Daily Power Boost: Ignite Your Potential

<p><p>Fear of missing out doesn’t just make you anxious.It makes you overcommitted. Exhausted.And trapped in a life you never consciously chose.</p></p><p>Last episode we talked about strategy being subtraction; choosing the best and releasing the rest.</p><p>Today, Shawn names why that’s so difficult.</p><p>It’s not that you don’t know what to subtract.</p><p>It’s that you’re afraid of what you’ll miss if you do.</p><p>Through a story of a coach who said yes to a “great opportunity” while already depleted, he exposes the real cost of fear-based decisions. The talk happened. The stage was big. But the presence wasn’t there.</p><p>And that’s the insight that lands hard in this episode:</p><p><strong>FOMO doesn’t protect you from loss. It guarantees it.</strong></p><p>Because when you chase every opportunity, you stop being fully present for any of them. And presence, not access, is what actually changes everything.</p><p>This episode challenges leaders to stop confusing scarcity with ambition and start protecting the one thing that makes leadership sustainable: presence.</p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>* Why fear of missing out leads to chronic overcommitment</p><p>* A real story of saying yes when the honest answer was no</p><p>* How FOMO masquerades as ambition and strategy</p><p>* The hidden cost of fear-based yeses</p><p>* Why presence matters more than access or exposure</p><p>* A practical filter for deciding when to say yes or no</p><p><strong>Reflection Prompts</strong></p><p>* Where am I saying yes out of fear instead of alignment?</p><p>* What opportunities am I chasing that are costing me presence?</p><p>* When was the last time I said yes even though I was already depleted?</p><p>* What might open up if I trusted myself to say no?</p><p><strong>The Boost (Action Step)</strong></p><p>Run the <strong>FOMO Tax Practice</strong>.</p><p>Think of the last three commitments you agreed to.</p><p>Ask yourself honestly:</p><p><strong>“Did I say yes because this was aligned or because I was afraid to say no?”</strong></p><p>If fear was the driver, that’s the FOMO tax.</p><p>And it’s costing you more than you think.</p><p>If you want support applying this filter to your real commitments, book a <a target="_blank" href="https://go.successblueprintconsulting.com/widget/bookings/identity-clarity"><strong>No-Cost Identity Clarity Call</strong></a>. No pitch. Just clarity.</p><p><strong>On the Next Episode</strong></p><p><strong><em>The Strategic Decline: How to Say No Without Burning Bridges</em></strong></p><p>Because knowing you need to say no is one thing. Saying it cleanly, confidently, and without guilt is another.</p><p>✦ <strong>If Today’s Episode Sparked Something…</strong></p><p>* Share it with someone who’s exhausted from saying yes to everything</p><p>* Subscribe to Daily Power Boost for identity-driven leadership recalibration</p><p>* Join the R.E.A.L. Mastery™ Hub → <a target="_blank" href="http://realmasteryhub.com">realmasteryhub.com</a></p><p>* Apply for Beyond the Boost live coaching</p><p>✦ <strong>Engage With Me Online</strong></p><p>* Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael</p><p>* YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachinguatemala">@coachinguatemala</a> </p><p>✦ <strong>References & Influences</strong></p><p>* <strong>Greg McKeown – </strong><strong><em>Essentialism</em></strong> on the cost of non-essential commitments</p><p>* <strong>Jim Collins – </strong><strong><em>Good to Great</em></strong> on disciplined choice and focus</p><p>* <strong>Joe Hudson – </strong><strong><em>The Art of Accomplishment</em></strong> on fear-based decision loops</p><p>* <strong>Parker Palmer – </strong><strong><em>Let Your Life Speak</em></strong> on integrity and self-betrayal</p><p>* <strong>Cal Newport – </strong><strong><em>Digital Minimalism</em></strong> on protecting depth and presence</p><p><strong>With strength and heart,</strong></p><p>❤️🔥 Shawn Michael</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to True North: Your guide to an intentional life at <a href="https://trunorth.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">trunorth.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><p>You can do a lot of things well.Or you can do a few things exceptionally.But you can’t do both.</p></p><p>Monday, we talked about the Opportunity Avalanche: how every yes quietly starts to bury you. Today, Shawn addresses the harder question that follows awareness:</p><p><strong>How do you choose?