Stop Chasing Shiny Objects: Learning to Hear Your Own Voice Again

Why do we let other people make our decisions? Why are we so quick to drown out our own voice in favor of the loudest person in the room—or worse, the loudest influencer on our feed?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been guilty of chasing shiny objects. Usually, those objects came with dollar signs attached. The “shiny” was always some promise of money, success, and that mystical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I remember diving into every new opportunity that came my way—multi-level marketing businesses, mentorship programs, real estate investing, stock trading, Amazon selling—you name it, I probably gave it a shot. If someone was dangling the dream of financial freedom in front of me, I was already reaching for my wallet.

And let’s just say, a lot of that money ended up going down the drain. 💸 I was more invested in other people’s dreams than my own. The truth? I wasn’t chasing success—I was running from my own uncertainty.

Everyone kept telling me: This is the way. This is what’s important. This is how life should be lived. But in the process, my own dreams and ideals got buried under the noise. I started to realize that the “out-of-the-box” ideas they were selling were actually the same old box society has been pushing for decades—just painted a shinier color.

Here’s the part that hit me hardest:

• What if your dream isn’t about running multiple businesses?
• What if your dream is simply to work a steady 9-to-5, where you can clock out and not carry the stress home?
• What if your purpose is teaching, shaping the next generation, instead of closing another real estate deal?
• Or maybe your heart longs for the peace of living in nature—with just enough of life’s comforts to keep you grounded and grateful.

The point is, we let influencers, gurus, and even well-meaning friends convince us of what success should look like. We forget the most important voice we should be listening to: our own.

For those of us who are spiritual or religious, it goes deeper. That inner voice is often God nudging us back to what matters most. And trust me, God is not in your Instagram ads selling you a $997 “Financial Freedom Blueprint.”

So here’s what I’ve learned (the hard way, with plenty of humor and humility):
Stop chasing shiny objects that aren’t meant for you. Start tuning back into yourself. Your own dreams, your own ideals, your own quiet knowing.

Because the life you’re meant to live won’t be found in someone else’s sales pitch. It’s already waiting inside you, patiently, until you’re ready to listen.