Ever felt like everything fell apart right after you made progress?

In this episode, let's explore the reasons why personal growth often triggers temporary chaos. I'm sharing insights from George Leonard’s book "Mastery" and my own journey as an entrepreneur.

Let’s talk about how setbacks can be signs you’re on the right path—and how to get through the mess.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways:

1. Progress Can Look Like Chaos: Growth isn’t always smooth—sometimes making big moves in your career or business can trigger upheaval. When things appear to “fall apart,” it might actually be a sign you’re moving in the right direction and entering a new stage of mastery.

2. The Power of Instruction and Learning Order: Picking the right way to learn—whether it’s self-paced, guided, or individualized—matters. But more important is understanding the order in which you need to learn things. Having a coach or mentor can help you avoid learning things out of sequence and maximize your progress.

3. When to Pivot and Let Go: Losing resources, time, or money hurts, but these moments can serve as powerful signals that it’s time to shift your focus or reinvent your approach. Success means knowing when to double down and when to step back, then strategically move forward.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

How much farther could you be if you stopped waiting for the “perfect” moment and just started?

In this episode, I reflect on my own life and share why waiting for the right time can cost you more than you think.

Let’s break the cycle of perfectionism and discover the powerful momentum that comes from taking action, one imperfect step at a time.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways:

1. Waiting Has a Hidden Cost: When you hesitate, you’re not just missing out on opportunities—you’re piling up missed chances on top of the ones already lost. Opportunity cost stacks up quickly when you’re waiting to be “ready.”

2. Action Beats Preparation: The biggest differentiator between those who achieve their dreams and those who don’t is simple—action. There will never be a perfect time, so moving forward always trumps staying stuck in preparation.

3. Progress Is Made One Step at a Time: You don’t need to leap the whole distance at once. Take baby steps consistently; each small move adds up, and before you know it, the progress will surprise you—just keep moving forward.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

In this episode, I break down how the "killer instinct"—the relentless drive that sets legends like Kobe, MJ, and LeBron apart—applies to entrepreneurs determined to reach mastery.

Discover how to test your limits, bounce back from setbacks, and avoid common pitfalls on the path to business greatness.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways:

1. The Edge is Essential: The killer instinct, or "the edge," isn’t just about talent—it's a mindset and way of being that drives you to push beyond your comfort zone, stay hungry, and become a true student of your craft. Entrepreneurs need this edge just as much as athletes.

2. Understand and Leverage Momentum: Like in sports, momentum in business can shift for better or worse. Recognize when your motivation fades or your environment resists change, and use this awareness to reset your “thermostat”—that is, your sense of what’s possible and achievable.

3. Watch Out for Mastery Pitfalls: Achieving mastery isn’t a straight path. Drawing from George Leonard’s "Mastery," I list the 13 pitfalls to avoid, from obsession with goals to inconsistency and perfectionism. Knowing these traps is the first step to overcoming them.

They are:

1. Conflicting Way of Life
2. Obsessive Goal Orientation
3. Poor instruction
4. Lack of competitiveness
5. Over competitiveness
6. Laziness
7. Injuries
8. Drugs
9. Prizes and medals
10. Vanity
11. Dead seriousness
12. Inconsistency
13. Perfectionism

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

I've experienced my fair share of turmoil in life, both business and personal. What that has taught me is that chaos and friction are the biggest indicators that change is necessary. In this episode, I'll share what you can do to mitigate friction and achieve the transformation that will take you one step further on your journey.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways:

Embrace the Chaos: Depending on what experiences you've had, you may not take kindly to chaos. My encounters, however, have led me to understand that I must first embrace the disorder and identify the root of the chaos. Instead of desperately fighting or rejecting the chaos, acknowledging it as a symbol of change is the way to go.

Team Communication is Key: When I'm facing chaos, I prefer to communicate with my team and discuss how we can collaborate to reduce the friction. I've found that this leads not only to effective solutions but also builds a stronger knit and more optimal network which prevents problems from reoccurring.

