Graduate corporate life for entrepreneurial freedom — without jeopardizing your income or family 💚 | Pod: UncageYourself.FM 🎧

Directors. VPs. Executives.
Ready to go Corporate → Founder in ONE Year?

This is the smart path out — without blowing up your life.

We help corporate veterans turn their employer into an investor, compress their job by 50%, and launch a 1-of-1 premium business.

Corporate becomes a short-term asset — not a lifelong trap.

The system is called Corporate Graduation™.
And it works.

You’ve built a strong corporate life. But you’re likely facing 2+ of these:

1) Your time isn’t yours.
2) Work consumes everything.
3) Family & health get leftovers.
4) You’re just going through motions.
5) You know you’re meant for more — but have no idea what.

It’s costing you — emotionally, physically, financially.
You feel stuck. Fading.

That was me.
Divorced. Burnt out.
Later — remarried, rebuilt, and free.

I made my employer my investor.
Cut hours in half.
Launched a business around my genius.
Graduated corporate life — forever.

Now I help others do the same.

Corporate Graduation™ is the system.
165+ have used it to:

✅ Compress their job into 20 hours/week
✅ Exit with runway, not regret
✅ Build a premium service business that reflects who they are
✅ Create leverage through proprietary IP, not more hours

This is how you build your founder future — without burning bridges.

This isn’t about dabbling.
It’s about reclaiming your life.
For your family. Your future self. Those you’re meant to serve.

No “passive income” BS.
Just active transformation — with revenue, clarity, and agency.

Ready to graduate?

👉 DM me “GRADUATE.”

Matt Doan

I left corporate 4 years ago.

Here’s what actually changed:

1) Mondays have energy again.
I wake up early because I want to. Not out of discipline or obligation, but out of genuine excitement for the week ahead. That feeling was gone for years in corporate. Now it’s normal.

2) The Sunday dread disappeared.
That quiet weight that used to settle in by Sunday afternoon — the sense of re-entering a system that didn’t fit — lifted once I started building something I actually owned.

3) My wife became my partner — in a new way.
Cecilia and I now talk about clients, strategy, and impact together. We’re building something side by side. Corporate never could have offered that, and it’s deepened our marriage in ways I didn’t anticipate.

4) My kids see a different version of me.
They see energy instead of depletion. Engagement instead of exhaustion. They’re watching what it looks like to build something you care about... not just talk about it.

5) My health followed my work.
When work creates energy instead of consuming it, everything else responds. Sleep improved. Stress dropped. At 41, I have more capacity than I did at 35.

6) I’m building skills that compound.
Psychology. Sales. Marketing. Persuasion. Category design. These aren’t corporate skills. They’re human skills. They don’t expire when roles or markets change.

7) I finally understand who I am.
Not my title. Not my employer. Me. The founder path forced me to confront things I could avoid for years in corporate. On the other side was clarity I never found climbing the ladder.

This isn’t about hating corporate.

Corporate gave me my Career Capital:
judgment, pattern recognition, credibility.

But it couldn’t give me ownership.

That required a different structure.

---

For those who've outgrown their container.
Jan 19 → https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

I messed up a lot in 2025.

9 mistakes shaping everything in 2026:

It's been four years since I left BCG. Four years building Corporate Graduation™. This year made one thing clear: being a founder isn't a career — it's a complete reconstruction of how you live.

Here's my honest accounting:

IDENTITY MISTAKES

1) Positioning to be the authority instead of being it.
I kept "getting ready." Waiting for permission that was never coming. Authority isn't granted — it's declared. In 2026, I'm done preparing. I AM the authority in my space.

2) Tolerating small stages and obscurity.
I've been playing too small. Nothing remarkable is done alone — I need multiplier partners. Stages that reach millions, not hundreds. I've talked about "going big" but haven't truly lived it. Obscurity isn't noble — it's a bottleneck.


FOCUS & ENERGY MISTAKES

3) Saying yes to too many things.
Scattered focus = scattered results. I know this. I teach this. I still violated it. Every diluted yes was a no to what actually mattered.

4) Being distracted around my family.
My wife and four kids deserve my presence, not just my proximity. Too often I was physically there, mentally elsewhere. Unfinished tasks follow you into the evening. In 2026: fewer priorities, cleaner endings, real presence.


RESOURCE MISTAKES

5) Not asking enough of my team, coaches, mentors.
I invested tens of thousands in people who could help me — but didn't nearly extract the full value. I made too many excuses to myself.

6) Over-investing but under-implementing.
I was a collector of insights instead of an executor. The gap between what I know and what I do became too wide. In 2026, implementation is what matters.

