Stop Telling Yourself This Lie About Success with Tricia Lee
II used to think there would be a moment when things would finally click. When I'd reach a certain level of success and suddenly everything would feel more manageable. Like I'd finally “made it.”
Turns out, there is no one moment that brings such relief.
That's what hit me hardest during my second conversation with real estate broker and Owning Manhattan star Tricia Lee on She’s So Lucky. She said something that honestly changed the way I think about ambition: "It doesn't get easier. You just gets better."
The myth of “making it”
We love to tell ourselves that once we hit a certain milestone—whether that's a six-figure income, a promotion, or finally breaking into a new market—things will smooth out. The hard part will be over. We'll finally get to coast a little.
Tricia shut that down immediately.
"It doesn't get easier," she told me. "It just gets better."
She explained that the more successful you become, the more challenges you face. The stakes get higher. The competition gets fiercer. The responsibilities multiply. But what changes is you. You get stronger. You develop a higher tolerance for discomfort. You build the skills to handle what used to break you.
This isn't just true in real estate—it applies to anyone building a career, starting a business, or chasing ambitious goals.
Growth Lives in Uncomfortable Spaces
One of Tricia's top priorities for 2026? Walking into more rooms where nobody knows her.
At first, that might sound counterintuitive. She's already successful. She's already established in Brooklyn. Why make things harder?
Because comfort is the enemy of growth.
When you only show up in spaces where people already know you, love you, and validate you, you're not growing—you're maintaining. And if you want to expand your business, your brand, or your career, you need to actively seek out the discomfort of being unknown.
"I need to be in more rooms of people that have never heard of me," Tricia said. "That don't know who I am. I get comfortable, and it's like, 'Oh, well if I come here and everyone knows me, I don't have to do any work.' You have to do work."
How to Know When You're Playing Small
Here's a pattern Tricia identified in herself—and I see it in myself too:
When she's uncomfortable, she starts talking herself out of the importance of whatever she's doing. She'll convince herself she's "too good" for something, or that the environment isn't right, or that the people around her are the problem.
"I know what I do," she explained. "I talk myself almost above things. I will critique the entire environment and everyone around it because I'm not comfortable."
Sound familiar?
The truth is, most of us have some version of this. Maybe you're over-researching instead of starting. Maybe you're perfecting your website instead of reaching out to potential clients. Maybe you're waiting to feel "ready" before you make a move.
But if you're serious about success, you have to catch yourself in these patterns and take action anyway.
Stop Studying, Start Building
Tricia has a rule: she'd rather be on the road with her door falling off and a cracked windshield than sit at home buffing her car. Translation? Imperfect action beats perfect planning every single time.
"Some people like to study," she said. "You don't like taking the test. Recognize that and call yourself on that nonsense."
This hit me hard because I see so many people—especially women—who get stuck in preparation mode. They read another book. They take another course. They wait for the "right time" to launch. Meanwhile, someone else is out there doing it imperfectly, learning on the fly, and getting ahead.
When Tricia opened her first salon, she did it in 31 days. When she and her business partner pitched for a 50,000-square-foot commercial listing, they had potential clients lined up before they even had the deal locked in.
That's the difference between people who succeed and people who stay stuck.
The Real Cost of Ambition
Here's what nobody tells you about being ambitious: it's hard. All the time. At every level. But that's not a reason to quit. It's a reason to get better.
Because the alternative—playing it safe, staying comfortable, avoiding the rooms that scare you—doesn't actually feel good either. It just feels like wasted potential. So if you're waiting for success to get easier, stop. It won't.
But you? You'll get better at handling it.
Listen to the full episode with Tricia Lee on the She's So Lucky podcast for more on building relationships, breaking into new markets, and why ego is your biggest enemy.
