Hello, friend, and welcome back to another episode of Tales from The Lane. I’m your host, Kate Kayaian—a former cellist, now writer, speaker, and coach for high performers who want their lives to feel as good on the inside as they look from the outside.

In this episode, we’re talking about something that rarely gets acknowledged in the world of high achievement: the hidden costs of excellence.

Not because we’re lowering the bar. Not because we’re changing the goal.
But because when you’re committed to being the best, you deserve to make those trade-offs with clarity and intention—not by default.

We’ll explore real-life examples of world-class professionals (like Arianna Huffington) who hit a wall, and how they learned to succeed without self-sacrifice becoming the default setting. We’ll also talk about how to navigate your own trade-offs more deliberately—and how to protect the things that matter most while staying on track toward the top of your game.

If excellence is non-negotiable for you, but you want to pursue it without burning down the rest of your life, this episode is for you.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Is this really worth it?”—this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways:

• What we lose in the pursuit of excellence—and why it’s so rarely talked about

• Real-life stories of high performers who chose health and wholeness over external achievement

• How to recognize burnout, disconnection, and over-identification with your work

• Tools to help you recalibrate your career for long-term, sustainable success

Order Beyond Potential now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org.

Links and Resources:

• Follow Kate on Instagram: @kkayaian
• Free Guide: 10 Habits of Successful Artists
• Free Guide: Quarterly Retreat Planning Guide

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• Subscribe to Tales from The Lane on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.
• Leave a review—it helps more creatives find the show!

Want to work with me? Book a free 30-minute discovery call with me today.