First: we named the Success Trap.

Second: we talked about why it's not your fault.

Now: the five patterns. Most people recognize at least two.

The Success Trap isn't one thing. It shows up differently depending on how you got caught in it.

Over years of working with senior executives, I've seen five distinct patterns emerge. Each one is a different flavor of the same core experience: building exactly what you were supposed to build, and feeling like a stranger in it.

See which ones land for you.

The Title Trap

"I can't step down from this level."

You've worked too hard to go backward. The compensation, the status, the way people introduce you at events. Walking away feels like erasing everything you built.

So you stay. Even when the role doesn't fit anymore. Even when you've outgrown what used to excite you.

The golden handcuffs aren't just financial. They're your identity.

The Pretender Trap

"I'm excellent at work I don't believe in."

You're really good at this. That's the problem.

You can run the meeting, hit the target, deliver the result. But somewhere along the way, the enthusiasm became performance. Sunday nights aren't hard because of workload. They're hard because tomorrow you have to pretend again.

Excellence without true alignment is exhaustion.

The Identity Trap

"I don't know who I am without this job."

Your title isn't just what you do. It's who you are.

The thought of leaving isn't just scary. It's disorienting. If you're not this, then who are you? You've been this for so long that the version of you that existed before feels like a stranger.

You're not afraid of failing. You're afraid of disappearing.

The Metrics Trap

"If I can't measure it, it doesn't count."

You've optimized everything. Calendar, goals, KPIs, outcomes.

But the things that actually matter: joy, meaning, connection, rest. They don't fit in spreadsheets. So they get deprioritized. Not intentionally. Just… systematically.

You hit every number and still feel empty. Because the scoreboard isn't tracking what you actually need.

The Speed Trap

"If I slow down, I'll fall behind."

Rest feels like regression. Stillness feels like stagnation. Your nervous system has been in high gear so long that you've forgotten what baseline feels like.

You keep telling yourself you'll slow down after the next milestone. But the next milestone keeps moving.

Sustainable pace isn't stagnation. It's strategy.

Most people don't live in just one trap. They recognize two or three, sometimes all five. The patterns overlap. They reinforce each other.

And here's what I want you to know: recognizing the pattern is the first step. You can't climb a different mountain until you see the one you're on.

This week, notice which trap feels most like looking in a mirror. Not which one you should relate to. Which one you actually do.

Welcome! This was your onboarding to Second Summit Brief. Three messages: the trap, the permission, the patterns.

From here, we go deeper. Stories of people finding their second summit. How to navigate the transition. The nervous system wisdom that most leadership advice ignores.

I'm so glad you're here.