The art of cracking yourself open

Most people are living someone else's strategy. Even strategists.
They've borrowed templates, mimicked successful formulas, and squeezed themselves into professional molds that were never designed for their unique brilliance. And the system supports this. Our industry is obsessed with standardization and scale, we confuse size with growth and replicability with control.
This felt wrong to me from the start—not in a grand, heroic way, but as a deep, intuitive discomfort. Traditional strategy always felt... flat. Lifeless. Zombie-like. Like a beautifully drawn map that completely missed the actual terrain. I didn't set out to be different. I simply couldn't stomach the disconnect—strategy that looked perfect on paper but had no pulse, no real understanding of the human dynamics underneath. It felt like watching a beautiful machine that was fundamentally broken.
Cracking strategy open
In many ways, my entire career has been a relentless mission to break open the rigidity of traditional strategy—to infuse it with raw, unfiltered personality. To make it breathe. To make it come alive.
But here’s the truth: this isn’t a single breakthrough. It’s constant work—messy, unglamorous, and deeply personal.
Some days, it’s ruthless self-reflection—sitting with uncomfortable truths about where I’m still holding back, where fear is reshaping my edges without my permission. Other days, it’s setting fierce boundaries. Saying no to projects that drain my energy. Walking away from shiny opportunities that quietly erode my spirit. Redefining professionalism—not as meeting expectations, but reframing them according to myself.
Then there’s vulnerability—the hardest part. Not the curated kind for social media, but the raw willingness to show up without armor. Admitting when I’m uncertain. Sharing the messy process behind the victories. Letting clients and colleagues see the human behind the strategy.
At its core, this journey is about letting go. Letting go of inherited stories about success. Letting go of the need to prove myself. Silencing those old voices:
Don’t be too bold. Too fast. Don’t outshine. Don’t forget you’re a young woman reporting to men who naturally “know better.”
Some weeks, it’s a beautiful dance—graceful and free. Other weeks, it’s a battle—with myself, expectations, and an industry resistant to change.
But always, it’s movement. It’s growth. It’s life in motion. Still.
Cracking myself open
When I built Serotonin, I wasn’t just starting a consulting company—I was distilling everything I am into it. My obsession with clarity. My frustration with mediocrity. My belief that strategy should be alive, bold, and unapologetically personal. Strategy with the punch of espresso and the substance of a perfectly mixed negroni.
And still I fell into the trap of playing small. Oh the irony. I didn’t fully step into the space I had created—my space. Why? Fear. Fear of making it too much about me, of overshadowing others, fear of my power. I told myself I was “leaving room for others,” but in truth, I was holding back. I was afraid of becoming the kind of founder I despised—loud, self-absorbed, and ego-driven. I had just seen too many of them. So I heavily over-corrected and played it safe.
What saved me? My clients. They didn't ask for safe. They rewrote processes, shifted timelines, and created roles only I could fill—moving mountains to work with me. Their message was clear: they didn’t want just any strategy—they wanted mine. But they were also ready to walk away with I didn’t fully show up.
This wasn’t just a validation—it was a wake-up call. When quality is default, clients (or collaborators) don’t want you to shrink into a mold. They want you to own your edge, your perspective, and the boldness only you can bring.
Over Christmas, in a moment of unfiltered reflection, it hit me: the only person holding me back was me. My clients weren’t drawn to a polished facade or a generic process. They wanted my energy, my perspective, and the boldness that only I could bring. Playing safe didn’t build trust—it dimmed the edge they came for. My power was in showing up fully and unapologetically, letting my work reflect the full force of who I am.
So, I scrapped my old growth plans and rewrote the rules. Growth wasn’t about size—it was about amplifying influence and harnessing the resonance of high-energy, unapologetically authentic personalities. At all costs.*
This wasn’t just about redefining how I show up—it was about rethinking what excellence in strategy truly means. In a world so obsessed with sameness, that’s the difference between mediocrity and brilliance
Cracking the code of excellence
Yes, owning your space is terrifying.
