Inside Strategic Coach: Connecting Entrepreneurs With What Really Matters

Do you embrace the fear that comes with chasing bigger goals, or do you let it hold you back? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explore why excitement and fear are inseparable for ambitious entrepreneurs—and how reframing fear as fuel, not a foe, is the key to lifelong growth and fulfillment. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The specific types of fear entrepreneurs experience when pursuing big goals.How Dan experiences both fear and excitement with a current project.The two things that entrepreneurs can do with their fear.Why status-seeking entrepreneurs eventually lose their ambition.The cost of eliminating fear from your future. Show Notes: Growth is like a coin with two sides: excitement and fear. Entrepreneurs need to normalize fear as a regular part of their journey. Committing to a bigger future goal naturally brings up fear about whether you can achieve it. Real growth requires pursuing something more exciting—and more challenging—than what you’ve done before. Many people lose their ambition because they’re stopped by the fear that comes with it. Entrepreneurs are driven to ensure their future is bigger than their past. Status-seeking entrepreneurs focus on external markers of success while growth-oriented entrepreneurs measure success internally, by their own progress. It takes courage for entrepreneurs to keep moving. Expect failure along the way—it's part of the growth process. For growth-minded entrepreneurs, fear isn’t a necessary evil; it’s a necessary resource. Stopping growth means losing the new capabilities that come with it. When you stop growing, you may feel uneasy about others who continue to grow. For status-seekers, ambition is a destination; for growth-seekers, it’s a capability to develop. Growth-oriented entrepreneurs compare themselves only to who they used to be, not to others.  Resources: The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

Successful salespeople often struggle with hiring due to their inherent bias toward closing deals. They may prioritize persuasion over proper evaluation, treating interviews like sales pitches. A mindset shift is essential; interviewers need to adopt a buyer's perspective instead of a seller's. A systematic and objective hiring approach is crucial, with a focus on non-verbal cues and clear communication. Ultimately, the best candidates sell themselves on their contributions, while interviewers should remain discerning evaluators, not eager persuaders.

Are you holding back, waiting for the “right” decision? In this episode, Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan reveal why taking action—even imperfect action—is the key to entrepreneurial momentum. Discover how making any decision unlocks feedback, reduces anxiety, and activates your best thinking, while indecision keeps you stuck. Plus, learn practical strategies to overcome perfectionism and move forward. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The importance of making a decision that requires that you take action.How indecision leads to more indecision.What you sacrifice when you refuse to choose.How to get a clear picture of the situation you’re in. Show Notes: Taking action, even with imperfect information, is better than staying stuck in indecision. The problem with making no decision is that you’re not changing the situation that’s paralyzing you. When you can’t make a decision, the pressure builds on you exponentially, as does the feeling of isolation and disconnection from your team and your goals. As soon as you start taking action, you get an enormous amount of information about whether it was a right action or a wrong action.Perfectionism is the enemy of progress. Humans are best when they’re in motion. People become unproductive when they’re not making decisions. You don’t have to make the right decision. You can make a decision, and then make it right. Clarity and confidence come after you commit, not before. Decisive entrepreneurs make mistakes, but they also learn and adapt much faster than indecisive ones. When you’re indecisive, you lose access to your wisdom, experience, and problem-solving abilities. The act of deciding eliminates alternative options and allows your mind to focus on what matters most. Protecting your role and saying no to distractions is a by-product of being decisive about your commitments. The word “decide” literally means to “kill off” alternatives, freeing you from mental clutter and overwhelm. Resources: The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Impact Filter™

An entrepreneur for over 35 years, Gary Mottershead is the founder and president of GCP Industrial Products, the largest U.S. importer of industrial sheet rubber, serving customers across North America. In this episode, he shares the highs and lows of his career, as well as his goals as a Program Coach for The Strategic Coach® Program. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:What Gary considers to be his most important responsibility.How Gary’s entrepreneurial career started with an actual tire fire.How he and his team built up their “crisis muscle.” Why reinterpreting your past and protecting your present is crucial to entrepreneurial success. How Strategic Coach® helps entrepreneurs sharpen their vision. Why Gary chose to write a book—and what he learned from the process.How entrepreneurs can overcome FOMO.  Show Notes:If you’re going to bring children into the world, you should look after them.Having a support system at home is vital to the success of any entrepreneurial family.Stability in some areas of your life can give you the energy to handle changes in others.Sometimes, not making a decision is the greater risk.There are things entrepreneurs feel compelled to do without knowing why.Trying to be significant before you’re successful is doing things backwards.The time isn’t up unless you decide it’s up.The mark of an entrepreneur is not how often you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up.You’ll handle a situation more calmly if you’ve experienced something similar before.Being nimble is a mindset.Forgiveness means letting go of the hope for a better past.You can rewrite your own story, keeping only what’s important.The future isn’t written yet—which means you can still shape it.Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, not just a job.Without intention and direction, too much information can paralyze you.The hardest thing for an entrepreneur is being honest with themselves.You can only help those who want to be helped. Resources: Kolbe A™ IndexAntifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Nimble Future: Reinterpret Your Past, Protect Your Present, Engage In Your Future by Gary Mottershead Unique Ability® Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only) The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan

Dive into the world of entrepreneurship where positivity trumps fear in sales. Discover why focusing on opportunities attracts better clients and drives growth. The conversation highlights how ambition fuels innovation and keeps entrepreneurs feeling youthful. Learn how fear can signal growth and the four C's—commitment, courage, creativity, confidence—drive action. Surrounding yourself with a growth-minded community is pivotal for personal fulfillment and vitality. Continuous reinvention is the secret to lasting success!

