Chase Moments, Not Money: The Leadership Shift That Changes Everything
“I want to be known more for what’s between my ears than for the stuff I have.” - Emo Ikede
We live in a world obsessed with the scoreboard - cars, houses, titles, net worth. It’s everywhere you look. But what happens when you stop chasing all that external noise? What happens when you flip the game on its head and start chasing moments instead of money?
This is exactly what Emo Ikede and I unpacked in a recent conversation, a reminder that hit me right in the chest because it’s become the theme of my own life lately.
The Chase
For years, I was that guy…. chasing the next deal, the next promotion, the next big thing. And don’t get me wrong, I loved the work. But ironically after some deep pain and reflection, I started realizing that the real wealth wasn’t sitting in my bank account. It was standing in front of me in the form of my kids, the time we spent on a baseball field or a sunset down by the water on a beautiful Saturday. The moments that don’t have a dollar sign attached.
When I stopped chasing money for the sake of it and started chasing moments, connection, presence - something interesting happened. The grip loosened. The pressure eased. Ironically, the opportunities didn’t dry up, they showed up more consistently. But they felt better. More aligned to my authentic self.
Emo said it best: “I want to be known more for what’s between my ears than for the stuff I have.” That line stuck with me. We spend so much energy trying to impress people we don’t even know with things they’ll forget tomorrow. But what really lasts? The knowledge we pass on. The kids we coach. The friends we lift up. The relationships we nurture. The ideas we leave behind.
I wrote in my journal not long ago: Stop chasing money. Start chasing moments. It’s simple, but it’s everything.
What Will Your Impact Be?
This isn’t about dropping ambition - I’m still hungry. I still want to build. But I want to build a life I actually want to live in and not just a bank statement to brag about. The truth is, most people won’t remember what you drove. They’ll remember how you made them feel. The impact that you had on their life.
So here’s my challenge to you - as a leader, a parent, a friend:
Measure your days in moments, not money. Stack your life with memories worth remembering. The deals will come and go. The dollars will come and go. But the moments? The moments are what we’ll carry when we look in the mirror at the end of the day.
Maybe that’s the only scoreboard that really matters.
Here is a link to the full conversation for those who want to go deeper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muIaXhVwAp4
