[Greatest Hits] What If We Subtracted: Doing Too Much (With Me!)

A Subtraction Session is a real conversation. We discuss subtraction at work in someone else's life and ideas, not only mine (or yours). This August, I’m bringing the best ones back while I get ready for TEDxSanDiego (live Aug 27).

According to my dashboard, y’all loved this one. Plus, it’s birthday week, so figured I’d start Greatest Hits right here — full Leo mode 🦁

If you’re curious about the backstory of Systematic Subtraction, how it actually works, or when it can go sideways, this one is worth a (re)watch.

What if the story of your life isn’t a straight line of growth, but a series of moments asking you to subtract?

I’ve been telling pieces of my story for years — on stages, in my Forbes column, in coaching rooms, even in arenas with the horses. But I’ve never told the whole story at once. Not like this.

Today’s Subtraction Session is a heart-forward reflection on the winding, wild path that brought me to Subtract to Succeed™. It’s a story about doing too much for too long. And the awakening that happens when life finally says, “Enough.”

This is the cautionary tale that I wish I had heard in my twenties. The one my clients tell me they wish they’d had in their thirties. The one most of us finally face in our forties and fifties, when the desire for impact meets the limits of our humanity.

Here’s why I’m sharing it now:

Because so many of us are burned out from trying to help everyone else.
Because it’s a powerful New Moon for shedding all but the truth.
Because subtraction is a muscle — and I’m right here, building it with you.
Because this story, with all its learnings, loss, and international flights is the reason I am so passionate about sharing this approach, in the hopes that it might save your life — literally or figuratively.

And because tomorrow (Thursday, 11/20 at 12 pm ET), we’ll gather live for the first Subtract to Succeed session — a guided practice to help you identify what to let go of so you can reclaim your time, attention, and energy for what truly matters.

In the first 20 minutes, I’ll share the Subtract to Succeed approach, and the research and experience behind it, as well as the Stop-Drop-Roll method you can take with you. Then, we’ll dive into whatever questions, challenges, observations, or live examples folks have for the rest of the hour. Stay as long (or short) as you like!

My goal for the session is that you’ll come away equipped to make this year-end, holiday season feel a *little* lighter. With the lens and tools to do more good, without doing more.

But for now: settle in, take a breath, and listen. This is where the subtracting began.

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