7) Being too ad hoc with AI.
Random prompts. No system. I treated AI like a convenience instead of infrastructure. This year, I'm architecting it into how I think, create, and operate.


LEADERSHIP MISTAKES

8) Not pushing my clients hard enough.
They didn't join the Corporate Graduation™ program for slow and incremental. They came to compress a decade into a year. My job is to install new fire — and make them feel the cost of not showing up powerfully.

9) Not being bold enough in what I said.
I softened hard truths. Hedged when I should have declared. Here's what I held back: The work world is being restructured. AI is here. The old playbook is dead. Corporate is a burning platform. I'm done holding that back.

---

These mistakes cost me time, money, energy, presence.

But they gave me clarity.

My "hard lines" for 2026: 
Stop preparing. Start declaring.
Stop tolerating small. Start building big.
Stop over-investing. Start implementing.
Stop holding back. Start saying what must be said.

Which mistake hits home for you?

---

PS - Corporate → Founder this year? 
matthewdoan.com/2026

Monday, your Career Capital starts compounding.

Or it doesn't.

One-time, special event:
https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

Here's what most people miss about workshops like this:

It's not information.
It's decision-making.

You slow down and show up.
You become a captive audience — to yourself.
You stop scrolling. Stop reacting. Stop drifting.

And for the first time in months (maybe years), 
you do the actual work:

1) You stop making excuses for your delay
2) You uncover your Career Capital
3) You decide how to deploy it
4) You see what's possible beyond the role
5) You start forging a path no employer could match

That's not just inspiration.
That's the compound effect, taking hold.

Imagine where you'll be 90 days from now.

Not just "thinking about it."
Not merely "planning to start."

Actually in motion.

Energy returning.
Clarity sharpening.
Your family feels the new you.

This is what Corporate Graduation™ looks like.

Those who've already committed to Monday aren't hoping for answers. They're giving themselves permission to move.

One decision.
One workshop.
A new trajectory.

The Career Capitalist™
Monday, January 19
$50: Live + Recording + Assets

One time only.
See you inside.

https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

---

PS - Registrants get the IP Builder GPT, Corporate Graduation Readiness Scorecard, category design tools, case studies, and a private 1:1 Founder Game Plan call. Recording included.

Vision isn't just what you see.

It's how you live.

Back in my corporate days, I climbed the ladder on autopilot.

One rung. Then another.
Trusting that's how it worked.

But there was no real vision.
Just a bigger title and the promise of becoming my boss's boss.

Then I looked up.

And realized I didn't want their life.
It looked awful.

That was the wake-up call.

I had sight.
I could see the next step.
But I had no vision for where I was actually going.

So I built one.

I wrote about it. Journaled about it.
Got coached on it. Talked about it.
Surrounded myself with people walking the same scary path toward something that felt impossible.

Vision isn't a destination you arrive at.

It's something you embody.
Every. Single. Day.

You might have sight.
You might see the next rung.

But if that's all you're chasing?

You'll wake up one day full of regret.

What's your vision beyond the next step?

The moment I knew corporate couldn’t hold me.

5 lessons it took too long to learn:

For a long time, I couldn’t name what was wrong.

I was progressing.
Respected.
Trusted.

But every time my thinking stretched a little too far — every time I tried to hold a bigger picture — it was quietly contained.

Not shut down.
Just… redirected.

That’s when the tension started.
Not dramatic.
Just constant.

Here’s what I eventually learned.

---

1) Big thinking can be praised and still be unwelcome.

I’d offer a strategic view and hear, “That sounds good.”

Then came the quiet clause:
“But we’re not taking that outside.”

I wasn’t wrong.
My imagination just didn’t fit the system’s design.

---

2) Being valued doesn’t mean being usable.

I was told my work mattered.

But my judgment had nowhere real to land.

When your best thinking can’t move anything, it doesn’t disappear. It withers.

---

3) Side outlets are signals, not solutions.

Publishing in HBR.
MIT Sloan.
The Atlantic.
Think tanks. External channels.

Those weren’t mistakes. They were proof I was trying to breathe outside the box.

What I didn’t see at the time:
External validation was a symptom, not a cure.

Every byline was evidence of capacity the system couldn’t absorb. I kept finding outlets because the main channel was blocked.

Useful moves.
Never satisfying.

---

4) Breakthroughs aren’t about talent. They’re about ownership of environment.

Everything clicked when I sat in a room full of founders.

They had Career Capital too. Decades of it.

The difference was simple:
They didn’t need permission to create.

They built conditions where judgment could compound.
They said yes to themselves.

---

5) Staying longer has quiet, compounding costs.

The financial ceiling was obvious.

