Preston B
Founder, husband and father of four
From “the stress monster is winning” to “I am not stressed, I just have a long to-do list.”
Where he was
Preston runs a technology consulting business and was building a software product on the side. On paper it was working. Inside, he was holding on tight. “I find a lot of security and identity in having a plan,” he told me. “Way too much.” On the hard days he put it simply: “Today, the stress monster is winning.” Invoices sat unsent for weeks because billing felt selfish. A quick read about a new AI model could swallow a whole afternoon, and then Monday was gone.
The moment he decided
Preston had never had a coach and had never messaged a stranger online. He did both. “As someone who never had a coach before, I was nervous about the process.” What settled him was the first conversation. “His approach wasn’t some pre-baked course to sell or 5 steps to fix XYZ. He wanted to know what my goals were, what problems I was facing and what motivated me to change.”
What we built
We gave the stress monster a name, so it became something Preston could watch instead of something he was. We dug into the belief behind the invoices until the “selfish” story fell apart, then gave admin a fixed weekly slot and templates. We took the friction out of training: the gym kit now lives in the car.
The point is not to be improved when the moment comes. The point is to be found practicing.
What changed
He started CrossFit two or three times a week and learned to pace himself instead of going flat out every session. He built a real team for the first time and is handing his consulting seat to someone he trained. Worry about money went from all day, every day to, in his words, “I am not stressed, I just have a long to-do list.”
The deeper shift
His wife said it before he did: “I feel like you’ve been in a really good place lately. Whatever Tobi is doing, it’s working.” Preston also learned to take a compliment. “You have helped me get better at receiving compliments. That is healing.”
What’s next
Preston now has his own name for how he wants to live: practice readiness. He isn’t waiting to be improved. He wants to be found practising, today.