Ep 401: Growing Heavy: The Real Reason Your Strategy Stopped Working
This episode is powered by The Ascension Archetype Quiz. Season 7 of the Move to Millions Podcast is about pulling back the curtain on a truth most leaders are never told: success is not the problem. For many high-achieving entrepreneurs, the tension, heaviness, or resistance they feel as they grow is not a sign they are doing something wrong. It is a signal that who they are becoming is asking for a different way of leading.
If you’ve been following the formulas, doing the work, and still wondering why growth feels heavier than it should, this episode is the wake-up call you didn’t know you needed. This conversation goes beyond tactics and strategies and into the deeper work of identity and divine wiring, revealing why effort alone eventually stops working and what actually allows success to expand without costing you your peace, alignment, or sense of self.
Here’s the truth: Success doesn’t create safety. It exposes the absence of it. Most leaders don’t fail from lack of strategy, they fail because their internal capacity hasn't caught up to their external results. That’s the silent sabotage happening in most seven-figure businesses.
You’ll walk with a radically new lens on your next level, one that prioritizes your divine wiring, nervous system regulation, and the necessity of internal congruence. You’ll understand why your current tension is not a sign of failure—it’s a signal that you’re ready for a new kind of leadership and that your ascension has already begun.
Grab your Move to Millions Podcast Notebook, a pen and your favorite beverage and listen in to discover:
✔ How to recognize when your business model is no longer serving the version of you you've become
✔ How to discern the difference between strategic expansion and spiritual misalignment
✔ How to lead from embodiment rather than exhaustion at the seven-figure level
✔And so much more
This episode is a call to release the outdated belief that more effort is the answer to expansion. If you’ve outgrown your old success strategies but don’t yet trust what’s next, this is your moment. It’s time to set the tone for a new kind of seven-figure leadership: one anchored in alignment, identity, and internal safety.
This is your invitation to stop forcing strategy to carry what only your nervous system can hold. You’ve evolved, but are you still running a business that reflects an earlier version of you? You’ll hear the deeper reason success starts to feel like pressure, and what it means when your business is growing but your identity hasn’t caught up. This conversation ignites the recalibration required to lead from your wholeness, not your hustle.
- “Hard work is not the problem anymore. Capacity is.” — Dr. Darnyelle
- “Strategy assumes your nervous system can hold the outcomes you’re pursuing.” — Dr. Darnyelle
- “Seven figures was never the destination. It was always the doorway.” — Dr. Darnyelle
- “Success doesn’t automatically create safety—it removes the illusion of it.” — Dr. Darnyelle
- “Your strategy hasn’t failed. Your identity just hasn’t expanded to match it yet.” — Dr. Darnyelle
- Am I building a business that reflects the current version of who I am?
- Does my nervous system feel safe holding the level of success I’ve already achieved?
- Is my strategy compensating for an identity I haven’t fully stepped into?
- What am I carrying that I was never meant to hold?
- What would shift if I led from my divine wiring instead of external pressure?
- Take the Move to Millions Ascension Archetype Quiz
- Apply for a Soul + Strategy Conversation
- Move to Millions: The Proven Framework To Become a Million Dollar CEO With Grace & Ease Instead of Hustle & Grind by Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon – Get Your Copy
- Join the Move to Millions Facebook Group for ongoing support and community engagement – Join Now
- Move to Millions 90-Day Business Growth Planner – Get Your Planner
Personal brand website: https://drdarnyelle.com/
Company website: https://incredibleoneenterprises.com/
Move to Millions website: https://movetomillions.com/
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:00:00]:
This is what happens when success starts asking for something different than effort. When what used to work actually stops working. Not because it was wrong, but because it was designed for an earlier version of yourself. Did you know that only 1.9% of women entrepreneurs, 0.9% of black business owners, and just 0.5% of black women entrepreneurs ever cross the seven figure mark? That changes right here. If you are ready for high level, high income conversations about all things millions, your mission, your mindset, your methodologies, your mandate, your movement, your messaging, your marketing, your metrics, and of course your money. Just by listening, your income is going all the way up. Every week you'll hear powerful stories, transformational interviews and million dollar business growth insights to help you scale and sustain a seven figure business with grace and ease, not hustle and grind. I am your host, Dr.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:01:09]:
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon, award winning spiritual business growth strategist, eight figure entrepreneur and God girl on a mission to help you experience abundance in your life because of your business. This is the Move to Millions podcast. Welcome home. Before we div to this week's episode, let me ask you something real quick. If this podcast has ever made you think deeper, shift something in your spirit or take bold bankable action in your business, would you do me a favor? Would you take a moment and scroll down and leave us a rating or review? Listen. That's how we grow this message and get it into the ears of more seven figure CEOs and seven figure CEOs in the making. Your words matter. Your support matters.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:02:00]:
So please take a moment to go ahead, rate, review and then come right back because this episode is about to shift everything. If you have been working really, really hard, but you have not been getting ahead, I want you to lean in. Because this episode of the Move to Millions podcast is just for you. Now, let me be so clear as we get started. There was a time when hard work was absolutely the answer. And if you worked harder, you earned more. If you pushed longer, you broke through. If something wasn't working, the solution was almost always more effort, more discipline, or more strategy.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:02:39]:
And for a long time that was absolutely, unequivocally true. I mean, let's keep it real. Hard work worked. But I have to be so honest with you as we move into this episode, that era is over. Finish, kaput. We done with that. Not because hard work stopped mattering, or not because discipline is irrelevant. And certainly absolutely not because strategy does not work.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:03:07]:
It's over because hard work is no longer the constraint. And if you are being honest with yourself. I know you can feel it here. You can feel it in the small of your bag. You can feel it in your business. Because some of the hardest working, most capable, most intelligent leaders that I know are doing everything right, yet they are still feeling tense. They are overtired and unsettled in ways that they can't even explain now. They're not failing, they're not being lazy, and they are absolutely not confused about what they should be doing next.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:03:40]:
Here's what I know. They are simply trying to grow at a level that requires more than effort. And if that's you, I want you to hear me before we move any further. Nothing is wrong. You have not lost your edge. You have simply outgrown a growth strategy that was built for a smaller version of you. Welcome to season seven of the Move to Millions podcast. I am your host, Dr.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:04:10]:
Darnyelle . And this season is about what happens when success, success is no longer the problem. Let me be so clear. You already know what to do. This is not about your success. What we are getting in in this season is all about the next phase of leadership. This is what happens when success starts asking for something different than effort. When what used to work actually stops working.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:04:36]:
Not because it was wrong, but because it was designed by. For an earlier version of yourself. Now, let me be very, very clear. This is not confusion. This is a transition. I want you to take a deep breath in. I want you to wriggle your shoulders and I want you to give yourself some space just to lean in and to get clear that your success has never been the question. So much has happened since I was with you last.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:05:07]:
So I want to take a few moments and, and just kind of bring you up to speed on what's been going on. For me now, first and foremost, 2025 was a different kind of year. Yeah, we still hit seven figures. But before you applaud me, I've got to be so honest with you. This was the hardest seven figure year I have ever had in my 18 years in business now, not because I worked harder, but because I evolved beyond the way that my business has been set up and the business that I've been running. On January 1st of this year, my company, Incredible One Enterprises, celebrated 15 years of full time business ownership entrepreneurship. Now, if you're an OG listener, then you already know. I started my company back in 2007, but immediately entered what I like to call the lost years.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:05:56]:
I'm talking about bankruptcy, confusion, and not knowing what in the world I was doing that left me nearly Homeless and on my way to find a job. Now, you already know that I called them the loss years. And we don't talk about them. We don't talk about the loss years. No, seriously, 15 years full time is a big deal. But I'm also going to be honest with you and tell you that I reached the point of burnout that I couldn't even enjoy. The fact that my business has been going strong for so long, no matter how much, no matter what was going on, the fact that I was evolving beyond what my business was doing created a real challenge for me. And when you start evolving, when you start becoming a different version of yourself, when you start up leveling in every way, but people are still expecting you to be someone else, this starts to create a massive gap.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:06:47]:
And that gap cannot be filled with strategy. Or at least that's what I learned. And that's why that's what we're getting into all season seven long now. I turned 50 this year. Purple hand clapper for me. 50 years, y' all, listen, okay, for just two minutes. 50 years. I'm still settling into the fact that I have been on this planet for half a century.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:07:15]:
Yo, that's a big deal. Such a big deal. But what it also has revealed to me is recognizing that living 50 years absolutely means who knows how many more years I'm going to live, right? And I'm not trying to be morbid, please don't misunderstand me. But it is part of the process of me recognizing the need and significance to really make a poignant and powerful shift. Now, since turning 50 in November, I took the whole month off, and I gallivanted through Asia. I went to Bali, I went to Singapore, I went to Malaysia, and I returned home. Y' all ready to dismantle my entire business. If you've been doing all the right things but still feel like you're carrying more weight than you should, it's not your strategy.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:08:07]:
It's your pattern. There's a hidden way that you lead that's shaping your money, your success, and your peace. And until you see it, you'll keep working harder than you have to. The Ascension Archetypes quiz shows you in just three, three minutes, what's been driving your business behind the scenes and what needs to shift so that you can finally experience the overflow you're desiring. It's fast, it's free, and it will give you the language for why things feel harder than they should right now. Go now to movetomillionsquiz.com to find out which archetype is running your business today. Hey, I hate to interrupt the goodness that's happening right now in this episode, but I need you to do me a quick favor. And if this episode is blessing your life and business right now, will you take a few moments and rate and review the show? Your words help more millions minded entrepreneurs find us and step into their next level.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:09:05]:
All right, thank you so much. Let's get back into the conversation because we're just getting started. Now, there was no way that the version of me that I have become, that I leaned into, that I stepped into, that I submerged myself into while I was abroad, could run the business that my former self built. Do you understand? Can I get a witness? So I started working on a business model shift. I started making shifts to my team and I'm taking the time that I need this season in order to do all of this work. Now I'm going to tell you, this season for me is called Nothing to Prove. This season for me is also about the Freedom 50s. Now, I'm going to be fabulous.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:09:47]:
And y' all know I'm fine because I've lost 60 pounds and have kept it off for more than a year. Another shout out to me. But this season, if I'm being honest, it's about freedom. And if I'm being honest, I have felt anything but free inside of my business as late and not for the reasons that you might think. I mean, I have a team. I've been able to gallivant and be in rooms and not have to be in the day to day of my business. And I know that the work we do matters and I know that the lives that we change are important and. And I know that I'm called to continue doing this work.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:10:21]:
But just like you cannot pour new wine in old wineskins, you absolutely should not evolve and try to stay exactly the same. Now, my own evolution is the very reason why I am dedicating season seven of the show to helping you to shift from effort into embodiment so that the millions that you are called to don't take you out in the process. Can I get a witness up in here? All right, so let me just take a moment and ground everything that I've shared with you so far and what I intend to share with you in this episode in some real truth. According to Gallup's State of the Global workplace report, only 23% of people worldwide feel engaged at work. Now, what this means is that the majority of people who are operating the businesses or working for someone else are operating in some combination of stress, disengagement, or survival mode. And here's the part that matters most. For CEOs like you and me, that engagement does not magically disappear as you make the move to millions. In fact, for founders, for CEOs, and for leaders that are carrying that level of responsibility, it often increases.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:11:35]:
Because growth, let's be honest, it comes with pressure. And with pressure comes visibility. And with visibility comes expectation. And with expectation comes the constant demand to hold more than you have ever held before. So trust me in talking to the clients that we serve and the leaders that I interface with. When they say things to me like, I don't understand why this feels heavier now, my answer is almost never. Try harder. My answer is almost always, you are no longer being asked to produce more.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:12:10]:
You are being asked to hold more. And let me be clear, that is a very different skill set. Seriously, not only have I been there, done that, and gotten the T shirt, there are so many things y' all that I have misunderstood on this journey that I now know are literally likely to be some of the misunderstandings you understand as well. Now, one of the biggest things that I've misunderstood is I thought a better strategy would make this feeling lighter. I kept thinking if I could just refine the plan, the pressure would ease. Have you felt the same way? What I know now, though, is that strategy can grow a business, but it absolutely cannot carry the weight of leadership when your identity has not expanded to match it. Take a deep breath in, Wriggle your shoulders. We are just getting started.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:13:00]:
Listen. There was a season where everything in my own business looked right from the outside. I'm telling you, growth compounded the brand expanding my name in rooms that I had never entered. The opportunities that were coming across my desk and inbox were real. But I have to be honest, my body never fully relaxed. Rest didn't feel restorative. And wins did not feel settling. Even good news came with a spike of tension.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:13:28]:
I remember sitting alone one night after a big win, staring at my phone, my jaws tight, my shoulders lifted. Realizing that I could not remember the last time, I took a deep breath. And I remember thinking, if this is success, why does it feel like I am constantly bracing? Listen, that question changed everything because it forced me to confront something that no strategy could ever solve. My business had grown faster than my internal sense of safety. Hard work had done its job. Strategy, it did its thing. But my internal capacity, it had not yet caught up to what I was asking my life to hold And y', all, that was the moment that everything changed. Because I realized something that most leaders never stop long enough to name.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:14:17]:
And that is simply this success does not automatically create safety. In most cases, it removes the illusion of it. And if I'm being honest, it cost me energy that I didn't even know that I was bleeding. It forced me to look internally. And, you know, I believe you got to work on your internal more at three times the rate you work on your external. Now, strategy tells you what to do, but strategy quietly assumes something most people never question. It assumes that your nervous system, your identity, and your internal wiring can actually hold the outcomes that you are pursuing. When that assumption is true, it's a beautiful thing.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:15:03]:
But when it's not, strategy does not fail loudly. It fails very subtly. It starts costing you more. I'm talking about more energy, more vigilance, more emotional labor, more self management. Now, let's be clear. You're still executing, you're still growing, but everything feels heavier than it should. I'm talking about push a boulder up the hill. Heavy.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:15:27]:
Now, that's not because you're doing something wrong. It's because you're trying to grow externally without expanding internally. This is the moment where leaders get confused. They think the answer is a new plan, a new offer, a new funnel, or a new hire. But what's actually happening is this. Your nervous system is telling you that it doesn't yet feel safe at the level that you literally just reached. And there is no amount of strategy that can override that. And if I'm being honest, this is something I am still practicing.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:16:07]:
I was having a conversation with a client, and I hear clients say this often. Every time things go well, I feel like I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it's possible that you could feel the same exact way. That constant bracing, it becomes exhausting even when you are experiencing seasons of success. Now, this is where your divine wiring really starts to matter. Because not everyone is meant to grow the same exact way. This is why you can hire a coach and you could follow their plan to the T. And in following their plan to the T, you can actually mess yourself up.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:16:43]:
Because their plan is not your plan and it is not going to work the same. You've probably experienced this, right? You literally got into the program, you started doing the modules step by step. You set everything up, but it did not work for you. It's because of how you're wired and what it is that you are created to. To do, to experience the Expansion that is a big part of your birthright. Hear me when I tell you it's one of the biggest mistakes that you can make. It's why in our programs we don't cookie cutter everything. We don't cookie cutter anything.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:17:18]:
We make the assumption, and we're usually right, that every business is different. And even if you have two businesses that serve the same clients in a similar way with a similar framework or methodology, their way of doing it is going to be different based on how they are wiring, y'. All. This is why I created the Ascension Archetype Quiz. I didn't create it because I didn't have anything left to do. I created it because I wanted to help you to understand your divine wiring after having worked with thousands of entrepreneurs and CEOs just like you who get their business to six figures, think that they've hit the big time, only to realize that low six figures is small business poverty, and then eventually recognize the significance of having to get that number up higher so that they can actually begin to breathe and experience paying themselves six or multiple six figures. Yes, there is a reason your strategy feels stalled and I bet you didn't realize it's to spiritual discover your divine wiring which informs how you lead, where you sabotage and how to shift in order to scale with the Move to Millions Ascension Archetype Quiz. In less than three minutes, you'll learn what's really blocking your money, your momentum and your mission.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:18:40]:
Take the quiz [email protected] my best selling book Move to Millions, the proven framework to become a million dooll CEO with grace and ease instead of hustle and Grind is now available on Audible. That's right, you can listen to nugget after nugget, strategy after strategy, and chapter after chapter designed to help you to position your business for seven figures with grace and ease instead of hustle and grind. Go to Audible today to get your Audible copy of Move to Millions. Listen, Been there, done that, got the T shirt, have worked with thousands of people that came to us in this reason. If this is where you are, it's what we do better than anyone else. It's something that we've been able to help people understand through our Move to Millions method. And our method is a game changer. Unless you just started listening to us today, then you know that after my book came out in late 2023, we made some modifications to the methodology.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:19:43]:
We went from five core pillars to seven. We initially had strategy optimization, sales infrastructure, solidification systems and operational efficiency support Team Alignment and success mindset. But I began to realize as the book came out and more people started to come into our ecosystem to work with us and enroll in our programs and to join our community, that I had to go deeper on success mindset, that it was pretty vague, that it really wasn't going to help people to understand the significance of what it really takes to get your business to seven figures in a way that honors you financially and spiritually. And you already know, unless this is your first time listening, that it's not about 17 figures. It's about a minimum of $3 million a year. So that you have a million dollars to run your business, you have a million dollars for your lifestyle, for your legacy and for your investments. And you have a million dollars in to steward away for future generations. That's what it's about.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:20:43]:
At minimum, 3 million. And in order to get to 3 million, at minimum, it's going to take all seven of the pillars. It's going to take the outer ring of the Move to Millions method as well as the inner ring. So as you can see here, you've got the outer ring that has our strategy, our sales, our systems and support. That's the strategy pathway in the Move to Millions method. And then we've got our inner ring which has success mindset, soul leadership and self care. That's the sole pathway inside of our methodology. And let me just tell you this, this was the game changer.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:21:20]:
Recognizing the significance of adding this in is what began to change everything for the way that we show up inside of our community and how we serve our clients. A big part of the reason that I created the Ascension Archetype Quiz is because we've seen an influx of of entrepreneurs and small business owners coming into our community after reading the book. I mean, we've sold tens of thousands of copies of my book. After watching people read that book and then reach out slide in my DMs, I recognize the significance. People were starting to apply the methodology, but they were getting caught up in specific areas. And I recognize some specific trends. And as a result of that, I recognize that we really needed to take the time and to create the archetypes, how you're divinely wired and how you apply the Move to Millions method so that you actually begin to see the results that we know are possible for you. Because we've been able to help 85 entrepreneurs and small business owners just like you since 2021 make the move to millions.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:22:24]:
So it became a game changer to make sure that you Understood what I mean when I talk about your define wiring. And like I said, because everyone is not meant to grow the same exact way, when you don't understand how you're wired to actually go to your next level, you begin to force yourself into strategies that quietly work against you. Now, if you've already taken the quiz and you know your archetype, this is going to make complete sense. If you haven't yet, stick with me. If you're a performer, you're wired to rise through expression and visibility. But when success increases, you often overperform instead of experiencing, expanding your capacity to be seen without striving. If you're a producer, you're wired to build through consistency and delivery. But at higher levels, your instinct to do more can actually crowd out your ability to receive the support that you need and to slow down enough to integrate the growth that you are saying you desire.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:23:21]:
If you're a pathmaker, you are wired to lead through innovation and vision. You are brilliant. But when pressure begins to rise, you tend to abandon your own rhythm, trying to keep the pace with the expectations that were never designed for you. And if you are a powerhouse, then you are wired to hold authority and to move things forward like you are the powerhouse. But success can tempt you to carry everything alone, tightening your grip instead of trusting what you've already built. And if you're a prophet, you are wired to see what others cannot see. But as visibility increases, the temptation is to dim your insight or to stay silent rather than expand your capacity to be fully expressed. Now, something that you have to understand is this.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:24:13]:
And that is that your ascension is not about fixing how you are wired. It's actually about learning how to honor your wiring. Now, as a powerhouse myself, I had to face how often strength takes turned into carrying everything myself. Listen, everybody. Take a deep breath in. And if you felt or seen any of that, I want you to listen so close to me. If you don't know which archetype you are, if you don't understand this language and you don't understand how you are wired to grow, to lead and to scale, and even how you are sabotaging your next level, let me ask you this. How in the world can you expect expect to cross seven figures in a way that serves you financially and spiritually? Now, this is not a rhetorical question.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:25:00]:
I really want to know. And that is why I created the Ascension Archetype Quiz. And I want you to go and take the quiz. You can go to movetomillionsquiz.com as well, as it will be in the show notes right now, in order to be able to take this quiz, it's going to be a game changer for you. All season long, I'm going to be talking to you based on your archetype. And so I want you to make sure that you figure out who you are so that we can name what strategy alone we'll never be able to fix. And we're also going to give you the language that most leaders feel but don't know how to articulate. This is why understanding how you are meant to ascend really matters.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:25:39]:
Because growth isn't just about what you do. It is about who you are when pressure increases. And if you find yourself recognizing pieces of yourself as you listen to this season, I want to be very clear as well, that is not accidental. It means that you are indeed ready for a different kind of conversation that I'm going to be giving you all season long. And I'm so excited that we are back live with season seven. This season is not about helping you to hit the number. It's about helping you to become the kind of leader who can hold the number. Now, let's be clear.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:26:18]:
Seven figures was never meant to be the destination. It was always meant to be the doorway. And what's on the other side is going to require so much more than strategy. It will require integration and it will require that you become a sanctuary. Hard work is not the problem anymore, y'. All. Capacity is. And once you see that, you're not going to be able to unsee that.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:26:43]:
In our next episode, we're going to talk all about what the market is exposing, about your leadership style and why leaders who thrive next are going to be building something very different internally. Now, until next week, take the quiz and listen to what it reveals. As soon as you take the quiz, you'll immediately be escorted to five powerful emails that begin to debrief for you. And when you want to go deeper, you're going to be invited to upgrade into our private podcast and to get your own divine Design report. Do it. It's going to be worth it because it's going to make the difference for you, actually putting yourself in a position internally and externally to make the move to millions this year. I'll see you guys next time. Take care.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:27:36]:
Thank you for tuning in to the Move to Millions podcast. Every legacy led CEO has a divine design and yours is waiting to be revealed. Take the Ascension archetype [email protected] to uncover how you're wired for wealth and what needs to shift to make your next move with grace and ease instead of hustle and grind. And if this episode blessed you, do me a favor, subscribe, rate and leave us a review. And always remember, millions are your birthright and to access them you need only move.
