Can Short-Term Thinking Hold You Back in Business? What I’ve Learned
“If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur stuck in short-term thinking, this shift into a decade-mindset could be the most powerful strategy shift you make this year.”
As a bakery owner, mom, and someone who’s committed to personal and business growth, I’ve lived through all kinds of seasons. But a recent GrowthDay conference with Brendon Burchard (Austin, April 2025) shifted my perspective on how I think about time, priorities, and how I build my life. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the “now,” this one’s for you.
Have you ever had someone say, “Maybe this just isn’t the right season”?
Or maybe you’ve said it to yourself…
“This is just a busy season.”
“I’ll focus when things calm down.”
“I just need to get through this stretch.”
We hear it all the time — this idea of seasons.
And yes, life has them.
Literal ones like summer break, back to school, or the chaos of the holidays.
But also personal ones — having little kids at home, kids leaving the nest, caregiving, launching something new, or just getting through a season of burnout.
And in business? Seasons are very real.
Some months are packed. Others are quiet.
Some seasons feel expansive and full of opportunity. Others feel like survival.
It’s okay to recognize that. It’s okay to give yourself grace.
But here's the problem: if we only live season to season, we can lose sight of where we’re going.
I attended Business Mastery last summer, a biz training from Tony Robbins**. He taught about business seasons** — like actual spring, summer, fall, and winter — and how we cycle through each one:
Spring is planting. It’s launching something new. A season of possibility and momentum.
Summer is where you hustle, nurture, protect what you’ve planted. It’s work. Sweat. Building.
Fall is harvest — when results show up, rewards come in, and growth becomes visible.
Winter is the season of challenge. It’s pruning, resting, preparing. It can feel dry, uncertain, or even painful.
And the reminder is this: Winter doesn’t last forever.
When you’re in a hard season, it doesn’t mean you’re failing — it might just mean you’re in winter. And spring is coming.
You have to plant before you harvest.
You have to water and weed before you reap.
And recently, I heard something that completely shifted how I think about it:
Are you living in seasons, or are you living in decades?
Let’s talk about what that means — and how this shift can completely change the way you make decisions, run your business, and show up for your future self.
PLAYING THE LONG GAME
At a recent personal growth conference I attended — Brendon Burchard’s GrowthDay — Natalie Ellis talked about how she shifted her mindset from living in seasons to thinking in decades.
And it hit me hard. Seriously resonated to my core.
I’ve heard Tony Robbins say “Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in a decade.”
But the way Natalie framed it — the context she gave — really landed differently for me.
When you’re living in seasons, you’re thinking short-term.
But when you start living in decades…
You start playing a long game.
Instead of just reacting to today’s problems — you start asking:
“What kind of life am I building in my 30s?”
“What do I want to be true about me in my 40s or 50s?”
“What do I want to be possible by the time I’m 75?”
That kind of thinking changes the decisions you make right now.
You stop panicking when something doesn’t work the first time.
You don’t give up on something just because it’s not showing results this month.
You start acting like someone who is building something that lasts.
WHY RIGIDITY KILLS MOMENTUM
Let me give you a quick story. I first heard this story from Ed Mylett, at the same conference. He coaches high-performance mindsets for top-level MMA fighters.
He shared a story about a fighter who trained relentlessly for a specific fight, a big fight.
He visualized the win.
He had a clear strategy: a specific move that would get him the outcome he wanted.
But when the fight started, his opponent didn’t react the way he expected.
He used different tactics — ones that made the fighter’s planned move ineffective.
And instead of adjusting, instead of being present and adjusting his strategy, this fighter stayed locked into the plan. He kept pushing for that one move. And he lost.
He should have won that fight.
He was picked to win that fight.
But his inability to shift in the moment cost him the fight.
Ed’s takeaway was this:
Having a long-term vision is powerful. But being able to be present in the moment and adjusting can make or break the outcome altogether.
And I think about that in business.
How often do we attach to a single strategy — a specific launch plan, a product, a marketing approach — and when it doesn’t go exactly how we imagined, we don’t adjust — we freeze or spiral?