The real toll was energy.
Family.
Self-trust.

Saying yes to work that wasn’t me.
Knowing I could be far more impactful — and accepting I wasn’t.

---

That’s when I stopped asking how to optimize my role.

And started asking a harder question:

Where does my Career Capital actually belong?

That question led me out of corporate.

Four years later, I’m a founder.
Still answering it.
On my own terms.

---

PS - If you’re standing at the edge of that question, don't miss what's unfolding here: https://lnkd.in/eDEkDVb2

If corporate feels a bit "too small" lately, 
you're not imagining it.

That feeling usually shows up when your Career Capital has outgrown the container it's in.

Most people respond the same way.

They start with business logic.
Offer. Niche. Monetization.

Or they quietly reach for passive income.

Passive income won't solve under-leverage.
Only owned Career Capital does.

That's why so many smart exits stall.

The real issue isn't effort.
It's missing conditions.

You can't access, package, and deploy Career Capital into founder leverage if you don't first create:

Space.
Then Self.
Then System.

A recent client — VP in ops — followed this sequence. It changed everything:

1) Compressed his corporate load by ~50%
No drama. No bridges burned. No reputational cost.

2) Reclaimed control of time
Now works 3–4 focused hours/day. Deliberate. Surgical.

3) Restored personal leverage
Energy returned. Health improved. Relationships at home strengthened.

Only then did the founder work begin.

He codified his Career Capital into language, frameworks, and IP.
He clarified category direction.
He ran his first program and delivered real results.

Corporate became optional because leverage was no longer trapped inside the role.

That's real Corporate Graduation.
Not escape. Not dependency.

Leverage.

---

If you want to do this work in the right order, I'm running a live, private, one-time workshop:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁™
Monday, January 19
$50 (Live + Recording + Assets)

Included with registration:

• IP Builder GPT (to structure your Career Capital)
• Corporate Graduation™ Readiness Scorecard
• Category-claiming exercises you can reuse
• Case study pack + common traps guide
• Private 1:1 Founder Game Plan call

See you on the inside:
https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

Has work stopped creating energy for you?
This isn’t burnout.
It’s worse.

Most senior pros describe something quieter.

Disinterest. Going through the motions. Sitting in meetings you've sat in a hundred times, solving problems you solved three years ago. Doing "good work" without feeling engaged by any of it.

(After 15 years, this is how I felt about cybersecurity.)

Work used to create energy. It used to sharpen you. Stretch you. Feed the rest of your life.

At some point, that flipped.

Now it drains energy — and nothing meaningful is replacing it.

That state is not neutral.

When work consumes energy instead of creating it, the deficit shows up everywhere. In patience at home. In health. In imagination. In your sense of building toward a future that's actually yours.

What's really happening underneath is simpler (and more damaging) than most people want to admit:

Your Career Capital — years of judgment, experience, pattern recognition, and hard-earned capability — is going undeployed.

Not unused. Undeployed.

You're applying a fraction of what you've built inside a system that can't fully use it. And when Career Capital isn't exercised meaningfully, it doesn't just sit idle.

It decays.

The most dangerous response here is waiting. Waiting for a reorg. Waiting for renewed motivation. Waiting for something external to force clarity.

Energy doesn't come back on its own.

If work no longer creates it, you have a responsibility to create conditions where it can.

That doesn't require a drastic leap. 

But it does require an environment where your thinking actually matters again — and people who understand what you're navigating.

I'm hosting a private workshop next week for people who recognize this moment and want to think clearly about what to do with the Career Capital they've built.

Details: https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

The cost of waiting is quiet. 
But it compounds quickly.

I didn’t know how valuable I was until I stepped outside the corporate system.

Not because I lacked confidence inside.

But because the environment couldn’t show me.

That’s why I built The Career Capitalist™:
https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

Happening Monday. A live, private workshop designed to surface, package, and deploy your Career Capital into founder leverage.

Inside corporate, your value gets filtered.

Your judgment gets diluted by consensus.
Your instincts get buried in approval chains.
Your best ideas get spent in meetings that go nowhere.

You’re performing.
Contributing.
Delivering.

But not seeing the full picture of what you’ve built.

It took stepping outside for me to realize:

Every story I lived through → raw material
Every pattern I recognized → deployable insight
Every hard-won lesson → Career Capital to be claimed

And it’s why I hear this constantly from clients once the conditions change:

“Corporate feels simple now. Almost optional.”
“I finally feel in control of my days.”
“I didn’t know I had this much to offer.”

That last one makes me so proud.

Because most people don’t lack value.
They lack the conditions to see it clearly.

Corporate systems are too constraining to reveal what you’ve actually accumulated.