Master Your Methodology: I focus on seamless integration of sales and marketing to streamline my business operations. A well-executed marketing strategy ensures your audience knows, likes, and trusts you, simplifying the sales process and driving revenue. I always say excellent marketing without ample work in sales is like walking away from a gold mine.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

Being lost is not too uncommon for me. For one, I possess a terrible sense of direction, but the main issue stems from not knowing where I wanted to be. I applied these epiphanies to my journey in life, and the results were nothing short of phenomenal. And so in this episode, I'll share my experience on the things you can do to remain focused.

Here are my 3 key takeaways:

1. Be clear: Before I even began my journey, the goal in my mind was clear. However, what was not clear was the intention behind that goal and the problems I would face on my path there. Being able to clearly outline all these things granted me an edge when it came to overcoming obstacles in my path. Always remember: identifying the problem is half of the solution.
2. Attentiveness is rewarded: As you cruise along in life, it becomes really easy to rely on the many conveniences and tools afforded to you. But maintaining a certain level of vigilance when it comes to progression is a trait that will only reap rewards and never cost you. I cannot stress how important it has been to check every box in your endeavors, and I believe that you will come to find the same.
3. Ignore everything else: Achieving your goals is merely a by-product on the path to true self-mastery. However, if you cannot ignore baseless criticisms and unfounded opinions, then even that will be hard to achieve. Now, I'm not saying to simply throw every opinion out the window but maintaining a steadfast dedication to your dreams is necessary if you ever hope to achieve them.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

Ever feel stuck, knowing you need help but unsure exactly where?

In this episode, I'll break down the journey of self-mastery, uncovering why awareness of your own limitations is crucial and how to leverage expertise to operate in complete flow.

Discover which state of mastery you’re in—and how to level up in business, life, and beyond!

Here are my 3 key takeaways:

1). Know What You Don't Know:  Self-mastery starts with honest awareness of your limitations. Identifying where you’re consciously or unconsciously incompetent is the first step to growth

2). Hire for Flow, Master Your Zone:  Surrounding yourself with experts (like trainers or chefs) lets you focus on what you do best. Outsourcing your weaknesses creates space for you to operate in a high state of flow.

3). Mastery Pillars and Elements: Let me introduce you to the four states of mastery -- unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, unconscious competence, and the five key elements—physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, and social. Understanding and coordinating these pillars and elements will take you a step further on your journey to mastery.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

Ever feel trapped or directionless in your journey—personally or professionally?

In this episode, I revisit my own story of career pivots, the power of taking action, and how understanding your emotions (yes, I use a “joy meter”) can unlock the true clarity you’ve been searching for.

If you’re feeling stuck, I promise: action and self-awareness can change your trajectory.

Here are My 3 Key Takeaways:

1. Stuck vs. Lost: Feeling stuck doesn’t mean you’re lost—you might just be on the right path but pointed the wrong way. Frustration can cloud your judgment, but clarity comes when you separate the two and keep moving.

2. Clarity Comes Through Action: You can’t think your way to clarity; you have to act. Paying attention to how your choices affect your well-being (like my “joy meter” system) is essential in steering yourself back on course.

3. It’s Okay to Step Away: Sometimes, the bravest and healthiest thing you can do is stop doing what no longer serves you, even if you’ve invested time and energy. Recognizing when to move on—whether from a job, commitment, or relationship—is how you find true alignment and growth.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

Is having a big ego really a bad thing, or is it the key to unlocking your highest potential?

