Success: Disciples Don't Design Their Own

The bottom line…

Real success isn’t achieved by replicating others; it’s intentionally designed through curiosity, creativity and contextual intelligence. If you’re following someone else’s path, you might miss the turnoff to your own and the sights along the way.

The best route, there is no formula

We live in a world obsessed with formulas. “Do this, get that.” “Follow their 5 steps.” “Model their morning routine.” In business, leadership and even personal wellbeing, success has become dangerously templated.

But here’s the truth: success that’s meaningful, sustainable and fulfilling isn’t templated - it’s designed.

The Case for Design Thinking in Success

Design thinking, in the context of high performance, is about intentional originality. It draws from creativity, systems awareness and personal agency. It’s not just brainstorming or ideating. It’s about stepping back, seeing the broader landscape and making bold, intelligent decisions that suit your context.

It involves diverging from the path; not for the sake of being different but to stay authentic and future-fit. True design thinkers question assumptions, integrate across domains and innovate from human-first principles. They’re not rebels without a cause, they’re architects of aligned success.

The Trap of Disciple Thinking

Disciple thinking on the other hand is a pattern of following. It’s rooted in the belief that someone else knows better, that their path is safer, smarter or more valid. While there’s value in learning from others the risk lies in unconsciously outsourcing your choices, values and definitions of success.

Disciple thinking shows up as mimicry. Chasing others' goals, adopting others’ strategies or replicating “best practices” without assessing their relevance. It may lead to competence but rarely to mastery, impact, or legacy.

Design Over Default

When you design your version of success you diverge from default to deliberate. You take ownership of the outcomes you seek and the systems, behaviors and principles that will support them. This is where high performance truly begins: not in doing more, but in doing what matters...your way.

This doesn’t mean going it alone. It means curating, not copying. It means integrating, not imitating. And it means diverging from the script when the script doesn’t serve.

Your High-Performance Edge

The highest performers, across sport, leadership and life, don’t just do differently. They think differently. They use design thinking to adapt, evolve and create futures that others can’t yet see. They build from within, informed by insight, not just instruction.

And when they do learn from others? They do so with discernment, not devotion.

If you’re ready to design your own success and not just follow someone else’s, let’s talk. My coaching is built to help leaders, teams and ambitious professionals unlock intelligent originality and build high performance from the inside out.

Stop following. Start designing. Your version of success is waiting.