Ever wonder what sets thriving businesses apart? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Kelly Knight share how strong company systems and personal growth go hand in hand for entrepreneurs. Learn why finding the right people, embracing risks, and focusing on core values lets you solve almost any problem—and why successful companies and individuals both need solid operating systems to keep growing.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• Where Strategic Coach® and EOS® complement each other rather than overlap.
• How Kelly built on EOS’s Strategic Coach legacy.
• Why EOS is personally meaningful to Kelly.
• How top entrepreneurs turn mistakes into momentum.
• What Kelly sees as the number one issue facing entrepreneurs today.
• Keys to keeping your company laser-focused.
• How EOS Worldwide faced (and survived) a pivotal crisis.
• The game-changing impact of Kelly’s Strategic Coach experience.

Show Notes:

An entrepreneur needs two key operating systems—one for running the company and one for running their own life and personal growth.

Your passion is often the secret ingredient for long-term success because it’s what sets you apart—and keeps you moving.​

Growth comes from leaning into risks and staying open to new possibilities.​

You can’t win every time, but you’ll learn more from setbacks than from any formal education.​

Don’t waste time worrying about what might go wrong in the future; stay focused on what you can control now.​

Turning losses into recoveries energizes your team and inspires loyalty.​

Rapid growth always brings new challenges; expect change and meet it head on.​

Finding your people—the team that truly shares your values—is an ongoing process worth obsessing over.​

When you put the right people in the right seats, everything else in your company starts to click.

Resources:

Thinking About Your Thinking by Dan Sullivan

Unique Ability®

Kolbe A™ Index

EOS®

EOS One®

More about Kelly Knight

When entrepreneurs retire from their businesses, it doesn’t always result in the freedom they imagined. In this episode, Tricia Wingerter shares why structure, teamwork, and purpose matter just as much after retirement—and how discovering your Unique Ability® and staying in contribution aren’t just good for business, but for your mind, energy, and happiness too.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why Tricia didn’t see herself as an entrepreneur until joining Strategic Coach®.
• How Tricia unlocked the skills and confidence needed to hire the right people.
• What entrepreneurs might unintentionally give up when they step away from meaningful work.
• How a family illness inspired Tricia to purchase her Visiting Angels home care agency.

Show Notes:

The Strategic Coach® Program allows already ambitious people to become more ambitious.

Choosing work you love and do best keeps your brain sharp, engaged, and full of energy.

Spot someone doing outstanding work? Acknowledging and celebrating it is a sign of real leadership.

Retirement doesn’t have a set age or template—your path is your own.

All of your problems, discouragements, and heartaches are great opportunities in disguise.

When entrepreneurs stop growing and contributing, boredom sets in fast.

Retirement often feels very different, and sometimes much emptier, than most entrepreneurs expect.

Too much unstructured time can leave even the busiest people restless or blue.

Discovering and honoring your Unique Ability® validates what you do best and brings energy back to your work.

There’s no rulebook for when or how to step back—keep growing as long as you want to grow.

Structure, teamwork, and deadlines give meaning and momentum to day-to-day life, even after “retirement.”

Staying focused in your Unique Ability isn’t just good for your business, it keeps your mind fresh and your purpose strong.

Fulfillment comes from contribution, not withdrawal. When you feel lost or bored, helping others and pursuing your mission can reignite your spark.

Valuing your strengths, asking others for help, and building a team you trust makes leadership a richer, more collaborative adventure.

There’s no one way for entrepreneurs to age; finding purpose every day is the true marker of success.

Resources:

Unique Ability®

How To Foster A Longevity Mindset & Reap The Benefits

EOS®

My Plan For Living To 156 by Dan Sullivan

Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Are you ready to break through your next ceiling? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Kevin Dick reveal how boosting your energy, surrounding yourself with growth-minded people, and structuring your time unlocks new levels of success. Learn how resilience, community, and self-belief help entrepreneurs thrive—especially when the market gets tough.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How The Strategic Coach® Program guides entrepreneurs to their next level of success.​
• Why entrepreneurism is really an energy game.​
• How your response to crisis changes once you’ve overcome one before.​
• The unexpected benefits of being a Strategic Coach® member.​
• How Kevin’s entrepreneurial drive started early in life.

Show Notes:

Entrepreneurs hit ceilings when their environment isn’t pushing them toward bigger goals.​

Raising your goals demands greater capability from your team, not just yourself.​

Breakthroughs are most likely during market crises, if you structure your time and attention to seize new opportunities.

Independence only works if you build a truly great company around yourself.​

Entrepreneurial energy and resilience are shaped by who you surround yourself with every day.​

Being around ambitious, positive people makes growth contagious.

You can reinvent yourself in times of adversity if you stay proactive and open to change.​

The first year at Strategic Coach is about personal growth; after that, it’s about scaling your business practice.​

Introspection is an entrepreneur’s secret weapon for overcoming major challenges and bouncing back from setbacks.

