When a Good Opportunity Isn’t the Right Opportunity
Release Date: 10/07/2026
When a Good Opportunity Isn’t the Right Opportunity
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
Sometimes the hardest opportunities to turn down are the good ones; Suzie Price shares a four question Opportunity Filter to help you decide what truly deserves your time, energy, and attention right now. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. Being able to do something doesn’t mean it belongs in your life. Capacity and calling are not the same thing. An opportunity can be good, flattering, profitable, or interesting and still not fit what matters most to you right now. 2. Every yes has a trade-off. Instead of asking only, “Can I fit this in?” ask, “What gets less of me if I say yes?” Time,...
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When It’s Hell No, Don’t Go: Trusting Your Inner Guidance
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
How do you know when discomfort is the healthy stretch of growth—and when your own internal guidance is telling you that something simply isn't right for you? TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. Pay attention to your first response—before your brain starts negotiating with it. Suzie's wedding story is an exaggerated but memorable example: she knew immediately that singing a solo made absolutely no sense for her, yet she talked herself into saying yes because she was flattered, wanted to please her friend, and overrode what she already knew. 2. You don't have to make something—or someone—wrong...
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Under the Hood: What Acumen Really Tells Us About How We Think, Decide & Lead
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
Suzie Price takes listeners “under the hood” of TriMetrix to explore how Acumen reveals the clarity behind the way we understand people, handle reality, navigate systems, see ourselves, understand our roles and envision our future—and why that matters for better decisions, stronger leadership and meaningful development. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. Behavior is not capability. DISC helps us understand how someone naturally communicates and behaves, but it does not tell us everything they are capable of doing. A quiet, understated person may have tremendous clarity and judgment under...
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Eric Church’s Six Strings of Life: Are the Things That Matter Most in Your Life in Tune?
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
Inspired by Eric Church’s powerful 2026 UNC commencement speech, Suzie Price connects his “six strings of life” to six dimensions of Axiology to explore how greater self-awareness can help us notice what has drifted out of tune—and intentionally make the adjustments that matter. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. Nothing has to be broken to need tuning. Every important part of life can drift—our direction, relationships, roles, work, community, and even our sense of who we are. The goal is not perfect balance; it is developing enough awareness to notice when something needs attention and...
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Make People Feel Something: Leadership with Kevin Paul Scott
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
Kevin Paul Scott shares how authentic, intentional leaders make people feel seen and valued—and why balancing relationships, accountability, and results creates experiences people want to return to. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. Real connection happens where authenticity meets intentionality. Good intentions are not enough, and polished techniques can feel manipulative. Kevin describes authentic connection as the intersection of authenticity—your motives—and intentionality—the effort you put into connecting. That includes the small things: looking up from your phone, remembering...
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2026 Tip # 5 Nicole Williams - Mini Episode
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
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Wired to Connect: How Strong Couples Stop Missing Each Other with Kathy Rushing
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
Relationship coach Kathy Rushing shares practical ways ambitious couples can recognize unhealthy patterns, communicate through conflict, understand their different wiring, and remain connected when work and life become demanding. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. Stop looking for the person to blame and start recognizing the dance. Most couples develop a recurring pattern in which each person’s response triggers the other person’s next move. Kathy compares it to a dance: sometimes couples move together beautifully, and sometimes they repeatedly step on each other’s toes. The breakthrough comes...
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It Shouldn’t Be This Hard: The Truth About Right People, Right Seats (SOLO Episode)
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
Suzie shares a personal lesson about placing good people in the wrong roles and introduces a practical five-part Job Fit model and the REV process for turning chronic workplace friction into clarity, accountability, and momentum. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. A good person can still be in the wrong seat. Commitment, loyalty, kindness, and effort do not automatically equal job fit. Someone can care deeply and still lack the experience, motivation, natural strengths, judgment, or personal skills that the role requires. 2. Job fit includes five distinct areas. Suzie’s car analogy provides a...
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Mini Episode: When Everyone Wants the VP Role: Ambition Isn’t the Same as Fit
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
When several capable people want the same leadership role, the best decision comes from clearly defining what the position requires and evaluating each person’s true fit—not simply rewarding ambition, tenure, or visibility. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. Wanting the role does not automatically mean someone is suited for it. Ambition can be valuable, but desire alone does not tell you whether a person has the judgment, leadership approach, emotional maturity, or personal skills the position requires. Someone may genuinely want the promotion and still be a better fit for a different path....
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Building Better Leaders at Work - and a Life You Can’t Wait to Wake Up To
The Wake Up Eager Podcast
Executive coach and author Chip Scholz shares practical wisdom on self-leadership, reducing workplace drama, using assessments wisely, letting go of ego, and building a life centered more on usefulness than status. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS 1. You cannot lead others well until you learn to lead yourself. Chip makes the point that leadership is a profession, not just the reward someone gets after being good at their technical job. Leaders have to shift from “doing” to “being” and learn how to guide people, not just keep proving their own expertise. 2. Drama grows when leaders avoid...
info_outlineSometimes the hardest opportunities to turn down are the good ones; Suzie Price shares a four question Opportunity Filter to help you decide what truly deserves your time, energy, and attention right now.
TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS
- 1. Being able to do something doesn’t mean it belongs in your life. Capacity and calling are not the same thing. An opportunity can be good, flattering, profitable, or interesting and still not fit what matters most to you right now.
- 2. Every yes has a trade-off. Instead of asking only, “Can I fit this in?” ask, “What gets less of me if I say yes?” Time, attention, energy, relationships, health, strategic work, or simply breathing room always pay part of the price.
- 3. The goal isn’t to say no more often. It’s to choose well. The Opportunity Filter can lead to yes, no, not now, yes-but-differently, or “let me take another look.” The goal is a conscious decision that fits the life you’re actually living now.
KEY GUEST QUOTES
- “I can do this and I should do this are not the same thing.”
- “Capacity is not the same thing as calling.”
- “Being good at something doesn’t mean you should build your life around it.”
- “Energy is information.”
- “Your history is data.”
- “What gets less of me if I say yes?”
- “A good opportunity and the right opportunity are not always the same thing.”
- “What you don’t do determines what you can do.” — Tim Ferriss
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Think of one real opportunity, request, project, role, commitment, or possibility in your life right now and ask:
- 1. ALIGNMENT: Does this fit what matters most to me right now?
- 2. ENERGY: What happens to my energy when I picture actually doing it?
- 3. TRADE-OFF: What gets less of me if I say yes?
- 4. SEASON: Does this fit the life I’m actually living now?
Then ask one final question: What do I already know?
Sometimes we keep collecting information because we don’t like the answer we already have. Other times—as Charles’s story demonstrates—we genuinely do need more information.
ABOUT THE GUESTS
Charles Schrauth - Charles shares a very different lesson. After disappointing experiences with programs serving adults with disabilities, his family initially said no to a new opportunity for their son—but trusted people encouraged them to look again. More information changed the decision, reminding us that discernment also requires flexibility.
Patricia “Pat” Burnett - Pat shares what happened when she found herself in what seemed like the perfect job—work she enjoyed, strong compensation, respect, and learning opportunities—yet realized something else mattered more. Her experience illustrates the Alignment question beautifully: sometimes nothing is wrong with an opportunity; something else is simply more right.
Tracy Winkler - Tracy shares how her love of learning can make a new course or program immediately appealing. Her insight—“history as data”—shows how looking honestly at our own patterns can help us distinguish the excitement of an opportunity from whether we will actually use it.