075: The Hidden Power of Meta-Learning (Notes from a Coffee Shop)
The ripple effects are still unfolding 6 years later
Yesterday over coffee at our favorite coffee shop here in Brazil, Carolina and I found ourselves comparing notes on a pattern we've observed repeatedly in online education: the difference between learning and meta-learning.
Here's what we know after years of working with entrepreneurs:
Most people default to buying courses when they want to learn something new. They're looking for clear formulas, step-by-step systems, and proven frameworks.
But there's a more powerful approach that few talk about: developing your ability to learn through direct observation.
Why Observation Beats Formulas
When you study successful businesses and communities in real-time, you see what's actually working now - not what worked six months or a year ago. You catch nuances that never make it into courses. You notice patterns that can't be reduced to simple formulas.
For example, when researching thriving online communities, I often flip to their earliest posts. What did they do when they had zero members? How did they build initial momentum? What actually worked at the beginning?
One hour of careful observation often reveals more than dozens of hours of course content.
The Resistance to Real Learning
Here's what makes this interesting: When given the choice between taking a course or learning through observation, 99% of people choose the course.
Why? Because observation requires:
Active thinking
Present awareness
Pattern recognition
Comfort with uncertainty
It's easier to follow a formula than to think critically about what you're seeing. It's more comfortable to complete assigned tasks than to face the discomfort of real growth.
The Hidden Cost of Busy Work
This leads to a common pattern: Entrepreneurs spend 80% of their time on tasks that feel productive but don't create results. They stay busy with:
Social media strategies
Website tweaks
Content planning
Course consumption
Meanwhile, they avoid the one thing that would actually grow their business: reaching out and talking to real people.
A Better Way to Invest in Learning
Instead of spending $1,000 on another course, consider deploying those funds in a different way:
Joining actual communities doing what you want to do
Studying successful examples in your field
Observing what works (and what doesn't)
Learning through direct experience
The key is to approach these experiences as an active observer, not just a passive participant.
Practical Application
When you join a program or community, start asking:
What patterns create engagement?
Which elements fall flat?
How do they handle challenges?
What stays consistent over time?
Look beyond the surface level content to understand the underlying principles at work.
A Note About Timing
One crucial insight: What works for someone with an established foundation won't necessarily work for someone just starting out. When studying successful examples, trace their path back to the beginning. Look for what they did at your current stage, not just what they're doing now.
This ability to think critically and observe carefully is a skill you can develop. It's what separates those who create lasting success from those who jump from tactic to tactic without real understanding.
With appreciation, Phil
Happenings
Transform Your Relationship with Wealth: 21-Day Challenge Starts March 10th
We're excited to announce the launch of our first-ever Wealth Activation Challenge starting March 10th! This 21-day experience is designed to transform your relationship with wealth at the deepest level.
The Wealth Activation Challenge takes everything we've learned working with entrepreneurs through Sacred Business Flow and applies it specifically to your relationship with money and abundance.
This challenge is designed to support you regardless of where you are on your wealth journey:
If you're feeling financially stuck, this challenge will help you:
Break through limiting beliefs about what's possible
Develop practices to expand your receiving capacity
Transform your emotional relationship with money
Create wealth rituals that energize instead of drain
If you're already experiencing financial success, you'll discover:
How to maintain abundance without constant hustle
Ways to align financial growth with deeper purpose
Methods for creating sustainable wealth consciousness
Practices for enjoying prosperity without guilt
Each day of the challenge focuses on a specific aspect of wealth activation:
Powerful embodiment practices to shift your wealth frequency
Daily rituals to expand your prosperity consciousness
Guided meditations to transform old patterns
Community support to amplify your transformation
We've designed this challenge based on the principles that have helped our private clients transform their businesses - understanding that wealth isn't something we chase, but a frequency we embody.
As Carolina often shares:
"When we shift our relationship with wealth from something external we pursue to an energy we already contain, everything changes."