You have to put yourself in founder conditions.
Where your thinking is deployed on your terms.

That’s when Career Capital stops being theoretical.

And starts compounding.

---

Details for The Career Capitalist™
Monday, January 19
$50 (Live + Recording)

Included:
• IP Builder GPT
• Corporate Graduation™ Readiness Scorecard
• Category-claiming exercises
• Case study pack + common traps guide
• Private 1:1 Founder Game Plan call

https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

This is a one-time, private event for people who are done playing small inside a big system.

Burnout isn't the real problem.

You've reached a structural mismatch.

After years in the arena, you've built something substantial.

Pattern recognition.
Lived experience.
Relationships.
Reputation.
Judgment.
Talent.

Taken together, this is your Career Capital.

It's stacked. It's real. And it's valuable.

The problem is that the system you're in can only use a tiny fraction of it.

Not because you're capped.
Because the environment is.

Corporate systems are designed for efficiency, predictability, and control. They define a role, reward you for staying inside the lines, and call it success.

Over time, that role becomes a box.
And then a box within a box.

No matter how much Career Capital you accumulate, the system can't meaningfully expand to meet it.

Even changing teams.
Even changing companies.
Even "one more promotion."

The system is the system.

So while your Career Capital keeps compounding, its expression gets constrained.

Your best ideas die in approval chains.
You're solving problems you solved three years ago.
Work that energized you now = going through motions.

That's when the tension starts.

Not because you're ungrateful.
Not because you've lost motivation.
And certainly not from a lack of ambition.

But because you've outgrown the container—which will never change enough to hold who you're becoming.

This might be your first quiet signal that something else is required.

Not a better role.
But a different relationship with corporate altogether.

And a deliberate decision about where your Career Capital will compound.

---

PS - I'm writing deeply about Career Capital this month. The first long-form essay drops on Substack this Saturday — it's about the hidden tax you pay by staying put and what happens when you stop tolerating it.

Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/eDEkDVb2

Career Capital doesn’t sit idle.

It either compounds — or quietly decays.

Inside corporate, decay is the default.

Not because you’re underperforming.
Because the system is designed to consume judgment, not multiply it.

Your experience gets spent in meetings.
Your insight gets diluted by consensus.
Your best instincts get buried under endless “alignment.”

Over time, something subtle but costly happens.

You’re still “successful,” but your optionality shrinks.
Your leverage flattens.
The work takes more energy and gives less back.

That’s not burnout.

That’s Career Capital being used up instead of built on.

Here’s the distinction most people never make:

Most professionals let their Career Capital decay inside systems they don’t own.

Founders decide — deliberately — where it compounds.

Not louder.
Not riskier.
More intentional.

They choose where their judgment is deployed — and who benefits from it.

At some point, the question stops being:
“How do I make this role better?”

And becomes:
“Where does my Career Capital actually belong?”

That question changes everything.

---

PS - I’m writing deeply about Career Capital this month. Saturday’s Corporate Graduation essay breaks down the hidden math of staying put — and what most pros never calculate.

https://lnkd.in/eDEkDVb2

The quiet frustration you feel isn't burnout.

It's trapped leverage.

Your career capital is decaying right now.

Not because you're losing skill.
Because you're not deploying it.

Yesterday I ran The Career Capitalist™ workshop.

Here are the five ideas that hit hardest.


1) Career capital is stored energy.

Years of judgment, pressure, and decision-making accumulate as untapped power. But stored energy doesn't stay neutral. If it isn't released into the right environment, it implodes.

Career capital needs motion, leverage, and somewhere to be used (hint: someone else's system won't do.)


2) Career capital must become a compounding asset.

Your career capital can only compound when converted into something you own. Left unconverted, they get spent linearly through effort.

Ownership is the difference between earning repeatedly and compounding over time.


3) Labels suffocate career capital.

SVP. Director. Consultant. Coach. Speaker.

These are pre-priced containers with fixed ceilings. The market decides what they're worth.

Labels come with limits. Founders build the room.


4) Career capital has a window.

Experience is sharpest when it's recent, relevant, and energized. Delay too long, and it decays.

Not from lack of ability. But from missing your window of opportunity.


5) You must intentionally package and deploy it.

Unpackaged career capital goes to waste. If you don't turn it into assets — frameworks, language, IP, owned systems — it never compounds.

It just leaks out through time, effort, and obligation.

---

This is what I wish I understood five years ago.

Career capital isn't something you simply have.

It's something you either convert and compound.
Or you quietly lose it.

---

PS - If this resonates, doors are open for the February cohort of our Corporate Graduation™ program. DM me "LEVERAGE" for details.

