14 Harsh Truths About Success From Coaching 500+ Executives, Elite Athletes and Ambitious Professionals
/I’ve coached over 500 Executive Leaders, Athletes and Driven Professionals.
Here’s the shocking truth: success isn’t about discipline, hustle, pushing harder or sacrificing.
It actually comes from doing the opposite. Let me show you how:
Truth Number 1: Your brain isn’t hard wired.
If you take one thing from this video, let it be this:
Your brain is trainable. It’s plastic.
Every thought, habit, feeling, response is literally wiring it.
That means change isn’t slow or impossible. You can grow, transform, and unlock breakthroughs — sometimes in under 90 minutes — if you target your neuropatterns the right way.
Think of it like this: you wouldn’t hit a nail with a banana, right? You use a hammer.
Rewiring your brain works the same way. One deep visualisation, one perspective shift, and suddenly transformation becomes fast and real.
Most people’s struggles would actually be solved if they realised how trainable their brains really are.
The more you practice this, the more impossible starts to feel and be… possible.
Number 2: Start with Identity, not habits
Stop obsessing over habits, goals and routines.
Start with who you want to be.
What does that version of you believe, feel, think, and act?
Habits fall into place automatically when your identity is aligned, That internal battle quietens. Change the inside, and the outside follows.
Number 3: You create your feelings.
Let me ask you something… can you hold your feelings like you hold your car keys?
Of course not.
Feelings aren’t objects you can lose or find. They aren’t something you have — they’re something you do.
Whether you realize it or not, you’re actively creating your feelings all the time.
And what’s really cool, once you learn the right tools, you can generate exactly the feelings you want, on demand.
You don’t have to slog from bad → good → great. You can jump straight to the state you need, whenever you need it. Everything can be created on purpose.
Number 4: Your inner voice builds your reality.
Your self-talk rewires your brain.
Thoughts create feelings, Feelings create thoughts. Together, they detainer how you experience a situation, and ultimately how your reality unfolds.
And yet, despite all the research, most people underestimate the power of their words..
Changing my inner voice literally saved my life. I’ve watched clients transform careers, relationships, and personal goals in days — simply by shifting the way they speak to themselves.
Here’s the secret: shift your soundtrack from “I’m not good enough” to “How can I create success?” and your brain — and your world — reorganizes itself around that new, powerful mindset.
Number 5: Alignment beats discipline.
You don’t need more willpower, discipline, or motivation.
You need alignment: your actions in harmony with your vision, values and energy.
That’s when change feels effortless. Because new habits or routines aren’t forces, they are who you are, your normal.
Number 6: Environment shapes success.
I’ll never forget what my coach said early in my journey: “If you keep getting triggered in the same environment, you always have the option to leave.”
I was mind-blown. I could actually leave.
Now, I ask the same question to my clients — and almost every time, it’s the same reaction: “Wait… I can actually leave? Let’s make it happen.”
Your surroundings matter. Toxic teams, cluttered spaces, draining energy — it impacts your health, and slows transformation.
Place yourself in an environment that supports your vision, and change accelerates naturally.”
Number 7: Boundaries are power moves.
Healthy boundaries aren’t barriers. They are energy strategies, sanity rituals.
Saying “no” is as non-negotiable performance-and life- enhancing move. It protects your focus, joy, peace, clarity, and so much more. So you can consistently show up as your best self.
Give yourself permission to say no — guilt-free — to time leaks and energy drains.
This gives you time and space to say yes to what fills your cup and lights your soul on fire.
Number 8: Rest is a birth right.
It’s wild that I even have to say this:
Rest and recovery aren’t optional — they’re essential high-performance strategies.
Yet we’ve been sold the “hustle harder, push through” myth so well that taking a break feels like weakness.
Here’s the truth: recovery isn’t a luxury.
Resting and recharging are the foundation of clarity, resilience, health, performance, success, and a life you actually love.
Number 9: Small actions compound.
I’ve shared this in another masterclass because I love it so much: improving just 1% every day adds up to over 3,000% growth in a year.
I’m talking about one thought, one action, one tiny shift daily
Transformation doesn’t have to feel dramatic in the moment — it’s the ripple effect of consistent micro-actions that creates impossible results.
Number 10: Follow your joy.
You don’t have to sacrifice joy to be successful.
Your joy—and your intuition—are your true compass. Follow them.
It’s not about ignoring what’s necessary or challenging—it’s about letting your joy guide your decisions and shape the life you actually want to live.
Number 11: Reclaim your power.
You get to decide who you are - no one else.
You don’t have to shrink to fit in.
You don’t have to be the “good girl” to keep the peace.
When you reclaim your power, speak your truth, take up space, and fully ground into who you really are—unapologetically—you become unshakable.
This is the cornerstone of so many client transformations. One leader this year completely leveled up her career and life by owning her power—and not giving a single fuck what anyone thought.
The result? Unstoppable confidence, magnetic presence, undeniable impact, and a life she loves.
Number 12: It’s not about control.
I hate the phrase “control the controllable.” It’s so Orwellian. Nothing is ever 100% controllable—you can see that today.
Real transformation comes from focusing on what you can positively influence. And almost always you.
How you respond, how you show up, how you act—that changes everything.
The Serenity Prayer nails it: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
It’s about knowing what you can—and can’t—influence, and taking decisive action from that place.
I teach this as a cornerstone principle for every leader, athlete, and high performer I work with.
Number 13: Accountability.
This is another key ingredient to high performance, living your best life aligned with your highest vision.
Accountability comes in different forms.
For some self-accountability works brilliantly.
Others like to have a trainer who can see when your training turns green or friends watching their Starva uploads.
The most powerful accountability I have seen - and used - is weekly or bi-weekly, when you wrap up your week and plan your next week with consistent questions that keep you on track, but also with powerful questions asked by someone who can see when you might fall into the pit, and give you questions to avoid said pit, and accelerate your change. Science also proves this. There’s a study I love that I share all the tine!
Accountability is a game-changer for high performance and living a life aligned with your highest vision.
It comes in many forms:
Some thrive on self-accountability.
Others respond best to a coach who is tracking their Strava uploads.
The most powerful accountability I’ve seen—and used—is weekly or bi-weekly reflection and planning. You review your wins, plan your next week, and answer consistent, powerful questions that keep you on track.
Even better? Having someone else ask the right questions when you risk falling into old habits or distractions. It accelerates change, keeps momentum high, and science proves it works.
This method is how I help clients achieve the impossible—faster than they ever thought possible.
Number 14: You’re the driver.
Here’s the bottom line: you are the captain.
No one is coming to save you.
You steer your life.
The faster you accept that, the faster you create the life and career you truly want.
🚀 Are you an executive ready to fast-track your promotion?
In just 90 days, create the mindset you need to grow your career exponentially and get that promotion.
Book your free 20-minute Call now to work with me: https://cal.com/goodeve/20min
