Do not compare yourself to the giants. Your comparison will only leave you feeling mired in issues of self-worth and inadequacy. We are a species that enjoys comparison, knows comparison, thrives on comparison: us vs. them. this vs. that. We know light because we know dark and vice versa. But if you are going to compare, then compare yourself to yourself. Notice what you have done and therefore can do. Notice what you are ready...

A few years ago, I had a complete meltdown about my revenue. I wasn’t earning “enough”. My peers were claiming revenue 3 times mine. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I started looking for new programs, new coaches, new mindset practices, new ways of making me “better”.  I’ve been around long enough to know that isn’t uncommon. Chances are, you’ve been through this too. Maybe you’re experiencing it right now.  As anticapitalist...

How much of your own brilliance are you sitting on? Think about it: all those blog posts, newsletters, workshops, slide decks, pitch letters, late night ideas written in the dark on your phone (hi, it’s me). A few weeks back, I caught myself telling a client to take a look at old, popular posts and repurpose them. I said things like: 💬 People are busy and they aren’t tracking💬 If they saw it and remembered...

You are already enough. It is not the work you do.It’s not your level of productivity.It is not your marketing game.It’s not “how figured out” you have it. None of these are what define your worth.You are already enough. Now imagine if you were to run your business with that lens, that filter, that basis FIRST, before any of your other planning, imagine what could you get done? If you held your innate enoughness as...

I saw a video on Instagram recently of John and Julie Gottman. They were speaking about how they’ve found that the success behind a relationship isn’t about conflict at all; it was about repair. It was offering a cup of tea, even while in an argument. It was seeing the person you’re with as a team member, even during the strife. This sense of care permeates the relationship and allows the people inside it to...

I’m going to learn how to repair an old tractor!Actually, let me backup...When I was in early high school, I really really wanted to study car mechanics. My high school had a shop and I was fascinated by the students coming up the stairs with grease on their hands. So I signed up for the following semester’s mechanics class.The day has come. I take a deep breath. I walk down the stairs, open the door,...

Once upon a time, I was the Executive Director of a small not for profit organization. It wasn’t my first foray into the nonprofit world, but it was my last. Or at least, my most recent. Prior to the ED position, I’d sat on Boards, volunteered multiple days a week, staged sit-ins, and spent weeks camping out in protest. In high school, I ran charity drives to donate clothes for unhoused folk. In Grade 9,...

There I was, in a massive Toronto stadium, breathing in the anticipation of 46,000 fans. The sold out crowd was a mix of old school David Bowie fans in tie dye shirts and greying pony tails, hard core Nine Inch Nails fans in long black everything, and folks like us who met somewhere in the middle. The tour itself was a risk for Bowie and NIN, each of them stretching outside their usual fan base,...

You know what people ask me first at the beginning of any podcast interview? How do you say your last name? You know what people ask me second? Okay - what the heck is regenerative business design? When you offer a service everyone already knows about, your marketing doesn’t need to include education…because your people are already on the same page. But once you start disrupting the status quo, education becomes a large part of...

I was chatting with a client the other day about my Spark Intensives. They were on the fence because they’d looked at the long list of potential results…and they felt overwhelmed. They weren’t sure they were ready. I get it. Working with me 1:1 can be a fire hose. Spark Intensives are often so power-packed that clients need a day or two off to percolate. This is why I often facilitate them on Fridays…and why...

I was following a Facebook post yesterday where the OP was recommending “if you want to grow your business, give everything away”. Be overly generous THEN people will be clamoring to pay you.  Thankfully Natalie Bullen chimed in, echoing my thoughts and adding nuance to this nonsense.  This recommendation is straight out of the bro marketing playbook. It presupposes that you have the capital and longevity to “give everything away” and it’s based on not...

I recently threw out my back for the very first time ever. Yet NOT for the first time, I felt so freaking grateful I could just plug in a heating pad and take calls from bed. I know I often talk to you about creating flexibility in your business and this is a great example. Sometimes the work doesn’t have to be put on hold; sometimes flexibility is in how you deliver it (in this...

If you’re an overachiever like me then you’re probably pretty attached to your schedule. I really get it. You don’t want to miss an important email. You want to be sure that you’re available for consults and client calls. You *need* to be marketing which means doing more than scrolling from the parking lot.  These are all valid and true.  AND ALSO  This is where you’ll find yourself inadvertently adhering to a rigid business system...

One of the things that my clients most struggle with is juggling between work and family/life responsibilities. Even years into their businesses they find themselves rushing from one to the other or…even worse, feeling like they need to choose between them. I want to offer a reframe. You don’t have to choose between family and your business.You don’t have to choose between a successful business and a whole and satisfying life. You don’t have to choose between...

Do you find yourself hustling and juggling even though you hate the hustle? There’s a good reason for that.  Even the people who hate the hustle slip sometimes. Here’s why: Right from the time we’re children, we’re trained to believe that our productivity is the basis of our worth. The more we get done, the more valuable we are. The more chores we do to help out, the more rewards we receive. The harder we...

I was talking with my coach the other day about tracking metrics for better business insights: revenue, external amplification opportunities, sales call conversations, etc. When I was an early business owner, this sort of conversation would have me wanting to burn it all to the ground and run away screaming. Chances are you didn’t get into business to manage your numbers. And if you did, hi, my brain likes your brain. Don’t run away though....

Your life path does not need to be linear in order for it to be right for you. You don’t need to check off boxes on some arbitrary and antiquated list. You don’t need to follow in the footsteps of people you don’t respect. You don’t need to do things the way they said you should do them when you never wanted the same results. Your life does not need to make sense to someone...

Here’s the truth. I put off writing this for nearly a week. So long that my assistant pinged me to see if I’d forgotten. I hadn’t. I just felt…uninspired.  I went back through my IG posts, I looked at old newsletters thinking I might revive something, I looked through my Swipe file for ideas…and…nope. Nothing. Nada. So I decided I would just give myself permission to not write to you this week. I’m on the...

Resistance is real...and far from futile. Resistance will have you scrolling Instagram and calling it outreach. Resistance will have you busy all day so that you don't have to work on the most important thing. Resistance can fool you into thinking it's progress. Your inner resistance wants to keep you safe. It hates the idea of feeling vulnerable, trying new things, feeling stuck in a too-tight schedule, being told what to do. Instead of pushing...

Flashback to week 2 of the most recent cohort of Foundations. We’re checking in, talking about our week, recognizing Aha moments and addressing questions that have come up. I love this program in part because it’s so completely customized to each business owner.  Anyway, here we are, checking in when one of my students jumps in and says, “actually, I want to share a big win”.  Yes it’s week 2 but, you see, we don’t...