Hear inspiration on fostering positivity, building contagious energy, and empowering both yourself and those around you!
Welcome to another uplifting episode of Empowering Entrepreneurs! In today’s conversation, Glenn Harper and Julie Smith talk about the transformative power of gratitude—especially for entrepreneurs.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, our hosts explore how shifting your mindset from “I have to” to “I get to” can completely change your outlook on both business and life.
They share personal stories, practical advice on daily gratitude practices, and a reminder to pause, reflect, and celebrate all that you’ve achieved this year. Plus, there’s a little talk of football, feasting, and embracing those well-deserved moments of rest.
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Some key takeaways from our conversation:
Shift Your Perspective: Swap the “I have to” mindset for “I get to.” Viewing daily tasks as opportunities rather than obligations transforms both your mood and your leadership energy.
Pause and Reflect: Taking intentional time (even on Thanksgiving!) to rest, veg out, and reflect helps you appreciate how far you’ve come—and what’s to come in the year ahead.
Contagious Positivity: Positive energy rooted in gratitude is infectious. It improves your day, uplifts your team, and attracts others to you—personally and professionally.
Running a business doesn’t have to run your life.
Without a business partner who holds you accountable, it’s easy to be so busy ‘doing’ business that you don’t have the right strategy to grow your business.
Stop letting your business run you. At Harper & Co CPA Plus, we know that you want to be empowered to build the lifestyle you envision. In order to do that you need a clear path to follow for success
Glenn Harper, CPA, is the Owner and Managing Partner of Harper & Company CPAs Plus, a top 10 Managing Partner in the country (Accounting Today's 2022 MP Elite). His firm won the 2021 Luca Award for Firm of the Year.
An entrepreneur and speaker, Glenn transformed his firm into an advisory-focused practice, doubling revenue and profit in two years. He teaches entrepreneurs to build financial and operational excellence, speaks nationwide to CPA firm owners about running their businesses like entrepreneurs, and consults with firms across the country. Glenn enjoys golfing, fishing, hiking, cooking, and spending time with his family.
Julie Smith, MBA, is a serial entrepreneur in the public accounting space. She is the Founder of EmpowerCPA™, Founder of PureTax, LLC, COO for Harper & Company CPAs Plus, and Co-host of the Empowering Entrepreneurs podcast.
Named CPA.com's 2021 Innovative Practitioner of Year, Julie led Harper & Company's transition to an advisory-focused firm, doubling revenue and profit in two years. She now empowers other CPA firm owners nationwide through consulting and speaking, teaching them how to run their businesses like entrepreneurs. Julie lives in Columbus, OH with her family and enjoys travel, coaching basketball, sporting events, and the occasional shopping spree.
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Copyright 2026 Glenn Harper
Transcripts
Glenn Harper [:
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another edition of the Empowering Entrepreneurs Podcast. I'm Glenn Harper.
Julie Smith [:
Julie Smith.
Glenn Harper [:
What's going on, Julie? What do we got today? Anything good?
Julie Smith [:
I mean, we've got coffee, we've got a.
Glenn Harper [:
The seasons have changed.
Julie Smith [:
You know, we're just shooting from the hip over here.
Glenn Harper [:
Here we are. What's got a good topic today?
Julie Smith [:
That's what we're good at. So I think, you know, Thanksgiving's coming up. Let's talk about gratitude and maybe gratitude as an entrepreneur, but I think gratitude in general across, you know, it's for everybody.
Glenn Harper [:
As Coach Tressel said, you have to have an attitude of gratitude. And when you change your perspective on everything that's happening to and for you, it changes everything. Because if you look at it as something that's a positive and you're blessed to do it, how could you be negative?
Julie Smith [:
Right? So we talk about my Zoom meetings every day.
Glenn Harper [:
Yeah, well, there's a lot going on. And again, as an entrepreneur, how great is it that you have the opportunity to get up every day and do something you love? You're kind of in charge of yourself. Nobody's telling you what to do. You get to pick and choose, and you get to do what you love to help support your family, support your bad habits, all the things you want to do. How imperative is that? If you look at that with gratitude instead of, I have to say I want to. I look forward to it can change their whole perspective on everything.
Julie Smith [:
So every time you say you have to, you've got to change that directive to, like, I cannot wait to.
Glenn Harper [:
This is so awesome that I have the privilege to be able to do this every day for this person, for this client, for myself. It changes everything.
Julie Smith [:
So as we sit down to Thanksgiving, we've got to really switch that around. And I think, you know, one piece of advice you would say is, like, we've got to all take Thanksgiving Day and take a day of rest. Right.
Glenn Harper [:
As entrepreneurs, and when I say rest, we're talking, you know, nine hours of football, 16 meals, perhaps going along in there. I mean, why wouldn't you do that?
Julie Smith [:
Oh, man.
Glenn Harper [:
And veg out a bit.
Julie Smith [:
So perhaps we could have some time to reflect on 2025 and all the good things that it's brought us and. And maybe our gratitude for 2026 and what that's gonna bring us.
Glenn Harper [:
And practice at home in the morning when you wake up, if you look in the mirror and go, man, I have to do all this stuff today. You're gonna be like this. But Then if you go, I cannot believe I get to do this. You're gonna naturally smile. It changes everything. Your day's off to start. Everybody's gonna pick up on that. It's gonna be contagious, and you're gonna have a great day.
Julie Smith [:
I mean, I have to give you a little bit of credit that you do do that every day, and you do correct me when I don't do that. So you do practice what you preach. So I will give you that credit.
Glenn Harper [:
It's contagious, and it can change the whole spin on everything. And people want to go toward people that are positive. And if you truly mean it, that you want to be positive, it's a wonderful thing to do.
Julie Smith [:
Well, I think that's a great Thanksgiving.
Glenn Harper [:
Topic, Attitude of gratitude.
Julie Smith [:
And we got to watch football and eat 16 meals, according to Glenn, and it'll be a great day.
Glenn Harper [:
I mean, who doesn't love that? Well, wish you all the merriest and happiest of Thanksgiving. Hope you get together with all your families and have a great time, and we finish out the year strong. Wish you all the best. I'm Glenn Harper.
