In this episode, Jessica Marx welcomes Julia Arndt Shelton—TEDx speaker, author, and founder of The Peak Performance Method™—to explore one of the most important challenges facing high-achieving founders today: how to scale a company without sacrificing well-being, clarity, or quality of life.

Drawing from her decade at Google and her personal experience with burnout, Julia shares the physiological, emotional, and behavioral signals leaders commonly overlook, and why traditional “hustle culture” often masquerades as high performance. Together, Jessica and Julia explore how identity, conditioning, and subconscious habits impact performance, leadership, and long-term sustainability.

Inside this conversation, you’ll discover:

1. The early physiological and psychological signs of burnout
2. Why many founders unknowingly recreate corporate stress patterns in entrepreneurship
3. The distinction between hustle-driven performance and sustainable high performance
4. How identity, conditioning, and achievement narratives shape leadership behaviors
5. The role of the nervous system in decision making, risk tolerance, and business growth
6. Why delegating, setting boundaries, and restructuring a CEO role accelerates scale
7. Practical frameworks for prioritization, time management, and energy regulation
8. How to pause, recalibrate, and reset performance patterns in real time
9. The importance of surrounding yourself with relationships that reflect both ambition and support

Julia also provides actionable steps founders can implement immediately—from simple nervous system resets to strategic planning exercises—to help leaders protect their energy, elevate their thinking, and operate from clarity rather than urgency.

If you are committed to sustainable success, this episode offers a research-backed perspective on what it takes to scale a company without compromising yourself in the process.

Mini-timeline

1. 00:00–02:30 — Why burnout is prevalent among high-performing founders
2. 02:31–06:00 — Julia’s story: corporate success, entrepreneurship, and burnout
3. 06:01–09:45 — External success vs. internal wellbeing
4. 09:46–13:25 — Burnout vs. high performance: defining the difference
5. 13:26–16:45 — Why founders recreate unsustainable work patterns
6. 16:46–20:00 — Identity, achievement, and self-worth
7. 20:01–23:45 — Awareness and the STOP framework
8. 23:46–26:55 — Delegation, control, and leadership development

In this episode of Millions Were Made, Jessica Marx and Brooke Dumas guide established founders through a strategic reset for 2026—one rooted in clarity, intentional planning, and sustainable leadership.

As many business owners reflect on 2025, a common theme emerges: revenue alone did not deliver the sense of success or fulfillment they expected. Whether the year underperformed financially or simply felt heavier than anticipated, this episode addresses the deeper operational, emotional, and leadership challenges founders are navigating as they enter a new year.

Jessica and Brooke share how the most established founders they advise are approaching the beginning of 2026—not by scrambling through Q1, but by proactively planning for the second half of the year, simplifying business models, securing revenue early, and creating space for strategic leadership.

This conversation offers a grounded, data-driven perspective on how founders can move out of reactive decision-making and into long-term alignment—both professionally and personally.

They discuss:

1. Why revenue is an incomplete measure of business success
2. The emotional and leadership toll many founders experienced in 2025
3. How top founders front-load strategy to avoid reactive Q1 decision-making
4. When and why founders should pause execution to reassess the business model
5. The risks of overcomplication and fragmented offers
6. Why simplification is becoming a competitive advantage
7. Shifts in buyer behavior and what this means for sales cycles in 2026
8. The growing importance of trust, referrals, and relationship-based selling
9. How founders can rebuild confidence in their decision-making
10. Aligning business strategy with the life and leadership role you want long term

For founders who want to enter 2026 with clarity, control, and a strategic plan that supports both growth and personal sustainability, this episode provides a thoughtful roadmap forward.

Mini-timeline

1. 00:00–01:03 — Introduction and setting the tone for 2026
2. 01:04–02:40 — Reflecting on 2025: why many founders feel misaligned
3. 02:41–04:14 — Redefining success beyond revenue metrics
4. 04:15–05:45 — Why a new year does not automatically create change
5. 05:46–07:20 — How established founders are planning ahead for Q3
6. 07:21–08:52 — Where to start when Q1 still feels unclear
7. 08:53–10:54 — Using data—not emotion—to create clarity

In this special episode, Jessica Marx brings together standout insights from five industry leaders — Jasmine Star, Amy Porterfield, Shannon Matson, Keri Ford and Autumn Witt Boyd — to deliver a comprehensive, high-level conversation on what today’s multi-million-dollar founders must master to stay relevant, profitable, and positioned for long-term success in 2025 and beyond.

Across content strategy, marketing performance, leadership psychology, IP protection, and team development, this episode cuts through noise and gets straight to the strategic truths high-growth businesses need to hear.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to use trends strategically without diluting your brand — and what “contextualizing content” actually means for business growth (with Jasmine Star).
• Why a funnel that isn’t converting is rarely a traffic problem — and how to rebuild trust and customer readiness at every stage (with Shannon Matson).
• How your stress patterns influence your leadership capacity — and the somatic strategies elite founders use to scale sustainably (with Keri Ford).
• The IP gaps most founders overlook — and how to safeguard your brand, content, and proprietary processes before scaling or exiting (with Autumn Witt Boyd).
• What it truly takes to step into the CEO role — and why building a leadership team is the turning point for companies moving from seven to eight figures (with Amy Porterfield).

If you’re committed to optimizing your systems, elevating your leadership, strengthening your legal foundation, and creating content that actually converts — this episode is a strategic roadmap for your next evolution.

Mini-timeline

• 01:11— Jasmine Star: How to use trends strategically without copying and how to create contextualized, original content.
• 07:06— Shannon Matson: Why funnels fail, the three types of trust required for conversions, and how to rebuild the customer journey.
• 14:13 — Keri Ford: Leadership archetypes, stress responses, and how somatic strategies help founders scale without burnout.
• 18:02 — Autumn Witt Boyd: The biggest legal mistakes founders make and how to protect trademarks, copyrights, and proprietary processes.
• 24:11 / 24:41— Amy Porterfield: Moving from operator to CEO, building a leadership team, and forecasting for long-term growth.
• 29:45— Jessica’s closing insight for founders ready to elevate into their next level.

Resources

• Download the 2026 Business Planner at millionsweremade.com
• Follow @MillionsWereMade on Instagram for frameworks + strategy tips
• Episode #36 - Amy Porterfield
• Episode #62 - Jasmine Star
• Episode #54 - Autumn Witt Boyd
• Episode #56 - Keri...