In this episode, I break down the Pyramid of Mastery and reveal why ego sits at the very top—and the surprising steps you need to master it for lasting success.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways:

1. Start with Self-Awareness: The journey to self-mastery begins by admitting you have a big ego—and being honest about how that makes you feel. True self-awareness means recognizing your strengths and weaknesses without judgment.
2. Understand and Transform Your Ego: Examine why your ego is so big. Is it rooted in self-belief, or a sense of superiority over others? Embracing self-understanding allows you to shift your mindset from ego as arrogance to ego as confidence—then transform from within.
3. The Dichotomy of Ego Mastery:  Mastering your ego means embracing the paradox that you are both unique and entirely the same as everyone else. Only by reconciling this duality can you reach the top of the mastery pyramid and achieve true self-mastery.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

Are you tired of the status quo and ready to break through to your highest potential? In this episode, I share my personal journey through burnout and back—unpacking the seven key skills you need to master yourself truly. Tune in as I reveal how self-mastery isn’t just about talent or achievement, but about building lifelong habits for resilience, purpose, and excellence.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways:

1) Self-Mastery Begins with Self-Awareness: Understanding yourself—your strengths, limitations, and motivations—is the foundational skill. My own transformation began when I recognized the warning signs of burnout and chose to dig deeper into who I really am and what I need.

2) Discipline, Emotional Intelligence, and Positive Thinking Are Non-Negotiable: Knowing what to do is just the start—committing to consistent action, processing challenges with emotional maturity, and maintaining positivity even in tough times are integral skills for sustained growth and impact.

3) Optimize with Goals, Time, and Stress Management: True mastery means setting meaningful goals, managing your time intentionally, and developing ways to handle stress. Find routines and outlets—like I do with Marvel movies—that help you reset and stay on track for long-term success.

Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.

Ever felt like you were “checking all the boxes” in your leadership journey yet wondering, is this really it? Stacey Luces challenges the myth of perfection, urging women to outgrow even the lives they once prayed for. Her unapologetic message on faith, courage, and resilience breaks through the corporate status quo and calls us all to a deeper purpose, beyond mere survival.

After a dramatic health scare and years at the top of Fortune 100 brands, Stacey realized true self-mastery isn’t about perfection; it’s about presence and boundaries. Through her coaching, leadership, and podcast “Beyond the Quo,” she empowers women to claim their power, design lives with intention, and boldly reject the status quo.

Ready to ditch the status quo and reclaim your power? Hit play now to unlock bold strategies for living beyond limitations, and subscribe for more stories of faith-driven leadership and unapologetic growth. Share this episode with friends who are ready to courageously lead and live with intention.

Journey To Mastery Spotlights:

• Break free from burnout and rediscover your true vitality
• Set courageous boundaries to protect your time, energy, and faith
• Reframe your career and life goals beyond society’s “shoulds” and “musts”
• Design ideal days rooted in purpose and joy—not perfection
• Harness community and storytelling for deep, lasting transformation
• Create generational impact by leading with purpose, not fear
• Learn how self-mastery and presence fuel resilient leadership

About The Guest:

Stacey Luces is an executive coach, creator of the Living Beyond Movement, and host of the “Beyond the Quo” podcast. Her second act champions women of color, mothers, and leaders to redefine success on their own terms with courage and clarity that inspire entire communities.

Connect with Stacey Luces

LinkedIn

Website

Podcast

YouTube

Facebook

Instagram

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Ready to Master Your Mindset, Mission, and Message?

If today’s episode spoke to you, don’t just listen—step behind the curtain and join the Journey Feed.

Inside the Journey Feed, you’ll get:

1. Unfiltered Mentorship Notes – Straight talk, “Elzisms,” and faith-driven insights to help you align purpose and profit.
2. Backstage Access – Go behind the scenes of the Journey to Mastery movement with raw lessons, unseen stories, and deeper context.
3. Focus Prompts & Reflections – Practical tools to help you lead with intention and master your week.
4. Private Invites – Be first to join Fix Your Focus challenges, workshops, and live experiences.
5. Exclusive Content – Access behind-the-scenes stories and lessons from my journey of building Kingdom-first ventures.

Go Deeper With The Flame Starter Book

Take the next step and grab Flame Starter: The Art of Self-Mastery — your guide to living In Purpose. On Purpose.™

Support The Mission

If the Journey to Mastery podcast has helped you grow, consider contributing to help us continue creating faith-centered tools, resources, and conversations for kingdom entrepreneurs like you. I am an independent podcaster and your support helps keep me going.