Your Peak of the Week
Hey Reader,
Welcome back to Peak of the Week — where we talk about what it really takes to perform at your best. As a person. As a leader. And increasingly, as an organization.
This Week →
- What $125K and pure ego actually taught me
- The "I'll be happy when" game you're probably playing right now
- Why doing the opposite of my programming changed my future
Read Time: 4 minutes
$125,000. An expensive price to pay for a lesson.
Seven months in a business accelerator that promised me one thing: predictable, recurring revenue.
I wish I could tell you it all worked out. Not that the program was bad; it was incredible.
It was that it was 100% driven by ego.
I’m a little ashamed admitting that now. But hey… it’s all part of the curriculum, right?
The truth is, a year ago, I was not very confident in my coaching and speaking business. Specifically, I didn’t think I was “enough” until my business hit a very specific number every single month.
$30K. Not $29K. Not “pretty close.” $30K, or I was a loser.
(Yes, I actually used that word on myself. My inner critic does not mess around.)
Looking back, it’s almost comical how intense that pressure was. Put that kind of grip on any outcome, and it will never give you what you’re actually chasing.
I was playing the "I'll be happy when" game
I’d bet you have your own version of this. That one very specific outcome you’ve decided you MUST have, or else. I must get that job. That title. That number in the bank account. That relationship.
Underneath every one of those is the same word: control.
I must have control over the situation to be okay inside.
I know this pattern far too well. I spent years making sure I was at the top of the leaderboard in almost every environment I was in. And I was pretty good at it, too.
Until life did what life does.
It rearranged everything… so I could evolve.
I'm convinced God moved me from the top of the leaderboard to the very bottom because I was ready (whether I liked it or not) for an expanded identity. An identity rooted in faith.
Let me tell you….that was the most painful year of my life. 2023. I hated it. I wish I could’ve skipped it altogether and fast-forwarded straight to the other side. I fought so dang hard to that "safe" identity even though something in me knew. Just knew.
And the first half of 2026…WOW. Different circumstances. Same crazy ride. Yet, ok, I know this pattern well…I’ve done this before…and I do not need to allow myself to sit in suffering for a full year like I did in 2023. I refuse to act like I'm the victim.
Have you heard of the concept of necessary suffering?
It goes like this…some suffering cannot be bypassed if we are to become who we’re meant to be.
Meaning…
Pain that is transformed becomes wisdom.
Pain that is avoided becomes suffering.
(you might want to read those 2 lines again)
Because remember…..
Pain fully faced (and yes….it SUCKS) becomes WISDOM and a beautiful blessing on the other side.
A more magnificent you.
A transformed you. Old you, gone. New you, born.
So... this thing... this pain... or this old story of “you” you’re gripping right now. Yeah, that thing that came to mind first. I invite you to think about it differently.
Perspective shift time.
What if you did the exact opposite of what comes naturally to you?
If you’re someone who gets a rush from checking every last box on your to-do list….what if you left something undone on purpose?
What if you sit in silence with yourself (I know, HARD)
That’s honestly what did it for me. Going against my programming.
I had go-go-go, achieve-achieve-achieve down to a science.
And what actually happened when I spent LESS time working on business? Things started aligning.
Feels completely wrong. To this date, it still makes me uncomfortable.
You mean put away the laptop, go to the pool with my boys, and new opportunities land in my inbox? My next client comes to me easily and effortlessly while I’m at the pool?
It was almost creepy. Every single time, deeply uncomfortable going against my urge to work. And every single time, a miracle in the form of money or a new opportunity.
Turns out God was teaching me that the entire point of working was to have the freedom to spend time with the people you love most. THE MOST.
For me, those are my 4 boys and my husband.
And I am ashamed to say that I took them for granted.
That a life spent “getting there” would never end. I was always going to “not be there yet.”
So God broke my addictive achievement pattern. Very painfully, I might add.
Not all at once, either.
2023, 2024, 2025, 2026….
I’m sharing this in hopes it gets you thinking about your own “program”….the one that comes so easily to you. Yeah, that one. It might be ready to be reprogrammed.
We all have one. Built from our upbringing, the environments we came up in.
Here’s the good news. If you’ve made it this far, you already have the awareness. And the moment you can see the pattern is the moment you get full ownership over it.
So…
What's the very specific outcome you're gripping right now?
And what would it look like to do the exact opposite of what feels natural, just to see what happens?
When I started doing this, the money and clients flowed to me as they've never flowed before. I never needed 30K a month to define my worthiness. I am already whole and complete as is.
With belief in your magnificence (and your becoming),
Laura
P.S. — Hit reply and tell me: what’s the pattern you’re ready to re-program? I read every email and GREATLY appreciate your input :)
P.S.S. - I am booking more and more keynotes and workshops for 2026 into 2027. If you're looking for a speaker to inspire your team to unlock their full potential, check out my talks here and reach out to share more about your goals! I'm here to help more people love what they do :)