Full Circle: Exploration, Enlightenment, and Embracing Imposter Syndrome

In rereading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey this week, I was struck by a quote he referenced from T.S. Eliot’s Little Gidding:

We shall not cease from exploration,

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we began

And know the place for the first time.

It immediately reminded me of another book that has helped shape me—The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. One of its key messages is the idea that we travel the world only to discover that what we were searching for was right where we started.

Today, this symbolism hit me on many levels.

25 Years Ago: Seeds Planted

I was first given 7 Habits shortly after graduating college by Amy McKay—known back then as my "BFITM" (Best Friend in the Major).

Amy and I spent countless hours together in the dim basement of the Bloomsburg University library, researching side-by-side, bouncing between microfiche and this new thing called "the Internet." It was a rare window in time—1995 to 1999—when both technologies coexisted and were a clearly overlooked foreshadowing of the evolutionary path I was on.

Although Amy and I shared some time outside of studying, most of our relationship was built in that academic grind. She tolerated me, challenged me, and together we built not just grades, but a foundation for how to learn—a gift that has served me for life.

Amy hit the nail on the head with 7 Habits. I just didn’t realize it at the time.

Despite the book’s global acclaim, it didn’t resonate with me then. Maybe I wasn’t the right audience. Maybe I hadn’t lived enough life yet. Or maybe I just wasn’t ready to hear the message.

But the title stuck. And sometimes, that's enough.

7 Habits reinforced in me the simplicity of simple, as in a simple framework—much like the frameworks Amy and I painstakingly constructed in that library—to distill complex concepts of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, into something usable. A seed was planted, it was just waiting for the right season to grow. I now am harvesting. Thanks for the book, Amy.

Today: Revisiting With New Eyes

Now, 25 years later, I find myself relistening to 7 Habits during my morning walks with my dog, London. I use these walks to start my day with health and learning—small disciplines that pay compound dividends over time.

Hearing Covey quote Eliot this morning connected dots that had been dormant in me for decades. It pulled The Alchemist back into my mind. Another strong woman, now my wife, gave me the Alchemist shortly after I received 7 Habits, as I was wandering the world in search of something, I guess myself.

My takeaway from the Alchemist, we wander the world... only to return home and truly see it for the first time.

I have lived this truth already, but I also feel called to live it repeatedly and more consciously going forward. I'm DELCO[i] through and through—my roots, my family, my memories, my foundation are all here. Yet I chose not to be the Pearl Jam’s “elderly woman behind a counter in a small town” who changes by not changing at all. Instead, I wander, so I can return more in love with my hometown. Thus, I see it anew each time, not because it has changed, but because I have changed.

And it’s not just the physical rediscovery.
Each time I travel outward, I also travel inward—and return home knowing myself for the first time, again.

The Parallel Journey: Writing, Imposter Syndrome, and AI

This morning’s reflection coincided with another quiet struggle I’ve been wrestling with: imposter syndrome as a writer.

It’s funny—imposter syndrome has become something I now embrace—as long as it’s shifting.

If I feel like an imposter, it probably means I'm growing.
If after enough hours (Gladwell[ii]) or iterations (Hardy/Sullivan[iii]) I still feel like an imposter, maybe I need to lean harder into practice.
But if the feeling slowly turns to a budding sense of belonging, that's a sign of blooming mastery.

As I write more—and aspire to serve others through my words—I often battle a fear:

"In a world flooded with AI-generated content, do we really need another writer?"

After all, AI can churn out content faster than any human.
Isn't the last thing the world needs another "me too" blog?

Wrong.

Why I write is not to be original in facts, truths, or principles.
There are only so many of those, and they have been written and rewritten for millennia.

I write to be authentic.
I write to serve.
I write because my voice, my lens, my journey is uniquely mine—and if it helps even one person, then it was worth it. (even if that one person is only me)

This mirrors what we are building at Members' Wealth.

We’ve embraced AI specifically, and technology generally—as efficiency tools to serve our clients better.
But what makes us irreplaceable isn’t our tools, technology and efficiency—it’s the human heart behind how we use it. I first learned this in business school and this still applies today, technological and operational efficiency is not a competitive advantage (at least for not for long). As tech and operational efficiency gets grinded away, only the human to human relationships remains.

At Members' Wealth, and in my writing, words, AI editing, and other writers inputs (my bibliography) are raw materials.
Our stories, our service, our values are what shape those materials into something meaningful.

I’m not trying to change the whole world.
I'm trying to help one person—or maybe a thousand—grow into their next, truer version.

Coming Home, Again and Again

Covey, Eliot, Coelho—they aren't saying "stop exploring."
They're saying "explore relentlessly... but don't be surprised when the treasure is buried in your own backyard."

I will continue to wander, to learn, to struggle, to write.
Each time, I’ll come home a little wiser, a little humbler, a little more myself.

Because the best kind of wandering is the kind that helps you know your home—and yourself—for the first time.

And if you're feeling like an imposter in your new endeavor today?
Good.
It means you're exactly where you're supposed to be.

Author’s Note:
This reflection is part of my Wandering Wealth Advisor journey—where I explore the intersection of travel, leadership, personal growth, and building wealth with purpose.
Learn more or subscribe at DaneCFA.com.

[i] DELCO is short for Delaware County, Pennsylvania—a suburban region just outside Philadelphia that locals affectionately refer to by its nickname. It’s where I was raised, built my business, and continue to call home.

[ii] Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea of 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery in his book Outliers: The Story of Success (2008). Drawing on research from psychologist Anders Ericsson, Gladwell argued that consistent, focused effort over time—not innate talent alone—creates exceptional performance.

[iii] Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy reframed and expanded this idea in their book 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less (2023). They argue that rather than 10,000 hours, true breakthroughs often come through 10,000 iterations—rapid cycles of action, feedback, and adjustment—emphasizing adaptability, creativity, and evolution over sheer time alone.