For years the online business world has been telling you the same four steps.

Meet people where they are.

Educate the unaware.

Nurture the ones who are almost ready.

Close the ones who are ready to buy.

Sounds smart, right? And yes, it works - no doubt about it. It is one Strategy. But it is also completly outdated.

Your clients already know.

There was a time when your job as a coach or expert was to explain things. To close the knowledge gap and to educated before you could make the sales. So your job was to closed the gap between “being unware” to “solution aware”.

Trying to explain your customers that they have a problem and that only you have the solution.

And yes, this GAP exists - but potential customers don’t need you to fill the GAP anymore

See, when someone lands on your Substack or your page, they’ve already asked ChatGPT. They have already watched the of of videos on Youtube.

They have already read articles and blogs from others in your nieche and listend to numerous podcasts.

Compared the methods. They know what the problem is. They know what solutions exist. They know what other people are charging for it.

They are well informed and overwhelmed.

What they are looking for is to find someone they actually trust. Someone who gives them the feeling of “Helly, yes that person understands.”

And most coaches are still busy explaining things these people figured out six months ago.

The funnel was never built for you anyway.

See, the awareness funnel came from mass market advertising at times where big companies were trying to sell their products and services to cold audiences. It was the time before social media really took of. It was the time before the trust resession in the coaching industry and it was well before the rise of AI.

At that time you need to inform, educate and nurture your clients. But you are not here to educate people that they have a problem - you are help to help people who want a solution - your solution.

What you have to concentrate on right now is not to turn a stranger into a customer. You need to concentrate to built up authority and trust around your point of view.

Targeting those who are ready to buy.

And trust doesn’t grow through funnels. It grows through belief.

They don’t need more information. They need conviction.

Here’s what most coaches miss.

Your potential clients don’t have an information problem. They have a belief problem. They need to believe that a different way is possible. That your approach actually works and that you see something others don’t.

People don’t buy information anymore. They buy conviction. And conviction doesn’t come from tutorials. It comes from watching how someone thinks.

When someone really trusts you — they buy fast.

You have experienced it yourself. By chance you found someone, you don’t know exactly what it was, but started to dive deeper into his or her world. You found a podcast, a blog or vidoes on youtube and started to binge every peace you could get hold of.

And it made click - “Hell yes, that makes sense!”

And you trust that person enought to book - maybe first someting small but you became a client. This was not following the funnel structure.

This is beyond the awareness structure and old logic. This is trust creation in action.

You cannot force it by click-bait or hooks, but you can create the conditions for it. Consistently. Over time.

That’s why Substack changes things.

And here comes Substack into the game - See Substack isn’t just another platform. It’s a different relationship entirely.

No algorithm deciding who sees your stuff. No three-second scroll you try to win. It is just your thinking, condensed at one place - ready to be consumed.

And when someone reads you consistently, hears your podcast and sees you live or in videos - they start to see the world through your eyes. And when they do, that is when belief is formed.

That’s when realy authentic authority is experienced.

Stop spending your energy on the wrong people.

What does this now mean for you?

The classic social media gurus tells you how to win over the algorith and grab attention to get leads. Only to fore them through a funnel.

You then need to create nuture content - baby sit them etc. But to be honest you are focusing on people who are not ready to buy

And that’s where most coaches put 80% of their energy on social media.

Meanwhile the people who are already searching for a better way — the ones who are ready — can’t find a voice they trust.

Because even if you could help them, they only see that you are talking to someone else

You know what? That’s not a strategy. That’s waste of your energy.

So what actually works?

Stop trying to move everyone through stages. Stop explaining what AI explains better than you ever will.

Instead, show how you think. Share your perspective. Articulate the things you believe that most people in your field won’t say out loud.

Write about why you do things the way you do them, not just what you do.

Tell your own story and with depth, not volume. With conviction, not information targeting the algorithm. Position yourself with clear point of view, not a curriculum.

Becuase when people trust how you think, selling becomes simple. Sometimes instant. No funnel required.

The awareness funnel era is fading.

What’s replacing it is simpler and harder at the same time (for those thinking in algorithms)

Be someone worth believing and show up with a real point of view.

Let people observe how you think over time and build a stack of assets, people can dive into

That’s what Substack is built for. And that’s the game worth playing.

