“Real wealth is emotional, psychological, and spiritual. If you’re financially free, but you’re still suffering emotionally, then what kind of victory is that?” - Tony Robbins

This past week at ThriveCon 2025 https://thriveconcommunity.com, I had the privilege of speaking three times, the keynote on courage, and workshops on pricing, and tax strategy. Three topics that, at first glance, couldn’t be more different. But what tied them together, and what the audience kept coming back to, was one simple truth, authenticity drives connection and results.

The Power of Being Real

For years, I’ve spoken about growth strategy, leadership, and financial performance. But this time, I shared more of my own story. I shared about my fears I faced as an entrepreneur, my challenging upbringing, my setbacks, my faith journey, and the mistakes I made around pricing, and even the tax decisions that kept me up at night. 

What surprised me most wasn’t the applause or the turnout; it was the feedback. It was the engagement. People didn’t just thank me for the information; they thanked me for being real. They said hearing about failure and doubt made the numbers, frameworks, and strategies finally make sense.

At ThriveCon, I learned firsthand that vulnerability is a business skill.

Courage, Pricing, and Profit Are Linked

In the Truth About Courage session, we unpacked the four big fears that hold leaders back, failure, rejection, burnout, and financial collapse. Every one of those fears shows up when setting prices, hiring teams, or facing tough tax decisions. 

In the How to Set Prices talk, I reminded founders that underpricing is not humility, it’s fear in disguise. When you undervalue your work, you erode profit, attract the wrong clients, and stall your growth. The best pricing strategy starts with self-worth. According to Profisy.io, 89% of all B2B products are underpriced by at least 3.5%. In consulting, early stage entrepreneurs typically undercharge between 25 to 75%, according to Consulting Success. I know, in my specific case, I used to charge 75% less, compared to what I do today. And the crazy part is that I have signals that I am still undercharging compared to the value that we provide because we have a 70% close rate.

And in Your One Big Beautiful Bill, we talked about tax courage, making one bold decision early so April becomes boring. Planning ahead is an act of confidence. Waiting until the last minute is often fear dressed as “busyness.”

What Authenticity Really Looks Like

Authenticity isn’t oversharing, it’s alignment. It’s being transparent about what you’ve learned and why it matters to the people you serve. When I stopped trying to “sound strategic” and started telling the truth about what it really takes to build and sustain a business, the message hit home.

That’s what made the pricing deck such a success. It wasn’t just numbers and charts, it was an honest conversation about courage, fear, and value.

I was nearly petrified to share my inner soul. Professionally trained by CPA firms and Fortune 500 executives, they taught me to keep the inner thoughts to myself. However, I felt I had been called to share more. In my presentation, I had to hold back my tears, multiple times. As I joked to the audience, when I practiced this presentation, I wept 11 times out of 10. However, I felt “called” to reveal my inner soul.

Share the truth, and it will set you free.

After sharing my truth, I have never received more leads from a presentation in my entire life. That was an unexpected result. I was concerned that I was going to get kicked off the stage. Instead, the act of giving and connecting was transformational. I am grateful that I answered the call to share my truth, despite all the fears that I had. 

Your Strategy 4 Saturday

Here’s your challenge this weekend, pick one place in your business or life where you can be more authentic, vulnerable, or transparent, with your clients, your team, or yourself.

You don’t need a new framework or a fresh start. Just one bold, honest step.

Because courage isn’t loud. It’s a quiet decision made early, the kind that turns chaos into clarity, and effort into results.

40 Strategy Workshop

We are just 16 days away from the 40 Strategy Workshop. We are excited that we have signed 3 key sponsors for the event, Bank of America, Madison Insurance, and Bluebird Solutions. We have just a few entry level tickets available and two VIP tickets. Reach out to tonya.smith@40strategy.com to learn more.