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Multiplier Mindset® with Dan Sullivan

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach

Strategic Coach founder Dan Sullivan shares his wisdom and insights with entrepreneurs who want to multiply their freedom and success.

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Yesterday · 27 min
What It Takes to Go From Pro Athlete to Entrepreneur, with Evan Lindsay
After seven years in the NHL playing for the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, Evan Lindsay retired as a professional athlete and entered the realm of entrepreneurism. Evan shares the story of how he went from the National Hockey League to engaging in successful teamwork he’ll never have to retire from. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: The mindset that’s made Evan both a successful athlete and a successful entrepreneur. How Evan’s multi-faceted company works with failing gyms. How Evan’s employment experiences always ended. The ways in which Evan’s company has grown and continues to expand. Some of the most useful tools and experiences Evan has gained as a Strategic Coach® member. Show Notes: Being a professional athlete at the highest level means you can be coached and you’re good at teamwork. Those are also the two crucial capabilities to being an entrepreneur. For a lot of professional athletes, their unusual talent was spotted very early in life. NHL hopefuls are serious professionals before the end of their teen years. Many professional athletes don’t prepare for the time when their athletic career ends. And then they're thrown out into the world where they don't have the system that’s supported them. An entrepreneur’s number one job is to improve themselves in relationship to their team members and then to the business they’re in. If you consult but haven’t actually worked in the field for a while, you’re coming from a space of theory and ideas. Being familiar with the nuances and details of an industry makes you a lot more effective and proficient at supporting the people around you. In professional sports, you adapt or you don’t get paid. And whether you’re leading the team or on the bench, you have to be in service of winning. When you take over failing businesses, you take over something where the identity is the losing business. You have to come up against hurdles a few times before you realize what doesn’t work. There’s no finish line for entrepreneurs. Being an entrepreneur is a life sentence. Resources: EOS® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy Unique Ability® My Plan For Living To 156 by Dan Sullivan
September 1 · 28 min
What Entrepreneurs Can Accomplish With An Open Mind, with Geoff Meyerson
What does it take to build a company that grows without depending on you for every decision? In this episode, biotech entrepreneur Geoff Meyerson shares how failure, clear communication, and continual self-investment have helped him build a global business, empower his team, and create greater impact with less effort. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Why entrepreneurship may be in Geoff’s genes. How experiencing failure led him to an early breakthrough. How Geoff discovered he wanted to build a career in biotech. What he did to unknowingly prepare himself for entrepreneurship. How he grew his company into a global firm. Show Notes: AI has had one of its greatest impacts in medicine, especially in pharmaceuticals and drug development. Growth-minded entrepreneurs take on the next exciting opportunity, then grow themselves to become more valuable to the team they’re building. Failure is a natural part of the entrepreneurial cycle that leads to breakthrough. To move from failure to breakthrough, the entrepreneur leading the company must evolve their role. One way to make an impact is to donate some of the money you make, but meaningful work can create a more direct impact in your day-to-day life. When your work is meaningful, you know you’re making a difference even on the days that don’t go well. Knowing what you want early in your entrepreneurial career is an advantage because the sooner you gain clarity, the sooner you can get there. Whenever people are involved, challenges, misunderstandings, and things going wrong are inevitable. Clear, honest, and consistent communication prevents small problems from becoming larger relationship issues. Investing more time in your team enables the company to grow faster and allows you to accomplish more with less effort. A Self-Managing Company® gives entrepreneurs the freedom to focus on higher-value opportunities rather than being pulled into day-to-day details. The more entrepreneurs invest in themselves, the more likely they are to have higher-caliber conversations, relationships, and opportunities. Resources: Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers The Impact Filter® The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management What Is A Self-Managing Company®?