Your brain is wired to pursue what you focus on—feed it bigger goals, not limitations.​

Self-belief matters more than anything, and it’s a daily discipline, not something that happens by luck.​

Building a community with your clients creates trust, accountability, and lasting business success.​

Even setbacks, mistakes, and crisis moments are raw material for entrepreneurial growth and transformation.​

Resources:

Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

The Kolbe A™ Index

The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

The Unique EDGE® Program

Are you still hiring from a stack of résumés, or are you building a team designed for exponential growth? In this episode, VisionSpark CEO Alec Broadfoot shares hard-won lessons on hiring, leadership, and entrepreneurial freedom. Discover why looking beyond the résumé and investing in the right people leads to a business—and a life—filled with fresh possibility and confidence.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Alec became an entrepreneur at 25.
• What Alec’s company, VisionSpark, can do for entrepreneurial businesses.
• How Alec’s first role as owner gave him the idea for VisionSpark.
• Why you shouldn’t compromise when hiring for your company.
• Why entrepreneurs aren’t great at hiring.
• One of the biggest mistakes you can make while hiring.
• The key factors to consider during the hiring process.

Show Notes:

The real breakthrough for entrepreneurs happens when they choose a trusted leader who effortlessly turns their vision into reality.

The best leaders think fast on their feet, act with integrity, connect with people, and bring ideas to life—qualities you’ll rarely see listed on a résumé.

Choosing the wrong person for a key leadership role can set your company back in ways that aren’t just expensive, but can ripple through every area of your business.

Most resumes contain exaggerations or outright lies, so real clarity comes from digging deeper and looking beyond what’s on paper.

Settling for the “best available” instead of the “best possible” leads to constant turnover and limits the energy inside your organization.

Want to find real talent? Use thoughtful assessments and ask purposeful questions to discover what makes a candidate truly unique.

It’s easy to let empathy drive hiring decisions, but the most lasting impact comes from putting your company’s bigger future first.

True leaders inspire, hold people to higher standards, and create teamwork that lasts.

If you want more time, energy, resources, and meaningful relationships, start by freeing yourself up to do what you’re uniquely great at.

Letting great managers take the reins makes space for bigger breakthroughs and builds a company that runs without constant oversight.

Getting clear about what you want in your company and your team is the first step toward attracting the clients, partners, and opportunities that matter most.

The bigger your pool of candidates and the more objective your tools, the more likely it is that you’ll discover a perfect match for your team.

Putting all your focus on one client can leave your business vulnerable, so keep creating new value and broadening your reach.

Scaling up is easier when you know what you’re uniquely best at and rely on experts to cover the rest.

Every hiring decision either multiplies the possibilities for your future or creates a barrier to the freedom you’re working toward.

Resources:

The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs

What Is A Self-Managing Company®?

Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only)

The Positive Focus®

VisionSpark

Hiring Your Right #2 Leader by Alec Broadfoot

Unique Ability®

Talent Impact Profile™️

What if the key to differentiation isn't about your product, but your perspective? Dan Sullivan reveals how to escape the crowded marketplace by shifting your focus from your needs to your clients' futures. Learn the powerful question that instantly creates partnership and makes you the most valuable person in the room.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• The two critical questions that clarify an entrepreneur's most impactful actions.
• The two time systems in which the best entrepreneurs operate.
• How to determine the needs of your customers and clients.
• A simple method to instantly engage anyone in transformative thinking about their goals.
• The one essential question that builds partnership and loyalty with every client.
• Why Strategic Coach® members continuously achieve bigger and better future outcomes.

Show Notes:

Stating goals as needs puts entrepreneurs in a position of asking for permission rather than leading with confidence.

Bold goals are vivid pictures of yourself in the future operating at a higher level.

State your ambitions based on what you truly want, not just what you think you need.

Modern uncertainty means that seeing clearly beyond the next 90 days is difficult, so it’s important to focus on shorter time frames and long-term vision.

Your entire future lies in helping your customers and clients achieve their own futures.

The real competition is not for market share, but for a person’s time and attention.

Every entrepreneur can offer clients something truly unique that nobody else can provide.

Entrepreneurs who make every conversation about the other person hold their attention and differentiate themselves for the long term.

Maintaining calm confidence in your own future lets you focus on creating breakthroughs for others.

Traditional advertising talks about the seller, but true impact comes from asking clients about their future goals.

Strong partnerships are built by consistently helping top clients clarify and expand their future goals together.

Entrepreneurial growth is a continuous process across 100 quarters, fueled by a commitment to others’ futures.

Strategic Coach’s unique value is opening clients’ eyes to new possibilities through insightful questions, not prescribed solutions.

