Gratitude as My Growth Strategy: How I Built a Business Around Celebration, Not Competition

Nov 14
3 min read

By Sara Fernandes

When I look back at how I rebuilt my life and business in midlife, gratitude wasn’t a strategy — it was survival. After losing nearly everything, including my financial stability and sense of direction, I discovered that gratitude wasn’t about pretending things were fine. It was about finding one small reason each day to keep going. That daily practice of appreciation became the foundation of how I lead today.

As the editor of Life Mastery Magazine and founder of the Life Mastery Circle, I work with midlife women who are ready to reinvent themselves. Many are starting over after loss, burnout, or major life transitions. They don’t need another “10-step success plan.” What they need is connection — to feel seen, supported, and reminded that it’s never too late to begin again. Gratitude makes that possible.

When I launched Life Mastery Magazine (LM Magazine for short), my goal was simple: create a platform that celebrates everyday women and gives coaches, creators, and changemakers a space to shine. Instead of competition, I wanted collaboration — a community where everyone rises together.

Over time, gratitude became my quiet growth strategy. Not a tactic, but a way of doing business. Every milestone, no matter how small, became a reason to pause and give thanks. From honoring every contributor who shares their story to celebrating each new subscriber as if it were the first, I built a rhythm of gratitude into everything I do. Growth, I’ve learned, isn’t something you chase — it’s something you nurture.

It’s easy to measure leadership in metrics — followers, sales, reach. But leading with gratitude shifts the focus from getting to giving. It keeps me grounded and connected. I think of the person who quietly joins our co-working sessions each week just to feel less alone, or the one who messages to say the magazine helped her believe in herself again. Those moments matter more than any number on a screen.

Sustainable growth doesn’t come from giant leaps; it comes from small, steady wins. Inside Life Mastery Circle, we celebrate all micro-steps.

Did someone record her first YouTube video? Write the first page of her book? Show up and meditate for ten minutes and not feel guilty for putting herself first? Say no to something that drained her energy? That’s a win.

Gratitude helps us notice progress in the in-between moments — the quiet spaces where transformation really happens. Recognizing those wins builds momentum. It reminds us that progress, not perfection, is the real success story.

Gratitude is more than a feeling — it’s a leadership action. It shows up in how we listen, speak, and show grace to one another. In Life Mastery Circle, I make it a point to acknowledge every contribution, no matter how small. Gratitude turns a group of individuals into a community — one where people feel safe to grow, share, and try again.

When we lead with gratitude, it creates a ripple effect. Gratitude fuels innovation because it lets us see possibility instead of scarcity. It strengthens collaboration because it shifts our focus from “What can I get?” to “How can I be of service?”And it sustains growth because it keeps us rooted in purpose, not pressure.

For me, gratitude isn’t a leadership buzzword — it’s the reason I’m still here. It’s what turned setbacks into stepping stones and helped me build a business grounded in kindness, connection, and contribution.

Because when you build from gratitude, you don’t just grow a business —

you grow people.

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