</strong></p><p>Through a mentor story about a successful business owner who was exhausted by “good” opportunities she didn’t actually want, this episode reframes strategy in a way most leaders resist.</p><p>Strategy isn’t about adding more. It’s about having the courage to subtract. Because releasing something good doesn’t mean you failed.</p><p>It means you’re protecting what’s best.</p><p>This episode invites leaders to stop succeeding at things that drain them and start creating space for the work they’re actually built to do.</p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>* Why releasing “good” opportunities feels like failure (and why it isn’t)</p><p>* How addition without subtraction leads to dilution, not growth</p><p>* A mentor story that reframed strategy as elimination</p><p>* Why doing fewer things at 100% beats doing everything at 60%</p><p>* The real cost of holding onto commitments that aren’t aligned</p><p>* A simple filter for deciding what stays and what goes</p><p><strong>Reflection Prompts</strong></p><p>* Where am I saying yes to things that are good but not best?</p><p>* What am I currently succeeding at that I don’t actually want to succeed at?</p><p>* If I had to choose only three priorities this year, what would they be?</p><p>* What would open up if I released what no longer fits?</p><p><strong>The Boost (Action Step)</strong></p><p>Run the <strong>Good vs. Best Practice</strong>.</p><p>Write down this question:</p><p><strong>“If I could only do three things this year, what would they be?”</strong></p><p>Answer honestly.</p><p>Not what looks impressive. Not what others expect. What actually matters most.</p><p>Now review your current commitments. Circle what aligns with your top three. Cross out what doesn’t.</p><p>That crossed-out list isn’t failure. It’s your strategy.</p><p>If you’re struggling to let go of good things that are costing you focus, energy, or alignment, book a <a target="_blank" href="https://go.successblueprintconsulting.com/widget/bookings/identity-clarity"><strong>No-Cost Identity Clarity Call</strong></a>. We’ll identify what needs to be subtracted so your best work finally has room to breathe.</p><p><strong>On the Next Episode</strong></p><p><strong><em>The FOMO Tax: What You Pay When You Can’t Say No</em></strong></p><p>Because once you know what to eliminate, the real challenge is releasing the fear that you’re missing out.</p><p><strong>If Today’s Episode Sparked Something…</strong></p><p>* Share it with a leader who’s overwhelmed by too many “good” opportunities</p><p>* Subscribe to Daily Power Boost for identity-driven leadership resets</p><p>* Join the R.E.A.L. Mastery™ Hub → <a target="_blank" href="http://realmasteryhub.com">realmasteryhub.com</a></p><p>* Apply for Beyond the Boost live coaching</p><p>✦ <strong>Engage With Me Online</strong></p><p>* Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael</p><p>* YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachinguatemala">@coachinguatemala</a> </p><p><strong>References & Influences</strong></p><p>* <strong>Jim Collins – </strong><strong><em>Good to Great</em></strong> on disciplined focus and what to stop doing</p><p>* <strong>Greg McKeown – </strong><strong><em>Essentialism</em></strong> on less but better</p><p>* <strong>Peter Drucker</strong> – strategic effectiveness through choice</p><p>* <strong>Joe Hudson – </strong><strong><em>The Art of Accomplishment</em></strong> on alignment over accumulation</p><p>* <strong>Parker Palmer</strong> – integrity through saying no to what fragments the self</p><p></p><p><strong>With strength and heart,</strong></p><p>❤️🔥 Shawn Michael</p><p>Stay close.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to True North: Your guide to an intentional life at <a href="https://trunorth.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">trunorth.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><p>Most people think an encore means returning to what worked before.Paula Washington knows better.</p></p><p>After decades of success in corporate leadership, consulting, and entrepreneurship, Paula reached a moment most high-achievers quietly fear. Not burnout. Not failure. Irrelevance. The deeper question of <em>who am I becoming now?</em></p><p>In this Beyond the Boost conversation, Paula shares the moment her life shifted from achievement to alignment, and why the second act isn’t about doing more. It’s about becoming truer.