By Penny Power – Business Author & Human-Centred Speaker
This week, I want to share a moment that changed the entire trajectory of my life and business. Sharing this might help you to Ponder also.
It was 2010. I was supporting a large group of business experts, brilliant people with deep expertise in their fields. And I remember saying to my daughter, Hannah:
“They’re all such amazing experts. I don’t have an expertise.”
She stopped. Looked at me. And said:
“Mum, your expertise is Community.”
I stared at her.
It seems so obvious now. But in that moment? It was a revelation.
The Blindness to Our Own Gifts
Sometimes we use our gifts so naturally, so instinctively, that we don’t even see them as skills.
To me, running a community was just… what I did. It felt effortless. Intuitive. Like breathing.
I’d been doing it my whole life.
My first community was my own family. Three children, a husband, a household where everyone felt seen, heard, valued. I adopted the skills I learned in business around servant leadership and applied them at home just as much as I did with clients.
I built Ecademy, the world’s first social network for business, serving 650,000 members globally.
And now, Thomas and I run BIP100, a curated community of 100 business experts.
But I didn’t see it. I couldn’t name it. I thought it was just “being me.”
Until Hannah named it for me.
The Two Most Important Days
There’s a quote I’ve always loved:
“There are two most important days in your life: the day you are born, and the day you discover why you were born.”
That conversation with Hannah? That was my second day.
Because discovering your expertise isn’t just about knowing what you’re good at.
It unlocks everything.
What Knowing Your Expertise Gives You
When you finally see your unique contribution, something profound shifts:
- Creativity flows.
You stop trying to be everything to everyone. You focus. You innovate within your lane. - You find flow.
Hannah would say this beautifully: when you’re aligned with your work, when your expertise meets your clients’ needs, you enter flow. Time disappears. Energy rises. Work becomes joy. - Clarity replaces confusion.
Your clients understand you. Your message becomes simple. Your value becomes obvious. - Joy returns.
Because you’re no longer performing. You’re contributing from your deepest gift. - You know HOW to contribute.
And this is the most important part…
To Be Significant, You Must Contribute
Here’s what I’ve learned about significance, that deep human need to matter, to be seen, to know our place on earth has meaning:
You cannot be significant without contributing.
Whether you’re seeking to be significant to:
- One person
- A small group
- Your clients
- Your social media followers
Those who give you their attention are doing so because they gain something through your contribution.
This is the beautiful exchange of human connection.
But here’s the tension…
The Danger of Spreading Yourself Too Thin
Real contribution takes energy, love, and time.
And there’s only so much of you to go around.
It’s impossible to be deeply significant to a large number of friends.
It’s very hard to be amazing enough to sustain large groups of followers on Instagram.
At some point, you have to choose:
Breadth or depth?
Quantity or quality?
I faced this choice in 2018.
We’d spent years serving 650,000 members in Ecademy. It was extraordinary. But it was also exhausting. And if I’m honest? It was becoming impersonal.
When you scale too far, you automate. You disconnect emotionally. You lose the very thing that makes contribution meaningful: the human connection.
So I asked myself a life-changing question:
“What life and business do I want to lead?”
And then I designed it.
The Shift from 650,000 to 100
Today, Thomas and I support 100 business experts in BIP100.
Not 100,000.
Not 10,000.
100.
And I have never been more fulfilled.
Because I know every single member. I know their stories, their struggles, their dreams. I can give them my time, my attention, my expertise.
I can contribute deeply.
I have time to rebuild my speaking career
And in return? I feel deeply significant.
Not because of the numbers. Because of the depth.
Quality over quantity isn’t just a nice phrase. It’s a life philosophy.
And it’s the foundation of sustainable joy in both life and business.
The Questions You Need to Ask Yourself
This week, I invite you to get honest with yourself:
What do I contribute through social media that has a real impact on others’ lives?
How do I contribute to my children? My siblings? My parents? My loved ones?
How do I contribute to my clients?
How do I contribute to my friends?
And then, the most important question of all:
Do I want to?
Because if you’re spreading yourself too thin, trying to be significant to everyone, you’ll end up feeling insignificant.
Including to yourself.
The Permission to Focus
We can all make changes.
We just need to get to know ourselves, and others, a bit more.
To discover (or rediscover) our expertise.
To understand where our contribution has the greatest impact.
And to have the courage to choose depth over breadth.
I made this shift in 2018. And it gave me back my life.
What if your expertise has been right in front of you all along?
What if the life and business you truly want… is just one brave choice away?
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