Every human wants to live at their maximum potential. The resistance comes from the stories we tell ourselves about how hard that is going to be, and most people talk themselves out of the chase before they ever start it.

I call that debilitating slumber. These 4 short episodes of The Purpose Chasers are about waking up from it, and they include the single best coaching session I have ever been on the receiving end of.

1. Debilitating Slumber (Ep. 45)

Life is not always easy, but there is always a way through the difficult stretch, and once you can see opportunity through adversity you can tap into your greatest potential. My own example in this episode: I went from getting no bookings for speaking gigs to turning down multiple speaking gigs, and the only thing that changed in between was consistent action and the decision to stop believing the story that I could not have the thing I was set to do.

2. Sense of Accomplishment: The Greatest Coaching Session I Have Received (Ep. 50)

After weeks of feeling stressed and pulled in different directions, my mentor spoke one piece of advice into me that shifted the entire focus of Purpose Chasers. I had been stacking stipulations on myself and feeling stretched thin. The advice was about finding a sense of accomplishment in what was already done instead of in what was still missing, and it led to some of the most powerful decisions I have made in business. COVID taught a lot of us the same thing: the holding pattern was a blessing to go inward and do the groundwork.

3. Trying to Be Further Than You Are Will Cost You a Lot (Ep. 60)

This one is a conversation with Natalie Jill, fat loss expert turned high performance coach and host of the Leveling Up podcast. Natalie kills FAT for a living, both the fat on our bodies and the F.A.T. that keeps us small: False Assumed Truths. If you struggle to own your worth or feel less than in any area of your life, a false assumed truth is usually underneath it. We talked about relationships in and outside of business, defining your own version of success, and why trying to be further along than you are costs more than being honest about where you are.

4. Stop Chasing Carrots (Ep. 17)

Have you ever walked out of a high level business conference feeling inadequate instead of inspired? Pursued a master's or a doctorate to prove your worth to peers, and found the degree brought you no joy? That is the carrot chase: adopting someone else's goals as your own. This episode is about how chasing external stature spirals downward, how FOMO becomes a form of self destruction, and why attending the wrong events can stifle your progress. Self actualization starts when you stop performing for your cohort.

Listen on Spotify: The Purpose Chasers, Ep. 17.

Momentum Comes From Proof

Here is what I did not understand when I recorded these. The fastest way out of debilitating slumber for a business owner is not a mindset trick. It is evidence. When a real client tells you on camera what you did for them, the story in your head that says you are not enough loses its grip, because you are looking at reality instead of insecurity. That is the identity side of the Social Proof System, and it is the reason I call one of my episodes the mirror of truth.

What the Mirror of Truth Sounds Like

Steph Stanton leads the Held Sacred community. I interviewed nine of her women on video. What the testimonials did for her:

"Having the testimonials as this feeling of safety that goes out is to me worth 10 times what I paid you. I don't have to do the heavy lifting anymore to show that this group is valid. Yes, I've gotten new clients since you gathered the testimonials."

Sam Haynes moves a thousand miles an hour. My workshop forced him to slow down and look in the mirror. What he found:

"A lot of times you can find out it's actually not a problem. It's a blessing."

More real stories on the Happy Check client results page.

Keep Listening

• No such thing as pressure: 4 leadership lessons

• Pay yourself first and 3 other money lessons

• Anthony Trucks on dark work and identity

• Rob Mack on what happiness actually is

• Hal Elrod on why your best is yet to come

Ready to Wake Up Your Business?

On The Purpose Chasers I sit down with people who are building something that matters. In my business, The Happy Check, I help coaches, creators and service businesses turn that same kind of real story into video testimonials and content that bring in clients.

If you want to take your marketing to the next level, book an organic marketing audit call with me.

Or start with the free Happy Check book and learn who to ask, when to ask and how to use what they say.

Keep reading: how testimonials shape an entrepreneur's identity, the Happy Check book.