Hi, I’m Sterling.

Here’s the quick version of my story. Stick around for all the painful details.

I founded the No Matter What movement to help thousands of leaders, teams and companies practice trust to achieve the growth they want regardless of obstacles.

I developed a growth system after the painful collapse of a multibillion dollar startup at which I was a leader. I combined my business background with research, study and practice to come back and launch, invest in and grow more than 100 companies. I’ve taken that experience to work with C-level teams and leaders, and to speak on stages around the world. My work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times and Inc.

I’m a bestselling author, investor, entrepreneur and keynote speaker who is globally recognized as a leading expert in organizational culture.

I believe that the depth of your ability to trust determines the extent of your growth and success in life and in business. I discovered firsthand that getting results is not a function of just working more, trying harder or even learning new things—it requires us to be courageous, declare big goals, and step outside our comfort zone. All of which is uncomfortable, which is where trust comes to the rescue. All of my work is designed to help people to unlock their own inherent potential by pushing beyond our perceived limits to make a difference for our companies, communities and families. When I’m not at home in Colorado, I may be out skydiving, swimming with sharks or adventuring with members of the No Matter What Movement.

Here’s the story
behind my story.

I didn’t set out to be the CEO of my own research, training and development company in human and organizational growth. I’d reached success beyond my imagination with my first startup—until a life-changing personal and business failure.

I could have become the fifth generation to run my family’s business. (That’s me working in my family’s retail store at the ripe age of 10!) Instead, I co-founded a tech startup and grew up in the world of innovation. Our company was acquired by a Silicon Valley group to become part of a multibillion dollar startup. We had more than 700 employees around the world. I was living in a San Francisco penthouse. Life wasn’t just great, it was awesome.

Then the housing market crashed and our funding dried up. When our company went bankrupt, I collapsed with it. In my 30s, I moved in with my parents, crippled by debt, shame, self-doubt, anxiety and depression. It was painful. I felt like I’d had my one shot and I used it up. 

From rock bottom, I started to timidly speak about the mistakes we made in pioneering a new technology so I could help others growth successfully.

Looking back, I can see I trusted in the wrong things. Our startup had money, patents, talent—everything you need to be successful. Or so we thought.

I remember the moment I wished I had trusted my gut, but didn’t. I was with the leadership team after a major industry event. I surfaced red flags I’d been noticing. Political infighting and microaggressions had created a culture of distrust and defensiveness instead of collaboration. Everyone wanted credit for success without taking responsibility for failures. New initiatives undermined progress on key projects. And we used money to buy growth instead of properly seeding and spreading in the marketplace.

I was told, we’re on the right path and you’re either with us or not.

If I’d known then what I know now, I would have trusted my sense that something was wrong. Instead, I told myself that I must have been wrong. From the outside, we looked like a huge success story. So I sold out to the promise of going public, which never happened. Worse, when I betrayed my own trust, my heart was never fully in it again.

When I started working with businesses wanting to innovate, as it was then commonly practiced, I realized they were making similar mistakes: investing in tech or tools to solve everything. Meanwhile their teams struggled to step beyond company norms to imagine truly innovative possibilities. It was like expecting a team to start winning merely by giving them better salaries and uniforms. Companies don’t struggle because they lack the resources but because true growth requires us to confront something more daunting than any external threat: inner change.

Change is unsettling.

It demands risk-taking by stepping into the unfamiliar.

Our minds worry about what’s going to happen or assume the worst. Most of us would rather tolerate a  frustrating status quo than confront our deep-rooted fears and beliefs.

Real growth means embracing discomfort. It means believing something better is possible. We create more meaning, purpose and fulfillment by stepping toward uncertainty with trust. It may sound simple but I know from experience it isn’t easy.

I've personally pushed my own limits by delving into every growth method you can imagine, from traditional to unconventional, ancient to modern. I’ve tried sports and extreme experiences that tested me physically, mentally and emotionally, and retreats that were anything but relaxing.

Throughout this journey, I’ve learned that true progress requires more than strategy and hard work. It demands inner work: letting go of our comfort zone and trusting in the boundless potential we can only find in uncertainty. 

I see trust as the courageous act of seeing possibility in the unknown, believing in our capacity to reach greater heights. As we cultivate deep trust, we shed our need for security and control. We strengthen character traits like confidence, curiosity, creativity and agility. By embracing discomfort and trusting in possibilities, we unlock fulfillment and results.

Yes, change is inevitable. Yes, it feels uncomfortable. If you build trust in yourself and the culture around you to endure temporary discomfort—whether you’re choosing change or responding to it—you’ll open the door to breakthrough results.

No Matter What, growth is a journey. I’m glad we’re on it together.

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Thought leader Sterling Hawkins has helped 200+ leaders, teams and businesses grow their success on a foundation of trust through challenges, changes and uncertainty.

Watch his latest videos to see how he inspires and mobilizes people and has been named one of the world’s top 30 keynote speakers on leadership and organizational culture.