Success isn't always what you think it is. Sometimes success has a funny way of showing you the parts of yourself that still need work.
In Episode 63 of The Middle Child Podcast, Royal Boles sits down with Ashley Williams for a conversation about success, personal growth, identity, relationships, career, and what happens when you reach a level in life that requires you to become a different version of yourself.
Ashley describes this season of her life with one word: development.
She's working on her discipline, rebuilding her strength, learning consistency, navigating relationships, and figuring out what it really means to grow into the person she knows she's supposed to become.
And then she says something that really puts the whole conversation into perspective:
“Success has a funny way of showing you that you're underdeveloped.”
Because sometimes we think getting to the next level means we've made it. But the next level can actually expose the things we haven't dealt with yet.
Ashley opens up about her journey into real estate, moving to Atlanta, coming back home to Birmingham, and how some of the biggest changes in her life didn't happen the way she expected them to.
Royal and Ashley also get into identity, being a middle child, being the peacemaker and problem solver, relationships that change, learning when to let people go, and what happens when you stop trying to control every part of the process.
They talk about the difference between progression and perfection, learning to see yourself differently, and understanding that growth doesn't always look like a dramatic transformation.
Sometimes it's going to the gym when you don't feel like it.
Sometimes it's rebuilding your confidence.
Sometimes it's realizing a relationship isn't meant to continue the way it once did.
Sometimes it's going back home.
And sometimes it's simply admitting:
“I'm still developing.”
This conversation is about what happens in the middle — the space between who you were, who you've become, and who you're still becoming.
Because success isn't just about what you accomplish.
It's also about who you become along the way.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 — Faith, Hope & the Season We're In
01:00 — Welcome to The Middle Child Podcast
02:12 — Meet Ashley Williams
03:28 — Ashley's One Word for This Season: Development
05:21 — Be Careful What You Ask For
06:47 — “God, Make Me Effective”
09:15 — Faith, Hope & Desperate Faith
12:17 — Discipline Before Devotion
15:10 — Learning How to Build a Relationship With God
20:44 — You Don't Have to Be Perfect
25:53 — Ashley on Being a Middle Child
27:03 — Finding Your Identity
30:28 — Learning to See Yourself Differently
36:39 — When Someone Doesn't Choose You
41:07 — How Ashley Got Into Real Estate
44:13 — Moving to Atlanta Before the Pandemic
48:00 — What Ashley Would Tell Her Younger Self
53:02 — Real Estate, Home Ownership & Building Wealth
55:01 — What Happens in the Middle?
57:01 — Rebuilding Hope & Moving Forward
👤 ABOUT ASHLEY
Ashley Williams is a businesswoman and real estate professional whose journey has taken her through career changes, personal growth, relationships, relocation, and seasons of development.
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/ @home_withash
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/home_withash/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Luxuryhomeswithash
👤 ABOUT THE MIDDLE CHILD PODCAST
The Middle Child Podcast with Royal Boles is the show where you are seen, loved, and appreciated.
Subscribe for weekly episodes: https://underconstruxtion.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theroyalboles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theroyalboles/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theofficialmiddlechildpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theroyalboles#TheMiddleChildPodcast
#SuccessIsntWhatYouThink #AshleyWilliams #PersonalGrowth #PersonalDevelopment #SelfGrowth #Success #FindingYourself #LifeLessons #CareerGrowth #RealEstate #HomeOwnership #ProgressionOverPerfection #RoyalBoles