— Markus

I was about to write an article about this. I was writing it, editing it, walking outside for some fresh air — and every word I put down wasn’t feeling right.

So I went live instead.

Because this is something that took me a long time to understand. And it deserves to be said out loud, not polished into something that sounds good but feels empty.

The Scale Nobody Talks About

Most people think that when they start a business, they just have to believe in themselves. Do the morning routine, make the vision board, do the affirmations — and everything will work out.

And yeah, this kind of helps.

But hoping, believing, knowing, and expecting are four different things on a scale. You can’t just switch on belief. It doesn’t work that way.

Hope

When we start something new — a business, a new offer, a Substack — we start with hope. Always.

Hope means you have a great idea and you hope that eventually it will turn out. You start from a place with no evidence that it’s producing the results you’re dreaming about.

And because of that, hope means you’re doing two jobs at the same time.

Job one: showing up, creating, building, doing the reps.

Job two: trying to calm down your nervous system — which, without any evidence, is constantly searching for proof that this is risky, that it won’t work, that you should stop.

When you’re in hope, the question running underneath everything is: “What if it doesn’t work out?” - and this is eating up your energy.

That’s normal when we start. But hope alone only takes you so far.

Belief

Belief, from the outside, looks very similar to hope. You’re still doing the work. Still showing up. Still no evidence in the outside world.

But there’s a subtle difference — and this is what most people get wrong.

Believing doesn’t mean you believe your work will produce results. Believing means you believe in yourself — that what you’re doing is aligned with your calling, your conviction, your message.

That inner shift changes the question completely.

In hope you ask: “What if it fails?” In belief you ask: “What if it works out?”

This comes from knowing that regardless of the outcome, you keep showing up. Not because you have proof. Because it’s grounded in your story, in what you believe, in your message.

This is where you first step into real authority — into conviction.

But here’s the risky part. Because the outer evidence still isn’t there, many people circle between hoping and believing, hoping and believing. A launch doesn’t land. A post gets silence. And in hope, the inner critic switches on immediately — see, I told you this wouldn’t work.

In belief, it’s different. You might be frustrated. But you look at what didn’t work from a different place. Not as a verdict. As a lesson.

Hey — it didn’t work the way I planned. But what is it telling me? What can I take from this?

Because you still believe what you’re doing is right. You still believe it’s aligned with who you are. So you have the inner power to stay curious instead of collapsing.

Knowing

Knowing is the first time inner confidence matches outer evidence.

Knowing is where belief meets certainty. Or the first level of alignement between the inner confidence and outer evidence.

In hope, you search for evidence it won’t work. In knowing, you actively search for evidence that it is working.

A comment that says — what you just shared was exactly what I was feeling. A small result you didn’t have before. You start finding pieces of proof in the outside world that what you’re building on the inside is resonating.

The internal question changes. It’s no longer what if it fails or even what if it works out. It becomes:

When know the question turns into a statement of “I know it can work.” - still with uncertainty.

Not wishful. A statement. It comes from a different internal state — a calmness, a groundedness that wasn’t there before.

It doesn’t mean you’re getting the big results yet. But you’re looking in a different direction. And what you look for, you find more of.

Expecting

Expecting is like ordering from Amazon. You click buy and you know it’s coming. You don’t check every two hours. It’s on its way. That’s just the situation.

When you expect the outcome, the question is no longer “What if it fails?” or “What if it works?”, or even “I know it can work”. It’s simply: “Of course it works.” - and this not a questions anymore. It is a statement full of authority.

This is a completely different state — because it’s not only internal security and some outer evidence. It’s something deeper. Regardless of what’s happening outside, whether everything is going to plan or not, there’s an inner knowing:

Whatever the universe throws at me — I can figure it out. There’s nothing there to break me. Everything happening is for me. Every challenge is a lesson I need to grow.

The universe is not throwing things at you to break you. It’s throwing things at you to grow you.

This is the highest level of business authority. Standing in your business, convicted, showing it to the outside world — with the inner calm of: I know I’m talking to the right people. I don’t need to prove myself. The results will follow.

How You Move Through It

You cannot skip any step. Everyone starts with hope. The question is how quickly you move through it.

It starts with the inner work — always.

You need to ask yourself: what do I really want? What am I genuinely convicted about? What is my message, my story, my values? What would I do regardless of the outcome?

Unless you can answer that question, you will always fall back to hoping.

