Gilded

Breaking Free from the Cage of Ambition, Perfectionism, and the Relentless Pursuit of More

By: Keren Eldad

Narrated by: Sarah Welborn

Break Free from the Trap of Ambition

Are you an overachiever who feels unfulfilled despite your success? For those driven by ambition, perfectionism, and a relentless pursuit of more, it's easy to lose sight of what truly matters. In Gilded, Keren Eldad explores why so many high performers—whether C-suite executives or go-getters—feel trapped by the very success they sought, finding themselves unfulfilled despite outward achievements.

Do you want to break free from the pressure of always needing more? If you're tired of perfectionism anxiety and constantly moving the goalposts of success, Gilded offers a fresh perspective. Drawing from executive coaching and personal experiences, Eldad provides practical strategies to help you step out of the gilded cage, stop chasing hollow victories, and start living a life of genuine abundance and fulfillment.

Inside, you'll find

● Actionable strategies to overcome perfectionism anxiety and embrace self-reflection for lasting personal growth.

● Practical insights for high performers and leaders who seek purpose beyond external success.

● Tools from executive coaching designed to help you redefine your ambitions and live authentically.

©2025 Keren Eldad (P)2025 Ascent Audio

Must read for high achievers

I was initially skeptical I could learn anything new having read many business and self help books. But this book gets at the heart of how to live AND succeed with peace, authenticity, and ease. Give it a listen and keep your heart and mind open.

Derivative mix of other self dev books

It’s a bit of a watered down amalgamation of other canonical self help books. This is perhaps a helpful book you’ve never read a single development text; but even then, I’d recommend you just go straight to the people whose ideas the author reproduces — eg Byron Katie, Abraham Hicks, Martha Beck.

Needs a new narrator! Keren, please narrate.

I purchased this for a road trip. I was so excited because Keren Eldad is an amazing speaker. When I pressed play, I was surprised because I was expecting Keren's voice. Sadly, no, it is not Keren. That's okay, I thought, it will be great anyways. But again, sadly, no. The narrator sounds like a robot who over-enunciates and places emphasis on the wrong words in sentences making the story clunky and disjointed. Bad tone, no flow, poor delivery. It is so distracting to listen to that I can't finish the book. I've had to start over or rewind several times because the bad narration causes my mind to drift away.

Overall and Story ratings: There isn't a way for me to assess the story because the narration is so bad that I can't get through the audiobook. I will return this if the narration isn't updated. If there is new narration, I will listen again and update my review.