When you are truly present (a la The Power of Now), you are no longer attached to certain experiences (e.g. worldly success) or material things (car, house etc). In other words, you no longer get your sense of identity from these things.
That absolutely does not mean that you have to give up being successful or having material things. But the intent behind creating such experiences and things is different. When you create from the ego, you are attached to what you create, and it is difficult to let go as your creations all have meaning (the meaning you gave them) and are part of your identity. When you are truly present, however, you have no attachment to anything. You create experiences and things because you can, because you live in a physical world and you are fully entitled to enjoy it while you're here. If you have to let go of something you've created (or choose to let go), you do not suffer - after all, you can create the same thing or something different again tomorrow.
Living from the ego results in statements like "I am a successful businessperson" - that is an identity on to which the ego latches, even though this is a more positive identity than "I am a loser" for example.
Living in pure presence results in the statement that "I am" - just that! This can be taken further if you choose to... "I am, and therefore I choose to create the experience of success in business".
Can you see the difference?
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