</p><p>This episode is for leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals standing at a threshold. The outer success is there. The inner pull won’t shut up.</p><p>And the encore is already calling.</p><p>In this conversation we talk about</p><p>* Why the encore phase is an identity shift, not a career pivot</p><p>* How loss, legacy, and mortality clarified Paula’s next chapter</p><p>* The Encore Framework. Exit, Navigate, Commit, Opportunity, Relevance, Excellence</p><p>* Why confidence doesn’t come from thinking, it comes from motion</p><p>* The hidden cost of relevance anxiety in high-performers</p><p>* How niche clarity creates authority instead of limitation</p><p>* Why most business bottlenecks live in the leader, not the team</p><p>* The difference between working <em>in</em> the business and <em>for</em> the business</p><p>* Why time, not money, is the real currency of leadership</p><p><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></p><p><strong>The encore isn’t about starting over.</strong></p><p>It’s about integrating everything you’ve lived into a more honest expression of who you are now.</p><p><strong>Fear doesn’t disappear with experience.</strong></p><p>It changes shape. At this stage, fear isn’t about failure. It’s about wasting what’s left.</p><p><strong>Relevance isn’t earned by volume.</strong></p><p>It’s earned by clarity. Knowing who you serve, why you serve them, and what you stand for.</p><p><strong>Confidence follows action, not preparation.</strong></p><p>You don’t think your way into courage. You walk it out, shaking if necessary.</p><p><strong>Leadership always reveals itself in the mirror first.</strong></p><p>Teams, businesses, and systems reflect the self-trust and blind spots of the person at the helm.</p><p><strong>Reflection Prompts</strong></p><p>* If I stopped proving anything, what would I choose next?</p><p>* Where am I still performing a role that no longer fits?</p><p>* What part of my identity did success quietly eclipse?</p><p>* What would relevance look like if it came from alignment, not visibility?</p><p>* If time is my true currency, what am I overspending it on?</p><p>The Boost (Identity Action Step)</p><p>Take ten uninterrupted minutes today.</p><p>No planning. No fixing.</p><p>Write this sentence and finish it honestly:</p><p><strong>“If my encore was about becoming instead of achieving, it would begin with…”</strong></p><p>Then notice what shows up in your body before your mind tries to edit it.</p><p>That’s where the real work starts.</p><p><strong>About Paula Washington</strong></p><p>Paula Washington, MBA, MS, is a strategist, speaker, and author of <em>The Encore Playbook: Bold Strategies for Women Redefining Their Next Career Chapter</em>. Her work helps high-achieving professionals clarify identity, reclaim relevance, and design purpose-driven second acts rooted in wisdom rather than urgency.</p><p><strong>Website:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.paulawashington.com/">paulawashington.com</a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram:</strong> Paula Washington</p><p>Connect with Me</p><p>If this conversation touched something quiet but persistent in you.</p><p>That sense that your outer success no longer matches who you’re becoming.</p><p>If you know you’re not done. But you’re also not meant to keep performing the same role.</p><p>I offer a <a target="_blank" href="https://go.successblueprintconsulting.com/widget/bookings/identity-clarity"><strong>No-Cost Identity Clarity Call</strong></a>.</p><p>Not a pitch. Not a plan dump.</p><p>We’ll look honestly at where you are, what’s no longer true, and what your next chapter is asking of you.</p><p>So the life you’re building starts to reflect the identity you’re ready to live from.</p><p>When you’re ready to stop circling the question and start answering it.</p><p>That’s the moment to book.</p><p><strong>You can also</strong></p><p>* Subscribe to <strong>Daily Power Boost</strong> for rhythm based identity shifts</p><p>* Find me on Social Networks</p><p>* Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael</p><p>* YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachinguatemala">@coachinguatemala</a> </p><p><strong>With strength & heart,</strong></p><p><strong>❤️🔥 </strong>Shawn Michael</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to True North: Your guide to an intentional life at <a href="https://trunorth.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">trunorth.