I’ve spent most of my career around entrepreneurs and we’re very good at talking about what’s next. More revenue. More growth. The next opportunity. The next big idea.

But the longer I build, the more interested I am in a different question: Does what you’re building still feel aligned with who you’re becoming?

That question came up again and again when I sat down with Chirag Sagar and Adam Torres, co-founders of Mission Matters. Their company is built around a belief I happen to love: every person has a mission. Their work is about helping people find it, amplify it, and connect with the people who can help move it forward.

Meet Chirag and Adam

I knew this conversation was going to be interesting because Chirag Sagar and Adam Torres, co-founders of Mission Matters, have built their company around a question most entrepreneurs eventually ask themselves: What am I really here to do?

Over nearly a decade, they’ve turned that question into a media platform, a community and a business designed to help other people move closer to their own mission. But what I loved most was seeing how they’ve built it together. There’s a real respect between them, a lot of humor and a shared vision that has given them room to grow in very different ways. And after all these years as partners, this was their first interview together.

And here’s a fun fact I love: after nearly a decade of building Mission Matters together, Chirag and Adam had never been interviewed together on a podcast. Their first time? Right here on Potential to Powerhouse. I’d say we got pretty lucky. 😉

Purpose and peace belong in the same room

Chirag said something during our conversation that stayed with me.

“You can pursue what looks like your purpose and still be driven by something underneath it that has nothing to do with purpose at all.”

Maybe you’re trying to prove something. Fill a void. Reach the number that will finally make you feel successful enough.

From the outside, those paths can look exactly the same.

Chirag has learned to ask a different question: Does the work fuel you, or are you burning yourself out trying to keep it alive?

I think that question gets more important the more successful you become. Because at some point, another revenue goal isn’t enough. You start asking, What am I actually building all of this for?

Then the conversation took a turn

Adam has conducted thousands of interviews over the years, but some of the most meaningful conversations he ever recorded were with his mom.

After losing her unexpectedly, those recordings became something entirely different. They became a way to hear her voice again, hold onto her stories, and preserve a piece of her for the family he hopes to have one day.

That moment shifted the way I thought about everything we had been discussing.

We spend so much time thinking about the reach of what we create. The views. The followers. The numbers.

But sometimes the real value of what we create isn’t something we can measure today.

Sometimes it’s legacy.

Continue the conversation

There is so much in this episode about finding purpose, building the right partnership, trusting yourself, navigating burnout and what it takes to keep showing up when the work gets hard.

And Chirag and Adam have very different ways of looking at all of it, which made this conversation so much fun.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube

Listen on Apple Podcasts

I walked away thinking about this:

Purpose doesn’t always arrive as one giant revelation. Sometimes it leaves breadcrumbs until you’re finally ready to follow them.

So I’m curious: What breadcrumb keeps showing up in your life right now?

Tell me in the comments. I read every one.

Xx,

Tracy

P.S. If you’re at an inflection point and questioning what you’re building next, send this episode to someone who knows you well. Sometimes the people closest to us can see the breadcrumbs before we do.

There was a moment in my conversation with Amanda Goetz when I thought, I wish someone had explained this to me 15 years ago.

Like so many women, I spent years trying to be in two places at once. I could be with my kids while sneaking work in. I could be running a company while carrying the mental load of being a mom. Somehow, I thought being good at both meant learning to balance both at the same time.

Amanda challenged that idea with two words: intentional imbalance.

Maybe every part of our lives doesn’t need an equal piece of us at every moment. Maybe the goal is learning to be fully present for the part that needs us now.

Meet Amanda

I loved sitting down with Amanda Goetz, a two-time founder, personal brand expert, author, and mom of three. Amanda has built an audience by sharing the parts of entrepreneurship and motherhood most people edit out, growing her newsletter to more than 150,000 subscribers. What I appreciate most is that she doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. She shares what she’s learning while she’s living it, and you immediately feel like she’s in the arena with you.

You don’t have to be every version of yourself at once

Amanda told me that the version of herself who is intensely focused on work doesn’t always coexist well with the version who wants to be completely present with her children.

So she stopped trying to force them together.

During the pandemic, she even created what she calls a “commute bath.” Her workday ended at three and instead of walking straight from work into three young children needing Mom, she gave herself 30 minutes to transition. The kids watched TV. She took a bath. Then she came back ready to be there.

I loved that because it’s not really about the bath. It’s about deciding who gets your attention before your attention gets divided for you.

Looking back, I can see so many moments when I was technically with my children but still checking something, answering something, or thinking about work.

I wish I had given myself more permission to say, I’m working now. And when I’m done, I’m going to be Mom.

Building something that gives you choices

Amanda’s story is also about something I think every woman should consider: OPTIONALITY.

At the height of her corporate career, she was leading marketing at The Knot while raising three young children and going through a divorce. That experience pushed her to build a personal brand and create something that belonged to her.

Years later, when she found herself in a corporate environment that no longer worked for her, she could walk away.

She had options.

That really stayed with me because cash flow creates optionality, and optionality creates power.

There’s one part I want you to hear yourself

Amanda and I also got into building companies, raising capital, and what happens when we give too much power to people we assume are the “experts.”

It brought up a very real chapter in my own story, when I stepped aside from the day-to-day leadership of a company I had spent more than a decade building because I believed the professional operators coming in knew more than I did.

My gut told me otherwise.

What happened next changed the way I think about expertise, instinct, and trusting yourself. And Amanda’s response to that story is one of my favorite moments in this conversation.

Continue the conversation

If you’re building a business while raising a family, navigating a pivot, or simply exhausted from trying to be everything to everyone, I think you’ll feel seen in this one.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Where in your life are you trying to balance something that might actually need your full attention?

Tell me in the comments. I read every one.

Xx,
Tracy

P.S. If you know a woman trying to be CEO, mom, partner, friend, and everything in between, send this to her. She might need the reminder that she doesn’t have to be every version of herself at the exact same time.

