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Redefining Success: How to Build Without Sacrifice with Liz Hartke #125
The Inner Entrepreneur
58 minutes
2 months ago
Redefining Success: How to Build Without Sacrifice with Liz Hartke #125
In this episode Paul sits down with Liz Hartke—founder of Luminary Leadership, creator of the Overflow CEO Mastermind, and host of Your Big Next—to explore what it really means to build with integrity. Liz shares the moment a trusted mentor told her she was “drastically underperforming” her potential (despite major wins), how that wake-up shifted her from forcing growth to leading from overflow, and why how you build is as important as what you build. They dig into integrating family and business, leadership bottlenecks, the “Visionary Matrix” (hard/light vs easy/heavy), and the life-altering story that birthed her upcoming book.
Quick Links
Clarity Prompt Gift: DM Liz the word “clarity” on Instagram (handle in links) or visit /clarity on her Luminary Leadership site (we’ll link in the episode page).
Liz’s podcast: Your Big Next (subscribe for deep-dive leadership episodes).
Key Takeaways
Family first isn’t a slogan—it’s a design choice. Integrate business with family values; don’t compartmentalize.
How you build matters. If the journey costs your marriage, health, or presence with your kids, the “win” isn’t a win.
Leadership is the ceiling. When growth plateaus, the founder—not the funnel—is usually the bottleneck.
Visionary Matrix: Aim for hard but light (calling-aligned challenges) and cut easy but heavy (low-friction work that drains you).
From force to overflow. Scale the person first; then strategy compounds.
Intention ≠ impact. Your family experiences the impact of your choices, not the intention behind them.
Courage over fear. Fear often hides under “strategy.” Ask: What’s the alternative if I don’t change?
Bring your inner circle. Liz’s mastermind invites spouses and right-hands to keep growth aligned and executable.
Chapter Guide
00:00–02:00 — Opening & why family moments beat business milestones
02:00–04:40 — Liz’s multigenerational family roots & entrepreneurship as a vehicle
04:40–08:10 — The mentor’s gut-punch: “You’re underperforming your potential”
08:10–10:40 — Numbers vs. becoming the leader you’re called to be
10:40–14:30 — Freedom, scale, and the cost of the journey
14:30–18:15 — From strategist to leadership scaler: unlocking the founder
18:15–21:10 — Awareness, patterns, and moving from force to overflow
21:10–24:35 — Living one integrated identity—at work and at home
24:35–27:05 — Book launch vs. baby due date: choosing alignment over optics
27:05–31:35 — Wake-up calls, fear, and shifting the ladder to the right wall
31:35–35:20 — Potential creates new mountains; climb with joy, not sacrifice
35:20–40:30 — Doing the right thing: intuition, moral code, and mentors
39:17–41:33 — Visionary Matrix: easy/heavy vs hard/light decisions
41:33–45:10 — Scheduling thinking time; getting off the treadmill
45:10–50:48 — The loss, the haemorrhage, and the genesis of Your Big Next
50:48–54:20 — Tools: Visionary CEO Schedule & living your legacy now
54:20–56:41 — Overflow CEO Mastermind (bring spouse + right-hand) & closing
Notable Quotes
“How you build the thing is as important as the thing you build.” — Liz
“The business had outgrown their leadership.”
“Hard but light beats easy but heavy. If it’s heavy, it’s a signal.”
“Intention doesn’t matter—impact does. That’s what your family feels.”
About Liz Hartke
https://luminaryleadershipco.com/
Founder of Luminary Leadership, Liz mentors established entrepreneurs to shift from operator to visionary, scale from force to overflow, and build companies that honour family and values. She leads the Overflow CEO Mastermind, blending leadership work with practical business strategy, and hosts the podcast Your Big Next. Her forthcoming book distils these principles into actionable frameworks.
Connect with Paul Ryan:
https://www.theonehourceo.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ryan-9a98774/