#183 - Why Success Isn't Enough: Larry Kesslin on Joy and Identity

The Personal Success Podcast with Ryan Watts · Aug 10, 2026 · 1h 16m

Larry Kesslin achieved his own definition of success and found out it was not enough. He had defined it at 28 as the ability to do what he wanted whenever he wanted. Twenty years later he spent a month in rural villages in eastern and northern Uganda, met people with almost nothing who were plainly happier than he was, and came home understanding that his definition had a hole in it. In this conversation with Ryan Watts, he lays out what he put in its place: joy comes from knowing what you are, who you are, and why you are here, in that order, and it deepens through real connection with other…