In hope, you keep switching strategies — because switching strategies is what feels safe when the evidence isn’t there yet.

Once you have inner grounding, you can start actively looking for evidence in the outside world. And building the capacity to handle the moments when something doesn’t work. Because those moments will come.

Every time you stay curious instead of collapsing — you build something. A deeper inner steadiness. That steadiness is what carries you from knowing into expecting.

I’m not always at expecting. When I start something new, I go through the whole cycle — hope, belief, knowing, expecting. Every time.

But I always start with the inner work first.

That’s just the way.

In Love,

Markus

I just came back from an interval training session for my half-marathon prep on the 29th in Venlo NL.

Today was a tough one traing: Interall meaning: 6 x 800 m in a fast sprint pace.

And now I am relaxing with my laptop on my knees.

But back to the topic: Why only focusing on your vision is keeping you stuck.

See, as a runner and an entrepreneur, I know first hand how dangerous it is to stare at your big vision while you’re actually in the work or training for it.

I know what you might be thinking and what you migh have learned before (I mean this 10x Goals... etc.)

“But I learned to step into my future.

To feel my vision.
To act from there, not from my current reality.”

Honestly? That can be complete bullshit if you don’t understand what it does to your nervous system.

From a nervous system point of view, this “always in the vision” thing can be like slamming the red button over and over again.

You write down your vision:
“I want to make 1M USD a year.”
“I want to run my half-marathon in 1:40:00.” Well, right now my target is 1:55:00 - so 1:40:00 would be a dream :-))

In that moment, it feels amazing.

The big goal. The identity upgrade. The future you.
You get a sweet dopamine hit and it feels so good.

But here’s the problem:

The second you go back to doing the work—writing content, serving clients, sending emails, or doing those 800 m intervals—you are very obviously not at that vision yet.

Of course you’re not. It’s a vision. A dream. That’s the whole point.

And that is exactly what triggers your system.

Because when you force yourself to “feel into the vision” all the time, while a part of you knows very clearly you’re not there yet, your subconscious is constantly sending you a little message:

“Sure, dream as often as you want.
But honestly? We’re not there. Not even close.”

That creates a sense of unsafety.

No matter how many visualisations you do, how many affirmations you repeat, your body feels the gap.
What you’re actually doing, subconsciously, is checking over and over again:

“Am I there yet?
What about now?
Now?
Now?”

You’re not focusing on the path.
You’re obsessing over the gap.

And that gap focus is what ramps up your nervous system.

In running, if I were to think about my finish time the whole interval session, I’d probably tense up, over-push, and blow up halfway through.

What actually gets me through the workout is staying with my breath, my stride, this interval, this recovery. The presence.

It’s the same in business.

What actually counts is the present.
The now.

How your body feels when you sit down to write that email.
How your system responds when you hop on a sales call.
How your nervous system feels when you open your Stripe account, your calendar, your to-do list.

If your vision lives miles ahead of you, and your body feels unsafe every time you compare “there” with “here,” you don’t have a motivation problem.
You have a mismatch between how you’re using your vision and what your nervous system can actually hold.

The vision isn’t the enemy.
The constant comparison is.

So instead of forcing yourself to live in a future that keeps your nervous system in a panic loop, try this question:

“How can I make this next step feel grounded, doable, and safe in my body?”

That’s where real momentum starts: not in the fantasy, but in the way you inhabit the very next breath, rep, email, interval, or conversation.

So, this is what I then call progress.

In Love,

Markus

PS. And this is how I reduced my estimated half-marathon time from 2:12:00 downto 1:58:00 in the last three weeks.

PPS. And of course my vision is to make 1M USD / year and to run the half-marathon in under 1:40:00 - and I am enjoying every step on the path

Yesterday, I got a WhatsApp message from a great 1:1 client of mine.

He’s a consultant, trainer and expert in his field, actually pretty close to my own age.

When he reached out to me four weeks ago, he felt completely stuck.

He was doing “all the right things,” but it felt like walking through deep mud. Every single step was heavy.

Since we started working together weekly, he’s been reporting one win after another.

Honestly? Yess, it’s almost frightening! 😅

In Week 2, he brought in nearly €30k and last week he found New business partners and new opportunities just showed up ...

“Somehow, my energy is attracting all of this. I don’t even know...” (His words, not mine!) ✨

And yesterday?

