Matters of Influence

Welcome to another episode of the Matters of Influence podcast with your hosts, Debbie Frapp and Terrie Foster Nowland! In this longer-than-usual episode, we dive deep into a topic we all face but rarely embrace: Failure. Inspired by the teachings of John Maxwell and his upcoming book, How to Get a Return on Failure, Debbie and Terrie discuss why failure itself isn’t our problem—wasting the failure is.Tune in as we explore how to change our relationship with failure and learn why failure is simply a comma, not a period. We discuss how to spot a "good miss," why keeping success and failure close together is essential for growth, and what it truly means to "embrace the hard". As John Maxwell says, you simply don't drift uphill!In this episode, we cover:The Red Ink Effect: How early childhood conditioning with "red ink" in school shapes our negative relationship with failure.Good Miss vs. Bad Miss: It is not about the miss, it is about what you do after the miss. A "good miss" helps you make critical adjustments.Embracing the Hard: Why you must embrace difficult challenges to grow, and why you cannot coast to a desired location without hill climbing.Keeping Success and Failure Together: Why these two concepts are meant to be kept close so they can complement each other; when forced apart, they fight against each other.Success is a Lousy Teacher: Breaking down Bill Gates' famous quote and exploring why leaning into failure provides far richer lessons than success ever could.Don't skip the lesson just to escape the pain! If this episode resonates with you, be sure to check out John Maxwell's new book and the hosts' book, Your Greatest Opponent, You. Be sure to also check out the workbook section at the end of the failure chapter.Connect with us! Find more nuggets of wisdom by following Matters of Influence, as well as Debbie and Terrie personal pages, on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Send us a message and let us know what lessons you are learning from your failures.

Welcome back to the Matters of Influence podcast!After an unexpected hiatus following a major medical event, hosts Debbie Frapp and Terrie Foster Nowland are officially back behind the mic. Sometimes life has to throw a "brick" to get your attention, but from that season of pausing and re-evaluating came an incredible passion project.In this comeback episode, Debbie and Terrie announce the release of their brand-new tactical book: Your Greatest Opponent: You. Born from personal journal entries, real-life experiences, and years of coaching leaders, this book tackles the uncomfortable truth that the biggest obstacle in your life is usually the person looking back at you in the mirror.Are you the villain in your own story? In this episode, Debbie and Terrie do a deep dive into two transformative "Plays" from their new book to help you stop self-sabotaging and start leading:Play #1: Becoming Fierce. Forget the aggressive, table-flipping stereotype. Being fierce means being quietly "unshakable" in the face of setbacks and storms. Learn how to break out of the "victim cycle" and stop waiting for permission to be yourself.Play #2: Values Matter. Have you ever been really successful at a job, but felt completely miserable? That happens when your environment is out of alignment with your core values. Discover how to use your values as a compass and a filter for every decision you make—because if you don't define your values, someone else will define them for you.Grab your copy of the new book, Your Greatest Opponent: You, available now on Amazon.Visit mattersofinfluence.com for more information and a direct link to the book.This episode is a powerful reminder that you aren't broken—you just might need to wake up. The most influential leader in your life is you, and you cannot lead others until you do the inner work to lead yourself first.

Are you suffering from goal fatigue?  We discuss what goal fatigue, the signs and symptoms of goal fatigue and the cycle's an organization or team goes through and how goals change depending on which phase or cycle your team or organization is in.

In this episode, Terrie interviews Debbie around a passion and share insights to being FIERCE and Accountable.If you struggle with accountability, take a listen, it's not what you think!

Join us for our end of 2025 podcast on reflection a valuable and often over looked strategy.