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 the best predictor of the future. It’s not. Your past results weren’t

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 body responds. You might even move toward it. Beliefs work the same

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. I thought being a good leader meant moving fast, controlling all the

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 say that because that’s not how most founders feel. What I hear

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 the business or a liability? What Selling My Business Taught Me About

Founders have one of the hardest jobs in the world: creating something from nothing.  But as amazing as that is, we don’t treat ourselves very well. We criticize ourselves all the time. It’s almost as if we don’t really like ourselves. But, you say, I do like who I am. I’m proud of what I’m