August 12 · 8 min
How Entrepreneurs Can Publish Books Without It Being A Chore
Dan Sullivan used to write books the hard way: long, lonely hours at the keyboard. In this episode, he explains the small‑book production system he created in 2014—focused ideas, a repeatable structure, and an editorial team that lets him produce a new book every quarter—and shows how entrepreneurs can adopt the same approach. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: What first got Dan writing books over 30 years ago. The commitment he made at 70 to write a different kind of book every quarter. Why his new book project stalled just four weeks in. Who the books are for and how they’re meant to be used. How Dan selects each quarter’s book topic. Show Notes: You can choose to write only about ideas your clients have already paid you for and that are proven in the marketplace. Long-term creative goals, like a book every quarter for 25 years, keep you active, productive, and future-focused. Advertising taught Dan to write succinctly by getting a complete message across in just a few seconds or inches of space. Strategic Coach® books are written specifically for Program members and for their associates who may want to join. Every quarterly book follows the same structure, with eight chapters, an introduction, a conclusion, and a consistent layout. Short, focused books can reveal which ideas deserve to become bigger, mass market books. Writing a book entirely on your own is often slow, lonely work that doesn’t suit most entrepreneurs. If you maintain your health, you can keep doing meaningful creative work for your entire lifetime. When a company pays you to advise its people, your recommendations can be constrained by the organization’s agenda. Most entrepreneurs get better results by collaborating with an interviewer or editor who can draw out their ideas. When you’re stuck on a project, asking a capable team member to take over the “How” can instantly create momentum. Resources: The 21st Century Agent by Dan Sullivan The Entrepreneur's Guide To Time Management Wanting What You Want by Dan Sullivan The Impact Filter® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy
July 22 · 22 min
Why It’s Worth The Entrepreneurial Risk, with Maria Callahan
Maria Callahan owns a tax advisory firm and has redesigned it around entrepreneurial freedom. Here, she shares how shifting from “professional accountant” to “entrepreneur,” pruning wrong-fit clients, and using Strategic Coach® tools helped her build a lean, right‑fit firm where tax season is calm, her time is protected, and the business supports the life she actually wants. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How boredom led Maria to entrepreneurship. The risks and sacrifices she made to start her own business. What first drew Maria into accounting. Why she enjoys working with taxes and tax planning. How Strategic Coach has been a pivotal part of her life over the past few years. Show Notes: Professional accountants tend to get hardwired to believe there’s only one “right” way to do accounting. Strategic Coach members recognize how their industry operates, but deliberately design businesses that operate in a way that makes sense for them. Once you’re credentialed, you can choose to be an entrepreneur whose specialty happens to be accounting. The joy of entrepreneurship is focusing on what you love doing, what you’re best at, and the clients you love working with. Not every customer or client is right for you, and accepting that lets you eliminate wrong-fit work and stress from your business. Sometimes the best move is to stop offering products or services that distract you from what you do exceptionally well. Real leadership involves making time to think about your business, where it’s going, and who will be on the journey with you. Focus Days™ are for money‑making activities, Buffer Days™ are for setup and support work, and Free Days™ are 24 hours with zero work. Either you take Free Days intentionally, or your body will eventually force you to take them. Doing everything yourself is one of the most exhausting and expensive habits an entrepreneur can have. If you never challenge your own beliefs about work and success, you’ll never step outside the limits they create. Strategic Coach members learn from each other because they’re in different industries but face remarkably similar challenges. Resources: Unique Ability® The Entrepreneur's Guide To Time Management Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy Tax-Free Wealth by Tom Wheelwright Kolbe Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Positive Focus®
July 2 · 29 sec
The Shift That Happens When You Commit To Your Best Work, with Jane Pegg
Dr. Jane Pegg is a veterinarian specializing in dentistry and oral surgery, and her ambition led her to build an enterprise that includes both a hospital and a school. In this episode, Jane shares how she went from feeling unhappy in traditional jobs to doing only the work she’s best at and loves most. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How you actually grow as an entrepreneur by designing your own future instead of following a prescribed path. The number one thing entrepreneurs learn in The Strategic Coach® Program. Why Jane’s first year in Strategic Coach® was very different from what she expected—and why that turned out to be a good thing. The most valuable part of The Strategic Coach Program for Jane so far, and how it changed the way she thinks about problems and opportunities. Show Notes: Entrepreneurs learn at a very early age that they can’t just follow along; they have to create their own path. Entrepreneurs create their own futures, and the best ones always see their futures as bigger than their pasts. Problems are raw material for expanding the usefulness of your business. If you do something only rarely, you have no ability to become truly proficient or truly exceptional at it. If you don’t know where you want to get to, it doesn’t matter which way you go. You won’t get any closer to your next goal by sitting still. Entrepreneurs need the courage to say, “There’s no other option. This is what we’re doing.” Strategic Coach thinking tools aren’t tied to a particular industry; they connect directly to your unique experience. Entrepreneurs have to figure out for themselves what they want their main area of focus to be. Resources: Unique Ability® Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan
June 10 · 20 min
Not Being Normal Is Your Biggest Advantage, with Andy Howard
Andy Howard always knew he didn’t think like everyone else, and school confirmed it. Today, he runs Karuna Impact, a niche property business that converts underused commercial buildings into homes and channels a third of its profits to fight child bed poverty. Discover how Strategic Coach® helped Andy transform discomfort and loss into clarity, confidence, and a powerful freedom of purpose. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Why Andy’s entrepreneurial mind didn’t fit formal education. What Andy started doing after school that finally felt energizing. How a neglected niche in property became a huge growth opportunity. How Andy has gained confidence and clarity through Strategic Coach. What sparked Andy’s renewed sense of purpose as an entrepreneur. Show Notes: Many successful entrepreneurs don’t thrive in school, so they use their own experience as their real education. Most coaching programs focus on goals and tactics; Strategic Coach focuses on expanding your freedom. Freedom isn’t handed to you—you earn it through the entrepreneurial journey. To be free in any area of life, you first need freedom over your time. As you grow your personal freedom, you naturally create greater value for others. For many entrepreneurs, work loses its energy once it feels routine. Big opportunities often live in niches that most people overlook. Social impact and company profitability aren’t mutually exclusive; a well-designed business can achieve both. Strategic Coach thinking tools help you get crystal clear on your vision and the people needed to achieve it. Every Program Coach is an entrepreneur, so they coach from real-world experience, not theory. Finding a community of like-minded entrepreneurs makes it easier to take risks and pursue bigger freedoms. Clarifying your freedom of purpose gives you the motivation to keep growing long after you’ve hit your initial goals. Resources: Karuna Impact The Kolbe A™ Index The Impact Filter® The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs Everything Is Created Backward by Dan Sullivan
May 20 · 32 min
Find Your Fellow Gritty, Courageous Entrepreneurs, with Eric Hansen
Eric Hansen built his business the hard way—decades of grit, risk, and going it alone. But he hit a ceiling he couldn’t break through by himself. In this episode, Eric shares how joining The Strategic Coach® Program helped him multiply his business, reclaim his time, and design a more balanced, purposeful entrepreneurial life. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Why entrepreneurs talk about completely different things with one another than anyone else in their lives. The two crucial stages that signal you’re ready to join The Strategic Coach Program. Why Eric said no to Coach for years—and what finally changed his mind. The kind of wireless telecommunications company Eric has been growing for nearly three decades. How Eric has actually gained more free time and freedom as his company has scaled. Show Notes: When corporate executives meet, they share wins. When professionals meet, they discuss problems. When entrepreneurs meet, they trade stories about their biggest failures and comebacks. Entrepreneurs routinely put themselves into situations where they have to grow as people in order to create the solutions they need. Great entrepreneurs are always acquiring new capabilities, and that continual growth is what builds their confidence. The most successful entrepreneurs can go through almost any kind of trouble and still find a way to come out stronger on the other side. In the Strategic Coach® community, you never have to explain yourself because everyone has lived through their own version of the challenges you’re describing. It’s a powerful advantage for a new entrepreneur to admit they don’t know everything and be open to learning. Companies, like people, move through distinct phases of growth, and each phase demands a different kind of leadership. When you’re staring down potential business ruin, you quickly discover who you are and what you’re really made of. Grit is a crucial entrepreneurial capability that never shows up neatly on a resume and is almost impossible to judge on the surface. Most small businesses don’t survive beyond their first few years, which makes staying power and resilience a serious competitive advantage. The willingness to be vulnerable, especially after major setbacks, can become one of an entrepreneur’s greatest superpowers. Resources: The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan Grit by Angela Duckworth The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brook The Impact Filter®
April 29 · 28 min
The Scary Decisions That Fuel Top Entrepreneurs, with Zack Oliva
From the start of his career, Zack Oliva has deliberately moved toward where he sees the next wave of growth. Now co-owner of a national energy law firm, he shares how he makes major career and business decisions, builds a focused niche, and uses entrepreneurial thinking to stay in the right position for long-term expansion. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Why Zack says he “wasn’t a real person” when he started his firm in 2013. How focusing on the right people allowed Zack’s company to grow exponentially. Zack’s attitude toward every person who comes through his organization. How The Strategic Coach® Program has helped Zack and his business partner grow their company 3-4x. Why Zack thinks joining Strategic Coach® is one of the best investments you can make in yourself. Show Notes: Becoming a professional takes years of study, but becoming an entrepreneur starts with choosing to keep growing beyond your credentials. Most professionals follow best practices, while entrepreneurs create their own rules and go where the future growth will be. Entrepreneurs are people who want to grow. Your personal growth as an owner sets the ceiling for how big and how fast your company can grow. Choosing a growing niche creates a powerful platform to multiply opportunity. Casting for roles, not hiring for generic jobs, helps you find A‑players who fit your vision and teamwork standards. Treating your team members as whole people, not just employees, creates loyalty, creativity, and staying power. A business becomes more valuable when it runs increasingly well without the founder at the center of everything. Trusting your intuition is a learnable skill that gets stronger when you pay attention to past decisions and meaningful coincidences. Entrepreneurship is largely a game of confidence, and protecting that confidence is one of your key responsibilities. Strategic Coach thinking tools and workshops give entrepreneurs and teams a shared language that accelerates connection and progress. Investing in your team’s development produces more creative, capable people who free you up for higher-level work and a fuller life. Resources: Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Entrepreneur's Guide To Time Management
April 8 · 33 min
Growing A Business Without Breaking Your Bond, with Kerby Skurat and Cristina Edelstein-Skurat
When life partners become business partners, tension can quickly intensify—or multiply everything that matters. With the right tools and mindsets, that partnership can become extraordinary. In this episode, Kerby Skurat and Cristina Edelstein share how Strategic Coach® has helped them build a thriving business and a strong marriage at the same time. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How life partners Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith co-run Strategic Coach. What Strategic Coach has helped Cristina and Kerby achieve with their business. How Cristina and Kerby grew their real estate business into a $10‑million‑a‑year company. Cristina and Kerby’s core values. What led Kerby to the decision to shut down a $16-million company. Why both members of an entrepreneurial couple should attend Strategic Coach workshops. Show Notes: Many entrepreneurial couples end up with an almost adversarial business relationship that spills into their personal life. Unique Ability® gives each partner a clear lane, so “best with best” teamwork becomes possible instead of competitive. Entrepreneurism usually shows up early in life and quickly becomes a lifelong way of operating. Choosing the entrepreneurial path means you’ve opted out of the job market and into creating your own game. Strategic Coach provides the structure, tools, and community that support this unique way of life. There’s an art to staying in your lane, especially when both partners are strong‑willed and driven. Every individual has a distinct way of creating results, and honoring those differences turns conflict into collaboration. Real data, real statistics, and real projections give you the confidence to make clear decisions and smart adjustments. A business can be big and profitable and still be the wrong one for you. Shutting down a good company can be the smartest move if it frees you up for great opportunities. Time away from your team, in a room with other entrepreneurs, often leads to the biggest strategic decisions. Hearing other entrepreneurs’ success stories can inspire you to take action on your own goals. Strategic Coach workshops create a thinking space where you can focus on what could be, not just what is. Getting help at deeper personal levels, like marriage counseling, can dramatically improve your business teamwork. Strategic Coach tools work just as well at home as they do in the office. In a team of any size, the speed of the leader determines the speed of the pack. When both partners are in the same coaching environment, it’s far easier to stay aligned on vision and decisions. Resources: Unique Ability® Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage Everything Is Created Backward by Dan Sullivan The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller EOS® Worldwide Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy How To Sell Transformation Using This One Question Do You Know What’s Keeping Your Clients Awake At 3 A.M.? Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan
March 18 · 6 min
How A Walk In The Woods Shaped A Life Of Freedom
As a six-year-old exploring the woods alone, Dan Sullivan discovered that freedom plus responsibility creates confidence, creativity, and self-trust. In this episode, he connects that childhood experience to the way entrepreneurs grow today—by choosing freedom over fear, embracing intelligent risk, and creating environments where exploration and imagination can thrive. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: The kind of childhood freedom Dan was given to explore on his own. How that early freedom directly connects to how he created and continually expands The Strategic Coach® Program. Why it might seem like the world is more dangerous for children than it used to be. Show Notes: Giving a child room to explore something a bit risky teaches them to take responsibility for their own safety and choices. When parents are ruled by fear, they overprotect their children and tightly organize every activity, unintentionally blocking growth. Constant surveillance and control erode a child’s sense of freedom and make independent decision-making feel dangerous instead of natural. Being trusted to “go into the woods” on your own is an early version of entrepreneurial freedom: you decide, you act, and you own the consequences. Making up your own fun in unsupervised environments trains the same imagination entrepreneurs later use to invent offerings, markets, and business models. Today’s world isn’t objectively more dangerous than it was 75 years ago, but 24/7 media makes rare tragedies feel constant and personal. Dan’s parents made a conscious decision to tolerate risk in exchange for developing a strong, independent, and confident mind. That parental mindset mirrors great entrepreneurial leadership: you protect against true catastrophe but don’t smother initiative with control. Overprotective environments create compliant rule followers, while freedom with responsibility creates self-managing value creators.
