Unfiltered

Have you ever wondered what it really takes to build a thriving business while staying true to who you are—messy life, real emotions, family obligations, and all? In Unfiltered: Proven Strategies to Start and Grow Your Business by Not Following the Rules, Rachel Pedersen argues that entrepreneurship doesn’t require perfection, pedigree, or relentless hustle. Instead, success comes from courageously removing the filters—being transparent about failures, defining your own version of success, and designing both business and life with intention and boundaries.

Pedersen contends that authenticity is an entrepreneur’s greatest asset. She believes that the polished “highlight reel” culture of business advice hides the messy middle that actually builds sustainable success. Through her own story—from single mom on food stamps to CEO of multimillion-dollar companies—she demonstrates that running a business is as much about mental strength, emotional honesty, and designing a life blueprint as it is about strategy or profit margins.

Unfiltered Beginnings: Why Vulnerability Wins

Pedersen opens the book with her first major failure—an unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign for a fried chicken restaurant. She had shared her big dream publicly, only to watch it collapse in real time. Instead of hiding the shame, she reframed that painful experience as a foundational moment: failure, when faced unfiltered, teaches resilience, humility, and adaptability. This story anchors her philosophy that transparency isn’t weakness—it’s the first step toward building authentic success.

She writes, “Every mistake becomes a lesson along the way.” Once she stopped pretending perfection, opportunities came from unexpected places—clients, mentors, partners, and even viral success on social media. The lesson: the world rewards the brave, not the flawless.

Defining Your Why and Designing by Intention

Pedersen continually returns to one essential question: “Why are you starting a business?” She argues that clarity around your personal motivation—the “why”—is your anchor when everything else feels chaotic. Whether your motivation is freedom, family time, or creative autonomy, understanding it helps you make decisions aligned with your values. She encourages journaling to uncover this deeper purpose and using a vision board to visualize the life and business you want to create. Drawing inspiration from mentors like Oprah Winfrey and Shonda Rhimes, she shows how visualization and intention create focus even amid uncertainty.

Rejecting Hustle Culture

One of the strongest threads in the book is Pedersen’s rejection of toxic “hustle” culture—the idea that entrepreneurs must grind 100 hours a week or sacrifice sleep, health, and relationships for success. She argues that true growth flows from hard work done with boundaries. She explains the difference between hard work and hustle: hard work is purposeful and focused, while hustle is fear-driven and frantic. Through tools like the “Power 10” (picking ten daily tasks divided among priorities, commitments, and one money-generating activity), she helps readers replace chaos with structure. (Similar to Cal Newport’s concept of “deep work,” Pedersen promotes intentional time blocks over constant reaction.)

Authenticity and Social Media Strategy

Pedersen’s viral post about her modest wedding ring—a story that reached 11 million people—epitomizes her “unfiltered” philosophy. That post succeeded not because it was slick but because it was real. She uses this example to explain how authenticity fuels social media growth. Her formula: be the producer, not the consumer. Post consistently, study patterns across platforms, and connect vulnerably with your audience. Success in marketing comes not from trying to look like everyone else but from speaking your truth and serving your “people” first.

Pedersen’s approach resonates with the organic style advocated by authors like Seth Godin and Simon Sinek—create trust, not clickbait.

Boundaries, Big Rocks, and Business-by-Design

Midway through the book, Pedersen introduces her cornerstone frameworks: Business-by-Design and the Big Rocks Theory. She teaches that the only sustainable business is one designed intentionally around your life, not the other way around. Drawing on Stephen Covey’s “Big Rocks” analogy, she challenges readers to prioritize family, health, and self-care—the large stones—before filling life with smaller pebbles like emails or client requests. Without doing so, Parkinson’s law ensures work expands endlessly to fill all available time. This philosophy transforms burnout into balance, reframing productivity as harmony between work and life.

Choosing Authenticity Over Professionalism

In later chapters, Pedersen confronts how “professionalism” can stifle creativity. Drawing from her TEDx talk “Professionalism Is Destroying Creativity,” she recounts how, early in her career, she suppressed her exciting personality—swapping glitter for blazers—in an attempt to fit corporate expectations. The result was burnout and boredom. Rediscovering her authentic self through Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blonde became a turning point. She argues that success is not earned by blending in, but by embracing all the colorful, quirky parts of who you are. You’ll attract clients not in spite of who you are, but because of who you are.