Strategy needs to be flexible.
Vision should stay clear.
That’s how you stay in the game long enough to win it.
Just because a strategy isn’t working doesn’t mean the goal is wrong.
It just means it’s time to adapt — not quit.
INNOVATION OR EXPERIMENTATION — YOU PICK
A few years ago, I went to a baking conference where someone gave a talk about innovation.
And honestly? That word kind of annoys me.
It’s buzzy, overused, and sometimes feels like people say it just to sound forward-thinking.
But what they were really talking about was something I do believe in: experimentation.
At that same conference, I heard Buddy Valastro — the Cake Boss — share his story.
And love him or not, he’s a great example of someone who’s constantly evolving through experimentation.
He could have kept his father’s bakery exactly the way it was — a traditional, neighborhood shop that had served the community since the 1960s.
But instead, he experimented. He shifted. He grew.
From a small bakery in Hoboken to a national brand with multiple product lines, TV shows, and partnerships — he’s tested ideas most people wouldn’t even think of.
The last time I was in Vegas, I saw one of his cake-slice vending machines.
Who saw that coming twenty years ago?
This is what playing the long game looks like:
Try something.
See if it works.
If it doesn’t, adjust.
That’s how you play the long game.
You’re not flailing around doing something new every week —
You’re testing. Evaluating. Learning.
That’s not weakness.
That’s strategy.
WHO’S HELPING YOU SEE THE LONG GAME?
One of the most important things I’ve learned?
You need voices in your life that stretch you.
Mentors. Coaches. People who challenge your blind spots.
I once asked my coach a couple of years ago, “Who coaches you?”
And she said, “Honestly, I’ve outgrown most of them.”
That stuck with me — because the moment we think we don’t need to be taught anymore? That’s when we stop growing.
Growth mindset means staying open.
Staying curious.
Letting people speak into your life, your business, your blind spots.
She told me she’d outgrown most of her mentors — and while that might sound a little intense, it was also revealing. Because when you stop being coachable, you stop growing. You get stuck.
Mindset for entrepreneurs matters more than most people think.
We don’t know what we don’t know.
And we often don’t even know what questions to ask.
Sidenote: We tell ourselves stories that limit our business.
One I see all the time with bakery owners? Money stories.
They underprice because of the beliefs they carry:
“People won’t pay that much.”
“My customers will complain.”
But here’s the truth: Your right-fit customer will pay the price — because that’s who you built the product for.
Long-game thinking requires guidance, curiosity, and humility.
SEASONS VS. DECADES
DECADE THINKING CHANGES TODAY’S DECISIONS
When you’re in a winter — in life or business — the temptation is to stop.
To question everything. To binge-watch a Netflix series.
To pull out what you planted and start over.
But the long game reminds us:
Winter has a purpose.
It makes space. It clarifies. It tests your roots.
And if you stay grounded through it — spring always comes.
So yes — honor the season you’re in.
Give yourself grace if you’re in a tough spot.
But don’t stop there.
Zoom out.
What decade are you in?
What are you building in your 40s?
What are you laying the foundation for that your 85-year-old self will thank you for?
That mindset shift changes how you show up today.
It gives meaning to the hard parts.
And it reminds you that this moment — even if it’s messy — is part of a much longer story.
Journal Prompt
So here’s your journal prompt or reflection for today:
What season am I in — and what decade am I building for?
Play the long game, friend.
You’ve got time. You’ve got vision. You’ve got what it takes.
If this spoke to you, share it with someone else who’s building a long game.
And if you’re feeling stuck in a hard season right now, remember — seasons change.
But the life you’re building over decades? That’s what really lasts.
Final Reflection:
What season are you in — winter, spring, summer, or fall?
And how are you showing up now for the decade you’re building?
We don’t control the season.
But we do get to decide how we move through it.
I’d love to hear from you — what season are you in, and what decade are you building for? Shoot me an email and tell me. I read every message.