Over the last few weeks, the same conversation keeps coming up with the leaders I coach.

They tell me how well their businesses are doing—record first-quarter sales, overflowing demand, and maxed-out teams. They’re even considering hiring more people.

Then, without missing a beat, they say,

“But I think we might have to lay some folks off,”
or
“There’s no way I can hire—things are bound to tank later this year.”

At this point, I usually pause.

How do we know the rest of the year will be terrible? Where’s that certainty coming from?

We all tell ourselves stories.

Stories help us make sense of a messy world. They filter the flood of daily input, giving us structure and meaning.

But they also limit what we see. We stop engaging with reality as it is and start reacting to the version our story offers us.

Telling stories isn’t the problem. The problem is when the story feels more real than the facts in front of us.

Is that story serving you?

When I push back, I often find we’re not looking at the same data.

These founders are consistently landing new projects, even with a thin pipeline. Their teams are stretched, and revenue is strong. The rational response? Hire to support the work, or risk burning out staff and losing clients.

But they’re paralyzed—afraid of looking foolish if the economy dips. Afraid someone will say, “You should’ve seen that coming.”

That fear is coming from a story. Not from the numbers.

So I’ll ask you the same questions I ask them:

What story are you telling yourself? How is it serving you? Who would you be without that story?

One more thing… If you’re going to tell a story, make it a good one.

Instead of absorbing narratives about economic doom, flaky clients, or your own powerlessness, what if you told a different story?

A story where you rise to meet the moment. Where your leadership inspires confidence and unlocks new possibilities, where your clients win—and so do you.

That story is just as “true” as the doomsday version. Which one would you rather live in?

What story will you tell about your life and business for the rest of 2025? Who are you being as you live that story?

P.S. Hat tip to Rachel Rodgers for planting this seed.