The Question I Still Can’t Answer

Twenty-one years into running OmniPro, people occasionally ask me: “So Des, you must feel like you’ve finally made it, right?”

And here’s the truth I’ve come to understand:

No. I don’t.

Not after the first major client win. Not after we survived that first cash crisis. Not after CPD Fest drew hundreds of accountants. Not after the my first ProfitPro launch brought in 84 firms in just 5 days. Not after two decades of growth and impact.

I’ve never felt like I’ve made it.

Don’t get me wrong—there have been frequent successes. Frequent highs. Moments that should have felt like arrival.

But they never did.

And for years, I thought there was something wrong with me. That I was broken somehow. That maybe I was just one of those people who would never be satisfied, never be content, never feel “enough.”

But recently, I’ve started to wonder: What if “making it” was never real to begin with?

What if the whole concept is a lie we tell ourselves to justify the next push, the next sacrifice, the next five years of grinding?

This is the story of chasing a destination that doesn’t exist. And what I’ve learned from never arriving.

This is the story of climbing the mountain but knowing that when you get to the top there is always the next summit to conquer.

The Closest I Ever Came

If I had to pick a moment when I felt closest to “making it,” it was probably back in April 2017.

We did our first ever ProfitPro Accountants Growth Formula Programme. Eighty-four accounting firms signed up.

Eighty-four.

It was validation. It was proof the model worked. It was evidence that years of building, testing, failing, and rebuilding had led to something real. But it was really proof that firm owners were looking for something different. That accounting business owners were looking  to get off the treadmill to build  more profitable, sustainable and rewarding businesses

We celebrated. We had a team meeting. We acknowledged the win. We put it on our Win Wall where we tracked our victories. (This was before MS teams and our Win Channel)

And then, about three days later, I was back at my desk thinking: “Okay, but what’s next?”

The feeling of arrival lasted approximately 72 hours.

Because the moment you reach one summit, you look out and see the next mountain range on the horizon.

And the next one after that.

And you realise: Oh. This never ends. There is no “there.” There’s only here, and the next hill, and the one after that.

The CPD Fest That Should Have Been “Making It”

Let me take you back further—to 2008.

We launched CPD Fest.

I’d been envisioning this event for two or three years before I actually made it happen—a multi-stream speaking event that would bring the accounting community together. Not just for technical CPD, but for connection. For belonging.

The first year, we ran it at the Crowne Plaza in Blanchardstown. Hundreds of accountants showed up.

Hundreds.

Standing room only. Energy in the room. People networking, learning, connecting. Everything I’d envisioned was happening right in front of me.

That should have been the moment. That should have been “I made it.”

But by the following year, we had to move it to CityWest because we’d outgrown the venue 1000 Accountants came over 3 days. Then the next year we expanded it to Limerick. Then Cork. Then Athlone. 2000 accountants attending our CPDFests

Each expansion should have felt like success. And they did—for about a week.

Then it was: “How do we make next year even better?”

The goalposts kept moving. Because I kept moving them.

The Pattern I Couldn’t See

Here’s what I’ve realised after 21 years of this:

I’ve been climbing a mountain. Reaching a plateau. Looking into the horizon. Seeing another mountain in front of me.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

And somewhere along the way, I started to believe that if I just climbed enough mountains, I’d eventually reach the one where I could finally stop and say: “This is it. I’m here. I made it.”

But that mountain doesn’t exist.

Because “making it” isn’t a place you arrive at. It’s not a revenue number. It’s not a team size. It’s not a number of clients or a business valuation or industry recognition.

It’s not anything external at all.

“Making it” is an internal condition we keep promising ourselves will arrive once we achieve the next external milestone.

But it never does.

Because we’re not actually chasing success. We’re chasing the feeling we think success will give us. And that feeling is always one more mountain away.

It’s not about reaching the destination. It’s about finding the joy and the satisfaction in the journey.

What “Making It” Really Means (If It Means Anything)

After 21 years of not “making it,” here’s what I think might actually be true:

Maybe we’re asking the wrong question entirely.

