How I Made 2.6 Million Despite Chronic Illness

Coco Chanel once said, "Success is often achieved by those who do not know that failure is inevitable."

I did not realize just how true that was until I looked back on the first 20+ years of my business journey. Years when I was unknowingly navigating life with classic Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and ADHD. I had no diagnosis, no roadmap, and no idea what was "wrong." But I also did not know what was supposedly impossible.

Because I did not accept limitations I did not know existed, I never saw them as permanent. I just kept looking for ways to make business work for me. And that mindset, treating challenges as puzzles instead of stop signs, is the main reason I have made it as far as I have.

If you are navigating business while managing health conditions, neurodivergence, or just life, this post is for you.

First: A Caveat and a Reminder

Caveat: what works for me might not work for you. Reminder: but you can find what will.

You can be successful despite your circumstances. But it is going to take playing your own game, making your own rules, and facing your challenges like a strategist, not a victim.

And yeah, that is hard.

Some days, my brain has ideas that my body just cannot keep up with. Some months, I move slower than I want to. And if I am being honest? I am the biggest bottleneck in my business.

But here is the thing: every business owner is. For some of us, that bottleneck is not just mindset or habits. It is biology.

So how do you do that? Let us talk about what has worked for me, my clients, and my Breakthrough Boss students.

1. It Is Okay to Admit That It Is Hard

This is your permission slip: it is hard. It is hard for you in ways that it is not hard for other people.

That is not an excuse. That is reality.

But be careful who you share it with. Some people mean well, but their advice or concern can feel like discouragement. They may try to talk you out of your goals. But if you are anything like me, your drive is just as much a part of you as your diagnosis.

If Stephen Hawking could change the world from a wheelchair, we can build a business that fits us too. It may look different, but different is not less.

Want a supportive space that gets it? Join my free mastermind, The Multi-6 Mastermind. It is not just for those with chronic illness, but there are plenty of us in there.

2. Bake Your Needs Into Your Business Plan

You cannot build a sustainable business if you are designing it around someone else's reality.

Example: if you are living with chronic fatigue, being a massage therapist working five days a week probably is not realistic. That does not mean you cannot own a massage business. It means you will need a smarter plan, some startup capital, and a team.

From your offers and schedule to your systems and staffing, build for your energy, not just your ambitions.

I personally designed:

• Group programs, because they energize me
• A monthly "gap week" with no calls
• A calendar that reflects how I work best, not how others expect me to

Rule 1 in Breakthrough Boss: you make the rules, as long as you are willing to do the work to make those rules work.

3. Treat Your Health Like a Business Task

This was a game-changer.

But for a long time, I let health tasks get bumped by business tasks. Until I changed how I saw them.

Now, my health is a business task. It is on my to-do list, just like client work or content creation. Because if I do not feel good, nothing flows well.

Here is how I made that shift.

Track Your Patterns

Your symptoms might feel random, but patterns exist. Once I started tracking sleep, food, tasks, and symptoms, I realized most were either predictable or avoidable. That helped me:

• Space out appointments
• Plan around flares
• Do deep work on high-energy days

This planning has minimized surprise crashes and helped me maintain energy when I need it most.

Build Buffer Into Everything

Expect setbacks. Pad your timelines. Do not assume it will all go smoothly. Plan like it will not. If things go great, you are early. If not, you are covered.

How Much Should You Tell Clients?

Only what they need to know. Update your offers, timelines, contracts. Bake flexibility in so you do not have to explain much. You are allowed privacy, and you are also allowed to build a system that delivers excellence even when you are having an off day.

Protect Your Routines

Your morning routine. Your food. Your sleep. These are not optional. These are stakes in the ground. The things holding you up when life gets gusty. I do not half-do them, because they impact how I feel tomorrow, next week, even next month.

Ask yourself: what habits does my future self need me to protect today?

4. Use the 48 Filter to Get More Done With Less Energy

This is my favorite daily habit, and it takes just 5 minutes.

Here is how it works. At the end of each workday, ask yourself these 4 questions (in this order):

1. What can I eliminate?
2. What can I automate?
3. What can I delegate?
4. Where should I concentrate?

This forces you to clear the clutter before planning tomorrow. Do not automate what should be deleted. Do not delegate what could be automated. Use this filter daily and you will slowly eliminate busywork and focus where it matters most: your highest energy hours.

Final Thoughts

You do not have to do business like everyone else to be successful. You get to do it in a way that actually works for you.

• Need community and encouragement? Join the free mastermind.
• Need help building a business that supports your reality? Join Breakthrough Boss.

Fist bump for making it to the end. And remember: you have got this.

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