What if the solutions you’ve already created could generate value for decades—without more of your time? In this episode, Dan Sullivan reveals how packaging, naming, and protecting your ideas transforms them into scalable intellectual property. Learn why your “second company” (your multiplier) could soon be worth more than your entire business—and how to make it happen. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How to make your solutions valuable by protecting them through intellectual property law.The thinking tool that lets you find the right person for the right role.How you can easily turn your ideas into intellectual property.The importance of sticking to your business model.How you can franchise your ideas.The future of Strategic Coach® over the next 20 years. Show Notes: Your first company, your R&D company, creates solutions for people. Your second company, your multiplier company, packages your solutions as your intellectual property. If you record, package, and name a solution you’ve created, it will have massive ongoing value. Before you put your ideas out into the world, you must protect them. Boredom with your own solutions is a hidden risk—document them before you move on to the next idea. The value of Strategic Coach’s patents will soon surpass 55 years of coaching revenue—proof that IP compounds value. Protecting your creativity isn’t just a multiplier; it’s an accelerator of long-term wealth. A two-company structure makes you immune to market chaos because you control the value of your ideas. Your biggest breakthroughs will come from technology multiplied by teamwork, not from grinding harder. The same business model that built your success can scale infinitely—if you focus on IP, not just execution. Resources: Unique Process Advisors by Dan Sullivan Instant IP Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff Unique Ability® Perplexity This Tool Will Help You Make Sense Of The Past AND Take Charge Of Your Future Everything Is Created Backward by Dan Sullivan Extraordinary Impact Filter by Dan Sullivan Growing Great Leadership by Dan Sullivan The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

Explore the tension between your current business and the ideal company of your dreams. Discover how successful entrepreneurs leverage their first company to fuel a second, innovative venture focused on intellectual property. Learn why your real company frustrates you and how the right partnerships can enhance creativity. Uncover the value of collaboration and structure, along with strategies to protect your intellectual property. This insightful discussion reveals how embracing your duality can unlock exponential growth and greater innovation.

Are you prepared for the biggest economic shift in 80 years? In this episode, Dan Sullivan reveals how the new global tariff landscape creates unprecedented opportunities for agile entrepreneurs. Learn why the post-WWII economic order is over, how to adapt your business model, and why being alert, curious, and resourceful is the secret to success in this emerging era. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: The real history behind today’s tariffs—and why it matters for your business.How WWII transformed the U.S. economy into a global powerhouse.Why the U.S. dollar leads world trade (and why that’s changing).Why the U.S. Navy started protecting trade routes around the world.Five critical strategies every entrepreneur must adopt now.A simple framework to help clients regain confidence in uncertain times.Why China faces unprecedented challenges in this new era. Show Notes: On April 3, the U.S. announced tariffs of 10% for most countries, with higher rates for nations with significant trade imbalances. Post-WWII, the U.S. economy was self-sufficient, yet other countries charged tariffs on U.S. goods while enjoying tariff-free access to American markets. One-sided tariffs led American corporations to offshore factories, costing U.S. jobs and prosperity. Trump’s tariffs are a negotiation tactic to reset unfair trade terms and bring manufacturing back to the U.S. China’s current trade practices make it the primary target of aggressive tariffs (now 125%). U.S. companies abroad face tariffs unless they relocate production home—creating a surge in domestic opportunities for entrepreneurs. You want to be the buyer in every negotiation. The buyer is the one who can walk away from the table. The United States is the best place to sell a product created anywhere in the world because it has the most customers. Tariffs aren’t about fairness. They’re about trade. Entrepreneurs are skilled at responding very quickly to new dangers and new opportunities and developing new strengths in the process. Global supply chains are fracturing, forcing businesses to source locally and regionally. During uncertain times, people feel as though they’ve lost their future. You can help clients and customers rebuild confidence in their future by focusing on their dangers, opportunities, and strengths (D.O.S.®). The 1945–1992 economic order was a historical anomaly, and we won’t see anything like it again. AI reduces labor costs (and creates new opportunities for entrepreneurs as a result).  Resources: Perplexity Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz The D.O.S. Conversation® by Dan Sullivan The Great Meltdown by Dan Sullivan Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

Leadership isn't about titles; it's about creating observable capabilities. Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the shift from bureaucratic management to self-leadership in today's networked economy. They introduce a four-step process to transform uncertainty into confidence, emphasizing that a goal isn't merely a destination. The conversation highlights the importance of collaborative environments and proactive problem-solving. Discover how embracing creativity and unique skills can drive innovation and inspire collective growth.

A new coach shares their fascinating transition from accountant to entrepreneur after a professional setback. They reveal how personal experiences inspired their entrepreneurial journey and the importance of authentic connections. Insights on strategic thinking tools showcase how reflecting on the past can guide future success. The discussion emphasizes the need for a supportive community and a mindset shift to achieve freedom in entrepreneurship. Ultimately, it illustrates the power of self-discovery and commitment in fostering growth.