Your career capital has a shelf life.

If you don’t claim it, it dies.

Most people assume experience compounds automatically and forever.

That once you’ve earned judgment, pattern recognition, and credibility, it stays available, waiting patiently for whenever you’re “ready.”

That’s not how it works.

Career Capital behaves like any other form of capital.

If it isn’t surfaced, packaged, and deployed while the window is open, it decays.

Corporate environments are very good at using your best thinking. They are terrible at helping you own it.

So the decay is quiet.

Your instincts sharpen, but only inside meetings.
Your judgment matures, but stays behind the logo.
Your leverage increases, but never sees daylight.

Over time, a dangerous gap opens.

You are highly capable.
And increasingly under-deployed.

Directors, VPs, and executives feel this most.

Not because they lack opportunity.
But because they’ve outgrown permissioned contribution and haven’t yet claimed authority.

The people who notice this early make a different move.

They don’t rush.
They don’t panic.
They don’t freelance their way out.

They slow down long enough to extract what they’ve actually earned.

They turn experience into language.
Judgment into frameworks.
Reputation into owned direction.

They understand one simple truth.

Capital that isn’t claimed gets spent by someone else.

That’s why I built The Career Capitalist™.

A one-time, live workshop for Directors, VPs, and execs who know they’re sitting on real leverage and refuse to let it expire unused.

This isn’t about quitting faster.
It’s about learning how to own what you already have before the window closes.

The Career Capitalist™
Private workshop + recording + working tools
Monday, January 19

Secure your spot: https://lnkd.in/esvq8nuY

This experience is built to create motion, not inspiration.

---

If this resonates, trust the signal.

Hidden Career Capital doesn’t unleash itself.
It gets claimed — or it withers.

At A Better Jones, I help startups, small businesses, and solopreneurs accelerate their growth. 

A Better Jones

At the end of 2024, I made one small, almost silly, decision, that changed the trajectory of my life and business.
 
I now make this same decision every year. 
And the results keep compounding.
 
Let me give you some context.
 
At the time, I was running a business that was fun, fast, and exciting—at first.
 
But eventually, I saw the ceiling.
 
And I wanted more.
 
• More impact.
• More intention.
• And yes, more revenue.
 
My business partner and I were winging it. 

Yeah, we were seeing some success, but it felt chaotic and stressful.
 
And winging it doesn’t scale.
 
So, going into 2025, I picked a theme for the new year: 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽
 
The idea was to transform my work from scattered, shoot-from-the-hip, throw-shit-at-the-wall and hope something sticks…
 
To something that I build with intention, care, and love. A craft.
 
That one word changed everything.
 
→ Every decision ran through the lens: Does this reflect craftsmanship? 
→ Am I building something I’m proud of—or just getting through the day?
 
By March, the partnership ended.
 
Not because I set a goal to leave.
 
But because she loved the hustle, grind, and winging it. 

And I didn’t. At least not anymore.
 
I yearned for something more stable, more scalable, and more impactful.
 
Neither is better—truly. And I’m grateful for that chapter in my life and everything it taught me.
 
But they are different.
 
• Different goals.
• Different values.
• Different styles.
 
The misalignment became impossible to ignore.
 
That’s what themes do. 
They quietly, powerfully, shape your future.
 
And they stick.
 
Craftsmanship didn’t end in 2025. It’s still baked into everything I do and the results continue to compound.
 
Have you ever made one small decision that changed your life? Let me know in the comments!

XOXO,
Kasey

Kasey Jones 🏔

I Help Consultants Scale End Referral Reliance and Reach Systematic, Predictable $30k+ Months Revenue via Strategy & Leverage, Not People & Time | 41k+ News Subs | Mix of Jocko Willink & Mr. Rogers

It’s that weird in-between week.
 
You’re either eating leftover pie in stretchy pants…
 
Or mapping out your “this is the year I finally…” goals.
 
But let me tell you something that changed everything for me.
 
I haven’t set a New Year’s resolution in years.
 
Not because I don’t have big goals.
 
But because resolutions are a fundamentally broken system.
 
→ They create a pass/fail binary that doesn’t account for real life. 
→ They tell you what to do—but not how to decide. 
→ And they rarely help when you’re faced with the 101 micro-decisions that actually shape your day.
 
So instead of goals, I set a theme.
 
• One word or phrase that becomes a filter. 
• A North Star. 
• A decision-making lens for the entire year.
 
Not something to achieve. 
Something to embody.
 
And damn, the results compound.
 
(Stay tuned—I’ll share the themes that changed my life. And how to find your own.)
 
What about you?
 
Have you ever set a theme for the year instead of a resolution?
 
