In this candid and deeply reflective episode of the BeTheCEO Podcast, Tom and Adam unpack how founders unknowingly sabotage their own growth. The conversation explores the internal habits, identity conflicts, and emotional patterns that quietly hold business owners back, even when their external strategy looks sound.

Through honest discussion and lived experience, the episode highlights why growth often stalls not because of lack of opportunity, but because founders struggle to evolve their mindset, decision-making, and personal standards at the same pace as their business. The result is a practical, grounded exploration of how to recognize self-sabotage early and replace it with intentional leadership.

🎧 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

1. What self-sabotage actually looks like in founders
2. Why growth exposes identity gaps before skill gaps
3. How emotional avoidance quietly stalls progress
4. Why founders resist the behaviours required for the next level
5. The importance of personal responsibility in leadership growth
6. How clarity and maturity unlock sustainable momentum

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Opening reflections on growth and internal resistance

02:30 - What self-sabotage really means for founders

05:10 - Identity conflicts that emerge as businesses grow

08:00 - Why founders avoid uncomfortable decisions

11:40 - Emotional maturity and leadership responsibility

15:20 - The cost of staying the same while the business grows

18:50 - Recognising patterns that limit progress

22:30 - Shifting behaviour to match ambition

26:00 - Practical ways to stop undermining your own growth

29:30 - Final thoughts on becoming the leader your business needs

🔥 Power Quotes

Your business will only grow as fast as you are willing to grow.

Self-sabotage is not obvious, it is comfortable.

Growth demands a different version of you.

You cannot lead what you refuse to confront.

📝 Topics Covered

1. Founder mindset
2. Self-sabotage patterns
3. Identity and leadership growth
4. Emotional responsibility
5. Decision-making maturity
6. Sustainable business growth

🧭 Key Takeaway

Founders do not stall because they lack strategy. They stall because they resist becoming who their next stage of growth requires. By recognising self-sabotaging behaviours and taking ownership of personal development, founders unlock clarity, momentum, and sustainable progress.

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In this episode, we explore how unclear, uncommunicated, or unenforced standards quietly destroy businesses, teams, and cultures. While most people blame execution or motivation, the real issue is often the absence of clear expectations or the failure to reinforce them.

Through everyday examples, business coaching stories, and personal anecdotes, this conversation breaks down why standards shape identity, behavior, and results. Without them, chaos creeps in. With them, clarity, leadership, and momentum follow.

🎧 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

1. Why standards are behaviors, not rules
2. How unclear standards create frustration and chaos
3. The difference between having standards and communicating them
4. Why lowered societal standards impact businesses
5. How leadership standards shape teams and culture
6. Why reinforcement and accountability matter
7. How standards affect focus, time, and execution

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Joe Rogan, curiosity, and personal standards

02:00 – Standards as the foundation of identity

04:20 – When standards are unclear, frustration follows.

06:55 – Establishing vs communicating standards

08:55 – How standards shape confidence and performance

10:25 – Lowered societal standards and business impact

13:40 – Reinforcement, accountability, and leadership

16:20 – Standards, chaos, and business breakdown

18:00 – Focus, flow, and perception of time

23:40 – Setting standards for execution timelines

29:00 – Final reflections on leadership and standards

🔥 Power Quotes

“Standards are behaviors.”

“If you don’t set standards, chaos decides for you.”

“Unclear standards create frustration, not failure.”

“What you tolerate becomes the standard.”

“Leadership starts with enforced expectations.”

📝 Topics Covered

1. Business standards
2. Leadership and culture
3. Accountability
4. Communication
5. Focus and execution
6. Team performance

🧭 Key Takeaway

Businesses don’t fail because people don’t work hard; they fail because standards are missing, unclear, or unenforced. When leaders define, communicate, and uphold standards, clarity replaces chaos and progress becomes inevitable.

💬 Connect with Us

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In this episode, we uncover why progress stalls even when effort is high and why the real issue is rarely behavior. Instead, it’s the hidden beliefs quietly shaping how you act, decide, and show up in your business and life.

Through real client examples, personal stories, and practical analogies, this conversation breaks down how outdated or unexamined beliefs create procrastination, burnout, anxiety, and misalignment. Progress doesn’t come from trying harder; it comes from believing differently.

This episode reframes growth as an inside-out process: believe first, behave second, and become last.

🎧 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

1. Why behavior change fails without belief change
2. How procrastination is often a belief problem, not a discipline problem
3. The difference between “should” and true commitment
4. Why success can still feel wrong when beliefs are misaligned
5. How identity dictates daily actions
6. Why momentum can quietly pull you away from who you want to become
7. How to reassess beliefs as you enter a new season or year

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Reflecting on business direction and the coming year

03:30 – What it really means to be the CEO of your life

05:45 – Why beliefs drive behavior, not the other way around

07:40 – Identity-based change explained

09:20 – Procrastination and belief misalignment

13:00 – Momentum, undercurrents, and losing direction

17:30 – Lack mindset versus abundance mindset

22:30 – The danger of the word “should”

27:00 – Believe, behave, become

29:40 – Final thoughts and reflection

🔥 Power Quotes

“Behavior doesn’t change until belief changes.”

“Procrastination is a belief problem.”

“You can’t become someone new while believing old things.”

“Should isn’t a commitment.”

“Believe first. Behave second. Become last.”

📝 Topics Covered

1. Belief systems
2. Identity and behavior
3. Procrastination
4. Burnout and alignment
5. Mindset shifts
6. Personal and business growth

🧭 Key Takeaway

Progress isn’t blocked by a lack of effort it’s blocked by beliefs you haven’t questioned. When you change what you believe about who you are and what you need, your actions naturally follow.

💬 Connect with Us

👉 Visit bethe.ceo

👉 Follow Tom Marino & Adam Hurd on...