Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

Drowning in obligations, tasks and responsibilities that multiply faster than you can clear them? We've been taught to solve problems by adding more - more effort, more resources, more systems. But what if the answer is actually subtraction?

I recently sat down with Donna McGeorge, keynote speaker and bestselling author obsessed with helping people reclaim time and space for what really matters. She's written 15 books (five of them bestsellers), her ideas have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Forbes and Fast Company, and she's known for cutting through corporate waffle with sharp truths and practical frameworks. We discussed her latest book Red Brick Thinking and what she shared completely shifted how I think about problem-solving.

Donna shares her famous Lego bridge exercise that reveals why we're approaching problems all wrong, and introduces the concept of "addition bias", the tendency that's keeping us overwhelmed despite our best efforts. She explains why creating space doesn't mean doing more, and what we need to let go of instead.

We explore the three types of red bricks weighing us down in business and life, and how identifying them creates room for what actually matters. Donna walks through the shift from asking "What can we add?" to a question that changes everything about how you prioritise and make decisions.

If you're consumed by busyness, this conversation is your permission slip to stop adding and start subtracting. The space you create might just reveal the opportunities you've been missing.

LINKS:

Connect with Donna:

Website: https://donnamcgeorge.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnamcgeorge/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmcgeorge/

Connect with Janine:

Elevate with Janine

The Focus Finder Assessment

Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube

Mentioned in this episode:

Apply to our Elevate Mastermind

Elevate Mastermind

Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

Picture this: 8:00 AM on a Saturday, I'm standing in eye-popping hot pink gear about to tackle the HYROX fitness challenge for the second time with my daughter Taya. But this isn't a fitness story. It's about what happened when we finished five minutes faster than our first attempt, and what that taught me about business. The lesson hit me somewhere between the rowing station and the sled push: we didn't get faster by completely changing our approach. We got faster by refining what already worked.

Today we’re exploring why brilliant business owners keep questioning their direction despite smashing results, and why we're obsessed with reinventing the wheel instead of doubling down on what's working. I see this constantly with the women I coach: clients are thrilled, revenue is growing, yet they're still questioning whether they should pivot. Not because something's broken, but because consistency feels too simple.

Your business breakthrough isn't hiding in some brand-new strategy you haven't discovered yet. The question is: are you ready to commit to what's already working, or are you going to keep chasing the next shiny object? Your five-minute shift is waiting.

LINKS:

Connect with Janine:

Elevate with Janine

The Focus Finder Assessment

Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube

Mentioned in this episode:

Apply to our Elevate Mastermind

Elevate Mastermind

Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

The market feels brutal right now. Interest rates climbing, competition everywhere and every headline screaming "brace for impact!" It's tempting to let that noise dictate your next move, to panic, slash prices or hustle yourself into the ground. But here's what successful businesses do differently: they use uncertainty as their competitive advantage. Whilst everyone else is retreating, you're going to double down strategically.

Today, I'm breaking down the four game-changing moves that my clients and I have been making to not just stay afloat, but sail ahead whilst everyone else is anchored in fear. We explore how to laser-focus on your A-grade clients, stacking your value, building recurring revenue and repackaging your existing offerings when clients can't commit to big investments.

This isn't the moment to shrink. Your clients need a lighthouse right now, something steady and reliable in the chaos. Remember, the market doesn't get to decide your success. You do.

LINKS:

Previous episode mentioned: Pricing with Power: How to Charge What You're Actually Worth

Connect with Janine:

Elevate with Janine

The Focus Finder Assessment

Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube

Mentioned in this episode:

Apply to our Elevate Mastermind

Elevate Mastermind