Some of my best decisions started as a hunch

When I look back at some of the biggest business opportunities I’ve had, they didn’t always begin with a perfectly thought-out strategy. Sometimes they started with a feeling that said, pay attention to this.

I shared one of those moments with HeyJune. I had this instinct to invite the head buyer from Trader Joe’s to my home, bring together some interesting people, and create an experience I thought they would enjoy.

I followed the hunch. And something magical came from it.

I’ve seen that happen more than once in my career, which is why this conversation fascinated me. How much opportunity do we miss because our instincts speak before the evidence arrives?

Meet HeyJune

I was so excited to sit down with HeyJune Jeon, intuitive guide, storyteller, former Wall Street and tech professional, founder of Pheydrus, and one of our very own InnerFifth members. What I love about HeyJune is that she brings together two worlds we’re often told don’t belong in the same room: sharp business thinking and deep intuition.

What if the detour is actually the path?

HeyJune started her career in finance, including time at J.P. Morgan and a quantitative fund. On paper, she was doing exactly what a smart, ambitious woman was supposed to do.

Except it didn’t feel right.

While working in finance, she kept making time for the creative work she loved. That curiosity eventually led her to tarot and to becoming a protégé of Frank Andrews, an intuitive advisor whose clients included John Lennon and Andy Warhol.

Years later, during the pandemic, she started posting videos on TikTok. Her audience exploded, people began finding her old website and booking readings, and suddenly the work she had been quietly developing for years became a business.

From the outside, it could look like overnight success.

But it wasn’t. It was years of following something that made her feel alive before there was proof it would become anything.

Are you listening to what excites you?

During our conversation, HeyJune gave me a simple way to think about a hunch: Does this excite me?

Not, Is this guaranteed to work? Or, Can I explain exactly where this will lead?

Does it create curiosity, energy, or a sense of expansion?

That doesn’t mean we throw strategy out the window. I’m still a businesswoman. I like data, plans, and knowing the numbers.

But sometimes the data tells us what has already happened, while our instincts are pointing toward what could happen next.

This is where it gets interesting!

Our conversation went much further than intuition.

We talked about reframing difficult seasons, why uncertainty can create clarity, and how HeyJune uses tarot, astrology, and numerology to help people understand the patterns in their lives.

At one point, she started telling me what your home address might reveal about those patterns.

I’m stopping there because my reaction says just about everything. You need to hear HeyJune explain this one herself.

Come listen to this one

If you’ve ever had a hunch you couldn’t explain or felt pulled toward something that didn’t make perfect sense on paper, I think you’ll love this conversation.

Watch on YouTube

Listen on Apple Podcasts

What I’m taking with me

Building companies has taught me to respect information. Experience has taught me to respect instinct, too.

Your intuition doesn’t need to replace strategy. But strategy shouldn’t become so loud that you can no longer hear yourself.

So I’m curious: Is there a hunch you’ve been talking yourself out of because it doesn’t completely make sense yet?

Tell me in the comments. I read everything, and I’d love to hear what your gut has been telling you lately.

High Five!
Tracy

P.S. If you know a woman standing at a crossroads right now, send this her way. Sometimes we don’t need someone else to tell us what to do. We need to listen more closely to what we already know.

AI is changing how people search. Ad models are shifting. New platforms keep showing up. And founders are being told they need more content, more reach, and more eyeballs just to stay relevant.

But after sitting down with , founder of Elevate My Brand and Fabric VC, I kept coming back to a much simpler idea:

What if your best marketing starts before you market anything at all?

Meet Laurel

I loved sitting down with Laurel Mintz, founder and CEO of Elevate My Brand and founder of Fabric VC. Laurel has spent nearly two decades helping brands grow, but what I love most about her perspective is how she cuts through all the marketing noise and brings it back to something very human: know your customer, listen to what they’re telling you, and build something they actually want. This was such a fun conversation, and there were a few moments that really made me rethink how we should be approaching growth right now.

One part of our conversation really stayed with me.

Laurel talked about what happens when brands bring their customers into the product development process. You ask questions. You listen to what they want. You test ideas with them before trying to convince thousands of strangers to buy.

It sounds simple, but it changes the relationship.

Your customer is no longer standing at the end of your marketing funnel. She becomes part of what you’re building.

Laurel saw this firsthand with Squishmallows. Bringing the audience into decisions about future products helped create what she calls “brand evangelists”—people who don’t simply buy the product, but genuinely want to tell other people about it.

That’s powerful.

And you don’t need millions of followers to do it.

More reach doesn’t always mean more business

During our conversation, we also talked about something founders can easily forget: a massive audience and a high-converting audience are not the same thing.

I’m much more interested in the second.

Give me a smaller community that cares deeply about what we’re creating, gives us honest feedback, buys when we launch, and tells other people about it.

That’s not just an audience. That’s an asset.

It’s also why I believe influence needs structure. When you understand the people who already trust you, you can begin translating that influence into products they actually want. Those products can become brands, and the strongest brands can eventually become companies.

Where the conversation gets interesting

Laurel and I covered a lot more than I’m sharing here—and intentionally so.

We talked about why she’s watching Reddit, what AI could mean for the future of marketing, what founders with smaller budgets should be thinking about, and why some of the old marketing playbook simply isn’t working the way it used to.

Then our conversation moved into money.

Laurel shared what happened when she went from bootstrapping her businesses to raising capital for Fabric VC. At first, raising money felt uncomfortable and completely different from anything she had done before.

Then she had a realization that changed how she approached the entire process.

And that’s where I’m going to stop.

Because hearing Laurel explain that shift herself is far better than me giving it away here.

Hear the rest of our conversation

If you’re building a product, growing a brand, trying to make your marketing dollars work harder, or simply wondering what you should be paying attention to next, this episode is worth your time.

