Redefining Success
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Ali (Alison) Levine
Can I be honest?
Winning used to mean being seen.
As a celebrity stylist, my world revolved around red carpets, fittings, last minute calls, and the quiet rush that comes from proximity to fame. Success looked like access. Who trusted me with their image. Which rooms I was invited into. How close I stood to the spotlight and then eventually stepping fully into it myself. This is where my soul died.
I worked with beautiful people, powerful brands, and relentless timelines. I learned how to anticipate needs, how to move quickly, how to stay composed when everything was urgent. From the outside, it looked like I had arrived. I was successful by industry standards, and I wore that identity with confidence. Everything on paper looked like next level success and incredible achievements.
But beneath the achievement, my soul stayed hungry and dry at the same time.
For a while I did not have faith or a relationship with God.
Then after the birth of my first daughter, I began to go on a deep journey and have a spiritual awakening. God started to reach out to me deeper and the more I looked for success and celebration in the world, the more I yearned for something more and God continued to peel away the layers where I was letting the world define me.
God wanted to be involved in my life but I wasn’t obedient or fully ready. Faith lived in one compartment. Career lived in another. Jesus wasn’t even in the picture. Success belonged to me. Winning meant momentum, relevance, and making sure I did not fall behind in a world that replaces people quickly.
Then something shifted.
There was no public collapse. No dramatic ending. Just a quiet invitation from God to slow down and listen. The Holy Spirit began to surface questions I could no longer ignore. Who are you doing this for. Who is forming you. What are you actually building.
Is it fulfilling your soul? Are you actually happy or the definition of happiness that’s on that paper with that next award?! He opened my eyes and as I began to go deeper in surrender and let go, the real win came when I encountered Jesus not as a concept, but as Lord.
Following Him disrupted my definition of success. He did not ask me to abandon excellence, but He did ask me to surrender control. He gently revealed how much of my worth had been tethered to validation. I began to understand what Scripture meant when it said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33, NIV).
That verse reordered everything.
Winning began to look different.
It looked like obedience instead of access. Discernment instead of constant availability. Saying no even when it cost opportunity. Listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit instead of chasing affirmation. Peace replaced adrenaline. Conviction replaced ambition.
I am still in the world, but I am no longer formed by it.
I still very much value beauty, creativity, and excellence. I still understand influence and visibility. But they no longer define me. They no longer hold me. Success is no longer measured by proximity to famous names or how full my calendar looks. It is measured by faithfulness. By whether my work reflects the character of Christ. By whether my life bears the fruit of the Spirit.
Jesus reframed winning entirely for me.
Winning now looks like alignment with God even when it costs me something. It looks like trusting Him with my future instead of managing it myself. It looks like allowing the Holy Spirit to lead my pace, my priorities, and my purpose. I no longer chase the spotlight. I walk in the light.
I have not lost success. I have redeemed it.
The world taught me how to build an image. Jesus taught me how to build a life. One rooted in truth, obedience, and grace. In his image and knowing how wonderfully and beautifully made I am. Being known no longer matters as much as being faithful. Being with God matters more than being seen. I remain somewhat present in culture, but anchored in heaven.
This is what winning looks like now. A life surrendered to Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, and held by God. I choose obedience daily, trusting that when I seek His Kingdom first, He faithfully orders everything else in His time and His way.
I no longer look for success in the world but how often I can be at my fathers Heavenly feet?!
This fuels my soul, gives me peace and keeps me away from striving. It allows rest and true wholeness in Jesus.
I finally can allow my life to be divinely orchestrated instead of being the one who orchestrates and controls everything. It's true freedom to my mind, body, spirit and soul. This is now what I teach other highly successful women so they can operate from rest. Their nervous system can be restored and recalibrated back the one who created them and they can expand beyond their own capacity because it's not them whos doing it, it's the one who held the keys and plans in the first place.
"I know the plans that I have for you, declares Yahweh. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope." Jeremiah 29:11 NOG
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