We’re conditioned—especially women—to soften, to blend, to make ourselves smaller. But here’s the truth: Shrinking doesn’t just hold you back—it deprives the world of your sharpest edge.
And leaning into authenticity? It’s not just liberating—it’s a strategic superpower. Clients aren’t buying a service; they’re drawn to a perspective so charged with your energy, so unmistakably yours, that it simply can’t be replicated.
Let’s be clear: personality isn’t about performative LinkedIn selfies or hollow self-branding. It’s about substance, not packaging.
Your personal experiences, your ability to see what others miss, your instinct for impossible leaps—these are the unique ingredients that set your work apart. They’re your secret formula. Personality shows up in the way you present, the tone of your narratives, how you connect data to human stories, or the flavor of your strategy. Do you empathically align everyone to create buy-in across stakeholders, or spark bold ambitions that energize teams to take risks? Is it your quiet diplomacy or your unfiltered honesty that defines your edge?
Authenticity isn’t a branding strategy or a personal choice. It’s a defiant stand against mediocrity. It's a professional imperative. It takes your work from just good to unforgettable.
Cracking privilege open
I’m acutely aware of my privilege. The freedom to build a business exactly how I want is a luxury not everyone has. But here’s the good part: you don’t need ideal conditions to make it work. Whether you have complete freedom or are navigating constraints, there’s always space to inject your raw, uncompromising energy into what you do. Crack yourself open. Let your work be a manifesto of who you are. Blast open doors for others by showing what’s possible.
The world doesn’t need another carbon-copy strategy. It needs your unfiltered, dangerous, brilliant approach. Because the most powerful strategy isn’t just good—it’s unmistakably, unforgettably, unapologetically yours.
//
Breaking things open isn’t just about philosophy—it’s about practice. These tools will help you crack your own work open, infusing it with the raw energy and boldness that makes strategy come alive.
Some questions for cracking yourself open
-
What’s your unique contribution? What’s the one thing only you can bring? Is it a perspective, a way of connecting dots, or an instinct others don’t have? Identify it, amplify it, and pour it into your approach so it shapes everything you do. For me, it’s spotting bold opportunities no one else sees and crafting strategies that turn them into action. What’s yours?
-
The boldest ideas don’t wait for invitations. Step in with your perspective before the conversation even starts. Even if it’s risky, boldness is remembered, even when the answer is no.
-
Leave your fingerprint - Find one way to make your work unmistakably yours. Serotonin's invoices? They come with motivational love letters to the new version of the company we've transformed. Every project contract comes with a contract locking in the shared ambition level, so that noone chickens out as soon as the messy middle kicks off. My presentations use photos I’ve taken in museums. These aren’t gimmicks—they’re intentional, personal, and impossible to replicate.
*Scaling a Business Around Personalities
Scaling doesn’t have to mean growing headcount or extending hours. Instead, it’s about building systems that amplify influence and maximize resonance. This can be achieved by creating passive income streams, detaching payment from timelines, and shifting focus from billable hours to value-driven pricing. Products like digital tools, online courses, or intellectual property licensing are excellent examples of scalable value. Prioritize impact over volume, and design offerings that leverage your unique perspective to create lasting influence rather than simply increasing size.
Additional Logics for Scaling Around Personalities:
- Leverage Asynchronous Formats: Offer workshops, pre-recorded courses, or modular consulting toolkits that scale without your real-time involvement.
- Collaborative Ecosystems: Partner with other high-energy individuals or complementary brands to extend reach and share audiences, multiplying impact.
- Thought Leadership Assets: Publish books, collections, or frameworks that establish authority while scaling your intellectual influence.
- Curate Exclusive Memberships: Create networks or communities where your perspective drives value, ensuring your unique approach is embedded in every interaction.
- Licensing Models: Package and license proprietary tools, strategies, or approaches for other businesses to implement, scaling your expertise without direct involvement.