If you have reached a level of success that looks impressive from the outside but feels hollow on the inside, you already know the problem. External achievement without internal alignment is one of the most disorienting places to be – and most high-achieving women spend years there without a clear path out. In this episode of LUXEtalk, I sit down with Debbie Biery Switch Retreats creator, humanitarian, and leadership coach Debbie Biery to explore exactly how she helps women bridge that gap.
Debbie has over 25 years of leadership experience and was one of the key figures in scaling eXp Realty from a scrappy startup to over 80,000 agents in 25 countries. She now channels all of that hard-won experience into Switch Retreats – immersive, intentional gatherings for high-achieving women ready to stop running on everyone else’s agenda and reconnect with what they actually want. I attended her first retreat in Sedona, and I can tell you the impact is real.
What we cover in this episode:
- The grassroots leadership approach that powered eXp Realty’s global growth
- What “flipping the switch” actually means – and why alignment is the real goal
- The daily habits Debbie uses to protect her energy and clarity
Watch the full conversation here:
The Leadership Principles Behind eXp’s Explosive Growth
As Debbie shared in this episode of LUXEtalk, the foundation of eXp Realty’s growth was not a corporate playbook. In 2014, she and her husband Glenn got into an RV and drove across the United States and Canada, hosting lunch-and-learns city by city with no massive budget – just conviction and a willingness to hear no, over and over again.
The eXp Realty global growth strategy she described is more human than most people expect. When someone said no, she did not push. She treated them with respect, stayed in relationship, and let the vision speak for itself. Many of those same agents eventually joined – sometimes years later.
The three principles that drove eXp’s growth:
- Lead with vision and patience, not pressure
- Treat every “no” as a timing issue, not a closed door – follow up
- Grassroots consistency, done with genuine respect, compounds into massive results
That same leadership philosophy – respect, patience, long-term relationship – is what Debbie eventually turned inward, toward herself, before building Switch Retreats.
The Origin Story Behind Switch Retreats
Debbie Biery Switch Retreats did not come from a business strategy session. They came from a period of real personal struggle – which is exactly what makes them land differently.
The year before 2025, Debbie was dealing with health issues, hormonal imbalance, and a general sense of not feeling like herself. She stepped back to focus on her own healing: sleep, nutrition, supplements, movement. As she started to feel clearer and more energized, she began asking the question every purpose-driven person eventually reaches: what is the most meaningful thing I can do with what I have been through?
She did not want to do something just for the sake of it. As she shared in the podcast episode, she got reflective about her whole story – the food stamps growing up, the single-mom household, the jobs lost, the scams, the setbacks – and started looking for what she calls the “golden thread.”
“Throughout the decades of my life, there have been so many trials and tribulations, ups and downs – and I thought: what is the golden thread that helped propel me to this level of success? That golden thread is being able to take negative things that happen, the failures, and understand that they are in fact opportunities.” – Debbie Biery, LUXEtalk Podcast
That realization became the heartbeat of women’s empowerment retreats Sedona and beyond. These are curated, intentional experiences that bring women together across different backgrounds and life stages – and create a space where real transformation happens. I was at the first one, and I mean it when I say every single woman left changed.
The retreat itself is designed around the same principles Debbie lives by – which brings us to the concept at the center of all of it.
What It Means to Flip the Switch – and Why Alignment Is the Goal
Debbie uses the word “alignment” constantly, and the more I sat with it, the more I understood why. Alignment is the actual mechanism behind every bold decision she has made.
When she joined eXp in 2014 against the advice of virtually everyone around her – friends in the real estate community, colleagues telling her she was crazy – she described it as feeling aligned throughout her entire being. She said there was a moment where she almost talked herself out of it. Staying the course took real bravery.
“Alignment is key – having clear clarity and knowing that your actions are in alignment with what you say you want out of life. Because it’s so easy to get stuck on the hamster wheel and be doing the to-do list of everybody else’s agenda. That’s what I love about taking a time out – a resetting and a reconnecting with self.” – Debbie Biery, LUXEtalk Podcast
This is what flipping the switch alignment coaching is built around. Not a vacation. Not a networking event. A deliberate pause to ask: what do I actually want? What is speaking to me right now? In a world that rewards constant motion, Debbie is building spaces where stillness is the strategy.