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><p>Just because opportunities are aligneddoesn’t mean they’re right.</p></p><p>You can be clear on who you are. You can build strong rituals. You can surround yourself with people who tell the truth. And still get buried.</p><p>Because growth doesn’t test your ambition first. It tests your capacity. And most leaders miss this moment.</p><p>Today, Shawn names the leadership truth most people resist:</p><p><strong>not every good opportunity deserves a yes.</strong></p><p>Through a season of rapid visibility, live events, and constant momentum, he shares how success can quietly drain presence when opportunity goes unchecked.</p><p>Not because the work is wrong. But because the life underneath it starts to thin.</p><p>This episode reframes discernment as a form of leadership maturity. Not scarcity. Not fear. But protection of identity.</p><p>Because the opportunities that cost you your presence will eventually cost you what matters most.</p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>* Why growth brings options before it brings clarity</p><p>* How leaders confuse alignment with availability</p><p>* The hidden cost of saying yes too often</p><p>* Why unchecked opportunity drains presence, not just time</p><p>* How to tell the difference between a good opportunity and a right one</p><p>* Why real strategy is subtraction, not addition</p><p><strong>✦ Reflection Prompts</strong></p><p>* Where am I saying yes out of fear instead of alignment?</p><p>* Which commitments feel heavy because they no longer fit who I’m becoming?</p><p>* What part of my life is running on leftovers right now?</p><p>* If I were starting fresh today, what would I not choose again?</p><p><strong>✦ The Boost (Action Step)</strong></p><p>Run the <em>Opportunity Avalanche Question</em>.</p><p>Look at your current commitments. Projects. Partnerships. Promises.</p><p>Then ask yourself, without negotiating:</p><p><strong>“If I were starting from scratch today, which of these would I still say yes to?”</strong></p><p>Pay attention to what you hesitate to answer. The commitments you wouldn’t choose again are not neutral. They’re costing you presence.</p><p>Opportunity doesn’t need to be rejected. It needs to be <em>filtered</em>.</p><p>If you want support clarifying what’s truly aligned in this season, book a <a target="_blank" href="https://go.successblueprintconsulting.com/widget/bookings/identity-clarity"><strong>No-Cost Identity Clarity Call</strong></a>. We’ll identify where opportunity is pulling you off center</p><p>and what needs to be protected next.</p><p><strong>✦ On the Next Episode</strong></p><p><strong><em>The Good vs. The Best</em></strong></p><p>Arc 2, <em>The Sacred No,</em> continues:<em> </em>You’ve rebuilt your identity. You’ve anchored your rituals. You’ve invited truth-tellers into your life.</p><p>Now comes the real test. Can you protect it?</p><p>Because alignment isn’t lost in chaos. It’s lost when you say yes to things that almost fit.</p><p><strong>✦ If Today’s Episode Sparked Something…</strong></p><p>* Share it with someone buried under “good” right now</p><p>* Subscribe to <em>Daily Power Boost</em> for rhythm-based identity resets</p><p>* Join the R.E.A.L. Mastery™ Hub → <a target="_blank" href="http://realmasteryhub.com">realmasteryhub.com</a></p><p>* Apply for <em>Beyond the Boost</em> live coaching</p><p>✦ <strong>Engage With Me Online</strong></p><p>* Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael</p><p>* YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachinguatemala">@coachinguatemala</a> </p><p><strong>✦ References & Influences</strong></p><p>* <strong>Greg McKeown – </strong><strong><em>Essentialism</em></strong> on disciplined subtraction</p><p>* <strong>Jim Collins – </strong><strong><em>Good to Great</em></strong> on focus and leadership restraint</p><p>* <strong>Parker Palmer – </strong><strong><em>Let Your Life Speak</em></strong> on integrity and wholeness</p><p>* <strong>Joe Hudson – </strong><strong><em>The Art of Accomplishment</em></strong> on alignment over performance</p><p>* <strong>Marshall Rosenberg – </strong><strong><em>Nonviolent Communication</em></strong> on honest self-responsibility</p><p></p><p>With strength and heart,</p><p>❤️🔥 <strong>Shawn Michael</strong></p><p>Stay close.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to True North: Your guide to an intentional life at <a href="https://trunorth.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">trunorth.