February 25 · 8 min
Turning Silence Into Your Secret Weapon For Sales
In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares how one powerful question can transform any sales conversation. Instead of pitching, you invite prospects to imagine their bigger future and talk themselves into working with you. Learn how The R-Factor Question® builds instant trust, filters out wrong-fit clients, and makes every sales call about them, not you. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How to use one question to turn any sales conversation into a deep, future-focused discussion. Which types of businesses and professions can most effectively use The R-Factor Question. What it means—and what to do next—when someone refuses to answer The R-Factor Question. Show Notes: A great sales conversation starts long before you speak, with a trusted referral that pre-sells your credibility and lowers resistance. The R-Factor Question instantly signals that the conversation is going to be about the prospect’s future, not your offer or your agenda. When you ask someone to imagine their life three years from now and describe what progress would make them happy, you shift them into possibility thinking. The person who does most of the talking in a sales conversation is the one doing the buying, so let your prospect talk themselves into their future. Silence after you ask the question is your best tool because it proves the question has landed and gives the prospect space to think deeply. When a prospect openly shares their dangers, opportunities, and strengths in response, they’re demonstrating real trust and a desire for a relationship with you. If someone refuses to answer The R-Factor Question, they’re telling you they don’t trust you, and the most productive move is to graciously end the conversation. The first thing anyone truly buys in the marketplace is a relationship, long before they decide on a product, service, or program. People don’t actually want your answers; they want better questions that help them discover their own best answers and next steps. Asking questions you genuinely don’t know the answer to keeps you curious, keeps them engaged, and reveals what they really want to transform. By focusing on their three-year future, you immediately differentiate yourself from every salesperson who is focused on this quarter’s sale. A prospect who shares painful parts of their past or their failures with you is demonstrating deep trust, which is the foundation for any meaningful transformational work. Knowing early that someone is not a fit protects your time, energy, and team so you can focus on clients who genuinely want your help. Resources: How To Improve Business By Asking Good Questions
February 4 · 27 min
From Self Employed To Real Entrepreneur, with Jessica Christy
Many entrepreneurs are technically “in business” but still trapped working for a relentless, 24/7 boss: themselves. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Jessica Christy unpack what it takes to build a true entrepreneurial company instead. Hear how a painful team exodus became Jessica’s biggest growth catalyst and how clear core values, better leadership, and greater control over your life create a company you never want to retire from. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Jessica’s original “entrepreneurial moment” while she was still working for someone else. How her medical aesthetics company, Beauty Culture, helps clients far beyond surface-level appearance. What makes her company stand out in a crowded, diluted industry. How to build the confidence to step into big, scary opportunities. What Jessica has gained since joining Strategic Coach®. Show Notes: Most entrepreneurs aren’t running true companies yet; they’ve simply created a demanding job where they work for themselves. When you’re self‑employed, your “boss” follows you everywhere—24 hours a day, 365 days a year—and is often tougher than any previous employer. Being your own boss doesn’t automatically make you a good boss, especially for your team or for your future self. The Four Freedoms at the heart of entrepreneurial motivation are freedom of time, money, relationship, and purpose, and true entrepreneurial companies are built to expand all four. If you’ve designed a life and business you truly love, the desire to retire largely disappears because work is an expression of your purpose. When entrepreneurs get together, the most valuable conversations are about how they transformed failures and crises into breakthroughs, not just about their wins. The more you learn as an entrepreneur, the more aware you become of how much you don’t know, which keeps you curious, humble, and growth oriented. People rarely leave “bad jobs” so much as they leave a lack of leadership; team members crave clear vision, accountability, and support from their boss. Strong core values act as the navigating compass for your entire company, guiding who you hire, fire, promote, and partner with. Resources: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber Unique Ability®
January 14 · 31 min
The Moment You Decide To Build Around What You Love, with Lior Weinstein
