Human Design for founders and business success

Learn to trust your instincts to play the long game. Plus know what’s worth your energy.

I have a really good eye and instinct for when someone is working unsustainably. It’s a blend of decades of experience and a strong intuition.

I can sense when they’re going to:

Burn out
Get sick
Quit
Be forced to slow down

And not have the energy to enjoy long-term success because they’ve played a game that’s based on chasing quick results.

Whether that’s the cadence of their social media posting; the volume of work they’re trying to manage or the stress levels they’re subjecting themselves to.

I know when it won’t last.

This applies to those in a career as well who are potentially chasing a promotion or advancement or KPIs.

Back in the day when I helped people with acquired brain injuries to return to work they typically had a great work history. They craved a return to work. They couldn’t get there fast enough. And ideally, yesterday. They wanted to charge in, head first, like nothing had changed. But it had.

My job was to make sure that:

The job was a good match (whether that was their previous role or a different one)
They had a suitable return-to-work (RTW) plan so that getting back to work was successful and safe and approved by their specialist (eg neurologist or rehabilitation consultant)
They stayed in the job (it was long-term viable)

This meant that I was regularly trying to rein them in because I wanted them to make progress, and keep increasing their hours (not going backward). I wanted them to feel the momentum growing and feel empowered and successful. I wanted their hope to be buoyed, not dashed.

It wasn’t easy for them. Work was often tied to their identity and the sooner they could get back in there, the better, from their perspective. Of course, finances were commonly a pressure point too after a period of being unable to work.

My job was to remind them of the long game. Of WHY it mattered. Of what was at stake.

It was a lesson for me too- this was the first job I had as an allied health professional where I had KPIs to meet. I decided to not focus on the metrics but on doing great work that was a win-win for the client and the employer, knowing that if I did that the KPIs would come. (They did. I exceeded them in my first year).

Being a business founder has its own unique challenges and at the end of the day, it all rests with you: the success; the sustainability; the revenue and profit; and the practices that keep your physical, mental and spiritual self at your best; the services that you offer; the clients you work with and the schedule you keep.

The pressure is real. Just like those job-seekers trying to return to work because they wanted a sense of achievement and success, they needed the money, they wanted to feel like they had meaning and purpose. You, as a business founder, crave this too.

It can be heartbreaking to watch other people effortlessly (it seems) supercharge the results you want and think you need to work even harder or at an unsustainable pace or do what they’re doing.

But I can tell you with absolute confidence and conviction: you don’t.

Step back and assess what’s worth your efforts and your energy. Play the long game and the rewards will follow because instant gratification isn’t the path to long-term success.

If you’re into human design, this week the Sun is currently in Gate 32 (the gate of restraint) and it’s about working out what’s worth your energy and trusting your instincts to pull back to ensure long-term success. You might also sense a fear of failure coming up but this isn’t meant to influence your decision-making. You might notice this theme showing up for clients, within your team or in your social media feed at the moment. It affects us all.

If you’d like to dive deeper into how you can utilise Human Design for Business or Career Success, book a 1:1 Human Design session or book a Clarity Call and if you’re interested in private coaching to achieve long-term, sustainable success on your terms and in a way that’s most natural for you.