Mentorship, Support, and Continuous Growth

Pedersen’s rise is rooted in relationships. She honors mentors like Russell Brunson and Jay Abraham and recounts generous supporters such as Jeannie and John Buttolph—people who believed in her long before she did. She emphasizes that mentorship doesn’t always mean paid coaching; it can begin with free learning through books, podcasts, and YouTube talks. A good mentor, she notes, is like a GPS you trust but still drive yourself. You must do the work while learning from their direction. She also introduces the idea of the “support system”—your tribe of peers, partners, and friends who keep you balanced when challenges hit.

Persistence Through Difficulty

Pedersen’s tone throughout is deeply human—she acknowledges depression, fear, imposter syndrome, and exhaustion as part of every entrepreneur’s experience. Yet she reframes obstacles as fuel for growth. Every failure—whether a lost client or bad mentor—is an opportunity for learning and self-trust. Her approach echoes Phil Knight’s reflections in Shoe Dog: business success emerges not from avoiding problems but from persisting through them with character and creativity.

Living and Working Unfiltered

In the end, Unfiltered is not just a business book—it’s a call to authenticity. It reminds you that entrepreneurship is never neat. You’ll cry, laugh, fail publicly, and rise again. But if you build your business from your values, manage boundaries, celebrate imperfect progress, and dare to show your real self, success will be inevitable. Pedersen’s message is clear: take off the filters, trust your gut, and design a business that supports the life you actually want—not the one others expect you to perform.

Pedersen insists that everything begins with your “why.” Without understanding your deeper motivation, you risk building a business that looks good on paper but feels empty in practice. She divides possible motivations into three types—income-driven kindling (short and quick), lifestyle-driven sticks (for freedom or family), and purpose-driven logs (for legacy and impact). The last type burns longest because it grounds you beyond short-term goals.

Fire Starters of Purpose

When Pedersen left her corporate marketing job, her own “log” was clear: she wanted to create flexibility for her kids and protect space for mental health. This vision became both catalyst and compass for entrepreneurial resilience. She shows how “why” evolves with life seasons—what starts as needing money may deepen into wanting to help others or build generational security. Journaling and self-reflection, she says, reveal these evolving priorities.

Vision Boards and Identity Shifts

Pedersen encourages readers to use vision boards not as decoration but as identity maps. Her own included milestones like leaving her 9-to-5, hitting six figures, and making her first viral post. These images weren’t mere wishes—they reminded her who she wanted to become each morning. She connects this practice to the “Be–Do–Have” model she learned through Tim Ferriss’s interview with Terry Crews and Stephen Covey’s writings: be the kind of person first, then do their habits, then have their results.

The Importance of Reframing

Creating a vision requires breaking free from the “problem mindset.” Replace “I have a problem” with “I have a challenge.” This subtle shift activates solution-oriented thinking. When Pedersen confronted depression, financial insecurity, or childcare stress, renaming problems as challenges allowed her brain to search for creative options. (Psychologists such as Carol Dweck describe this as cultivating a growth mindset.)

Your vision isn’t just a future goal—it’s a mental rehearsal for decisions in the present. By focusing on who you want to be and what you want your life to look like, Pedersen helps readers design businesses that align with their hearts instead of others’ expectations.

Pedersen’s personal journey shows why endless “hustle” is harmful. Early on, she worked over 100 hours per week, answering every client message and neglecting her health. Success came—but so did burnout. Through painful trial and error, she discovered that sustainable growth demands clarity and focus rather than constant motion.

Hard Work vs. Hustle

Hard work, she explains, is fulfilling intentional commitments leading toward specific goals. Hustle, however, is fear-fueled—driven by anxiety that everything will collapse if you slow down. She warns that hustle leads to exhaustion, resentment, and lost creativity. Instead, Pedersen prescribes structured effort through methods like her “Power 10.” Each day, choose 10 tasks divided into focus areas: three dailies that serve your audience, three priorities that grow your business, three commitments you must complete, and one money-generating action. This transforms overwhelm into achievable action.