If you’re good or great at everything you do, it can be hard to focus on the one thing you really should be doing. In this episode, Lior Weinstein shares how he learned to identify and strengthen what’s most important to him in both his business life and his personal life. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How Lior’s entrepreneurism showed up when he was still in grade school. The mindsets Lior gained from growing up in Israel. What drew Lior to move from Israel to the U.S. Why having a child led to Lior struggling as an entrepreneur. The particular freedom that Lior is always working to expand. What happens when entrepreneurs have space, and what happens when they don’t. Show Notes: You’re born with a Unique Ability®—the activity you’re energetically drawn toward and can’t get enough of doing. Being good—or even exceptional—at something doesn’t automatically make it emotionally fulfilling. If you’re a non-entrepreneur, someone else owns your time and controls your activity. There’s a common misconception that entrepreneurs are motivated only by money. The “Four Freedoms” that entrepreneurs seek are freedom of time, money, relationship, and purpose. Struggling as a parent isn’t a sign of failure—it’s a sign that you care deeply. What looks like quitting from the outside may simply be the decision to choose a different path. If you’re reflecting on a bad decision, that means you survived it. Entrepreneurs often underestimate the value of their own intuition. If you have the money to solve the problem, you don’t have the problem. Resources: Unique Ability “The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs” Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Dec 24, 2025 · 21 min
Have The Courage To Outgrow Your Own Company, with Colson Steber
When your business success turns into a personal trap, what’s the way out? In this episode, market research entrepreneur Colson Steber shares how committing to a bigger future, installing the right structure, and transforming his leadership turned an overworked owner into a focused, confident entrepreneur with a thriving, growth-focused team. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: What made Colson realize he’s always been an entrepreneur. How Colson was stuck in a loop early in his career. How Colson got into a positive, healthy routine. What an entrepreneur gains from joining the Strategic Coach® community. Show Notes: Every successful entrepreneur creates a powerful story about who they are and the future they’re committed to. Real entrepreneurial growth starts when you commit to a bigger result long before you have the capability to achieve it. Courage is the bridge between commitment and capability, and it often lasts longer and feels harder than you expect. If you insist on being the central problem solver for everything, your successful company quickly becomes a trap. Installing a proven operating system like EOS® gives your company structure so you can stop doing everything yourself. The right structure turns a grinding, 70-hour-a-week survival business into a Self-Managing Company® that supports your life. Your Unique Ability® gains value as you narrow your focus and design the rest of the company around supporting it. Intense preparation and consistent routines let you show up exactly right in the rare moments where you create 50 percent of the value. Culture becomes an asset when your team members are gaining confidence, growing their skills, and actually enjoying their work. Healthy exits—where people move on to bigger futures with your support—are a sign your company is set up for freedom, not dependence. Entrepreneurial timelines are always aggressive, but beating the market still counts as winning even when it feels “too slow.” Every entrepreneur’s story is unique. Strategic Coach gets you thinking about the right things at the right time. Resources: The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan EOS® The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan What Free Days™ Are And How To Know When You Need Them Unique Ability®
Dec 3, 2025 · 29 min
The Secret Behind Every Great Entrepreneurial System, with Kelly Knight
Ever wonder what sets thriving businesses apart? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Kelly Knight share how strong company systems and personal growth go hand in hand for entrepreneurs. Learn why finding the right people, embracing risks, and focusing on core values lets you solve almost any problem—and why successful companies and individuals both need solid operating systems to keep growing. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Where Strategic Coach® and EOS® complement each other rather than overlap. How Kelly built on EOS’s Strategic Coach legacy. Why EOS is personally meaningful to Kelly. How top entrepreneurs turn mistakes into momentum. What Kelly sees as the number one issue facing entrepreneurs today. Keys to keeping your company laser-focused. How EOS Worldwide faced (and survived) a pivotal crisis. The game-changing impact of Kelly’s Strategic Coach experience. Show Notes: An entrepreneur needs two key operating systems—one for running the company and one for running their own life and personal growth. Your passion is often the secret ingredient for long-term success because it’s what sets you apart—and keeps you moving. Growth comes from leaning into risks and staying open to new possibilities. You can’t win every time, but you’ll learn more from setbacks than from any formal education. Don’t waste time worrying about what might go wrong in the future; stay focused on what you can control now. Turning losses into recoveries energizes your team and inspires loyalty. Rapid growth always brings new challenges; expect change and meet it head on. Finding your people—the team that truly shares your values—is an ongoing process worth obsessing over. When you put the right people in the right seats, everything else in your company starts to click. Resources: Thinking About Your Thinking by Dan Sullivan Unique Ability® Kolbe A™ Index EOS® EOS One® More about Kelly Knight
Nov 12, 2025 · 22 min
Rekindle Your Entrepreneurial Spark, with Tricia Wingerter