Resources:

Wanting What You Want by Dan Sullivan

The D.O.S. Conversation® by Dan Sullivan

Can you spot entrepreneurial traits in yourself or in your children? In this episode, Dan Sullivan reveals the telltale signs of a true entrepreneur, from early money-making initiatives to a deep craving for freedom. Learn why credentials pale in comparison to creative shortcuts and why results (not methods) are what set entrepreneurs apart in every stage of life and business.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How the entrepreneurial spirit and mindset shows up in children.
• Why entrepreneurs can’t work for someone else.
• How entrepreneurs’ priorities set them apart from most people.
• How entrepreneurs approach education with a unique perspective.

Show Notes:

Many entrepreneurs show entrepreneurial instincts as early as age 10 or even younger.

A key early sign is wanting to control your own money-making, even before adulthood.

Entrepreneurs often find working for others unfulfilling once they realize their earning potential is directly tied to their ambitions.

The money an entrepreneur makes is just a function of their ambitions, skills, and usefulness.

There’s no single personality type or special skill that makes someone an entrepreneur.

Freedom is always more important to entrepreneurs than security.

The true reward for entrepreneurism isn’t money itself but the freedom it provides.

It’s commonly believed that advanced degrees or credentials are needed for business, but many entrepreneurs prove otherwise.

Entrepreneurs are always creating shortcuts for themselves and getting paid for creating shortcuts for others.

Entrepreneurs live in a world where the only thing that matters is results, not the methods used to achieve them.

Resources:

The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs

Kolbe A™ Index

Do you see adversity as fuel for your biggest ambitions or as an obstacle to overcome? In this episode, Jacob Emery reveals how authentic community, powerful partnerships, and daily habits transformed his journey from chaos to high achievement. Discover how Strategic Coach® sparked his shift from misfit to visionary—so you can unlock your own greatness too.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Jacob moved from chaos to clarity.
• Jacob’s challenges growing up and overcoming not fitting in.
• How Strategic Coach helped Jacob merge his two passions.
• Why Strategic Coach attracts entrepreneurs with a growth mindset.
• How Strategic Coach helps build profound confidence.
• The ingredients of a great partnership.

Show Notes:

Great entrepreneurs embrace their misfit qualities to stand out and succeed.

At Strategic Coach, you’re free to be your whole self—authenticity comes first.

Everyone at Strategic Coach is open, honest, and genuinely committed to growth.

Entrepreneurs in The Strategic Coach® Program don’t fit into standard boxes; they create their own path.

You have the power to change your environment.

You can expedite your journey and that of your team members through partnership.

Sometimes, a single win can reshape who you are and what you believe is possible.

Achieving a big goal often reveals an even greater level to aspire to.

When facing a new project, focus on finding the person who would excel at—and truly enjoy—doing it rather than worrying about how to do it yourself.

When you understand what a perfect day looks like, then you understand what you actually want out of life.

Whatever you focus on, positive or negative, will grow.

Strategic Coach allows you to see exactly where you are in your entrepreneurial journey.

Your journey speeds up when you make the most of teamwork.

Living with intention, gratitude, and daily standards builds lasting momentum.

Resources:

The Iron & Infrastructure Podcast

Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Kolbe A™ Index

The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs

The Entrepreneur's Guide To Time Management

Thinking About Your Thinking by Dan Sullivan

The Impact Filter™

More about Jacob Emery

What separates entrepreneurs who collapse under pressure from those who come back stronger? Sasha Tripp—a real estate entrepreneur who survived financial disaster, market crashes, and personal crises—shares how she transformed adversity into her greatest breakthrough. Discover the mindset shifts that helped her lead with resilience and rebuild her business, and how Strategic Coach® gave her the tools to turn chaos into clarity.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• What made Sasha realize that she had to either improve her skill set or get into sales.
• Why the sky’s the limit in real estate if you have the right work ethic.
• Why Sasha thinks she might never be employable again.
• How Sasha’s entrepreneurial path and her Strategic Coach journey have always overlapped.
• The hardest thing Sasha has ever had to go through.

Show Notes:

True entrepreneurship is tested in the valleys, not just the peaks.

You can’t tell if someone's a really great entrepreneur in the best of times because they have a lot of supports in place.

The 4 C’s Formula®—Commitment, Courage, Capability, and Confidence—is the foundation of overcoming any challenge.

It requires courage and commitment to gain new capabilities and confidence.

Confidence feels good. Courage feels lousy.

If there are going to be problems in the marketplace, residential real estate is where it shows up first.

When everything falls apart, your mindset determines whether you rebuild or retreat.

Entrepreneurship isn’t about avoiding risk; it’s about managing fear while moving forward.

Entrepreneurs have the freedom to pivot and change when it makes the most sense to do so.

If you don’t have the answer yet, it might be that you haven’t thought of the right question.

Strategic Coach isn’t about tactics; it’s about training yourself to ask better questions.

Strategic Coach is a community of unbiased people you can talk to about your challenges.

You can want what you want. You don’t have to justify it.

Your business should fit your life, not the other way around.

The fastest way to grow isn’t working harder, it’s thinking differently.

Resources:

The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

The Positive Focus®