Survival isn’t a phase you outgrow in business. It’s a state you re-enter when you feel threatened. In my experience, there are four core states: Survival Achievement Awareness Flow I’d love to tell you it’s a linear progression and once I “completed” each

The Wrong Questions I used to ask, How can I make more money? How can I prove how smart I am? How can I be successful? And I sacrificed my health, my relationships, and my peace for decades in answer to those questions.

Your Energy Is an Asset When you’re uncertain, your mind goes hunting for information. It wants safety. But there’s a point where more input costs you. Your energy drops, both the amount you have and the quality of it. Energy is the most

Desire and Capacity Your desires aren’t random. They reflect who you want to be and what matters to you. The desire and the ability to have it are linked together. We don’t all want the same life. Some people want to build companies.

Why the Past Is a Poor Predictor of the Future When we sit down to work on next year’s forecast, most of us pull out last year’s numbers, add X%, and call it a plan. We’ve been conditioned to believe the past is

Beliefs Don’t Have to Be True Many of the beliefs shaping your life are not objectively true, even though you experience them as real. A mirage isn’t true. But if you see water in the desert, the experience is real to you. Your

Presence Matters More than Strategy Most founders start out running their business in react mode. Making decisions from urgency. Interpreting situations through the pressure of the moment. Bracing without even realizing it. In my early years in business, this was my default too.

Founders don’t come to me and say, “Debbie, I have so much energy it’s unbelievable! I feel so relaxed and clear about what to do. I see how I was holding myself back, and I know everything I want is possible.” They don’t

Imagine an investor shadowing you for a week. Watching how much you work, how you make decisions, and how you talk to yourself. Knowing how much you sleep and what you eat. Would they say you were treating yourself like an asset of