👇 I’d love to hear what you’re thinking about for 2026.

undefined undefined

2025 hit me like a freight train.
 
Health issues forced me to scale back to 25–40% capacity.
 
And for a high-achiever like me? That was brutal.
 
But it also forced clarity.
 
Because when you can’t do everything, you finally get honest about what actually matters.
 
So I chose a theme I’ve held onto for years:
 
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆
 
Just like chefs who make better meals under pressure… 
Just like creators who thrive within boundaries…
 
I realized the constraints weren’t my downfall.
 
They were my freedom.
 
→ To say no. 
→ To build around what I want , not what I “should.” 
→ To create art, not just output.
 
This is my slow season.
 
But it’s also my most creative one yet.
 
What’s a constraint in your life that might actually be a gift?

And I don’t just mean burnout from doing too much.
 
I mean the kind that creeps in even when things are “working.”
 
→ You’re making money 
→ You’re getting clients 
→ You’re hitting goals
 
But you’re quietly exhausted.
 
Low-key resentful.
 
Wondering if this is really it.
 
Here’s what I wish someone had told me:
 
🖤 1. You can burn out from success just as easily as failure.
 
Because when your business grows faster than your clarity…
 
It starts to consume you.
 
🖤 2. Rest won’t fix what misalignment created.
 
You don’t need a vacation.
 
You need to rebuild.
 
🖤 3. You’ll start to resent your dream—and think it means you’re ungrateful.
 
But resentment is a signal.
 
It’s telling you what used to fit… doesn’t anymore.
 
🖤 4. Your business isn’t supposed to depend on your exhaustion.
 
If it only works when you're pushing, it’s not sustainable.
 
It’s not a business. It’s a performance.
 
🖤 5. You’re allowed to outgrow your old goals.
 
You don’t have to keep building what you no longer want.
 
If you're running on fumes right now—
 
Even with a calendar full of clients—
 
Let this be your reminder:
 
You're not broken. 
You're becoming.

The worst business decision I ever made wasn't a failure. It was a success I should have walked away from.
 
A few years ago, I was making $50K a month. On paper, I was crushing it.
 
Behind the scenes? I was miserable.
 
I built an agency because everyone said that's what successful entrepreneurs do. 

But I have ADHD. Operational complexity drains me.
 
→ I kept saying yes to projects that exhausted me and clients who didn't appreciate me.
→ I kept building around my weaknesses instead of my strengths.
 
Then my body shut down. 

Severe vertigo from a viral infection knocked me flat for weeks. 

My nervous system was so fried from constant stress that my body couldn't fight it off.
 
I was making $50K a month while feeling more incompetent than when I made $5K doing work I loved.
 
Here's what I wish someone had told me:
 
Every mediocre opportunity you say yes to costs you the dream opportunities you'll never meet.
 
Now I ask:
 
Does this align with who I am and where I'm going?
 
The business you deserve isn't built on your ability to suffer. It's built on your ability to deliver extraordinary results through your natural gifts.

I used to start every client project from scratch. Custom everything. 

And I wondered why I was exhausted making the same money month after month.
 
Then I learned the difference between effort and leverage.
 
Successful people don't work harder. They build systems that multiply effort.
 
They create once, use forever. Solve a problem once—it works forever.
 
They automate decisions.
 
→ They said "I only take calls on Tuesdays." 
→ They said "I charge $10K minimum." 
→ Decision made once, executed forever.
 
They make their work compound.
 
→ One client project becomes a framework for ten. 
→ One piece of content attracts thousands. 
→ Every action feeds the next.
 
I went from rebuilding from scratch every month to building assets that stack.
 
That's how you scale revenue without scaling hours.
 
Stop trading time for results. Build leverage.

What I wish I knew before I started taking on client projects... 

"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲."
 
Every consultant learns this eventually:
 
You scope the project based on what the client tells you. 30 days in, you realize they had no idea what was actually wrong.
 
They weren't lying. They're symptom aware, not problem aware.
 
They know something hurts. They don't know why.
 
Here's what I learned:
 
1. Their diagnosis is almost always incomplete. They tell you about the symptom. You scope a solution for that symptom. But the symptom isn't the problem.
   
2. You'll end up in a lose-lose-lose situation. Either you do extra work for free and burn out. Or you accept mediocre results and damage your reputation. Or you ask for more money and create an awkward conversation that often kills the relationship.
   
3. The fix isn't working harder—it's diagnosing before you deliver. When you do the discovery work, you control the scope. No more surprises. No more resentment.
 
The consultants who avoid this trap aren't smarter. They just stopped trusting the client's self-diagnosis.

