A Permission Slip Might Be All You Need

You know that feeling when you finally stop fighting your own reflection?

For years I chased “the color of the season” because some editor decided that’s what was in. Some seasons were hits. Too often, I looked like death warmed over. When I fully committed to the colors that work best with my skin tone, something I can’t change no matter what the trend report says, my glow returned.

It’s almost embarrassing how good that feels, finally owning something I’d known all along.

I see that same feeling in leaders. It shows up the moment they really trust what they already know about how they work best.

The Nudge Back to What You Already Knew

A client texted me recently. Two words: “It worked!”

I couldn’t stop smiling at my phone. Here’s what he was talking about.

Foreign Territory

One of my clients, a huge sports fan, had built his business serving sports executives, a world that had always felt natural and easy to him. Then, without warning, he hit a ceiling. His numbers were down, and the world he knew wasn’t delivering the way it used to.

So he pivoted to business owners instead. The hardest part wasn’t the pivot itself. It was believing he needed to become someone different to make it work. He didn’t know how to read this new room the way he’d always read the old one.

He felt nervous, out of his depth, certain that serving this new audience would take a lot of research, a lot of learning to think like them.

He felt that way until we talked about how he built his initial business in the first place.

“I love getting to know people,” he told me. “Hearing about their families. Finding ways to support their goals.”

That wasn’t just a skill he was good at. It was the thing that gave him energy instead of draining him, the work he was built for. That was his edge. It was also the thing he’d talked himself out of trusting.

My advice was simple: lean into the work that lights you up, regardless of who’s in the room. Creating connection. Serving people well. That doesn’t change with the audience.

That’s when the text came. “It worked!”

Energy Meets Results

A year ago, his numbers were down, the kind that makes you wonder if you’ve lost your edge. This year, he’s on pace for his best production year yet, without changing who he is to do it.

The nugget. Stop performing. Trust the person underneath. When you do, your energy turns on, and so do your results.

You don’t need a new personality for a bigger room. You just need to stop fighting your own reflection.

Laurie