After recently celebrating ten years of BTF, Brian is going deeper in the lessons he’s learned along the way. In this episode, you’ll learn of two versions of Brian: 2016 Brian, the guy who just walked away from a comfortable legal career with a vision and a lot of assumptions, and 2026 Brian, someone who has spent a decade building a business, serving clients, making mistakes, and learning along the way. The result is ten belief shifts that capture what entrepreneurship actually teaches you over time.
Belief Shift One: Where Confidence Comes From
2016 Brian believed that confidence came before action. He kept waiting to feel ready: ready to leave his legal career, ready to call himself a business owner, ready to charge what he was worth, ready to speak, write, launch a podcast, and be taken seriously.
2026 Brian knows that confidence comes from action. Sometimes you have to feel scared and do it anyway. Getting that first client, doing that first presentation, having uncomfortable conversations, making that first mistake. Confidence is not a prerequisite. It is a byproduct.
Belief Shift Two: Expertise vs Curiosity
2016 Brian believed that clients hired him because he had all the right answers. He spent years becoming technically competent in tax law, financial planning, investments, and business strategy, and he thought that expertise alone created value.
2026 Brian knows that clients stay because he asks better questions and listens with care. Technical expertise still matters enormously, but transformation usually comes from curiosity, from asking the right questions, and from being comfortable not having every answer.
Belief Shift Three: Money Doesn’t Always Bring Peace of Mind
2016 Brian believed that more money meant less stress. Earn more, save more, invest more, feel better. It seemed logical.
2026 Brian knows that planning, not money, is what creates peace of mind. He has met wealthy people who are deeply anxious and people with far fewer resources who sleep well because they know exactly where they are headed. Money creates options and opportunity. Planning creates confidence.
Belief Shift Four: How to Redefine Success
2016 Brian believed success looked like growth. More clients, more revenue, more recognition, more of everything.
2026 Brian knows that success looks like alignment. Working with people he genuinely enjoys, doing work that energizes him, and building a business that reflects his values and his life. Growth is wonderful, but alignment is something deeper and more sustaining.
Belief Shift Five: Niching is More Than Just Marketing
2016 Brian believed that niching was a marketing decision. Who should he serve? How could he stand out? What was the best business strategy?
2026 Brian knows that niche is about belonging. Every refinement he has made has brought him closer to the people he was meant to serve, not because he excluded others, but because he finally found where he could create the greatest impact.
Belief Shift Six: Productivity is About Quality not Quantity
2016 Brian believed productivity meant getting more done. Longer lists, longer hours, more output.
2026 Brian knows that productivity means doing more things that matter. The questions he asks today are different: Am I spending time on work only I can do? Am I moving the mission forward? Am I making someone’s life better? Being busy is not the goal. Being intentional is.
Belief Shift Seven: Standing Out Will Take You Farther Than Fitting In
2016 Brian believed that being different was a disadvantage. He wondered whether he should look more like other advisors, build the kind of firm people expected, or market the way everyone else did.
2026 Brian knows that his differences are his greatest strength. His perspective, his identity, his curiosity, his approach, being fully himself. Those are not things to hide. They are exactly what his clients are looking for. And Brian suspects the same is true for anyone listening.
Belief Shift Eight: The Smartest Entrepreneurs Ask For Help
2016 Brian believed he needed to figure everything out himself. He wanted to prove he could do it, handle every challenge, wear every hat.
2026 Brian knows that the smartest entrepreneurs build great teams around them. Coaches, mentors, employees, referral partners, friends, and colleagues all play a role. No one builds ten years alone, and thankfully, Brian did not have to either.
Belief Shift Nine: Business Goals Evolve Over Time
2016 Brian believed he was building a successful business. A thriving firm, happy clients, financial security. That was the goal.
2026 Brian knows he was really building a meaningful life. The business became a vehicle for that, not a destination. It gave him purpose, freedom, remarkable relationships, and meaningful work. The definition of success turned out to be much richer than he originally imagined.
Belief Shift Ten: There is No Finish Line in Business
2016 Brian believed that one day he would finally make it. Enough clients, enough knowledge, enough experience, and then he would feel successful.
2026 Brian knows there is no finish line. As his business coach often says, there is no there. There is only the next opportunity to grow, the next lesson, the next experiment, the next person to serve. Curiosity, Brian reflects, has made this journey far more rewarding than certainty ever could.
A Note to 2016 Brian
If Brian could sit down with the version of himself who walked out of his law office for the last time, he would not hand him a business plan, recommend software, or tell him which mistakes to avoid. He would simply tell him to keep going. Build, measure, learn. Trust yourself and trust the process. The business you are dreaming about will not turn out exactly how you imagined. It will become something better.
A Note to Everyone Listening
Brian closes with a hope that extends beyond his own journey. He hopes that for every entrepreneur listening, their business does not simply become more profitable. He hopes it makes them more courageous, more curious, more generous, and more aligned with the person they are becoming.
Resources + Links
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About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast
Brian Thompson, JD/CFP®, is a tax attorney and Certified Financial Planner® who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.
On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.
