Step 1 — Clarity:
Define Your Version of Success
Success isn’t universal. It’s personal — and it’s where every Anti-preneur journey begins.
Why Clarity Matters
Most professionals are excellent at working hard, but not always at working intentionally.
They build skills, deliver results, and move from milestone to milestone without pausing to ask a simple but profound question:
“What does success look like for me?”
Without that clarity, even smart, capable people drift. They follow paths set by their industries, bosses, or social media feeds. They chase promotions, possessions, or praise — all the while wondering why progress doesn’t feel like fulfillment.
Clarity changes that.
It gives shape to ambition. It helps you separate the essential from the urgent, so you spend your energy on what matters most. In the KICKSTART program, clarity is the foundation. Every financial decision, every professional choice, every investment of time starts here.
It’s not about having all the answers; it’s about asking better questions.
When you know what matters most, decisions stop feeling like sacrifices.
— Dr. Matt Markel
The Power of Defining Success
In the Anti-preneur mindset, success isn’t a title or a dollar amount. It’s alignment, when your career, finances, and values all point in the same direction.
Clarity gives you that alignment. It connects your internal compass to your external actions.
Think of it like calibrating a radar (something Matt knows a thing or two about).
If the radar is off by even a few degrees, the signal drifts, and the longer you fly, the further you end up from where you intended to go.
The same happens in life. A small misalignment between your values and your actions compounds over time. But when you recalibrate through clarity, even small adjustments create powerful momentum.
Clarity isn’t just vision, it’s velocity.
The “Painting Your Life” Exercise
This simple exercise helps you replace vague ambition with vivid intention.
Think of it as creating a personal blueprint for fulfillment.
01
Picture your
ideal day.
From how you wake up to what kind of work energizes you.
02
Describe your environment.
Where do you live and work best? Who’s with you?
03
Capture
your impact.
What problems are you solving? How are you helping others grow?
04
Envision financial independence.
What does stability and freedom look like in your world?
05
Anchor it
in values.
Ask which principles—integrity, curiosity, balance, generosity—define this version of you.
Be specific. Details are powerful.
A clear picture is more than a motivational exercise; it’s a practical guide. When opportunities arise, you can instantly ask: Does this move me closer to the life I’ve painted, or further away?
Keep this “painting” somewhere visible. Review it once a year. You’ll be amazed at how clarity evolves as you grow.
Want to learn how to paint your life? Download our workbook!
The Three Mindset Shifts
The Anti-preneur path begins with a mental pivot — redefining who you are and what you’re capable of.
Once you’ve pictured your ideal life,
these three mindset shifts turn your vision into motion:
1. You Deserve Financial Independence
Many professionals unconsciously cap their own potential. They mistake humility for limitation. You might think, “I’m not the kind of person who builds wealth” or “People like me don’t retire early.” That mindset keeps you playing small. Financial independence isn’t reserved for founders or influencers; it’s for anyone willing to take ownership of their future. Believing you deserve independence is the first step to building it.
2. You Have Two Careers
As an Anti-preneur, you manage two parallel careers:
Your professional career — the work you do, the reputation you build, the craft you master.
Your financial independence career — the systems, investments, and habits that make money work for you.
Most people focus only on the first and outsource the second to luck or advisors.
True independence means intentionally developing both.
This is where the Anti-preneur philosophy breaks from convention:
You can stay in your career and build wealth beyond it simultaneously.
3. You Are a Free Agent
You are not defined by your job title or your employer. You are defined by your skills, integrity, and contribution.
Think of yourself as a free agent in the marketplace, someone who plays full out for their current team but knows their value extends beyond it.
When you start viewing yourself this way, your professional relationships change. You negotiate differently, plan differently, and make decisions with long-term power instead of short-term fear.
Avoiding the Two Common Traps
Even high achievers stumble over the same clarity pitfalls: ambiguity and external validation.
Ambiguity sounds like:
“I just want to be successful.”
“I want balance.”
“I want to be happy.”
They’re admirable ideas, but they’re too vague to act on. Ambiguous goals create motion, not progress.
External validation sounds like:
“I’ll know I’ve made it when my boss promotes me.”
“I’ll be successful when my friends notice.”
These metrics keep you chasing approval instead of direction.
True clarity is internal. It sounds like this:
“Success means earning a living through meaningful work, maintaining control of my time,
and funding my long-term freedom.”
Specific. Personal. Measurable. Yours.
Why This Step Comes First
Every other KICKSTART step builds on clarity.
Without clarity, your numbers are just data, not decisions.
Without clarity, your career goals can become someone else’s agenda.
Without clarity, your financial strategy becomes reactive instead of intentional.
This step is the foundation that turns the rest of the framework from a plan into a purpose.
And it’s not a one-time task, it’s a habit.
Just as businesses revisit their mission statements, Anti-preneurs revisit their definitions of success.
As your life evolves, so should your clarity.
Putting It Into Practice
Now that you’ve pictured what success looks like, write down three simple actions you can take this week that align with that vision.
Examples:
Reorganize your calendar to prioritize one activity that energizes you.
Have a conversation with your mentor or manager about what “impact” means to you.
Review your finances to ensure your spending supports your long-term vision.
Small steps reinforce big shifts.
Clarity isn’t about perfection; it’s about alignment. Once you see what matters, every action can serve it.
— Dr. Matt Markel
Your Clarity Toolkit
Clarity is a lifelong practice. The more tools you use to reflect, refine, and plan, the stronger your vision becomes.
Explore resources that help you put this step into action — from reflection prompts to mindset exercises that reinforce the Anti-preneur approach.
Next Step
Clarity sets your direction; measurement sustains it.
Now that you’ve defined what success means to you, it’s time to make it concrete.
Continue to Step 2 — Know Your Numbers to learn how to track your financial reality and make decisions that align with your vision.
About the KICKSTART™ Program
The Anti-preneur KICKSTART™ Program is Dr. Matt Markel’s six-month roadmap for professionals who want to build real wealth while excelling in their careers.
It’s a five-step system designed to help you gain clarity, measure progress, strengthen your career, achieve financial independence, and create habits that last. Each step builds on the last, turning what you know into what you do.