Productive Sprints and Seasons

Pedersen replaces marathon work sessions with short “sprints”—focused bursts of effort followed by rest. She collaborates with other entrepreneurs early in the morning to maintain discipline and community. She also introduces the concept of business seasons: periods of intense work balanced by slower phases of recovery. Recognizing your season prevents guilt during busy times and self-criticism during breaks.

Pacing Without Comparison

Comparison, she says, is toxic. Everyone’s timeline is unique. Pedersen reminds readers that social media shows only the “highlight reel” —not the late nights, tears, or messes behind success. Quoting Bill Gates, she writes: “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten.” Consistency, not frantic activity, builds real momentum.

This chapter invites you to replace pressure with purpose. Pedersen teaches that resting, delegating, and working strategically are signs of wisdom—not weakness. When you stop hustling for validation, you finally have room to build the business that fits your life.

Every entrepreneur faces one silent enemy—lack of boundaries. Pedersen reveals how poor boundaries nearly destroyed her early business, marriage, and health. Over time, she developed systems to protect her time, mental space, and relationships. These became the backbone of her “business-by-design” philosophy.

Business-by-Design

Pedersen’s business-by-design model insists that your business must serve your life—not consume it. She recommends fixed working hours, streamlined communication channels, and clear onboarding documents for clients that outline policies like response times and emergency definitions. These “how-we-work” documents prevent confusion and reinforce mutual respect.

Common Boundary Breakers

Pedersen personifies typical violators: “Red Flag Raymond” (manipulative and self-serving), “Eager Earl” (well-meaning but intrusive), and “Frantic Fanny” (anxious micromanager). Each requires tailored responses—from firm exits to patient reassurance. The key is calmly enforcing boundaries even when emotions run high. Respecting your limits teaches clients how to respect them too.

Gratitude and Balance

Though boundaries protect you, Pedersen warns against resentment. She advises flipping frustration into gratitude—recognizing clients as partners helping you fund your dream life. She credits Lisa Nichols’s Abundance Now for teaching this “gratitude switch.” Gratitude, she says, diffuses tension and attracts respectful clients.

Ultimately, boundaries create freedom. They safeguard the “big rocks”—your family, health, and sanity—so business success doesn’t hollow out your life. Through firmness and kindness, Pedersen shows you can enforce limits while still serving clients with excellence.

Pedersen’s chapter “Every Business Journey Is Different” feels like a manifesto for authenticity. After years stifling her bubbly personality to seem “professional,” she discovered that conformity kills creativity. Real professionalism, she argues, means showing up fully yourself—sparkles and all.

When Professionalism Hurts

Fear of being judged made Pedersen hide her humor and warmth behind bland emails and blazers. She calls this the “crusty professional” syndrome—a performance that pleases others but drains joy. Corporate norms, built decades ago to mirror a white male standard, suppress individuality. Pedersen’s research revealed that hiring decisions too often favor traditional appearance over authentic capability, destroying creative workplaces.

Rediscovering Self Through Creativity

Her breakthrough came when she watched Legally Blonde. Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods—intelligent, kind, and unapologetically pink—reaffirmed that you don’t have to dull your sparkle to be taken seriously. Pedersen ditched the “office costume,” dyed her hair platinum, and embraced her real self. The result? More credibility, more clients, and more joy. She calls this transformation the “Elle Woods Effect.”

Nontraditional Paths and Work Flexibility

Pedersen highlights her husband Poul and assistant Kellyanne as examples of how nontraditional backgrounds produce brilliant results. Neither fit the typical resume mold, yet both became invaluable through competence and loyalty. She praises flexible schedules and remote work, which recognize individuality rather than rigid structures—a lesson many businesses learned post-pandemic.

Pedersen concludes that embracing quirks, colors, and humanity isn’t unprofessional—it’s magnetic. Authenticity invites genuine connections and creativity. You don’t win by pretending to be someone else; you win because you finally dare to be yourself.

Pedersen views mentorship as both compass and mirror. Good mentors reflect your potential back to you; bad ones expose lessons through pain. She shares candid stories of both, offering guidelines for finding guidance without surrendering autonomy.

