The Three Gifts: Unlocking Breakthroughs for Business Owners

As a Positive Intelligence^TM (PQ) coach serving small business owners struggling with stress and overwhelm, I know that sustainable transformation often emerges not from new information alone, but from the ability to reframe challenges as powerful opportunities. That’s why the concept of the “Three Gifts”—Knowledge, Power, Inspiration—can be such a game-changer for both you and your staff. By practicing these gifts, you can harness every adversity in service of your professional and personal growth.

1. The Gift of Knowledge
The first gift asks: “What knowledge can I gain from this experience that will make the future payoff far exceed the present cost?” 

For business owners, this often means helping yourself and your staff recognize the hidden lessons in their pain points—whether facing staffing shortages or feeling invisible, etc. For example, Iguide my clients through mapping their saboteurs with the PQ Saboteur Assessment, revealing how automatic patterns (like the Pleaser or Avoider) fuel stress. Awareness is the foundation. You can echo this by asking, “What is being revealed to me right now about myself or the system I lead in?” For a different take on this gift read my earlier post titled: “Defeat Your Own Worst Enemy”.

2. The Gift of Power
With knowledge in hand, the next layer is Power: “How can this challenge serve as a weight in the gym for growing my internal muscles?” 

Here’s where my article on The Sage Perspective comes in. For your practice, this gift means leveraging PQ “Sage Powers”—Empathy, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate—to help clients move from reaction to conscious response.
For instance, if one of your senior leaders is overwhelmed by constant change, guide them to activate Sage Empathy for themselves and their teams. Then, Explore what’s actually in their control, Innovate new delegation strategies, Navigate by choosing next steps aligned with their values, and Activate with small, confident actions. Each challenge becomes intentional training for their mental fitness.

3. The Gift of Inspiration
Finally, the Gift of Inspiration is about shifting the narrative: “How might this adversity inspire creative breakthroughs, in or beyond my current context?” 

In my own practice, I’ve seen clients use a failed project not as proof of inadequacy, but as a nudge to realign with their true passion or try a bold new approach.

I encourage you to reflect: What strength or insight emerged despite (or because of) this setback? How might this experience inspire me to foster resilience in our organization, or deepen empathy for a stressed-out colleague? For a different take on this gift, check out: “Transform your Stress Into Success”.

Bringing It Together: Making the Gifts Actionable
By embracing the Gifts of Knowledge, Power, and Inspiration in your everyday challenges, you open the door to not just navigating adversity—but to transforming it. This mindset turns obstacles into the very foundation of your growth as a business owner, helping you create a more resilient, innovative, and fulfilling professional life. I invite you to start noticing which of the three gifts is calling you today, and experiment with weaving it into your next challenge. If you’d like to explore these concepts more deeply, be sure to revisit my previous articles—or reach out to continue the conversation.

As you step into your next challenge, which of the Three Gifts—Knowledge, Power, or Inspiration—feels most available to you right now, and how might you invite it to guide your way forward?