Laurel has a sharp way of cutting through the noise and bringing the conversation back to what actually moves a business forward.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube

Listen on Apple Podcasts

What I’m taking with me

The platforms will change. The tools will change. AI will certainly change how we work.

But I don’t think knowing your customer will ever become outdated.

Before you spend more money trying to reach more people, get curious about the people already paying attention.

Ask better questions. Listen carefully. Build with them.

Your next great marketing idea might actually be hiding inside a conversation you haven’t had yet.

So I’m curious: How often are you actually asking your customers what they want before you build it?

Let me know in the comments. I read everything, and I’d love to hear how you’re doing this in your own business.

Xo,
Tracy

P.S. If you know a founder who feels like she’s constantly trying to keep up with marketing, send this her way. Then watch or listen to my conversation with Laurel together. I have a feeling it will give you both a few things to talk about.

I hear it all the time.

Women tell me they’re waiting until they have more revenue before they join a community. They think they need to figure it out on their own before they ask for help. They convince themselves they’re “not ready” to be in the room.

I understand that feeling because I’ve been there too.

But after my conversation with Stephanie Cartin, co-founder of Entreprenista, I kept coming back to one thought.

Maybe we’ve been thinking about entrepreneurship backward.

The women who grow the fastest aren’t building alone.

Stephanie has spent years building a community of thousands of female founders. She’s watched women launch companies, raise capital, exit businesses, navigate health challenges, and start again.

After seeing so many entrepreneurial journeys up close, one pattern stands out.

The women who keep growing aren’t necessarily the smartest in the room or the ones with the biggest audience.

They’re the women who know how to ask for support.

They build relationships before they desperately need them. They surround themselves with people who challenge them, encourage them, and remind them what’s possible when they can’t see it themselves.

That’s not weakness.

That’s strategy.

Confidence doesn’t come first.

One part of our conversation really stayed with me.

Stephanie talked about how many women believe they need more confidence before they take the next step.

I’ve found the opposite to be true.

Confidence usually follows action.

It grows every time you make the call, join the room, ask the question, or invest in your own growth before you feel completely ready.

That’s true whether you’re launching your first business or building your fifth.

I’d love for you to hear this conversation

I intentionally left out some of my favorite moments because they’re better heard directly from Stephanie.

She shares the personal experiences that shaped her as a founder, why community became the foundation of Entreprenista, and what she’s learned after supporting thousands of women through every stage of entrepreneurship.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re ready for your next level, I think this episode will meet you exactly where you are.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube

listen on Apple Podcasts

Think about where you are today.

Are you trying to build your business by yourself?

Or are you building relationships that will help carry you through the next season?

I’d love to hear your answer.

Leave me a comment below. I read every one, and some of the best conversations in this community begin there.

With love and purpose,

Tracy

P.S. If another founder came to mind while you were reading this, send this to her. Sometimes the most valuable business decision you’ll make isn’t hiring another employee. It’s finding the right people to build alongside.

Entrepreneurship is hard. We all know that.

There are seasons when the pace is fast, the decisions are constant, and it feels like your business needs something from you every minute of the day. Most founders accept that as part of the journey.

But during my conversation with Andrea Liebross, she introduced an idea that stopped me in my tracks. She made a distinction between the stress that naturally comes with growth and the stress that keeps you feeling trapped. She calls it “stuck stress.”

The more she explained it, the more I realized how many women are carrying it without even realizing it.

When busy becomes your identity

I see this all the time.

Women who are capable, ambitious, and deeply committed to what they’re building slowly become the person who does everything. They answer every question, solve every problem, approve every decision, and wear their exhaustion like proof that they’re working hard enough.

I’ve been there.

At first, it feels productive. Eventually, it becomes the very thing that limits your growth.

Andrea said something that really resonated with me:

Many entrepreneurs become trapped in every role inside their business instead of stepping into the role only they can play.

That’s a subtle shift, but it’s a powerful one.The question every founder should ask

There was one question Andrea asked that has stayed with me long after we stopped recording.

If your business had a vote, what would it tell you to do?

Not what fear would tell you.

Not what your overflowing calendar would tell you.

Not what feels familiar.

Your business.

Would it ask you to keep holding everything together yourself? Or would it ask you to become the leader who finally creates the structure it needs to grow?

Sometimes the biggest breakthrough isn’t working harder. It’s becoming honest about what your business actually needs from you.

Why this conversation matters

One of the core beliefs we talk about inside InnerFifth is that influence without structure leaks money.

Andrea’s perspective beautifully reinforces that idea. Vision is essential, but vision alone isn’t enough. Without the right systems, support, and delegation, even the brightest ideas begin to feel heavy.

That doesn’t mean you’ve lost your passion.

It may simply mean you’ve outgrown the way you’ve been operating.

I think that’s an important distinction because so many women assume feeling overwhelmed means they’re doing something wrong. More often than not, it’s simply a signal that it’s time to lead differently.

I’d love for you to hear this one

There were several moments in this conversation that challenged the way I think about leadership, but I intentionally left out one of my favorites.

Andrea explains the difference between stuck stress and progress stress in a way that immediately helps you recognize where you are. She also shares a simple framework for delegation that every founder can begin using right away.

It’s one thing to read about these ideas.

It’s another to hear someone walk you through them with the clarity and compassion Andrea brings to this conversation.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube

Listen on Apple Podcasts

As you read this, I want to leave you with one question.

Are you carrying the kind of stress that comes from growing... or the kind that comes from trying to carry your entire business on your own?

I’d love to hear your answer.

Leave me a comment below. I read every one, and some of the best conversations in this community begin there.

High five!

Tracy

P.S. If another founder came to mind while you were reading this, send this article to her. Sometimes all it takes is one conversation to realize you don’t have to carry everything alone.

Watch on YouTube
Listen on Apple Podcasts

For years, entrepreneurs have been told that growth is about more content, more followers, and more visibility.

The algorithm changes, a new platform appears, and suddenly everyone feels like they’re starting over again.

