First: A Caveat and a Reminder

👉 Caveat: What works for me might not work for you.
👉 Reminder: But you can find what will.

You can be successful despite your circumstances. But it’s going to take playing your own game, making your own rules, and facing your challenges like a strategist—not a victim.

And yeah, that’s hard.

Some days, my brain has ideas that my body just can’t keep up with. Some months, I move slower than I want to. And if I’m being honest? I am the biggest bottleneck in my business.
But here’s the thing: every business owner is.
For some of us, that bottleneck isn’t just mindset or habits—it’s biology. And when biology hijacks psychology, it becomes a loop you have to actively work to break.

So how do you do that? Let’s talk about what’s worked for me, my clients, and my Breakthrough Boss® students.

1. It’s Okay to Admit That It’s Hard

This is your permission slip: it’s hard.
It’s hard for you in ways that it’s not hard for other people.

That’s not an excuse. That’s reality.

But be careful who you share it with. Some people mean well, but their advice or concern can feel like discouragement. They may try to talk you out of your goals. But if you’re anything like me, your drive is just as much a part of you as your diagnosis.

If Stephen Hawking could change the world from a wheelchair, we can build a business that fits us too. It may look different—but different isn’t less.

💬 Want a supportive space that gets it? Join my free mastermind, The Multi-6 Mastermind. It’s not just for those with chronic illness, but there’s plenty of us in there.

2. Bake Your Needs Into Your Business Plan

You cannot build a sustainable business if you’re designing it around someone else’s reality.

Example: If you’re living with chronic fatigue, being a massage therapist working five days a week probably isn’t realistic. That doesn’t mean you can’t own a massage business—it means you’ll need a smarter plan, some startup capital, and a team.

From your offers and schedule to your systems and staffing, build for your energy, not just your ambitions.

I personally designed:

• Group programs because they energize me.

• A monthly “gap week” with no calls.

• A calendar that reflects how I work best—not how others expect me to.

🧠 Rule #1 in Breakthrough Boss®: You make the rules—as long as you’re willing to do the work to make those rules work.

3. Treat Your Health Like a Business Task

This was a game-changer.

Your business can’t run if you’re running on empty. But for a long time, I let health tasks get bumped by business tasks—until I changed how I saw them.

Now, my health is a business task. It’s on my to-do list, just like client work or content creation. Because if I don’t feel good, nothing flows well.

Here’s how I made that shift:

📊 Track Your Patterns

Your symptoms might feel random, but patterns exist.
Once I started tracking sleep, food, tasks, and symptoms, I realized most were either predictable or avoidable. That helped me:

• Space out appointments

• Plan around flares

• Do deep work on high-energy days

This planning has minimized surprise crashes and helped me maintain energy when I need it most.

💡 Build Buffer Into Everything

Expect setbacks. Pad your timelines. Don’t assume it’ll all go smoothly—plan like it won’t.
If things go great, you’re early. If not, you’re covered.

🤫 How Much Should You Tell Clients?

Only what they need to know.
Update your offers, timelines, contracts—bake flexibility in so you don’t have to explain much. You’re allowed privacy, and you’re also allowed to build a system that delivers excellence even when you’re having an off day.

🔄 Protect Your Routines

Your morning routine. Your food. Your sleep.
These are not optional. These are stakes in the ground—the things holding you up when life gets gusty. I don’t half-ass them, because they impact how I feel tomorrow, next week, even next month.

Ask yourself: What habits does my future self need me to protect today?

4. Use the 48 Filter to Get More Done With Less Energy

This is my favorite daily habit—and it takes just 5 minutes.

Here’s how it works:

🕔 At the end of each workday, ask yourself these 4 questions (in this order):

1. What can I eliminate?

2. What can I automate?

3. What can I delegate?

4. Where should I concentrate?

This forces you to clear the clutter before planning tomorrow.
Don’t automate what should be deleted. Don’t delegate what could be automated. Use this filter daily and you’ll slowly eliminate busywork and focus where it matters most—your highest energy hours.

Want a deeper dive on this strategy? I’ve got a video you’ll love—watch it here.

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to do business like everyone else to be successful.
You get to do it in a way that actually works for you.

✨ Need community and encouragement? Join the free mastermind.
✨ Need help building a business that supports your reality? Join Breakthrough Boss®.

Fist bump for making it to the end—and remember: You’ve got this.