I used to say "I help businesses with strategy" and wondered why I couldn't charge premium prices.
 
These 3 phrases were killing my credibility.
 
𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 #𝟭: 
You help a broad category of people with broad services. "I help businesses with strategy" sounds like 10,000 other consultants. Premium clients hire specialists, not generalists.
 
𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 #𝟮: 
You offer a menu of services. "I can help with lots of things" sounds desperate, not flexible. Experts say "I solve THIS problem and deliver THIS outcome."
 
𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 #𝟯: 
You wait for prospects to tell you what they need, then create custom proposals. That's order-taking, not expertise.
 
See the pattern? All three signal scarcity mindset. And prospects can smell it.
 
Experts are specific. Generalists are vague.

I stayed stuck with $5K clients because I was terrified the $50K clients would not hire me.
 
• Not enough credibility. 
• Not enough “big-name” clients.
 
So I kept my rates low and my positioning safe.
 
Here's what I learned:
 
→ Premium clients aren't hiring your resume. 
They're hiring your precision.
 
→ They don't care how many clients you've had. 
They care if you understand their exact problem.
 
2 years of focused expertise beats 10 years of generalist experience. Every time.
 
One $50K client creates momentum—space to think, energy to serve, time to build.
 
Ten $5K clients? Chaos. Drowning in delivery. No time for anything but surviving.
 
Stop being afraid to go upmarket. Start being afraid of staying stuck serving clients who can't afford your real value.

I spent years thinking I was "bad at planning." 

Turns out, I was trying to plan like a neurotypical person (And I have ADHD)
 
→ Time blocking failed. 
→ Project management systems fell apart. 
→ Quarterly plans lasted two weeks, max.
 
Here's what actually works:
 
1. I stopped planning for motivation. Systems beat motivation every time.
2. I schedule around my energy, not the clock. I protect high-energy windows for work that matters.
3. I focus on weekly sprints, not quarterly plans. My brain can crush a focused week.
4. I build in recovery. Rest isn't a reward—it's infrastructure.
 
When I stopped fighting my brain and started building around it, I became way more productive. Not less.
 
Your brain isn't broken. The system just wasn't built for you.

I've had to rebuild my life more than once.
 
→ Layoffs 
→ Failed relationships 
→ Rock-bottom moments I don't talk about publicly
 
No one handed me a checklist for reinvention. So I taught myself.
 
Here's what I learned:
 
“You don't bounce back. You build FORWARD.”
 
The version of you that's dying? Let her go. She got you this far. But she can't take you where you're going.
 
Stop asking "What do I DO now?" 
Start asking "Who do I BECOME now?"
 
Reinvention isn't a to-do list. It's an identity shift.
 
And the biggest mistake? Trying to fix a life that no longer fits—instead of creating one that lets you feel as good as you deserve.
 
You don't need a five-year plan. 
You need a spark. Then a motion. 
Then a subtraction—cutting everything that no longer fits.
 
Reinvention isn't a comeback. It's a departure from a life that didn't fit Future You.
 
You're not going back to who you were. 
You're stepping into who you've always been becoming.
 
And she's just getting started.

I asked a client these 4 questions. She couldn't answer them clearly. 

Within 8 months of fixing that, she went from $10K to $70K months.
 
If you're not making the money you want, your positioning might be the problem.
 
Here's the 60-second test:
 
1. WHO is in a situation where your work is high stakes?
2. WHAT specific problem are they experiencing—in their words, not yours?
3. WHAT outcome do you help them achieve? (Include numbers. Include timeline.)
4. HOW do you help them get there in a way no one else can?
 
If you can't answer these clearly and specifically, that's why you're not closing more clients.
 
Drop your answers in the comments—I'll help you sharpen your positioning so you can start making the money you actually deserve.

For 6 months, I posted content that got great engagement but zero clients. 

I was operating on 5 Marketing Myths that cost me thousands in revenue. 

Then I challenged every single one—and ONE post brought in $15K in two weeks. 

Here's what I was wrong about.

Carousel - 5 marketing myths that cost me 6 months and tho

I used to think my energy crashes were about my workload.
 
Then I went back through my journal and checked my calendar.
 
My most anxious mornings?
 
• I hadn't slept. 
• I'd skipped exercise. 
• Maybe had some alcohol the night before.
 
The realization was painful:
 
My anxiety had almost nothing to do with how much was on my plate. 
It had everything to do with how well I'd taken care of myself.
 
I spent decades taking pride in my hustle mindset. 

Admitting I wasn't anxious because of my ambition—but because I wasn't sleeping? That was hard.
 