But after sitting down with Michelle King Keenan, I kept thinking about a different question.

What if the goal isn’t to reach more people?

What if it’s to matter more to the people who are already paying attention?

That shift changes everything.

A different definition of influence

Michelle has built something many entrepreneurs are chasing, but not in the way most people expect. She didn’t build her business by constantly reinventing herself or chasing every trend that came along. She built it by showing up consistently and earning trust over time.

It reminded me of something we talk about often inside InnerFifth.

Influence isn’t measured by how many people know your name.

It’s measured by how many people trust it.

That’s the kind of influence that turns into products, brands, businesses, and lasting relationships.

The conversation we need to have

It’s easy to believe you need a bigger audience before you can build something meaningful.

I don’t believe that’s true.

I’d rather have a community that believes in what I’m building than a million people scrolling past it.

Michelle’s journey is a powerful reminder that sustainable businesses are built through consistency, generosity, and genuine connection. Those things rarely make headlines, but they’re often what create businesses that last.

Listen to this conversation

There were several moments in this episode where I found myself nodding along, but there’s one story in particular that I intentionally didn’t share here because it’s far more powerful coming directly from Michelle.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you need a bigger audience, a better strategy, or simply more confidence to grow your business, I think you’ll find yourself in this conversation.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

Listen on Apple Podcasts

I have a feeling you’ll finish the episode thinking less about algorithms and more about the people you’re here to serve.

Your move

If you could build one thing this year, would you rather have a bigger audience or deeper trust?

I’d genuinely love to know why.

Leave me a comment below. I read every one, and some of the best conversations in this community start there.

Xx,

Tracy

P.S. If you haven’t watched or listened yet, don’t skip this one. Michelle shares a few stories we couldn’t capture in this newsletter, and I have a feeling one of them will stay with you long after the episode ends.

Watch on YouTube
Listen on Apple Podcasts

That happened to me during my conversation with comedian, television host, and entrepreneur Trish Suhr.

In the middle of sharing stories about growing up in a funeral home in rural Kentucky, building a career in Hollywood, and creating a life she once only dreamed about, she shared a piece of advice from her grandfather that stopped me in my tracks:

“Whether you believe it or not, you’re right.”

I’ve thought about that sentence ever since.

Because when you really sit with it, you realize how often we’re proving ourselves right.

Not just when we believe we can do something.

But when we believe we can’t.

The power of believing before you have proof

Long before Trish moved to Los Angeles, before television shows, comedy tours, and national audiences, she was a little girl in Kentucky telling everyone she was going to Hollywood.

Most people would have laughed it off. Instead, she kept believing it. Not because she had a roadmap. Not because she had connections.

She simply trusted that the dream belonged to her.

Listening to her tell that story reminded me how often we wait for evidence before we’re willing to believe in ourselves.

Hear the full conversation.

But what if belief comes first?

What if confidence isn’t something you earn after success?

What if it’s something you practice before success arrives?

The lesson hidden inside her journey

One of the things I love about Trish is that she doesn’t tell a polished version of her story.

She talks about the jobs that came before the big opportunities. The unexpected turns. The moments when she had no idea where the path was leading.And yet, looking back, every experience seemed to prepare her for what came next.

The funeral home taught her compassion.

Comedy taught her connection.

Television taught her communication.

None of it was wasted.

And that’s a powerful reminder for all of us.

The thing you’re doing today may not be the final destination. But it may be preparing you for it.

Listen to this part closely

There’s a moment in this conversation where Trish explains how she went from a small Kentucky town to building a career she once only imagined.

But the most powerful part isn’t the story itself.

It’s the mindset she carried with her the entire way.

The way she talks about belief, trust, and betting on yourself is something every entrepreneur needs to hear.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here

😉 Trust me, this is one of those conversations that stays with you long after it’s over.

Your move

What is something you’ve been talking yourself out of lately?

What would change if you started believing it was possible?

Let me know in the comments. I read every one.

And if you’re not sure yet, just write:

“I’m thinking about this.”

That counts too.

Xx,

Listen to the full conversation here.

One thing I’ve learned is that entrepreneurship doesn’t suddenly get simpler after a milestone. Every season of building asks something different from you.

Sometimes it asks for ambition. Sometimes resilience. And sometimes it asks whether you’re willing to rethink the way you’ve been operating entirely.

I recently had the opportunity to join the Entreprenista podcast as a guest, and I’m genuinely grateful for the conversation. It felt honest, grounded, and focused on the parts of entrepreneurship we don’t always talk about publicly.

What I understand differently now

When I built my last company, growth was fast and the pressure was constant. Like many founders, I normalized stress because I thought that was simply the cost of success. I stayed in push mode for a very long time.

What I understand differently now is that success without structure eventually catches up with you.

You can build impressive revenue and still feel completely stretched. You can hit major milestones and still realize your business depends too heavily on your energy, your presence, and your nervous system.

That realization changed the way I think about entrepreneurship and became part of the reason I built InnerFifth.

Why I built InnerFifth

I’m not interested in teaching women how to hustle harder; I’m interested in helping founders build leverage, ownership, and optionality in a way that feels sustainable long term.

Because influence without structure leaks money. And revenue that depends on you showing up every single day isn’t freedom, it another form of being trapped

My goal is showing entrepreneurs a different way of thinking, one that is available to you at a touch of a button. It’s building products, brands, and companies that support your life instead of consuming it.

The conversation that matters

One of the most meaningful parts of my conversation on the Entreprenista podcast was talking about live selling and why so many women underestimate their ability to sell. Not because they lack talent, but because they’ve been taught to associate selling with pressure instead of service.

That mindset shift changes everything.

When you deeply understand your customer and genuinely believe in what you’ve built, selling becomes much more natural. You’re helping people understand why something matters and how it can support their life.

What entrepreneurship really looks like

The older I get, the less interested I am in polished founder stories. I’m more interested in the truth. The rebuilding seasons, the pivots and eventually the moments where your identity changes faster than your business does.

