The 50 lessons that cost me the most AND gave me the most benefit

As promised, today I am sharing Part 2 of my most valuable insights. In part 1, you read the first 25 lessons that changed my view of leadership, growth and value forever. Now I take you through part 2 of my breakthrough, more accurately my breakout from my rat race to my freedom in entrepreneurship and forward-thinking leadership. Insights that will inspire you and help you not only step into your breakthrough and accelerate your growth, but also build your legacy and freedom forward.

These lessons are not from books, but from my own life. From practice, through trial and error, investing, letting go and choosing again. Which have helped me grow faster, build smarter and most importantly: live my life and business on my terms.

Growth, Value and Freedom

26. Growth begins with letting go
Real growth requires that you dare to say goodbye to what no longer fits. Old successes, beliefs or collaborations can hold you back. Letting go is not a loss, but an investment in your next phase.

Change requires letting go of what is now, and choosing what you desire.

27. Be honest about your grades
Steering by feeling is not enough. Even with only your knowledge you won't make it in a competitive market. Know your numbers: turnover, cash flow and value of yourself, your company and the result for your customer. 

Financial leadership provides calm, direction and space for strategic choices. 

28. Build a business that can do without you
Freedom arises only when your business is no longer dependent on your daily presence. Systems, processes and strong second management are not a luxury, but a necessity.

True freedom is a business that grows without you.

29. Invest in your personal growth, development and leadership
Your business never grows beyond you. Keep investing in coaching, mentoring and personal development. Your growth is the biggest lever.

Strengthen your leadership and increase your value, impact and influence.

30. Discomfort as a growth accelerator
Every breakthrough lies outside your comfort zone. Every level a new devil. Dare to face the discomfort of new choices, value-driven pricing or sharper positioning. Growth rarely feels comfortable, but it is always valuable.

Outside the lines is so much room.

31. The value of feedback
Feedback is not criticism, but free growth money. Actively ask for honest, direct feedback from people who are further along than you. Your blind spot is your biggest risk.

We all have our own "Dyke of Equals. We cannot see beyond our own scope. It is precisely by working with mentors, experts and using feedback from your clients, collaboration partners that you will see the opportunities and new insights for growth.

Feedback is the fastest path to mastery

Leadership and Legacy

32. Be unlimitedly ambitious
You don't have to make your ambition smaller to put others at ease. Dreaming big and doing big is not arrogance, but an invitation for others to grow as well.

You can't dim your light just because it blinds others.

I wrote about it recently on LinkedIn: Do you dare to raise your standards?

33. Create repeatable results
One time success is chance, repeatability is value. Build products, services and processes that deliver results time after time. Even when you're not there. Good value retains value.

Framework: More, Better, New: Do more of what works, improve what can be done better, change and innovate for growth in your success and results.

34. Choose long-term relationships
Short-term gains are tempting, but sustainable growth comes from long-term relationships with top clients, partners and team members. Invest in trust, consistency and true connection. Network strategically from connection, you will achieve more together.  

Building trust takes years, but pays off for life

35. Make your business an asset, not a job
Make sure your business has value, even if you want to step back. Build systems, healthy cash flow, recurring revenue and a strong brand. A business that runs only when you are working is not an asset but a job. Most entrepreneurs are not consciously building an asset. Once they quit, they usually have nothing to sell. 

What do you want to put down, what do you want to leave behind?

36. Position yourself as the only logical choice
Don't be one of many, but the only one doing what you do your way. Dare to choose a sharp niche, a distinct vision and a distinctive proposition. Those who deliver remarkable value, one of a kind to their top clients, become indispensable.

The ability to deal with value innovation is an opportunity to stand out

37. Put your genius value at the service of your mission
Many leaders, experts and professionals are held back by their ego. As a result, they leave value on the table. By putting your ego in service and instead fully utilizing your value potential, you are not guided by the need for recognition, but by the impact you want to make.

Grand missions require a serving ego

38. Invest in your business, technology and automation
Automate what you can, leaving time for what really matters: strategy, creativity and connection. Technology is not a threat, but a lever for growth and freedom. 

See also my Platform Investeerjij:

39. Keep learning from other entrepreneurs, markets and technological developments
The greatest innovations often arise outside your own field of vision. Look beyond the boundaries of your expertise. Learn from other industries and translate those insights to your business.

Renewal begins where you look outside the box

40. Dare to choose quality over quantity
More is not always better. Choose fewer clients, fewer products, fewer projects but of higher value. 

Quality attracts quality.

41. Your time and energy are precious
Be selective with your time and energy. Your time and energy are your most scarce and most precious assets. Protect it with everything you have. Say no more often, automate your schedule and be unashamedly selective in what you give your attention to.

Spending your time and energy on those people and issues that really matter.

42. Ownership gives freedom
Give your team space to be entrepreneurial within your company. Ownership creates engagement, innovation and growth and gives you the right space as a leader.