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Just because you’re self-aware</p><p>doesn’t mean you’re self-correcting.</p><p>You can audit yourself all day.</p><p>You can reset when you notice drift.</p><p>But blind spots are blind spots for a reason.</p><p>Today, Shawn names the leadership truth most people resist:</p><p>you are not always the best judge of when you’re off track.</p><p>Through a moment when a close friend confronted him about becoming impatient and reactive, he reveals how easily drift becomes normalized when no one is willing or permitted to speak up.</p><p>This episode reframes accountability as one of the highest forms of care.</p><p>Not criticism.</p><p>Not control.</p><p>But protection of identity.</p><p>Because the people who speak truth to you aren’t trying to correct you.</p><p>They’re trying to keep you.</p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>* Why self-awareness alone isn’t enough to prevent drift</p><p>* How leaders normalize misalignment without realizing it</p><p>* The real reason most people won’t speak truth to you</p><p>* A story of being called out by someone who cared enough to risk discomfort</p><p>* Why accountability isn’t policing behavior, but protecting identity</p><p>* How to invite truth without creating defensiveness</p><p>✦ <strong>Reflection Prompts</strong></p><p>* Who in my life sees me clearly enough to notice when I’m off track?</p><p>* Have I actually given anyone permission to speak hard truth to me?</p><p>* Where might I be rationalizing behavior that isn’t aligned with who I am?</p><p>* If someone said “you’re not acting like yourself,” how would I respond?</p><p>✦ <strong>The Boost (Action Step)</strong></p><p>Run the <strong>Accountability Question</strong>.</p><p>Think of 2–3 people who know you well.</p><p>People who’ve seen you at your best and your most depleted.</p><p>Then ask yourself:</p><p><strong>Have I explicitly given them permission to speak truth to me?</strong></p><p>If not, reach out this week and say:</p><p>“If you ever see me drifting from who I am, I need you to tell me. I trust you.”</p><p>Accountability doesn’t happen by accident.</p><p>It happens when you invite it.</p><p>If you’re ready to surround yourself with the right voices and strengthen the inner authority you’re building, book your <a target="_blank" href="https://go.successblueprintconsulting.com/widget/bookings/identity-clarity"><strong>No-Cost Identity Clarity Call</strong></a>. We’ll identify where drift is most likely to sneak in and who should be part of your personal accountability circle.</p><p>✦ <strong>On the Next Episode</strong></p><p><strong>Arc 2 Begins: The Sacred No</strong></p><p>You’ve rebuilt your identity.You’ve anchored your rituals.You’ve invited truth-tellers into your life.</p><p>Now comes the real test.Can you protect it?</p><p>Because alignment isn’t lost in chaos.It’s lost when you say yes to things that <em>almost</em> fit.</p><p>✦ <strong>If Today’s Episode Sparked Something…</strong></p><p>* Share it with someone who values honesty over comfort</p><p>* Subscribe to Daily Power Boost for rhythm-based identity resets</p><p>* Join the R.E.A.L. Mastery™ Hub → <a target="_blank" href="http://realmasteryhub.com">realmasteryhub.com</a></p><p>* Apply for Beyond the Boost live coaching</p><p>✦ <strong>Engage With Me Online</strong></p><p>* Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael</p><p>* YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@coachshawnmichael">@coachshawnmichael</a></p><p>* LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachinguatemala">@coachinguatemala</a> </p><p>✦ <strong>References & Influences</strong></p><p>* <strong>Brené Brown – </strong><strong><em>Dare to Lead</em></strong> on courageous conversations and trust</p><p>* <strong>Joe Hudson – </strong><strong><em>The Art of Accomplishment</em></strong> on truth-telling as care</p><p>* <strong>Parker Palmer – </strong><strong><em>Let Your Life Speak</em></strong> on integrity and wholeness</p><p>* <strong>Jim Collins – </strong><strong><em>Good to Great</em></strong> on disciplined leadership and accountability</p><p>* <strong>Marshall Rosenberg – </strong><strong><em>Nonviolent Communication</em></strong> on honest, compassionate feedback</p><p><strong>With strength and heart,</strong></p><p>❤️🔥 Shawn Michael</p><p>Stay close.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to True North: Your guide to an intentional life at <a href="https://trunorth.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">trunorth.substack.com/subscribe</a>