Why clever loses and commitment wins: 10 lessons from 2025

Transcript

Welcome to *Meaningful Work, Remarkable Life*.

I’m your host, Brook McCarthy, and I’m a business coach, trainer, and speaker living and working on the unceded lands of the Camargo people here in Sydney, Australia.

In this podcast, we explore the paradoxes inherent in working for love and money, magnifying your impact, and doing work you feel born to do.

We explore the intersections of the meanings we bring to work and the meanings we derive from work.

Hello and welcome to my *10 biggest lessons from 2025*, which is my 17th year in business and my 13th year, I think, as a business coach and trainer.

Let’s get into it.

This is from my insights in my own business, but also, of course, from my clients’ businesses as well.

Lesson one: Cringe (otherwise known as ego)

Cringe is stopping so many owners.

The last two years in my business have really been a period of not giving a crap anymore about being seen to sell.

In fact, I am pleased to say—very pleased with myself, which is nice, isn’t it? Because we work hard. Why the hell wouldn’t we want to be pleased with ourselves from time to time?

I’m very pleased to say that not only do I not care about being seen to be selling, but I’m actually looking at it completely differently.

I’m modelling selling for my clients.

I’ve had a few clients comment that watching me sell online, directly on camera—often on Instagram stories—has made them feel better about their own direct promotions on the internet.

So it’s true. You cannot die of embarrassment.

I’ve tried. I’ve tried many times over many years. It does not happen.

So many people in business have this overinflated sense of risk.

They feel they are risking something.

And when we get deep into conversation, it becomes clear that what they are really risking is embarrassment.

They’re risking their ego.

That is not actually a real risk.

To change your attitude towards visibility as an owner—so you can see your face, see yourself on video, read what you write, and not want to dig a hole and bury yourself—is crucial if you plan to be in business long-term.

I love going back and reading what I’ve written, watching my videos, listening to my podcast.

I know for a lot of owners that sounds like torture.

But how else am I going to improve and get better if I’m not reviewing what I’ve done?

I listen back. I watch back. I read back.

I critique myself—without emotion.

I critique myself without wanting to delete everything or feel bad about myself for the rest of the day.

That’s not a thing I do anymore.

That’s an expensive pastime, and at this point in my life I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought.

I certainly cannot afford to let cringe stop me.

As I say to my teenagers: cringe makes me money.

Lesson two: Unwavering commitment vs conditional attitudes

The difference I’ve noticed between the clients making massive strides—making more money, attracting better-fit clients, doing meaningful, invigorating work, and feeling genuinely good about themselves—

Versus the clients who don’t stick around or who are struggling emotionally—

Is conditional attitude versus unwavering commitment.

This ties into emotional regulation.

We put effort in, we run promotions, launches, marketing, and we hope for certain results.

We get them. We don’t get them. We get close.

Emotional regulation is the surface-level response.

But underneath that is something deeper: our conditioning.

Many of us have been taught that we earn self-esteem through productivity.

That we earn rest. That we earn feeling good about ourselves.

We’ve been taught that work must be hard, serious, and not particularly joyful.

So when something easy, fun, aligned, or joyful appears, we assume it can’t be real work.

And so we sabotage it.

Our conditioning is like a pair of glasses we don’t realise we’re wearing.

We think, “That’s just how it is.”

The clients who are thriving are not letting circumstances, emotions, or results dictate their actions.

Emotions fluctuate for complex reasons.

Making big business decisions based purely on emotion is not smart business.

Lesson three: Adaptability

Every year feels different, but 2025 truly was.

There was a sameness in 2020 through 2022, maybe into 2023.

2024 was different.

2025 was different again.

The business owners who thrived were those who adapted when things stopped working the way they used to.

This year I had the worst launch of my entire business, followed by the best launch of my entire business.

Different offerings, different outcomes—but very clear signals.

I had to change what I was offering.

And when you change one offering, you need to evolve the whole ecosystem.

Your offerings are interwoven.

I don’t let competitors dictate my offerings.

I’m influenced, yes—but I’m not watching them closely.

However, from the customer’s perspective, your offerings are being compared side by side.

That’s why I’ve spent so much time this year evolving offerings ecosystems—for myself and for clients.

Pricing. Messaging. Positioning. Branding.

Treating each offering as a mini brand under a larger umbrella.

Lesson four: Asking for what you want

This continues to be a lesson for me.

The things we fixate on in business are often the things we most need personally.

I’ve had to teach myself to be direct.

I wasn’t socialised that way.

As an eldest daughter raised in the 1990s, the highest compliment was being “easygoing” and “just like the boys.”

And we thought we were feminists.

Lesson five: Clarity over cleverness

I’m not always brilliant at this.

I overcomplicate.

I add nuance.

But clarity wins—every time.

The clearer brand beats the clever brand.

Many of my clients are deeply experienced experts—decades in their field, often with PhDs.

They are the town’s best-kept secret.

The better you are, the worse your marketing tends to be—because you overcomplicate it.

Lesson six: Collaboration over competition

This deserves its own episode—or several.

Collaboration doesn’t come naturally to me.

But 2025 made it unavoidable.

We’re in a trust recession.

People take longer. They check more. They revisit sales pages repeatedly.

I see it in my data.

Collaboration has been huge—for visibility, trust, referrals, and paid work.

Shared clients. Shared offers. Shared audiences.

It has worked extraordinarily well.

Lesson seven: Identity helps or hinders

Your identity—shaped by family, culture, era—either supports or blocks your business growth.

Many clients want to pivot, rebrand, or change direction, but their identity holds them back.

This work sounds fluffy until you experience it.

I’ve seen where my own identity kept me stuck longer than necessary.

Sometimes you need to discard parts of identity that no longer serve you.

Personality is not fixed.

You don’t have to kill the parts you love—but you can evolve the rest.

Lesson eight: Self-flagellation

For many people, self-punishment is a cultural kink.

We struggle to relax or celebrate unless we’ve exhausted ourselves.

I’ve been experimenting with new “kinks.”

Celebration. Joy. Asking for what I need.

Being seen.

Being quoted.

Being well paid the first time I try something.

Notice what antagonises people.

That’s usually where your next expansion lies.

Lesson nine: Making offers

Many people say, “It’s not selling.”

But they’re not actually selling.

The business owners who succeeded in 2025 focused on making offers.

Real offers.

Story-driven. Emotional. Direct.

You must be the hype girl for your own work.

If you’re not—who do you think will be?

Lesson ten: Relationships and community

The fastest-growing businesses in 2025 put relationships first.

Not performative community.

Real connection.

Initiating. Hosting. Gathering.

Not transactional. Not conditional.

People don’t want your program.

They want the vibe.

They want belonging.

They want to feel known—especially when paying good money.

Community-oriented businesses will win in 2026 and beyond.

That’s it.

Come and find me on Instagram. Send me an email. Send a courier pigeon.

Tell me what you think. Agree or disagree—I’d love to hear from you.

And before you go, if this episode got you thinking or shifting something, I’d love it if you’d leave a short review.

Your review helps other values-based business owners find this show—and that’s a huge gift to me.