What alignment looks like in practice:
- Your decisions reflect your actual values, not someone else’s expectations
- Bold moves can feel both scary and right simultaneously – both are true
- Periodic resets are not indulgences; they are how you stay on course
The Daily Habits That Protect Your Energy and Clarity
Research shows that 76% of high-performing women report experiencing burnout at some point in their careers – which makes Debbie’s approach to daily energy management a professional strategy, not just a wellness preference.
Her Non-negotiables
They are sleep, movement, nutrition, and intentional stillness. Sleep was the one she emphasized most – the most underrated performance tool high achievers consistently overlook. She also added creatine and protein to her supplement routine during recovery, and was clear that lifting weights is essential for women specifically, for bone density and long-term energy.
Box Breathing
She also introduced me to box breathing: four counts in, hold for seven seconds, exhale for eight. She uses it to calm her nervous system before high-pressure situations like public speaking. As she mentioned in the podcast, the difference is immediate. Here is how she frames the anxiety that shows up alongside big goals:
“When I feel really overwhelmed or stuck, I remind myself: I don’t have to do all the things, all the time, because where I am right now is exactly where I’m meant to be. Sometimes the anxiety you feel so intensely is a positive sign – your future self already knows you’re achieving your dreams. It’s just your nervous system catching up and recalibrating.” – Debbie Biery, LUXEtalk Podcast
Debbie’s daily non-negotiables:
- Sleep: protect it like a business asset
- Nutrition + Supplements: creatine, protein, intentional eating
- Movement: walking and lifting weights daily
- Box breathing (4-7-8): for nervous system regulation before high-stakes moments
- Intentional stillness: deliberate unplugging from social media and notifications
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Debbie Biery’s Switch Retreats?
Debbie Biery Switch Retreats are intentional, immersive experiences for high achieving women leadership coaching that brings them from external success into deep alignment. The first retreat was held in Sedona and gathered women from across the country at different life stages and industries. Attendees describe the experience as genuinely life-changing – driven by the quality of connection and intentional design Debbie brings to every element.
What Is the “Self-Belief” Superpower Debbie Talks About?
During this episode of LUXEtalk, Debbie shared that if she could give women one superpower, it would be self-belief mindset transformation women – the ability to stop doubting, stop waiting for permission, and start acting on what they already know they want. She took the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment in early 2025 and discovered her top strength was positivity. Her takeaway: when you finally have language for what you have always done naturally, it becomes something you can lead with intentionally.
What Is Debbie Biery’s Approach to Leadership Coaching for Women?
Debbie’s leadership philosophy centers on community, self-belief, mindset transformation for women, and alignment. She is not interested in telling women what to do. She is focused on creating the environment and tools that help women figure out what they already want, trust it, and act on it without waiting for permission. Her methods draw on over 25 years of real-world experience, tools like the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment, breathwork, and intentional stillness.
Keep the Conversation Going
If you want to step into full alignment and connect with a community of high-achieving women doing the same work, follow Debbie Biery.
Follow Debbie Biery:
- LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiebiery1
- Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/debbiebiery/
- Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/debbie.nelsonbiery/
If something in this episode made you think, question, or feel ready to move – don’t let it stop here.
Follow me:
- Website → https://lisabergrealestate.com/
- LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-berg-13489565/
- Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/lisabergrealestate
Whether you’re exploring the home buying process in Lynden WA, ready to sell your home, focused on getting your home ready to sell, or just want to understand what full-service real estate support in Washington really looks like – I’ve got a place to start for wherever you are in the journey.
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Purpose, positivity, and luxury living are not just themes – they are a standard. On LUXEtalk, I bring on women and leaders doing the real work: building businesses, navigating transformation, creating community, and choosing alignment over autopilot.
If you serve the real estate industry – through staffing, lending, brokerage, technology, or advisory – and help agents grow smarter, not harder… let’s spotlight your insights.
