choose something similar. 

They set a revenue target, so you assume you need the same goal.

When you build your brand, or your business, around other people’s definitions of success

You blend into the background. You’re not leading. You’re not standing out. 

You’re just chasing someone else’s version of “enough.”

Strong brands thrive because they define success on their own terms. 

They don’t try to be the loudest or the biggest, they aim for clarity, authenticity, and alignment. 

That’s what makes them memorable. 

And it’s the same for us as founders. 

If my agency helps clients discover their unique position in the market

Why wouldn’t I apply the same principle to my own life and goals?

So how do you start? 

• Figure out your “enough.”
  Don’t just guess. Write down what you actually need, your basics (home, bills, food), a few comforts (travel, hobbies), and a safety cushion. That number is your real baseline.
  
• Check your goals.
  Be honest, are you chasing revenue, followers, or visibility because it matters to you, or because everyone else says it’s the benchmark?
  
• Define success your way.
  For some people, success is money in the bank. For others, it’s free time, flexibility, or doing creative work they love. Decide what it is for you and keep that front and center.
  
• Tell people.
  Just like a brand needs a clear message, so do you. Share your priorities with your team, your clients, even your family, so the choices you make line up with what really matters.

Once you’ve figured out those three things, you’re not just setting yourself up for a healthier business, you’re also creating the foundation for a stronger brand. A brand that’s grounded in clarity and principles will always stand out.

That’s exactly what we do for our clients: help them build from a place of “enough.” When your brand is rooted in values instead of vanity metrics, you naturally attract the right people and create meaningful work. It’s not about chasing every trend or stretching yourself to look “bigger.” It’s about building something sustainable, authentic, and resilient.

At the end of the day, Brian O’Kelley’s choice wasn’t really about money, it was about staying connected to reality. For me, realizing my agency didn’t need to hit $1M to be successful felt the same. Defining “enough” didn’t make me smaller; it made me clearer. And in both life and branding, clarity is the real flex.

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