Here's what I see in entrepreneurs all the time:
 
→ Burnt out? Your messaging gets desperate. 
→ Overwhelmed? You skip follow-ups. 
→ Not sleeping? You avoid sales calls entirely.
 
We think the solution is better strategy. More leads. A new tactic.
 
Sometimes the real solution is going to bed an hour earlier.
 
Taking care of yourself isn't self-indulgent. It's business strategy.

I used to have a to-do list that could fill a novel. Content to create. Funnels to build. Networking events to attend.
 
I was very BUSY every single day. 

And my income? Wildly inconsistent. 
$30K months followed by $3K months.
 
Then I did something terrifying: 

I deleted 70% of my to-do list.
 
→ Stopped going to networking events that didn't convert. 
→ Stopped creating content for platforms that didn't drive leads. 
→ Stopped offering services that drained me. 
→ Stopped saying yes to "good" opportunities that weren't great.
 
What happened? I went from inconsistent $10-20K months to consistent $40-50K months.
 
Here's the truth:
 
Most of what's on your to-do list isn't moving your business forward. It just feels productive.
 
Now I ask one question before adding anything: 

Is this essential—or am I doing it because someone told me I should?
 
If it's not essential, it doesn't make the cut.
 
Your business doesn't need you to do more. 
It needs you to do less—with more focus.

XOXO,
Kasey

Heading into 2026, I was scaling fast.
 
Revenue jumped from $10K → $30–$50K months.
 
But behind the scenes? I was dropping balls left and right.
 
So I picked this military phrase as my theme:
 
“Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.”
 
And I lived it.
 
• I built systems. 
• I slowed the hell down. 
• I tracked every metric.
 
And I focused on ONE improvement at a time.
 
The result?
 
→ Our webinar funnel went from shaky to sharp. 
→ Same offer. Same structure. 
→ 5x the revenue in just 10 weeks.
 
That’s the power of focused iteration.
 
Not throwing more at the wall.
Not trying to be everywhere.
 
Just doing the damn thing, better—one step at a time.
 
So here’s my question to you:
 
What are you rushing through that actually needs more care?

I’m not anti-goals.
 
I f*cking love a good 90-day plan.
 
But I also know life will happen.
 
And when it does, you need something better than a goalpost that moves.
 
You need a filter. A compass. A theme.
 
Here’s how it works:
 
→ One phrase. One lens.
→ Every decision runs through it.
→ No overthinking. Just clarity.
 
Because one aligned decision makes a thousand others easier.
 
This is how you build a business—and a life—that feels like 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.
 
So tell me:
 
What’s your theme for 2026?
 
If you don’t know yet, stay tuned—I’ll be sharing my year-end review and template to help you find it.
 
Let’s make this year your most intentional one yet.

Let’s get real for a sec.
 
A few years ago, I looked like I was killing it:
 
→ Featured on podcasts
→ Speaking at conferences
→ $30K months
→ Clients with big names and bigger budgets
 
But here’s what you didn’t see:
 
→ I was customizing every offer
→ I was working nights and weekends
→ I was terrified to slow down
→ My “strategy” was basically hope + hustle
 
And when a client churned, I panicked.
Because everything depended on me.
 
No systems.
No structure.
 
Just a collection of projects with my name on them.
 
That wasn’t success. 
That was survival.
 
Real success came when I slowed the hell down and rebuilt:
 
→ A single high-leverage offer
→ A clear message I could stand behind
→ A business model that gave me breathing room
 
Now?
 
I make more working less.
I have actual freedom.
 
And I only work with people who light me up.
 
Here’s what I know for sure:
 
If you’re exhausted, but everyone thinks you’re “crushing it” — it’s time to make a change.
 
Because pretending it’s working is the surest way to burn out.
 
What part of your “success” isn’t actually working for you?

Health issues forced me to scale back to 25–40% capacity.
 
And for a high-achiever like me?
 
That felt like failure.
 
But here’s what I learned when my body said “stop”:
 
When you can’t do everything, you finally get honest about what actually matters.
 
So I chose a theme I’ve whispered to myself for years:
 
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆.
 
The kind of creativity that’s not bloated by urgency.
 
Not driven by dopamine.
Not rooted in performative productivity.
 
Just truth.
 
Clarity.
 
And the actual art I want to create.
 
Because constraints aren’t your downfall.
 
They’re your freedom.
 
→ To say no without guilt
→ To build around what you want, not what you “should”
→ To create resonance, not just content
→ To stop chasing likability—and show up in your full magnetism
 
This is my slow season.
 
And it’s also the most aligned I’ve felt in years.
 
What constraint in your life might actually be a gift in disguise?
 
Or better yet—what’s something you’re done pretending you can carry?

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A Better Jones

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