What does it mean to be high-achieving in business?
I wanted to talk about this concept of being “high-achieving.” I know a lot of you identify with striving toward the concept, even if you wouldn’t own up to the label itself.
And high-achieving can look like many different things, especially for us entrepreneurs.
For example, I realized recently that I’m the only one of my close friends—and even most of my extended network—who DOESN’T have a graduate degree. Seriously, I’ve got PhDs, MDs, MBAs, MPHs, and more in my inner circle.
Meanwhile, I’m sitting here with “just” a bachelor’s with zero intentions of ever getting a higher degree. (Although I’ve looked into more programs than I can count over the years.)
And I used to be so into school. We’re talking hand raised as high as possible for every single answer, aiming not only for A’s but for 100%, eye rolling at the class clown for distracting us from our important learning. You know…basically, the most annoying one in the classroom.
But as I got older, I got less and less engaged in the classroom, seeing less value in curriculum for the sake of checking boxes. I even finished college a semester early because I’d racked up enough credits and ticked off all my gen ed, major, and double minor requirements, and just could not be bothered continuing on for the sake of it. I was even a semester into an honors thesis and called it quits because I couldn’t justify the endless hours of research in exchange for some Latin words after my name.
But that’s not to say I’ve ever stopped learning. In fact, that’s one of my favorite things to do. And I often go too far into research mode, diving deeper instead of resurfacing to take action.
High-achieving can look like revenue goals, stages you appear on, the body of thought leadership you produce, the number of lives you touch, and more.
The women I work with are smart, ambitious, experienced, and definitely high-achieving.
And so often they struggle to talk about themselves. And how special their point of view is. And how all their interests and passions fold into one coherent online presence or personal brand or business idea.
That’s what I work with them on and through.
And that’s why I created A Visionary’s Guide To Elevator Pitches. It breaks down how to talk to real humans about what you to do and why it matters. (And maybe even convince yourself in the process.)
The guide is totally free to download and I made it in Notion, which is probably my favorite online tool of all time. (But if you REALLY don’t want to use Notion, you can totally copy/paste it into a Google Doc or scratch notes in a physical journal.)
This is a new guide, so definitely let me know what sticks out for you—both the super on-point and anything that could be better. (You’ll get some bonus emails that walk you through the guide and offer a bit of empathetic accountability. Open them if they’re useful, disregard if you’re good drafting, then leveraging your elevator pitch on your own.)
All this to say, keep going. Be high-achieving on your own terms. Trust in your gut and your ideas and your experience. It’s gotten you this far, right?
And if you’re unsure how to get to whatever that next step is, seek out some outside perspective from someone you trust. They likely won’t have “the answer,” but they may be able to show you a new way of looking at things, or ask the right question, or validate what you already know to be true.
Rooting for you!
This is an excerpt from Toward Purpose & Progress, my newsletter where I share business tips, good news, shoutouts to Founder Friends, and other juicy snippets. Subscribe here for more rants, reflections, and resources.