When entrepreneurs retire from their businesses, it doesn’t always result in the freedom they imagined. In this episode, Tricia Wingerter shares why structure, teamwork, and purpose matter just as much after retirement—and how discovering your Unique Ability® and staying in contribution aren’t just good for business, but for your mind, energy, and happiness too. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Why Tricia didn’t see herself as an entrepreneur until joining Strategic Coach®. How Tricia unlocked the skills and confidence needed to hire the right people. What entrepreneurs might unintentionally give up when they step away from meaningful work. How a family illness inspired Tricia to purchase her Visiting Angels home care agency. Show Notes: The Strategic Coach® Program allows already ambitious people to become more ambitious. Choosing work you love and do best keeps your brain sharp, engaged, and full of energy. Spot someone doing outstanding work? Acknowledging and celebrating it is a sign of real leadership. Retirement doesn’t have a set age or template—your path is your own. All of your problems, discouragements, and heartaches are great opportunities in disguise. When entrepreneurs stop growing and contributing, boredom sets in fast. Retirement often feels very different, and sometimes much emptier, than most entrepreneurs expect. Too much unstructured time can leave even the busiest people restless or blue. Discovering and honoring your Unique Ability® validates what you do best and brings energy back to your work. There’s no rulebook for when or how to step back—keep growing as long as you want to grow. Structure, teamwork, and deadlines give meaning and momentum to day-to-day life, even after “retirement.” Staying focused in your Unique Ability isn’t just good for your business, it keeps your mind fresh and your purpose strong. Fulfillment comes from contribution, not withdrawal. When you feel lost or bored, helping others and pursuing your mission can reignite your spark. Valuing your strengths, asking others for help, and building a team you trust makes leadership a richer, more collaborative adventure. There’s no one way for entrepreneurs to age; finding purpose every day is the true marker of success. Resources: Unique Ability® How To Foster A Longevity Mindset & Reap The Benefits EOS® My Plan For Living To 156 by Dan Sullivan Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Oct 22, 2025 · 26 min
Break The Mold And Build Something Better, with Kevin Dick
Are you ready to break through your next ceiling? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Kevin Dick reveal how boosting your energy, surrounding yourself with growth-minded people, and structuring your time unlocks new levels of success. Learn how resilience, community, and self-belief help entrepreneurs thrive—especially when the market gets tough. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How The Strategic Coach® Program guides entrepreneurs to their next level of success. Why entrepreneurism is really an energy game. How your response to crisis changes once you’ve overcome one before. The unexpected benefits of being a Strategic Coach® member. How Kevin’s entrepreneurial drive started early in life. Show Notes: Entrepreneurs hit ceilings when their environment isn’t pushing them toward bigger goals. Raising your goals demands greater capability from your team, not just yourself. Breakthroughs are most likely during market crises, if you structure your time and attention to seize new opportunities. Independence only works if you build a truly great company around yourself. Entrepreneurial energy and resilience are shaped by who you surround yourself with every day. Being around ambitious, positive people makes growth contagious. You can reinvent yourself in times of adversity if you stay proactive and open to change. The first year at Strategic Coach is about personal growth; after that, it’s about scaling your business practice. Introspection is an entrepreneur’s secret weapon for overcoming major challenges and bouncing back from setbacks. Your brain is wired to pursue what you focus on—feed it bigger goals, not limitations. Self-belief matters more than anything, and it’s a daily discipline, not something that happens by luck. Building a community with your clients creates trust, accountability, and lasting business success. Even setbacks, mistakes, and crisis moments are raw material for entrepreneurial growth and transformation. Resources: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Kolbe A™ Index The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Unique EDGE® Program
Oct 1, 2025 · 27 min
Why Extraordinary Leaders Outperform Resumes, with Alec Broadfoot
Are you still hiring from a stack of résumés, or are you building a team designed for exponential growth? In this episode, VisionSpark CEO Alec Broadfoot shares hard-won lessons on hiring, leadership, and entrepreneurial freedom. Discover why looking beyond the résumé and investing in the right people leads to a business—and a life—filled with fresh possibility and confidence. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How Alec became an entrepreneur at 25. What Alec’s company, VisionSpark, can do for entrepreneurial businesses. How Alec’s first role as owner gave him the idea for VisionSpark. Why you shouldn’t compromise when hiring for your company. Why entrepreneurs aren’t great at hiring. One of the biggest mistakes you can make while hiring. The key factors to consider during the hiring process. Show Notes: The real breakthrough for entrepreneurs happens when they choose a trusted leader who effortlessly turns their vision into reality. The best leaders think fast on their feet, act with integrity, connect with people, and bring ideas to life—qualities you’ll rarely see listed on a résumé. Choosing the wrong person for a key leadership role can set your company back in ways that aren’t just expensive, but can ripple through every area of your business. Most resumes contain exaggerations or outright lies, so real clarity comes from digging deeper and looking beyond what’s on paper. Settling for the “best available” instead of the “best possible” leads to constant turnover