Ready to join our inaugural cohort? Enrollment is limited to ensure a powerful container for this first group. To secure your spot:
At launch tomorrow (Monday), choose between our Standard ($97) or VIP ($397) experiences
Prepare to transform your wealth consciousness starting March 10th
This is your invitation to be part of something new - a pioneering group of conscious entrepreneurs discovering together that true wealth begins with how we relate to abundance from the inside out.
Who We Are Celebrating
Alexandra Lais
Phil and I deeply appreciate the approach she is choosing to take with her work. Like many heart-centered practitioners in our community, she understands that healing isn't one-size-fits-all but requires different tools for different stages of growth. What makes her work particularly valuable is her gift for generating practical insights while creating space for others to discover what works specifically for them.
By integrating somatic intelligence, menstrual cycle awareness, inner child work, and spirituality, Alexandra has created a healing practice that respects the unique journey each person must take toward wholeness. Her work shows that when we combine structured guidance with the natural unfolding of life, we create sustainable pathways to authentic living.
Follow her work on Soma Healing - and join us in welcoming her as one of the newest members of the Sacred Business Network!
Here is what I want to share this week …
The Effort Paradox
Reading
’s latest issue of "The Undoing" struck a deep chord with me. Her exploration of the creative process - how we must first care deeply about our work and then paradoxically let it go - perfectly mirrors what we teach in Sacred Business.So many of us struggle with this fundamental tension.
We pour our hearts into our businesses, our content, our offerings... and then something happens. We grip too tightly. We overthink. We lose connection with that "weird, egoless energy" that transforms our work from good to transcendent.
As Silvi beautifully puts it:
"Care enough to create. Remember that the thing you're creating doesn't matter. None of it does. Let go."
This is the essence of what we mean when we say "everything is connected." Your relationship with your creative process is your relationship with your business. When you learn to dance between caring deeply and letting go completely, you create space for magic to happen.
I highly recommend giving this piece a read. It's a powerful reminder that our best work comes not from straining and controlling, but from showing up, starting the fire, and then stepping back to let it transform into something beyond what we could have planned.
Read "The Effort Paradox" here and let me know if it resonates with your own creative process.
Memorable Quote
Thank you
for sharing this reminder.P.S. You can read all previous editions of the newsletter here, and you can upgrade your subscription here.
What’s next?
Carolina and I are ready to support you in creating a business that aligns with your heart's calling. Here's how we can help:
Discover Your Sacred Business Alignment (Free): Take the Harmony Map Assessment and read our Sacred Business Manifesto to understand where you are on your path and how to move forward with clarity and confidence. Perfect for entrepreneurs wanting to understand how everything in their business connects.
Read the Sacred Business Manifesto (Free): Learn the core principles of building a Sacred Business through our founding story and framework. See how we transformed our approach to business by understanding that everything is connected.
Sacred Business Network: Connect with heart-centered entrepreneurs who understand that success comes from alignment. Monthly connection circles, community workshops, and ongoing support through our private community space. Get the encouragement and collaboration you need to grow.
Join Our Next Implementation Challenges: Action-focused programs like the Sacred Business Planning Rituals Challenge and Substack Growth Challenge help you create real momentum in specific areas of your business. Free for Club members, discounted for Network members. Be sure you are subscribed to be notified when the next one is offered live.
Sacred Growth Club: A complete support system with weekly embodiment classes, live coaching calls, writing circles, and expert workshops. Designed for entrepreneurs ready to build sustainable success through proven practices while staying connected to their purpose. Includes full access to the Network and all challenges.
Be The Flow Coaching (1:1): Personal guidance combining strategic business planning with energy alignment work. Weekly coaching sessions plus full access to Sacred Growth Club benefits. Ideal for entrepreneurs seeking deep transformation and sustainable growth in their business.
Thank you for the shout out and sweet words! I’m deeply moved and with a big smile all over my face 🤍🫠🙏🏻