That’s usually the part that shapes us most. You do not need every answer before beginning the next chapter. You just need enough clarity to take the next step.

Listen to the conversation

There’s a moment in this interview where we talk about what changed for me after building and exiting a company, and why I think so many founders unknowingly create businesses that eventually burn them out.

If you’re navigating growth, reinvention, or trying to build something more sustainable in this season of your life, I think this conversation will resonate.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here:

Tracy Holland, InnerFifth: From $100M Exit to Teaching Founders to Sell Live

Your move

What does success look like for you now—not five years ago, not according to someone else, but to you in the moment now?

Let me know in the comments. I read everything, and I genuinely love hearing where you are in your journey.

Xo,
Tracy

The part no one sees

When you look at Ripley Rader’s brand today, it feels fast. The kind of growth that looks obvious in hindsight and effortless from the outside.

It’s easy to assume it all came together quickly.

But early in our conversation, she shared something that changes how you see the entire journey. It took more than ten years before the business really took off.

And the way she talks about those years is very different from what most people expect.

What was actually happening

From the outside, it would have looked quiet. There wasn’t a defining moment or a clear breakthrough you could point to.

But underneath that, something was being built with intention.

She wasn’t chasing visibility or trying to figure out the latest growth tactic. She was focused on something deeper, something that doesn’t show up right away but determines whether a business actually lasts.

That decision shaped everything that came after.

The shift that changed everything

There was a moment where something shifted. Not dramatically, and not in a way that would have looked significant at the time.

It wasn’t a new product or a major strategy change. It was a decision she had resisted longer than she admits she should have.

The way she describes finally stepping into that decision and what happened next is what makes this conversation worth listening to.

Because the growth didn’t come from doing more. It came from doing something differently.

What this really reveals

When you listen closely, you start to see a pattern.

The growth people notice at the end of the story is rarely about one big move. It’s usually the result of a long stretch where the right things were being built quietly, without validation.

That part requires patience, and patience is uncomfortable when you feel like you should be further along.

But it’s also the part that determines whether growth holds or disappears just as quickly as it came.

Listen to this part closely

There’s a moment in this episode where Ripley shares what she avoided for years and why finally facing it changed the trajectory of her business.

The way she walks through that shift is something you need to hear in her own words.

🎧 Listen to the episode here

What this means for you

If things feel slower than you expected right now, it doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong.

You may still be in the part of the process where something real is being built. The part that doesn’t get attention, but determines everything that comes after.

Subscribe now

Your move

Where are you feeling pressure to speed things up right now?

Let me know in the comments. I read everything, and I genuinely value what you share.

Even if it’s just, “I’m in that phase.”

Xx,
Tracy

Sometimes you meet someone without expecting anything from the conversation. There’s no agenda, no outcome you’re trying to create. And then, slowly, you realize you’re sitting across from someone who has built something extraordinary.

That’s what happened when I met J.R. Ward.

She’s sold over 30 million books. She’s a multi-time New York Times bestselling author. Her work has become a global phenomenon. But what stayed with me had nothing to do with the numbers.

At one point in her journey, she was fired.

And in that moment, she had a choice that most people don’t even recognize they’re making.

The decision most people never see

After more than two decades of building companies and working with founders, I’ve noticed a pattern.

Success rarely comes from one big, visible moment. It’s shaped in quieter ones, when something doesn’t work, when a plan falls apart, or when the identity you’ve built no longer fits.

J.R. Ward had done everything right. She had a career, direction, and a clear path forward. Then it stopped working.

She could have gone back to being a lawyer. She could have decided that writing wasn’t meant to be her path. Instead, she made a different decision. She kept going, but not blindly. She stepped back, got honest about what was actually hers to build, and chose to try again with a completely different approach.

What grit actually looks like

We tend to talk about grit as if it’s something inspirational. In reality, it’s far more grounded than that. It looks like continuing when there is no clear evidence things will work. It looks like choosing to stay in the process when the outcome is uncertain.

What stood out in our conversation is that her success didn’t begin with a better strategy. It began when she stopped trying to fit into a model that already existed.

At one point, she realized she wasn’t here to write like anyone else. She was here to write what was already inside her. That shift didn’t just improve her work. It allowed her to find an audience that actually connected with it.

Listen to the conversation

There’s a moment in this episode where she explains exactly what she did after being fired and why most people make the wrong move in that situation. It’s one of the most honest explanations of resilience I’ve heard.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here:

Pay attention to how she talks about instinct. It’s subtle, but it’s the thread that runs through everything she’s built.

The part no one teaches

One of the most important ideas she shared is something I think more women need to hear.

You are not responsible for how you are wired, but you are responsible for what you do with it.

That distinction changes how you see yourself. Many women spend years questioning whether they are ready or capable, while others move forward simply by working with what they have and refining it over time.

It’s not about having perfect clarity. It’s about moving with enough clarity to keep going.

The role of instinct

There was another layer to this conversation that stayed with me, and it’s something I’ve seen consistently in founders who build lasting companies.

Instinct is often quiet. It doesn’t compete with fear or urgency. It doesn’t try to convince you. It simply sits there, steady and consistent.

She shared that the only times she made the wrong decisions were when she ignored that voice.

That’s something worth paying attention to, especially when you’re building something meaningful.

Why this matters

This conversation isn’t really about writing. It’s about what happens when things don’t go according to plan and how you respond when they don’t.

It’s about identity, resilience, and the willingness to continue when it would be easier to step away.

That is where the real work happens.

If this resonates

If you are in a season where something didn’t work, or you’re questioning whether to keep going, this is the part of the journey that often defines what happens next.

Most women who build something meaningful don’t get there because everything worked. They get there because they stayed in the process long enough to figure out what actually did.

Xx,
Tracy

Most people think success starts with strategy.

A better plan.
A bigger opportunity.
The right partnership.