and limits the energy inside your organization. Want to find real talent? Use thoughtful assessments and ask purposeful questions to discover what makes a candidate truly unique. It’s easy to let empathy drive hiring decisions, but the most lasting impact comes from putting your company’s bigger future first. True leaders inspire, hold people to higher standards, and create teamwork that lasts. If you want more time, energy, resources, and meaningful relationships, start by freeing yourself up to do what you’re uniquely great at. Letting great managers take the reins makes space for bigger breakthroughs and builds a company that runs without constant oversight. Getting clear about what you want in your company and your team is the first step toward attracting the clients, partners, and opportunities that matter most. The bigger your pool of candidates and the more objective your tools, the more likely it is that you’ll discover a perfect match for your team. Putting all your focus on one client can leave your business vulnerable, so keep creating new value and broadening your reach. Scaling up is easier when you know what you’re uniquely best at and rely on experts to cover the rest. Every hiring decision either multiplies the possibilities for your future or creates a barrier to the freedom you’re working toward. Resources: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs What Is A Self-Managing Company®? Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only) The Positive Focus® VisionSpark Hiring Your Right #2 Leader by Alec Broadfoot Unique Ability® Talent Impact Profile™️
Sep 10, 2025 · 7 min
How To Win The Battle For Attention
What if the key to differentiation isn't about your product, but your perspective? Dan Sullivan reveals how to escape the crowded marketplace by shifting your focus from your needs to your clients' futures. Learn the powerful question that instantly creates partnership and makes you the most valuable person in the room. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: The two critical questions that clarify an entrepreneur's most impactful actions. The two time systems in which the best entrepreneurs operate. How to determine the needs of your customers and clients. A simple method to instantly engage anyone in transformative thinking about their goals. The one essential question that builds partnership and loyalty with every client. Why Strategic Coach® members continuously achieve bigger and better future outcomes. Show Notes: Stating goals as needs puts entrepreneurs in a position of asking for permission rather than leading with confidence. Bold goals are vivid pictures of yourself in the future operating at a higher level. State your ambitions based on what you truly want, not just what you think you need. Modern uncertainty means that seeing clearly beyond the next 90 days is difficult, so it’s important to focus on shorter time frames and long-term vision. Your entire future lies in helping your customers and clients achieve their own futures. The real competition is not for market share, but for a person’s time and attention. Every entrepreneur can offer clients something truly unique that nobody else can provide. Entrepreneurs who make every conversation about the other person hold their attention and differentiate themselves for the long term. Maintaining calm confidence in your own future lets you focus on creating breakthroughs for others. Traditional advertising talks about the seller, but true impact comes from asking clients about their future goals. Strong partnerships are built by consistently helping top clients clarify and expand their future goals together. Entrepreneurial growth is a continuous process across 100 quarters, fueled by a commitment to others’ futures. Strategic Coach’s unique value is opening clients’ eyes to new possibilities through insightful questions, not prescribed solutions. Resources: Wanting What You Want by Dan Sullivan The D.O.S. Conversation® by Dan Sullivan
Aug 20, 2025 · 8 min
Four Signs You Were Born To Be An Entrepreneur
Can you spot entrepreneurial traits in yourself or in your children? In this episode, Dan Sullivan reveals the telltale signs of a true entrepreneur, from early money-making initiatives to a deep craving for freedom. Learn why credentials pale in comparison to creative shortcuts and why results (not methods) are what set entrepreneurs apart in every stage of life and business. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: How the entrepreneurial spirit and mindset shows up in children. Why entrepreneurs can’t work for someone else. How entrepreneurs’ priorities set them apart from most people. How entrepreneurs approach education with a unique perspective. Show Notes: Many entrepreneurs show entrepreneurial instincts as early as age 10 or even younger. A key early sign is wanting to control your own money-making, even before adulthood. Entrepreneurs often find working for others unfulfilling once they realize their earning potential is directly tied to their ambitions. The money an entrepreneur makes is just a function of their ambitions, skills, and usefulness. There’s no single personality type or special skill that makes someone an entrepreneur. Freedom is always more important to entrepreneurs than security. The true reward for entrepreneurism isn’t money itself but the freedom it provides. It’s commonly believed that advanced degrees or credentials are needed for business, but many entrepreneurs prove otherwise. Entrepreneurs are always creating shortcuts for themselves and getting paid for creating shortcuts for others. Entrepreneurs live in a world where the only thing that matters is results, not the methods used to achieve them. Resources: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs Kolbe A™ Index

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