Behind the Door of Success: What High-Performers Never Suspect
- Sep 5
- 2 min read
By Kris Driskill
DMA, SEAC, CBC
It started with a question I couldn’t shake: Why do brilliant, creative, purpose-driven people get in their own way?
You’d never know it from the outside. The full calendar. The glowing testimonials. The drive, the strategy, the polish…
But behind the success, in the quiet moments between Zoom calls and celebratory posts, something else is often present.
As a self-mastery coach and business consultant, I’ve worked with entrepreneurs who had everything going for them – talent, drive, even a solid strategy – but still felt stuck, drained, or inexplicably resistant to doing the very things that would move them forward.
What I discovered was something high-performers rarely recognize, let alone suspect: self-sabotage.
That’s because for high-performers it’s often subtle, shapeshifting, and presented internally as logic or productivity. It’s hidden in habits, disguised as discipline, and often the cause of success-driven decisions that lead to burnout.
And I know, because I’ve lived it, too.
For years, I prided myself on being put together, prepared, and wildly productive. But under the surface, I was quietly driven by pressure, fear, and control – patterns I thought were just part of being an entrepreneur.
They weren’t. They were saboteurs, hiding in plain sight.
That realization became the seed for Saboteurs Slinking in the Shadows, an edutainment, true-crime style podcast launching in Fall 2025, exposing the invisible “crimes of the mind” that entrepreneurs, creators, and business owners unknowingly commit against their own success.
Each episode features an entrepreneur identifying a work or life stressor. Then together, we investigate, finding exactly which saboteur suspect is guilty of creating the negativity. And by revealing the cause and directly confronting it in an empowering way, we take back control from the shadows.
The result is a quick-paced, real-life whodunit, with “suspects” like C.I.N.D.Y. the Avoider, S.I.M.O.N. the Hyper-Achiever, and P.I.T.A. the Stickler – inner saboteurs many of us unknowingly serve until we finally see them.
And it’s all done in a light, entertaining way, because the truth is, high-performers don’t need any more pressure. They often experience sabotage on a deep level because they’ve spent so long succeeding through pressure, perfectionism, and performance that they haven’t questioned whether there might be a freer way to live and lead.
That’s what Saboteurs Slinking in the Shadows is about: allowing guests and listeners to take the lead back. We’re pulling back the curtain, shining a light, and flipping the script on the “cost of success.”
If you’re an entrepreneur, creator, or business owner ready to investigate your own inner patterns and discover the real source of your stress and pressure, apply to be a guest or get ready to listen and watch when Saboteurs Slinking in the Shadows launches this fall. With fully edited, visually dynamic episodes, you’ll want to catch this one on YouTube!
About the Author
Kris Driskill is a self-mastery coach, author, performer-presenter, and creator and host of Saboteurs Slinking in the Shadows. She helps high-performing entrepreneurs minimize stress and maximize success through science-based, research-backed methods.
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