Is It (In Quiet Stretch) Before Or After You Admit It?

_{[Read time: 2.5 minutes]}

When does it actually happen?

Failing, I mean.

Is it the moment you finally admit something didn’t work out?

Or did it begin long before that, in a quiet stretch of denial before the confession?

Lately, I’ve had more honest conversations with fellow business owners. People who’ve been in it since before COVID. People who’ve built something meaningful and now them selves questioning what’s next.

Some are pivoting.

Some are burning out.

Some are quietly job-searching.

But many of us are feeling something shift.

I’m not immune.

I recently hit my 6-year mark in business. That’s a milestone, sure. But when I look closely, I know what kept me afloat hasn’t always been strategy or systems. If I’m honest, it’s a mix of luck and relying heavily on old relationships.

The truth is I have really bad habits that don’t bode well for entrepreneurship.

• I still confuse motion for progress.

• I don’t follow my own advice.

• I let ego and fear shout louder than discipline.

• I procrastinate the important work and retreat to what feels familiar.

Even writing this feels risky.

And I’m surprised at myself for being this forthcoming with you.

Because there’s a voice saying I should just stick to sharing expertise, not expose the mess behind the curtain.

But this isn’t a cry for help.

It’s a moment of conscious reflection. Maybe even clarity.

To admit I’ve been in my own way.

To name the habits that no longer serve me.

To say, out loud, that next version of me requires something different.

…or I risk being stuck in that quiet stretch of denial.

In July, some of my longest-standing engagements will end.

That means real change is coming my way.

And I’m forced to embody the very thing I tell my clients so often: “What got you here, won’t take you there.”

That line is so important it deserves to be said twice.

“What got you here, won’t take you there.”

Just a few moments ago, this was a blank page.

Then it became hard-to-write words (that I was going to delete).

But now, it feels like something else entirely:

A marker. A turning point. The moment I said it out loud.

And maybe you’ve felt it too. That quiet awareness that something has to shift.

If so, I hope this gives you the permission to acknowledge it.

And then do something about it.

Thank you for reading.

See you next week.

— Peter

P.S. If you’re navigating your own transition, whether it’s pricing, positioning, or the mechanics of how your business runs, I can help.

I help consulting and service firms realign their business mechanics so the next phase is built to support where they’re going, not where they’ve been.

That means pricing with confidence, scaling with clarity, and shedding the operational habits that no longer serves you.

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