What happens when you achieve the thing you thought would make you feel successful…and it doesn’t?
Bree Katulak knows that feeling.
A seasoned executive, CPA, entrepreneur, and host of the Unstoppable You podcast, Bree built a career that included CFO, CEO, and President roles. When she reached the C-suite, she expected the moment to feel different — almost as if “confetti was going to fall from the sky.”
Instead, she found herself asking: Is this it?
That question began a journey of examining how she had defined success — and how much of that definition had actually been inherited from other people.
In this conversation, Bree and I explore what she calls the “invisible scorecard”: the external measures we can unconsciously use to determine whether we're succeeding — achievement, status, productivity, money, competition, and what other people think of us.
For Bree, redefining that scorecard has meant shifting:
Winning → Wholeness
Status → Self-trust
Productivity → Presence
We talk about why achievement can become connected to worthiness, the pressure to constantly be doing, and how difficult it can be to simply “be where your feet are.”
I share how, even five years into my post-corporate life, I can still catch myself hurrying as though there isn't enough time — even when I'm the one deciding how to spend it. Bree shares that presence is something she is still practicing, too.
Because redefining success isn't necessarily something we do once. It may be something we keep choosing.
In this episode, we explore:
Bree’s “invisible scorecard” and the definitions of success we inherit
Why reaching a major career milestone didn't feel the way she expected
How achievement can become tangled up with worthiness
Moving from winning to wholeness, status to self-trust, and productivity to presence
Why being busy can become part of our identity
The “masks” we wear to meet other people's expectations
How our core values can help us create a more personal definition of success
Trusting ourselves enough to choose a different path
Bree also answers my favorite question:
What would you tell your 20-something self today?
Her answer: Trust your instincts and believe in who you are.
About Bree Katulak
Bree Katulak is a seasoned executive, CPA, entrepreneur, and host of the Unstoppable You podcast. With a career spanning CFO, CEO, and President roles, Bree has led organizations through transformation, growth, and strategic change.
After years of chasing the next milestone, she began questioning what success really meant. Today, through Unstoppable Momentum and her podcast, she helps leaders and ambitious women challenge traditional definitions of success, reconnect with what matters most, and build lives and careers aligned with who they truly are.
Her message: Success isn’t about winning the game everyone expects you to play. It’s about having the courage to define your own.
Connect with Bree
🌐 BreeKatulak.com
🎙️ Unstoppable You — Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube
📸 Instagram: @momof4kaddies
📘 Facebook: Bree Katulak
💼 LinkedIn: Bree Katulak, CPA
▶️ YouTube: Unstoppable You
🏢 RenoSys Corporation
Mentioned in this episode
📖 Be Where Your Feet Are by Scott O’Neil
Connect with Girl, Take the Lead!
🌐 www.girltaketheleadpod.com
🎧 www.girltaketheleadpod.com/listen
▶️ YouTube: @GirlTaketheLead
📸 Instagram: @yocanny
💼 LinkedIn: Yo Canny
📘 Facebook Group: Girl, Take the Lead!
What invisible scorecard might you still be using to measure your success?