One of the biggest myths people have is that you need a lot of money to start, or that your passion has to be constant. From my experience in the nonprofit world, I started with something simple. I knew I wouldn’t get many donations at first and that I’d have to personally reach out to people I cared about to convince them to support my cause. But balance is key. While I’m deeply passionate about my mission, I can’t let it consume my entire life. It’s important to find a balance between growing your passion and taking care of yourself—self-care and overall wellness matter just as much.

In the world of business growth and entrepreneurial success, one of the most common myths is that entrepreneurs must work around the clock, hustling 24/7, putting in endless hours, and becoming a slave to their business for it to thrive. This belief is simply not true. It’s a classic example of working hard rather than working smart. The key to true success lies in working smarter, which actually reduces the time required. This is where strategies like leveraging systems, building effective teams, fostering a strong culture, and implementing performance tracking come into play. These tools allow entrepreneurs to focus on working on their business rather than being trapped in it, freeing up their time while still driving sustainable growth.

The common myth is that you must always follow the data, and while there’s some truth to that, I believe it’s important to first conduct a thorough audit of the data. You need to understand what the data is really telling you, how complete it is, how clean it is, and how well it connects to the broader picture before taking action. In the nonprofit sector, I often see decisions being made based on incomplete data because it’s all that can be tracked. For instance, I recently worked with a client who was about to make significant changes to their marketing strategy based solely on the data they pulled from their CRM, without considering the bigger picture.

In IT consulting, and perhaps in IT leadership overall, there's a prevailing myth that business and industry expertise isn't all that crucial. The belief often is that best practices, proven frameworks, and methodologies—applied across various industries—are sufficient for setting up infrastructure, security, and data systems. However, I believe it’s a misconception to overlook the value of deep industry knowledge and experience. Understanding the specifics of an industry can play a significant role in shaping effective, tailored solutions.

In the coaching world, being a great marketer doesn’t automatically make someone a great coach. It frustrates me to see so-called experts urging others to take steps they’ve never taken themselves. For instance, I recently met three relationship coaches who weren’t even in relationships, yet they were advising others on how to navigate them. That just doesn’t make sense to me. I’m passionate about coaching and believe it’s valuable, but I encourage people to dig into the backgrounds of their coaches. I can confidently discuss helping businesses because I’ve built and sold three of my own; I’m not asking anyone to do anything I haven’t done myself. While this might just be a pet peeve of mine, I think it’s an important consideration.

It’s about the pursuit of happiness, which ties back to the point we discussed earlier about unrealistic expectations. Society often suggests that we should always be happy, but constant happiness can actually have downsides. When we focus solely on being happy, we risk becoming complacent, losing our sense of purpose, and devaluing meaningful experiences. While happiness is valuable, it shouldn’t be our only goal. Fleeting moments of joy are important, but striving to be perpetually happy is unrealistic and sets us up for disappointment. It's essential to recognize that having unrealistic expectations for ourselves and others can hinder our growth and fulfillment.

As an entrepreneur, I believe the idealism surrounding entrepreneurship can be quite misleading. Many people envision it as a dream job where they're constantly doing what they love and everything is perfect. While it is incredibly fulfilling to build and create something of your own, it also demands a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Not everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship; it requires a willingness to take risks and the courage to try new things, even if failure is a possibility.

Be cautious about striving for perfection. It's often more beneficial to focus on progress and keep moving forward rather than waiting for everything to be perfect. Perfection can actually become an obstacle. Instead, aim for things to work well enough and be ready to adapt as you go. The goal isn't perfection; it's about understanding how to pivot and adjust along the way. Chasing perfection can leave you stuck in planning mode instead of taking action.