After more than twenty years building companies, I’ve learned something different.

The real turning point usually starts with a decision. Not a loud one. Not a dramatic one. Just a quiet moment when you choose to see yourself differently.

That shift in mindset often changes everything that follows.

The moment you begin to see possibility

One of the reasons I created Potential to Powerhouse was to share the stories we rarely hear. Not the polished version of success, but the real path that people walk before things start to work.

Almost every founder, creator, or leader I know has a moment where they question themselves. They wonder if they’re ready. They wonder if they’re capable. They wonder if they’re already too late.

And yet something inside them moves forward anyway.

That is usually where the next chapter begins.

Every woman’s path is different. Different backgrounds, different industries, different starting points. But the common thread is always the same: someone decided to believe their story could mean something more.

Stories expand belief. And belief expands what we’re willing to attempt.

The pressure women carry into leadership

Women stepping into leadership often carry more than ambition. We carry expectations, responsibilities, and sometimes a quiet sense that we have to prove ourselves before we’re allowed to lead.

Many of us are balancing families, careers, and communities at the same time. The invisible labor alone can feel like a second full-time job.

Over time, that pressure can make even capable women question their own voice.

But the truth is this:

Your story is not something you overcome. It is the thing that shapes your perspective and gives you authority.

The experiences that stretched you, challenged you, and forced you to grow are usually the very things that allow you to lead with clarity later.

What actually moves someone forward

When I look back at the women who have built extraordinary businesses and lives, a pattern always appears.

At some point, they stop seeing challenges as proof that something is wrong.

Instead, they begin asking a different question.

“What is this teaching me?”

That single shift reframes everything. Obstacles start to look like information. Setbacks start to look like direction.

Resilience grows quickly once you stop interpreting difficulty as failure.

Over time, that mindset becomes a kind of quiet confidence. It doesn’t come from pretending things are easy. It comes from knowing you can navigate what’s hard.

The small habits that create big change

Transformation rarely arrives as one dramatic moment. More often, it grows out of small habits repeated over time.

The way you speak to yourself matters. The people you surround yourself with matter. The willingness to ask for mentorship or guidance matters more than most people realize.

A single conversation can open a door you didn’t know existed.

Community can expand your perspective faster than years of working alone.

And the simple act of showing up for your own growth, even when it feels inconvenient, often creates momentum that compounds over time.

If you feel behind right now

One of the most common things women say to me is that they feel late.

They look around and assume everyone else figured something out earlier. They worry they missed the window.

I want to say this clearly.

Leadership rarely arrives fully formed. It develops through experience, reflection, and the courage to keep moving even when the path feels uncertain.

The timeline that matters is the one you are living now.

If this message resonates, you can listen to the full episode of Potential to Powerhouse, where I share more about the mindset shifts that shaped my own journey and the lessons that came with building multiple companies along the way.

And if you’re building something of your own right now , a business, a brand, or simply the next version of yourself, you’re already closer than you think.

Xx,

Tracy Holland

Every once in a while, you hear a story that makes you pause.

Not because it sounds like a motivational quote.
But because it feels strangely real.

My conversation with actor, writer, and producer Martha Higareda gave me one of those moments. It started with something simple: a young girl standing on an escalator at Universal Studios, looking out at the movie studios in front of her and imagining the life she wanted.

At the time, she had no idea that moment would stay with her for decades.

The childhood lesson that shaped everything

Martha grew up in Mexico with parents who believed deeply in mindset and possibility. Her father introduced her and her siblings to ideas like neurolinguistic programming, affirmations, and visualization long before those ideas became popular.

He believed something most of us are never taught as children: what we put into our minds shapes the life we eventually create.

So Martha filled her bedroom walls with affirmations written as if her dreams had already happened. One of them said she was grateful because she had done a movie with Keanu Reeves.

To anyone walking into that room, it probably looked unrealistic. But to her, it was simply a statement of belief.

The escalator experiment

When Martha was fourteen, she visited Los Angeles with her father. They went to Universal Studios, and while riding the long escalators that overlook the studio lots, she looked out across the sound stages where movies were being filmed.

Her father suggested something unusual.

He told her to shout into the future.

So she did.

Standing there on that escalator, she yelled out that one day she would live in Los Angeles and work in the movie industry. For her, it was a moment of excitement and imagination, something shared between a father and a daughter who believed deeply in possibility.

Life moved forward, as it always does. Years passed.

When belief meets reality

Listen to Martha’s full story here.

Many years later, Martha was back at Universal Studios. This time she wasn’t visiting as a tourist. She was there as an actress auditioning for a film.

As she walked through the studio lot with a script in her hand, something stopped her. She turned around and saw the same escalators she had stood on as a teenager.

The memory came rushing back instantly.

In that moment she did something extraordinary. She shouted back toward the escalators, almost as if she were speaking to her younger self. She thanked that younger version of herself for believing so strongly in the dream.

Not long after that moment, she booked the film.

The co-star was Keanu Reeves.

Exactly the scenario she had written on the wall of her bedroom years earlier.

The part of success we rarely talk about

What I appreciated most about Martha’s story is that she didn’t pretend success solved everything. Even after reaching major professional milestones, she found herself questioning parts of her life that still felt unresolved.

She spoke openly about doubts, relationships, and the internal work that success alone cannot fix. That honesty resonated with me because so many women experience the same thing. We chase goals believing the next milestone will bring clarity, only to realize that growth continues long after the achievement.

Martha described a practice she uses when doubt appears. She imagines herself much later in life, looking back from the end of her journey. Then she asks that future version of herself what truly mattered.

The answer is usually simple. Follow what feels true. Build the life that aligns with your values. Trust the path that feels right in your heart.

Why this conversation stayed with me

What stayed with me from this conversation wasn’t just the manifestation story. It was the reminder that belief, mindset, and inner work often begin much earlier than we realize.

