Most people wait for the perfect moment to take the leap.Kristen Gutierrez got fired at 10:10 a.m. on April 17, 2023. By 2 p.m. she had her first client.

This conversation is not about fluffy “follow your dreams” posters.

It is about losing the job that funded your life, staring down six figures of debt, walking through divorce, getting honest about your mental health, and still choosing to move forward with messy, imperfect action.

Kristen is the founder of Say Yes and Figure It Out, a sales and courage coach, and the author of Be a Better Sales Leader and Say Yes and Figure It Out, with her next book Simpler, Faster, Richer on the way. She helps entrepreneurs stop waiting to feel ready and start moving with the identity they actually want to embody.

In this conversation we talk about

* The exact day her corporate career ended and her entrepreneurial identity began

* What it really looks like to be the “breadwinner” and still be drowning in a financial crisis

* The emotional crash behind the highlight reel and why mental health support changed everything

* Giving yourself permission to serve at a higher level, even when your brain screams “Who am I to do this?”

* Why your story needs to be told by you, not the people who only know your worst chapter

* The cost of courage. and why waiting to feel ready is the most expensive decision you can make

* How community, coaching, and honest feedback help you keep saying yes when fear wants you to shrink

✦ If you are standing at the edge of a decisionKristen and I dig into that intersection where fear and possibility meet. The place where your nervous system wants safety and your soul wants expansion. We go there.

Reflection Prompts

Use these as journal questions or conversation starters with someone you trust

* Where in my life am I waiting to feel “ready” before I move?

* Whose opinions am I secretly giving more power than my own inner knowing?

* If I treated my past as training instead of a prison, what decision would I say yes to next?

The Boost (Identity Action Step)

This week, pick one decision you have been circling.Not the whole life overhaul. Just one.

* Name it clearly. “The decision I have been avoiding is…”

* Run a simple test. If I knew I could recover from any mistake, what would I choose?

* Take one imperfect action in the next 24 hours that aligns with the identity you want to grow into, not the one that is trying to keep you small.

Connect with Kristen

* Get her book “Say Yes and Figure It Out” on Amazon

* Instagram: @officialkristingutierrez

* Facebook: @Kristin Gutierrez

* Homepage: https://www.sayyesandfigureitout.com/

Connect with Me

If this conversation stirred something in you. if you know there is a bigger identity you are meant to grow into but you keep hitting the same internal ceiling.

Book a No-Cost Identity Clarity CallWe will walk through where you are, where you want to go, and what identity shift needs to happen so your actions finally match your potential.

You can also

* Subscribe to Daily Power Boost for rhythm based identity shifts

* Find me on Social Networks

* Instagram: @coachshawnmichael

* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael

* YouTube: @coachshawnmichael

* LinkedIn: @coachinguatemala

With strength & heart,

❤️🔥 Shawn Michael

Just because you stopped chasing productivity,doesn’t mean you stopped chasing approval.

Yesterday we talked about seeing yourself clearly in the Mirror Test.Today, Shawn turns the spotlight toward the quieter addiction high-achievers rarely name: applause.

Through a story of obsessively checking social media “to build a platform,” he reveals how easily validation becomes a drug. How leaders detox from one source of approval only to attach themselves to another: clients, metrics, speaking gigs, praise.

The applause feels good.But it slowly rewires you to create for reaction, not conviction.

This episode invites grounded leaders to take back their center, to create from alignment, not addiction. If you’ve ever caught yourself softening your voice for more likes, delaying bold decisions, or checking metrics more than your inner alignment, this conversation exposes the real cost: losing yourself one round of applause at a time.

In This Episode

* How leaders swap one validation source for another without noticing

* The moment applause becomes addictive (and why it’s so subtle)

* Signs you’re leading for reaction instead of conviction

* Why external approval can never anchor your identity

* How to reclaim creative and leadership freedom without losing drive

✦ Reflection Prompts

* Where am I creating for applause instead of alignment?

* What decision have I delayed because I feared disappointing someone?

* Would I still do what I’m doing if no one clapped, commented, or celebrated?