How to Find and Choose Mentors

Pedersen started with free mentorship: studying Oprah, Tony Robbins, and Shonda Rhimes through books and YouTube interviews. Reading, she calls, “a free meeting with your heroes.” Later, she joined Russell Brunson’s Inner Circle and learned from Jay Abraham directly. Before choosing any mentor, she advises analyzing three qualities: how they show up (testimonials and live interactions), their messaging tone, and how their content makes you feel. If fear replaces inspiration, walk away.

Types of Mentors

Pedersen classifies mentors into four types: the Cheerleader (motivational support), Drill Instructor (tough-love realism), Motivational Sage (asks powerful questions), and True Leader (models success). Ideally, you should experience all four perspectives, but she warns that no mentor should dictate your entire path. Their job is guidance, not guardianship.

Red Flags and Self-Trust

Mentorship can also go wrong. Pedersen recounts her painful experience when a mentor poached her business partner—an act of betrayal that temporarily derailed her confidence. She learned to set stronger contracts and boundaries, but the deeper lesson was self-trust. “Stop looking for the adult in the room,” she writes; everyone is figuring things out. Like Brene Brown’s teachings on vulnerability, Pedersen asserts that trusting your intuition is the ultimate mentorship skill.

Her philosophy reframes mentorship as collaborative growth. You may fall, but each lesson expands your wisdom. The right mentor won’t hand you success—they’ll help you build the muscle to reach for it yourself.

Pedersen’s chapters on obstacles and daily improvement teach resilience—the art of showing up, even when exhausted or uncertain. She believes that entrepreneurship is a continuous conversation between doubt and determination.

Action Steps and Minimum Viable Effort

To combat paralysis, Pedersen advises breaking progress into “action steps”—small, consistent moves toward a goal. She introduces her concept of Minimum Viable Effort: identify what absolutely must get done each day, complete it, and rest. This keeps momentum alive during overwhelm. She compares this endurance to marathon training—every short run builds strength for longer paths.

Embracing Failure and Fear

Failure, she says, isn’t fatal; it’s formative. From losing major clients to botched launches, each setback shaped her character. She encourages playing the “worst-case scenario game”—writing down fears until they lose power. This reframing turns catastrophes into challenges instead of dead ends. Her mantra: “Nothing is so urgent that you need to respond in the middle of the night—unless you’re creating oxygen.”

Growth Through Adversity

Pedersen likens business growth to personal development. Every conflict magnifies what’s inside you—insecurities, strengths, and boundaries. Over time, you’ll realize resilience isn’t learned from smooth seasons but from standing back up in hard ones. Like Nike founder Phil Knight or authors such as Robert Greene and Carol Dweck, she shows that mastery grows from embracing difficulty, not escaping it.

Her invitation: stay in the arena. Keep moving, even if all you can do today is one small step. These steps later reveal the courage that built your future.

In her closing lessons, Pedersen merges gratitude with ambition. Wanting more isn’t wrong, she says—but peace comes only when you appreciate what you already have. Gratitude fuels perseverance and perspective in the long game of entrepreneurship.

Expanding Goals and Impact

After hitting major milestones, Pedersen explored the “Now what?” void. To escape post-achievement emptiness, she reframed goals toward service and significance—funding nonprofits, empowering mothers, or teaching others to find freedom through social media. She challenges readers to ask Price Pritchett’s question: “If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you go for?” Those dreams define next-level success.

No Easy Button

Pedersen dismantles the myth of shortcuts. There’s no secret formula, no universal hack—only mastery of fundamentals: getting visible, generating leads, closing sales, and delivering with excellence. She compares this to fitness or music—daily repetition creates excellence. The advanced never abandon basics; they simply execute them better over time.

The Power of “Yet”

Ending the book, Pedersen reframes self-assessment through one word—yet. “I’m not successful yet” transforms limitation into potential. This linguistic shift mirrors Carol Dweck’s “growth mindset” principle: progress is permanent if you keep learning. She reminds readers that gratitude for today’s imperfect success attracts tomorrow’s abundance.

Pedersen closes with empathy: “Beautiful girl, they were all wrong about you.” Her message encapsulates the book’s spirit—your worth isn’t contingent on perfection or speed; it’s proven every time you choose belief over doubt. Gratitude isn’t passive; it’s the lifelong practice that keeps dreams alive.