The seeds planted in childhood can shape how we see opportunity for the rest of our lives. And sometimes the dreams we speak out loud long before they seem possible have a way of finding us again years later.

Listen to the full episode

If you want to hear the full story—including Martha’s journey through manifestation, doubt, personal healing, and the lessons she learned along the way—I encourage you to listen to the full episode of Potential to Powerhouse.

It’s one of those conversations that reminds you how powerful belief can be when it’s paired with action, reflection, and a willingness to grow.

High Five,
Tracy

Power Hour is a private experience inside the InnerFifth community where women gather to reflect, recalibrate, and speak honestly about what it actually takes to build ambitious lives. These sessions are designed as a safe space, which is why most of the conversations normally stay inside the room.

But this one felt different.

Amanda Goetz joined us for the session. Amanda is an entrepreneur, CMO, and the author of Toxic Grit. Early in our conversation she said something that made the entire group pause and lean in.

It challenged one of the most common assumptions ambitious women carry.

Most of us believe the goal is balance.

Amanda suggested that the real answer might be something entirely different.

Watch the Power Hour moment

The shift happened within the first few minutes of the conversation when Amanda reframed the way many women think about ambition, energy, and identity.

Rather than summarize the idea here, it’s far more powerful to hear her explain it herself.

🎥 Watch the moment here:

Pay attention to what Amanda says at the beginning. It’s the moment the entire room started looking at the idea of balance in a completely different way.

The pressure ambitious women quietly carry

Many women who enter the InnerFifth community are already building meaningful lives. They are founders, executives, creators, and leaders who care deeply about their families, their work, and the impact they want to make.

Yet a familiar feeling often shows up beneath the surface.

They feel stretched thin.

It usually isn’t because they lack discipline or ambition. The pressure often comes from trying to hold every role at the same time. In the same day, sometimes in the same hour, they are the leader, the partner, the parent, the strategist, the friend, and the caretaker.

Each role matters. The tension begins when we assume they must all be performed simultaneously.

During this Power Hour, Amanda introduced a perspective that helped many women in the room see that tension differently.

A different way to think about your roles

In the conversation Amanda described life as if it were a movie. Each of us plays many characters throughout the day. We move between identities depending on what the moment requires.

The challenge arises when we expect every character to be present at the same time.

When Amanda explained how she thinks about this differently, you could feel the shift across the conversation. The idea was simple, but the relief in the room was immediate. Instead of constantly chasing balance, the focus moved toward something much more intentional.

It’s a perspective that changes how you think about energy, ambition, and the roles you carry.

Why we decided to share this Power Hour

Normally these conversations stay inside the InnerFifth ecosystem because they are designed as a place for honest reflection among members.

But this session felt like something more women needed to hear.

The tension between ambition and presence, success and fulfillment, is something many women quietly navigate. What Amanda shared during this Power Hour offered a lens that brought clarity to that tension rather than trying to eliminate it.

Sometimes the most meaningful shift doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from seeing your life through a different lens.

This conversation is one of those moments.

High Five!
Tracy

Most people who find themselves dealing with a narcissist don’t realize it at first.

What they notice instead is a feeling.

Something feels off. Conversations leave you drained. Situations feel confusing. You start questioning your own memory or your own instincts.

Many people assume it’s stress. Or miscommunication. Or that if they just explain things better, the situation will resolve itself.

But what if the problem isn’t misunderstanding?

What if the person you’re dealing with isn’t operating from the same rules of communication or empathy that you are?

That question is what led me to one of the most fascinating conversations I’ve had on the Potential to Powerhouse podcast.

A Conversation Every Woman Needs to Hear

In this episode, I sat down with Rebecca Zung, one of the top family law attorneys in the country and a leading expert on negotiating with narcissists.

Rebecca has spent decades dealing with some of the most complex and high-conflict personalities imaginable. Through her legal career and personal experiences, she began noticing patterns in how narcissists behave and, more importantly, how people can protect themselves when they’re dealing with one.

Her insights have now helped millions of people recognize these dynamics and take back control of their lives.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in a relationship, a workplace dynamic, or even a business partnership that leaves you feeling powerless, this conversation will likely resonate with you.

You can listen to the full episode here:

The Hard Truth About Narcissists Most People Learn Too Late

The Story Behind Rebecca’s Breakthrough

What struck me most about Rebecca’s journey is that she didn’t start out as a content creator or a teacher.

She built an incredibly successful family law practice representing high-net-worth clients in complex divorce cases. Over time she realized she loved helping people, but she also discovered something many entrepreneurs eventually learn.

The business you build can start to own you.

At one point Rebecca described having a thriving law practice, a team, a beautiful office, and everything that looked like success from the outside. Yet internally she felt trapped in what she called the “hamster wheel” of the business she had built.

That realization eventually led her to make a major life pivot.

She stepped away, moved to California, and began exploring new entrepreneurial paths. During that time she found herself in a difficult business relationship that forced her to confront a pattern she hadn’t fully understood before.

She was dealing with a narcissist.

What followed changed the direction of her career.

The Framework That Helps People Win

Rebecca began studying narcissistic behavior and applying her legal negotiation strategies to those dynamics.

The result was a method she calls SLAY.

SLAY stands for:

Strategy
Leverage
Anticipate
You

The first step, strategy, begins with something many people skip entirely. You must get clear on what you actually want. Not what you want the other person to stop doing, but the outcome you want for your own life.

Leverage is the next step, and this is where Rebecca’s legal background becomes incredibly powerful. Narcissists are driven by something she calls “supply,” which is the validation or control they receive from others. Understanding that dynamic allows you to negotiate from a position of strength rather than reacting emotionally.

The remaining steps help people anticipate behavior patterns and ultimately reclaim their own power.

What makes Rebecca’s work so impactful is that she doesn’t just explain narcissism. She gives people practical tools to deal with it.

The Lesson That Stays With Me

One moment in our conversation has stayed with me.