✦ The Boost (Action Step)

Run the Applause Audit.Choose one recent action: a post, a decision, a boundary, a project.

Ask:“Was this driven by conviction… or by wanting a reaction?”Then make one decision today that’s rooted in who you are, not in how it will be received.

If you’re ready to build your work from identity instead of approval, book your No-Cost Identity Clarity Call, let’s uncover where validation has been steering you and rebuild the grounded inner authority that applause can’t touch

✦ On the Next Episode

The Private Victory: Why Your Hidden Disciplines Matter More Than Your Public Wins

Because true character isn’t crafted in bright rooms. It’s built when no one’s watching.

✦ If Today’s Episode Sparked Something…

* Share it with a leader who’s starting to confuse applause with alignment.

* Subscribe to Daily Power Boost for rhythm-based identity resets.

* Join the R.E.A.L. Mastery™ Hub → realmasteryhub.com

* Apply for Beyond the Boost live coaching.

✦ Engage With Me Online

* Instagram: @coachshawnmichael

* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael

* YouTube: @coachshawnmichael

* LinkedIn: @coachinguatemala

✦ References & Influences

* Steven Pressfield – The War of Art on resistance disguised as productivity

* Cal Newport – Digital Minimalism on boundaries with attention

* Joe Hudson – The Art of Accomplishment on emotional addiction loops

* Daniel Kahneman – research on dopamine and reward cycles

* Erich Fromm – The Fear of Freedom on external approval as identity control

With strength & heart,❤️🔥 Shawn Michael

Just because people have decided who you should be,doesn’t mean you have to perform it.

Previously, we talked about how identity gets built from the inside out.Today, Shawn turns the spotlight toward the quiet pressure leaders feel when everyone assumes they already know who you are.

Through a story of being introduced with a list of “accomplishments” he didn’t recognize, he reveals how easily leaders slip into performing a version of themselves that was never theirs to begin with.

The greatest threat to grounded leadership isn’t failure.It’s becoming a character in someone else’s story.

This episode challenges high-achievers to stop managing reputation and start returning to reality, because the longer you perform a persona, the further you drift from your actual values.

If you’ve ever felt the weight of being who people expect, this conversation helps you reclaim who you actually are.

In This Episode

* How leaders unconsciously start performing the versions others project

* Why reputation becomes dangerous when it replaces identity

* Signs you’re leading from image instead of alignment

* How to return to your real values… even when it disappoints people

* Why the “performed you” becomes a prison if you don’t challenge it

✦ Reflection Prompts

* Where am I performing a version of myself others created?

* What expectations have I been protecting at the cost of my truth?

* If no one were watching, what decisions would I make differently?

✦ The Boost (Action Step)

Run the Mirror Test.Ask yourself:

“If no one knew my name, would I still make the same decisions I’m making right now?”

Be brutally honest.Then choose one decision today that comes from who you are… not who you think you need to be.

If you’re ready to stop leading from reputation and start leading from identity, book your No-Cost Identity Clarity Call, let’s uncover the version of you that’s been performing for approval. And build the grounded leader you actually came here to be.

✦ On the Next Episode

The Applause Trap: When Validation Becomes Your New Addiction

Because once you stop chasing productivity… the temptation to chase praise shows up next.

✦ If Today’s Episode Sparked Something…

* Share it with a leader who’s tired of performing “the expected version” of themselves.

* Subscribe to Daily Power Boost for rhythm-based identity resets.

* Join the R.E.A.L. Mastery™ Hub → realmasteryhub.com

* Apply for Beyond the Boost live coaching.

✦ Engage With Me Online

* Instagram: @coachshawnmichael

* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael

* YouTube: @coachshawnmichael

* LinkedIn: @coachinguatemala

✦ References & Influences

* Parker Palmer – Let Your Life Speak on leading from inner truth

* Brené Brown – Dare to Lead on grounded authenticity

* Simon Sinek – Leaders Eat Last on trust and identity

* Joe Hudson – The Art of Accomplishment Podcast on leadership through emotional clarity

With strength & heart,

❤️🔥 Shawn Michael