Maybe the question isn’t “Have I made it?” but “Am I making it?”

Present tense. Active verb. Not a destination—a practice.

Not a destination – a journey.

Because here’s what I’ve discovered: We do celebrate wins. We have a Teams channel where we put up team wins. We have monthly all-hands meetings where we talk about our wins.

We acknowledge the plateaus. We mark the milestones.

But we don’t confuse them with arrival.

And maybe—just maybe—that’s actually healthier than I thought.

Because if I ever did feel like I’d “made it,” what then?

Would I stop growing? Stop learning? Stop pushing to serve our community better?

Would I become complacent? Entitled? Would I start believing my own press?

Would I lose the hunger that’s driven me to build something meaningful?

I don’t know. But I suspect the answer is yes.

The Song That Reminds Me

There’s a Take That song I play every week. The lyrics run through my head almost daily:

Never forget where you’ve come here from

Never pretend that it’s all real

Someday soon this will all be someone else’s dream

This will be someone else’s dream

Those last lines hit me every time.

“Someday soon this will all be someone else’s dream.”

My business is a dream. But it’s my dream today—not forever.

One day, I won’t be running OmniPro. One day, someone else will be living a version of this dream. Or the business won’t exist at all, and the dream will have moved on to whatever comes next. (If the PE Companies keep asking so they can get access to our network of accountants it could be sooner rather than later 😊 😊 😊)

Nothing is permanent. Nothing is “made.” Everything is always in motion.

And once you accept that, the question of “Have I made it?” becomes absurd.

Because you’re not trying to build a monument. You’re trying to steward something meaningful while you have the privilege of doing so.

The Uncomfortable Lesson

Here’s the lesson it took me 21 years to learn:

You’re never going to feel like you’ve “made it.” And that’s not a bug—it’s a feature.

Because the moment you think you’ve arrived is the moment you stop moving forward.

The moment you believe you’ve “made it” is the moment you start defending what you have instead of building what’s next.

The moment you feel satisfied is the moment you stop serving your clients with the hunger and humility that got you here in the first place.

So maybe—just maybe—the goal isn’t to “make it.”

Maybe the goal is to keep climbing. To enjoy the view from each plateau. To celebrate each win without confusing it with arrival. To recognize that the journey is the point, not the destination.

And to be grateful for the privilege of getting to climb at all.

What This Means for You

If you’re reading this and thinking: “But Des, I’m exhausted. I’ve been climbing for years. When do I get to stop?”

I hear you.

But ask yourself this: Are you chasing “making it” or are you chasing rest?

Because those are two very different things.

You can rest without having “made it.” You can take a breath. You can celebrate wins. You can acknowledge how far you’ve come. You can build systems that give you margin. You can delegate so you’re not white-knuckling every day.

But if you’re waiting to feel like you’ve “made it” before you give yourself permission to rest, you’re going to be waiting forever.

Because “making it” is a moving target. It will always be one more mountain away.

The question is: Are you climbing mountains you chose? Or mountains other people told you to climb?

Are you enjoying the climb? Or just suffering through it, waiting for some future moment of arrival that will never come?

Are you building something meaningful? Or just accumulating evidence of achievement?

Your Turn

Be honest: What does “making it” look like for you?

Is it a revenue number? A lifestyle? A feeling? Recognition?

And if you achieved that tomorrow, would it actually be enough? Or would the goalposts shift again?

More importantly: What if you never “make it”? What if there’s no arrival?

Could you still find joy in the climb? Could you still build something meaningful? Could you still celebrate the plateaus without waiting for permission to feel successful?

I’m curious: Have you ever achieved something you thought would finally make you feel like you’d “made it”—only to find the feeling didn’t last? What happened next?

Let me know what you think. You can connect with me on social or directly via my linktree – https://linktr.ee/desoneill

Tomorrow: Letter 6—”White-Knuckling Through Every Crisis (And Why My Greatest Strength Became My Greatest Weakness)”