Rebecca shared that during a family vacation she realized she was mentally consumed by a difficult relationship. Instead of enjoying the moment with her family, she was replaying conflict in her mind.

That realization became a turning point.

She decided she would no longer give that situation control over her energy or her attention.

Sometimes the most powerful decisions we make are the quiet ones. The moment when we decide something is no longer allowed to take space in our lives.

That decision eventually led Rebecca to build a platform that has now reached tens of millions of people.

Why This Conversation Matters

One statistic Rebecca shared is hard to ignore.

Roughly 15% of people have a personality disorder that lacks empathy, meaning the odds are high that many of us will encounter these dynamics at some point in our lives.

The goal isn’t to label everyone around us.

The goal is awareness.

When you understand what you’re dealing with, you can stop trying to solve the situation using strategies that will never work.

You can step into clarity instead of confusion.

And sometimes that clarity is the beginning of freedom.

Rebecca’s story, her negotiation framework, and her advice for navigating high-conflict personalities make this one of the most valuable conversations we’ve had on the podcast.

If you’ve ever dealt with a bully, a narcissist, or a relationship that felt impossible to resolve, I encourage you to listen to the full episode.

The Hard Truth About Narcissists Most People Learn Too Late

There are moments in life when the right insight changes how you see everything.

This conversation might be one of them.

High Five!
Tracy

A few years ago, I met a woman who could physically take down almost anyone in a room.

Her name is Cesalina Gracie. She comes from one of the most legendary martial arts families in the world. The Gracie family helped shape Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and ultimately the rise of the UFC. Fighting, discipline, and physical mastery have been part of her life since childhood.

The first time I spent real time with her outside the gym, I noticed something fascinating.

When we walked into a restaurant together, she immediately scanned the room. She noticed the exits. She clocked who was sitting where. She paid attention to the energy of the people nearby.

And then she relaxed completely.

That awareness gave her calm. She understood the environment she had stepped into, so she could settle into the moment without tension. Watching that play out made me realize how differently most of us move through the world.

Most people walk into a room hoping nothing goes wrong. Strong women walk into a room aware enough to handle whatever might.

That difference is subtle, but it changes everything.

If you want to hear our full conversation about this mindset, you can listen to the episode here:

Cesalina Gracie on Owning Your Power and Setting Boundaries

Why Presence Starts With the Body

Over time, as I trained with Cesalina and spoke with her more deeply, I realized the most powerful things she teaches have very little to do with fighting. What she really teaches is presence, boundaries, and the internal posture that shapes how we show up in every area of life.

One concept she introduced that has stayed with me is something she calls the “Champion’s Pose.” At first glance it sounds like a physical exercise. Stand tall. Open your chest. Lift your posture. Take up space.

But the deeper meaning has nothing to do with appearances.

When people feel uncertain, nervous, or out of place, the instinct is to shrink. Shoulders curl forward. The body gets smaller. The voice softens. We think we’re avoiding conflict or protecting ourselves, but what we’re actually doing is reducing our own presence.

Your body communicates long before you ever speak. Posture signals confidence, safety, and authority in ways that are often invisible to us but immediately felt by others. When someone stands grounded and present, the room responds to that signal.

The posture of a champion isn’t about pretending to be confident. It’s about reminding yourself that you belong in the space you occupy.

The Relationship Framework I Now Use With Everyone

Another lesson Cesalina shared with me changed the way I think about relationships.

She explained that every relationship in your life eventually falls into one of three zones: green, red, or gray.

Green zone relationships energize you. These are the people who support your growth, challenge you in healthy ways, and celebrate your wins without hesitation.

Red zone relationships drain you. Interactions leave you feeling tense, smaller, or subtly undermined. There is friction that never seems to resolve.

Then there is the gray zone.

The gray zone is where many of us spend the most time, and it’s often the most confusing place to be. Something feels off, but it’s difficult to explain why. We keep the relationship moving forward while quietly carrying a sense of discomfort.

What struck me most when she described this framework was her observation that the gray zone doesn’t truly exist.

It’s simply the place where we haven’t yet acknowledged what we already know.

The moment you become honest about how a relationship actually feels, it almost always reveals itself as either green or red.

The Boundary Skill Most People Never Learn

For many women, the real challenge is not recognizing the difference. It’s setting the boundaries that follow that recognition.

One of the simplest frameworks Cesalina teaches is also one of the most practical.

When something isn’t working in a relationship, you name the behavior, explain the impact, and state the outcome you would prefer.

It sounds simple, but most people skip this step entirely.

Instead of addressing issues early, we absorb them quietly until frustration builds. Eventually the pressure releases all at once, and the conversation becomes far more dramatic than it ever needed to be.

Clear communication, delivered calmly and directly, prevents most of those explosions.

The Real Meaning of Confidence

What I appreciate most about Cesalina’s philosophy is that it doesn’t frame strength as aggression. Strength, in her world, is awareness. It’s the ability to recognize what’s happening in a room, inside a relationship, or within your own body before things escalate.

Confidence, in that sense, is less about performance and more about clarity.

The women who carry real power rarely announce it. They simply move through the world with enough awareness to know when to step forward, when to hold space, and when to change the distance between themselves and others.

That kind of clarity takes practice. It requires honesty about our relationships, our boundaries, and the ways we sometimes shrink ourselves to avoid difficult conversations.

But the reward for doing that work is significant.

When you stop shrinking, you recover your energy. When you set clear boundaries, relationships become simpler and more respectful. And when you carry yourself with the posture of someone who belongs, people begin to respond to you differently.

Not because you’ve changed who you are.

But because you’ve finally stopped hiding it.

I created Potential to Powerhouse Podcast to share the raw, unfiltered roadmap no one hands you. A podcast sharing the real success strategies behind today’s top creators, founders, thought leaders, athletes, and community builders.

It spotlights the mindset, mechanics, and honest “no-one-told-me-this” lessons that lift women to their next level.

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