Outside the UN: Success Has a New Formula

For years, we measured our daily achievements by how many emails we sent, how many team messages we responded to, and how many meetings filled our calendar. At the end of the week, we added a few reports, maybe a proposal submitted before the weekend, and called it progress. That was our rhythm, the way we counted success.

And that worked - for a while.
It was the system. You did your part, followed the structure, and the paycheck arrived on time. You went on vacation, came back, and the cycle repeated.

But here’s the truth: that system is gone. The rules have changed.

Now, we’re not sitting in those meetings anymore. We’re scrolling through LinkedIn, half-motivated, half-defeated, clicking “Apply” on job after job, whispering to ourselves, “Ugh, I probably won’t get it.”

And if we’re honest, that becomes our new definition of achievement, one or two applications, a few connections, maybe a polite rejection email. By the end of the week, it’s hard to point to a single thing that feels like progress.

My friend, that has to change.

We can’t keep measuring success by an old formula that no longer applies. That’s like trying to navigate a new city with an old map - it doesn’t work. The world has shifted, and if we don’t shift with it, we’ll go broke, not just financially, but mentally and emotionally.

So, what’s the new measure?
We start by asking three simple questions:
What do I know?
How can I use what I know to create value and get paid for it?
What skills must I build to increase my market value?

It’s time to treat your life like the most important project you’ll ever manage. Write your own objectives. Define your milestones. Draft your own “concept note”, not for a donor, but for your life.

Then, build your plan: daily activities, weekly goals, monthly targets, yearly visions. And commit to them, every single day. Because when you use what you already know to build something of your own, you’ll achieve far more than you ever did within the UN or any INGO structure.

The problem isn’t that we can’t do it, it’s that we’re stuck. But being stuck is just a state of mind. So, let’s unstuck ourselves. Let’s stop waiting for LinkedIn to rescue us with another job that takes us right back to the comfort zone.

It’s time to build something.
Something new.
Something ours.

Onwards…