Kim Knight Coaching

This is Tao as a puppy. My little CEO, long before he earned that title.

Look at that face. So small, so unsure of the world, completely unaware of who he was going to become.

I think about this a lot when it comes to growth. None of us start as the version of ourselves we eventually grow into. Tao certainly didn't start out as the confident, opinionated little CEO he is today. He grew into that, slowly, in his own time.

The same is true for us in business. We don't arrive fully formed into the people our work eventually asks us to become. We grow into it. One season at a time.

So if you're feeling like you don't quite recognise the person your business needs you to be yet, that's okay. You're not supposed to be there yet. You're just growing into it.

Don't you think that ending your week with a picture of a cute puppy is just the best? I do.

Most days in business are spent reacting.
Answering messages. Solving problems. Delivering for clients. Keeping things moving. It's necessary work, and it matters.

But there's a different kind of work that often gets pushed aside simply because it doesn't feel urgent. Working ON your business instead of just in it. Stepping back to look at the structure, the systems, the direction. Asking whether what you're building is actually sustainable, or whether you're just keeping your head above water.

Both kinds of work matter. But only one of them creates real growth.

So this week I want you to ask yourself something. When was the last time you stepped back and worked on your business, rather than just working in it?

If it's been a while, that might be worth changing.

I took this photo on a recent trip to Vietnam, right in the middle of the traffic.

And it's such a perfect picture of what it feels like to be deep in the busyness of running a business. Cars everywhere. Constant movement. So much happening around you that it becomes impossible to see anything beyond what's directly in front of you.

That's what working in your business feels like sometimes. You're moving, you're busy, you're getting through the day. But you can't actually see the bigger picture because you're too close to it.

This week we talked about the importance of stepping back and working on your business, not just in it. Of finding the moments to rise above the traffic, even just for an hour, and seeing the fuller picture again.

Wherever you are this weekend, I hope you find a little space to do that.

I look at this collage and I see so many versions of myself. Different years. Different seasons. Different rooms I was standing in, different things I was learning, different versions of who I was at the time.

And I think that's true for all of us in business too. The version of you that started your business is probably not the version of you running it today. And the version of you running it today may not be the version it needs in a year from now.

That's not a failure. It's actually a sign that things are moving forward.

Growth asks something of us. New skills, new confidence, sometimes a completely different way of thinking about what we're capable of.
So this week I want you to sit with something honestly.

Is there a version of you that your business is asking you to grow into? And if so, are you willing to meet it?

It's cold here in South Africa right now, and Miracle has made her feelings about that very clear.

This is her current approach to winter. Fully committed. No apologies.

This week we talked about showing up as yourself instead of performing a version of who you think you should be. And honestly, Miracle is a pretty good teacher in that department. She doesn't pretend to be unaffected by the cold. She just burrows in, gets comfortable, and lets herself be exactly as cosy as she needs to be.

There's something in that for all of us.

You don't have to push through everything looking unaffected. Sometimes the most honest thing you can do is admit you need a little extra warmth, a little extra softness, a little extra care.

Wishing you a warm and restful weekend, wherever you are.

There's a difference between performing success and actually living it. And people can usually feel that difference, even if they can't quite explain why.

We live in a world that rewards polish. Perfectly worded posts. Perfectly curated days. The version of us that looks like we have it all figured out.

But the truth is, the most powerful thing you can offer as a coach, a leader or a business owner isn't a performance. It's presence.

People don't connect with perfection. They connect with realness.

So this week I want to invite you to notice something. Where in your business or your life are you performing a version of yourself instead of actually showing up as you are?

It's worth paying attention to.