Ownership in your team is freedom for you

43. Commit to multiple revenue streams as well as recurring revenue.
Never depend on only one revenue stream. Create multiple cash flows to ensure healthy cash flow. Also consider recurring revenue as a basis for peace of mind, predictability and scalability. Find ways to convert your offerings into subscriptions, contracts or memberships.

Peace, space and efficiency through regularity.

(Building a business is like raising a child 😉)

44. Recognize the difference between urgent and important
Don't let the delusion of the day guide you. Focus on the activities that really contribute to your long-term goals. What seems urgent today is rarely important for your future. Keep the overview, calm and space to stay focused on what really matters.

More peace and space to get more return from yourself and your business.

45. Celebrate your successes
Dwell on what is going well. Celebrating success energizes, strengthens your team and increases your self-confidence. Also dwell on your failed attempts that usually bring you so much more than you feel and want/can see at the time.

Growth is not just about working harder, but also about appreciating what you have already accomplished.

46. Stay true to your own values
Running your business on your own terms from your own values. And how often do you allow yourself to be misled/distracted or guided by others? Whereas your values give you direction and are your anchor in times of change and set you apart in the marketplace.

An enriched free life: Running your life and business on your own (pre)values.

47. Dare to say goodbye to what no longer works
Not everything you've built remains valuable. Dare to quit products, customers or habits that no longer serve you. 

Making space is a prerequisite for innovation.

48. Invest in your health (energy)
You are the heart of your business. Take good care of yourself: physically, mentally and emotionally. Energy is your greatest capital.

Your energy determines the level of your success. 

Make this your priority: Invest in yourself.

49. Go full for good ideas

Most entrepreneurs have no shortage of good ideas. But to determine and choose which ideas will give the most impact and results. Most ideas are blanks and causing you to lose focus. Good ideas are scarce, but if you have one, go for it full force. 

Your problem is not the lack of ideas, but choosing which one to pursue.

50. Build your legacy, not just your profits

Profit is important, but meaning and legacy give real satisfaction. Think beyond today: what difference do you want to make for the next generation?

Legacy is the profit that remains when the money is gone.

Wisdom is not created by collecting more, but by recognizing the essential. And acting on it consistently.

Here are the 50 lessons that have helped me grow not only harder, but more importantly smarter and more valuable. Transformation never begins with perfect circumstances, but always with a new step.

These lessons are now the foundation of how I help leaders and entrepreneurs grow stronger and more strategically forward-looking with more impact and freedom personally, professionally and financially. 

With powerful greetings,

Gerdi 

Your freedom and success. My mission.

PS. I work with women who no longer settle for mediocrity. Women who want to raise their standards - in their lives, leadership and business. Women who are ready to choose more: more freedom, more profit, more meaning.

Make your work a legacy.
Living and doing business on your terms, with fulfillment and in freedom.

PLEASE NOTE: TEMPORARY OFFER FOR WOMEN who are
🟡 Summers recalibrate and enrich

Your business is running. Customers are there. Your offer stands.

But if you're honest:
Your message could be sharper. Your positioning feels diffuse. Your visibility happens with it, not from direction.

This summer is not meant to be stagnant. This is the time to recalibrate your course. Not by working harder, but by building more consciously.

For women entrepreneurs who feel things can be different, stronger. More focused. More of me.

🟡 Summers recalibrate and enrich

Four weeks. Ten women.
Work with me to realign your story, positioning and direction.

Not starting over, but building more consciously.

This is what we do:
Week 1: Review
What will you let go of? What will be your new norm?
Your voice, your place, your promise right again. Sharply focused.

Week 2: Positioning
Your core message on one A4.
Who do you want to attract - and who no longer?
Your positioning as a filter, not a safety net.

Week 3: Being visible from solidity
Content that is true to who you are.
Not shouting louder, but being clearer.
Visibility as a strong foundation of your positioning.

Week 4: Strengthen & advance
Your post-summer strategy.
Less fragmentation, more impact.
Direction and rhythm that match your ambitions.

Summer extra:
Personalized feedback on your positioning-A4
1-on-1 final call with me (30 min) to refine and build on
Templates: pitch, positioning, profiling
Access to a private group with like-minded women leaders

For women entrepreneurs with customers, supply and rhythm. Who want to deepen, sharpen, accelerate, but in a way that is right.

Start: July 1, 2025
Investment: €2,297 excluding VAT.
Summer promotion until June 20: €1,997

Think of this summer not as a break, but as your summer time toward greater direction, clarity and impact.

Grab your spot or send me a message for your boarding check.

Soft in tone. Sharp in direction.
Summers recalibrate and enrich.
Remarkably profitable.

Because you want to get more out of life and continue to grow profitably on a personal, business and financial level.

As Leader of Your Future = Living and Entrepreneurship on Your Own Terms

P.S.. Are you ready to lead your life and your business and grow profitably in all areas? Send me a personal message. Then together we will look at how you as a leader can strategically and profitably grow in impact, profit and freedom. From the essence, energy and drive again doing what and for whom you will make the difference.

Find out more at gerdihulsink.com and investjij.com