He messaged me saying he’s now working on something in the magnitude of over €100k for the coming months (fingers crossed! 🤞).

Just four weeks ago, this was something he was only dreaming about.

So, what was my actual impact on his success?

Did I teach him a fancy new strategy? No.

Did I give him secret tactics? No.

Did I hand him new business leads? No.

He did the work. Period.

But when we started, he was trapped in that “I should be further along” energy.

He was trying to force his way to success.

But force creates friction—and friction is what keeps you stuck in the mud.

So, we changed the focus.

We went back to his core:

Who he really is. We started working from that place of truth.

Now, instead of feeling “behind,” his vibe is: “This is just the trailer—I can’t wait to see what’s next!”

That shift in energy is what’s allowing him to lead his business and grab opportunities the second they show up.

He’s finally come “home” to himself.

This is exactly what “Homecoming – Remember Who You Are” is all about.

It’s my upcoming free experience—and it’s far from a typical, surface level business program.

CLICK HERE TO JON

We’re starting in the next

couple of weeks.

In love, Markus

P.S. I’m already looking forward to next Friday when we sit down together again! 🙌

Okay, I know the headline was a bit clickbaity (is this an english word?!), but you’re still reading, right? 😉
Good.

Truth is, he approached me two weeks ago. He was barely making money in his business.
Also true: he created almost 25K this week.
Also true: we started working together last Friday.

But here’s the catch 👀

If you expect me to now talk about the magic strategy or secret trick I showed him that made him create 25K in one week, then stop reading now.
Seriously.

We’d both just waste our time.
You’d waste your time because I don’t reveal magic tricks 🪄❌
I’d waste my time explaining why magic strategies don’t exist.

Okay. Good. You’re still here 🙂
Now we can talk about what really happened.

First, a little background about him.

He’s almost my age, a coach, trainer, and mentor (more in the classic sense), and he already had a corporate career (hmm). He’s married, has a newborn 👶, and started his coaching business a year ago.

He’s barely making it from month to month and it had already started to affect his marriage. His wife is fully supporting him ❤️, but he feels guilty and ashamed that he can’t provide for his family the way he wants to.

So yeah… a lot of pressure. A lot of tension.

Last Friday, we had a really intense call, almost two hours.
And yes, he left the call completely exhausted, with a ton of homework to do 😅💥

And yesterday - one week later.

He was a completely different person.

No sign of a broken man. He was smiling 😌, sitting straight, looking into the camera.

He said that last week’s call had completely changed his mind (not my words, his), and that he now sees his life in a completely different way.
That was a goosebump moment ... ✨

And almost as a side note, he said:
“Oh, and I made almost 25K!! 😄”

Not in one go. He received the bank credit he had applied for (20K), and the rest came from small training engagements.

So I asked him for his explanation 🤔

And he said that now he understands that being an entrepreneur is like driving a car 🚗

You can focus on not crashing… or you can enjoy the ride.
It is your decision.

Before, when he signed a small project for 500 EUR, he thought:

This is not enough.
Now, he’s genuinely happy about every 500 EUR 💸🙂, because he knows it’s just the beginning.

And it was as if a completely new world opened up 🌍
With a different energy, new opportunities showed up (almost like magic ✨) that he simply didn’t see before and he made additional 5K just in one week.

Or in my terms:
He didn’t make the 25K because of a new strategy.
He didn’t make it because he worked harder.

He made the 25K simply because he started enjoying the ride (and released the pressure)

Welcome to my world ✨🔥

Markus

You start to write a caption—delete it—start over, and even if you have created one, you don’t post it.

See, it is not about being relevant to your clients—it is about being present for them.

All the time when you think about what you have to say, what to post, how to formulate what is in your head—you are separating yourself from your customers.

You are building a wall between what you really want to express and what your customers are able to feel.

See, your customers are already in the know—it is not about getting more knowledge, more tricks and tips.

Your customers want to feel seen by you.

They want to see themselves in what you write. So you are their mirror—a special mirror.

They want to look at you and see themselves. They want to get your energy, your insights, your calmness—all at once.

A mirror which shows them who they are truly—deep inside.

They want to see themselves in such a way as they secretly know they are.

They want to remember who they are. So, now write that post, create that reel you always wanted to create.

Just saying,

Markus