The Conscious Entrepreneur – Ep. 120

2026 Business Planning for Entrepreneurs: Future Self Identity, Limiting Beliefs, and the “How Can We” Framework with Debbie King

Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Sarah Lockwood
Guest: Debbie King, author of Loving Your Business

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into breaking out of traditional and limiting business planning cycles. Instead of basing next year’s goals on last year’s incremental improvements, guest Debbie King advocates for an identity-based, “future self” approach. The conversation explores how entrepreneurs can shift their mindset, uncover hidden beliefs, and use the "How Can We" framework to drive expansive growth—for both themselves and their businesses.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Traditional Planning vs. Future Self Planning

• Old Model: Most entrepreneurs look at the past year (e.g., revenue, profit) and set goals by stretching those figures (usually by 20-30%).
  (00:00–04:09)
• Drawback: This creates a linear, limited perspective. “Who you’re being now is what caused your past. You wouldn’t want to use the past to decide where you’re gonna be.” —Debbie King (01:54)
• New Approach: Visualize the desired future as already achieved, then pull that vision into your present. Don’t recast the past; become the person who naturally creates those bigger outcomes.

2. Identity & Self-Concept: The Real Driver of Results

• Core Idea: “Being is the cause and doing is the expression.” —Debbie King (05:55)
• Actions stem from beliefs. The outcomes entrepreneurs see are lagging indicators of prior identity and beliefs.
• Challenge: “How do you make yourself think a thought or believe something that isn't real yet?” —Sarah Lockwood (07:34)

3. Beliefs Are Not Facts

• Many beliefs are inherited or learned unconsciously (childhood, society) and often masquerade as “the way things are.”
  (08:22–12:40)
• “A belief is not a fact. It doesn’t even have to be true. A belief is always true to the person who has it.” —Debbie King (09:30)
• It’s possible to choose beliefs that enable rather than limit.

4. Becoming Your True Self — Not Someone Else

• Key Reframe: Desiring something means the seed for it is already within you.
• “It’s not about becoming someone different. It’s about allowing who you really are to come through.” —Debbie King (12:40)
• This is about self-actualization, not inauthenticity.

5. The “Future Self” Exercise

• Imagine the version of you who already has what you want:
  • What does that future self think, feel, and do? (15:20)
  • Visualize their daily mindset, feelings, and behaviors.
• Borrowing Beliefs: If you struggle to believe it for yourself, “borrow” beliefs from role models or people who’ve already achieved similar goals. (16:40)

6. Pre-Planning Inner Work

• Solo Reflection First: Before any team planning, spend time alone to:
  • Identify what you want.
  • Write down all worries, fears, and doubts in four categories:
    1. Yourself
    2. Your team
    3. Your market/customers
    4. Your product/offer
  • Challenge each belief or thought: Is it a fact or just a thought?
    (18:19–25:06)

7. Reframing Limiting Beliefs

• Challenge every item on your list: Is there evidence this isn’t true?
• “A fact is something that’s categorically true in all cases. Almost always the answer is yes, it could be otherwise; which means it’s not a fact, it’s a belief.” —Debbie King (25:06)

8. The “How Can We” Framework

• After clearing limiting beliefs, ask: “How can we?”
  (26:40–32:05)
  • This opens up creative thinking, harnesses the collective intelligence (including intuition), and breaks patterns of self-limitation.
• Brainstorm solutions, prioritize top actionable ideas (don’t overwhelm yourself), and back-engineer quarterly/monthly steps from your future vision.
• Notable personal story: Debbie shares how letting go of her belief that email marketing was “inauthentic” unlocked business growth. (26:40–30:31)

9. Integrating “Being” into Daily Life

• Awareness Practice: Notice negative emotions (fear, anxiety, overwhelm), pause, and ask: “What am I thinking?”
  (32:29–37:39)
• “You can’t feel bad if you’re thinking about what you want. Every negative emotion points back to a hidden belief or thought about what you don’t want.” —Debbie King (32:29)

10. Processing Negative Emotions

• Don’t suppress uncomfortable feelings. Allow them to surface and move through you. “If you allow…to feel it fully and allow it to go through you…it's not wrong…Any feeling you have is your nervous system trying to protect you.” (35:26)
• This reduces resistance, preventing hidden doubts from undermining future goals.

11. From Insight to Action: The Four-Part Decision Process

• Practice “decide, act, evaluate, iterate”—repeat. Take real steps based on your future vision, rather than endlessly planning or doubting.
  • “Second-guessing is deadly to entrepreneurs.” —Debbie King (41:56)
• Progress is like climbing a spiral staircase: action, learn, adjust, repeat.
  (45:36–46:11)

12. Embracing Discomfort & Failure

• “The precursor for this to be possible…is how safe you feel being wrong…There is no fail, there’s only information.” —Debbie King (48:00)
• The willingness to be uncomfortable enables real growth.

13. Application in Team Leadership & Planning Meetings

• Do your inner visioning before gathering your team.
• Bring the “How can we?” framework into collaborative planning.
• “Being the leader your company needs you to be means that you walk into the room with more clarity about where you’re willing to go and what you really want to have happen.” —Sarah Lockwood (48:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the flawed logic of incremental planning:
  “Who you're being now is what caused your past. So you wouldn't want to use the past to decide where you're going to be. You would want to use the future.”
  —Debbie King (01:54)

• On belief vs. fact:
  “A belief is not a fact. It doesn’t even have to be true. This is why we see so many different people that believe different things.”
  —Debbie King (09:30)

• On authentic ambition:
  “It’s not about becoming someone different. It’s about allowing who you really are to come through.”
  —Debbie King (12:40)

• On self-compassion and growing through discomfort:
  “Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is the best way to grow.”
  —Debbie King (48:42)

• On action vs. procrastination:
  “You won’t get any information just by sitting and thinking about why it is or isn’t going to work.”
  —Debbie King (46:11)

• On leadership clarity:
  “Being the leader your company needs you to be means that you walk into the room with more clarity about where you’re willing to go and what you really want to have happen.”
  —Sarah Lockwood (48:42)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–04:09 – Intro & overview of old vs. new planning models
• 05:55–08:22 – Identity and the cause of results
• 08:22–11:29 – On beliefs and reality
• 14:10–18:19 – The “future self,” self-actualization, and why desires matter
• 18:19–26:40 – Debbie’s four-step solo reflection process
• 26:40–32:05 – The “How Can We” framework for brainstorming expansive action
• 32:29–37:39 – Integrating being, noticing emotions, and shifting underlying thoughts
• 41:35–45:36 – Writing future self beliefs, action cycles, and eliminating doubt
• 46:11–48:42 – Action bias vs. over-planning, embracing learning from “failure”
• 48:42–51:35 – Preparing as a leader and coaching your team with the “How Can We” frame

Actionable Takeaways

• Do a solo session before strategic planning: Visualize your future outcome as already real. Write down all doubts in Debbie’s four categories.
• Challenge limiting beliefs: Ask “Is this truly a fact?” and seek evidence of alternatives.
• Brainstorm with “How can we?”—open-ended, expansive, and inclusive.
• Cultivate “future self” behaviors: Think, feel, and act like the version of yourself who already has your desired result.
• Process tough emotions: Allow negative feelings to move through you and unpack the thoughts behind them.
• Lead with clarity and intention: Enter planning with your personal vision strong, then invite your team to co-create using the “How can we?” frame.

For more from Debbie King, connect with her on LinkedIn or at lovingyourbusiness.com.