If You Repeat This Month for 10 Years… Do You Like Where You’d End Up?

If you repeat this January for 10 years, where would it take you? And more importantly, would you like that place? That question predicts your 2026 better than any list of resolutions.

January is the month of lists. Goals. Intentions. Resolutions. Every year, millions of people write down what they want to achieve: lose weight, save more, read twenty books, learn a language, change jobs. And a few weeks later, most of it fades.

Not because you lack willpower. Not because you’re “inconsistent.” Often, it’s something simpler—and deeper: we plan the what without stopping to ask the why.

We write what we want to do. We rarely name why we want to do it. And when the why is blurry, any obstacle is enough: a heavy week, a bad night of sleep, a trip, a low-energy day… and the plan disappears.

The problem isn’t your goals

Viktor Frankl—an Austrian psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor—dedicated his life to a hard question: what helps some people find strength to keep going when everything seems lost?

His answer was simple: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

In January, we often do the opposite. We build the how without defining the why. It’s like mapping a route without a destination. You can stay busy… and still not arrive anywhere.

The why is meaning. The how is a system. And without a system, your why turns into good intentions.

A scene that repeats every year

February. A random Tuesday. 7:40 p.m. You’re tired. You open your phone “for one minute.” Half an hour disappears. You remember the habit you started strongly on January 1… and you don’t even feel like thinking about it.

You didn’t fail. You just didn’t have a minimum plan for a normal day. You didn’t lack motivation. You lacked structure.

That’s why the 10-year question matters so much. It doesn’t talk about your best day. It talks about your habits.

The question before the goal

Before you ask, “What do I want to accomplish this year?”, there’s a more important question:

What am I living for?

This isn’t a philosophical question to sound deep. It’s practical. Because if you don’t know what you’re living for, your goals become borrowed: what looks good, what others applaud, what you “should” want, what sounds impressive.

Aristotle called it telos: the end that everything else is meant to serve. For him, a good life wasn’t a life full of achievements—it was a life oriented toward what truly matters. And what truly matters doesn’t show up by accident. You discover it through reflection.

Leonardo Polo put it differently: the human being is unrestricted growth. We’re built to grow, to give, to transcend. But growth without direction isn’t growth. It’s just movement.

The emptiness goals don’t fill

Frankl described the “existential vacuum”—that feeling of apathy or disorientation that appears when life loses meaning. And it’s more common than we admit.

You can achieve everything you set out to do and still feel like something is missing. You can keep your resolutions and reach December with a question that stings:

“Was that it?”

That’s why I keep coming back to my favorite question—the one I use for my own planning and the one I include in the Daily Journal I’ve refined over five editions—because it doesn’t let you escape:

If I repeat this month for 10 years… where does it take me? And do I want to be there?

That question pulls you out of the day and forces you to see the pattern. And many times, the honest answer is: “No. This doesn’t take me where I want to go.”

That discomfort—the good kind—is the beginning of real change.

Because goals answer a tactical question: What will I do?
Purpose answers a deeper one: Who will I become?

The “how” that holds your “why”: a 3-layer system

After years of testing different approaches, I concluded: loose goals don’t work. What works is a system that connects what you do today with the person you want to become over time.

1) North Star: Life vision and purpose
Before any annual goal, you need clarity on your values, your direction, and what “a good life” means to you. Not what it means to your boss, your parents, or Instagram. To you.
This includes your gifts, your passions, and your long-term goals (15 years, 5 years)—and those “someday” goals you keep quiet.

2) Route: Annual and quarterly operating system
With your vision clear, you ask a powerful question: What do I want to be true about me when December ends?
Then, every quarter you zoom out: review, refocus, and choose 1 to 3 moves that truly matter for the next 90 days. Not ten. Three, at most.

3) Today’s step: Daily practice
Vision without action is fantasy. That’s why you need a simple daily space:

• gratitude (anchors you),

• one concrete action (moves you),

• an identity statement (“I am…”) (reminds you who you’re practicing being),

• and an end-of-day review (teaches you).

You don’t need an hour. You need 10 minutes of intention.

This three-layer system—North Star, Route, and Today’s step—is the structure of Living with Purpose · Daily Journal for 2026: life vision, annual and quarterly planning, and 365 daily pages. All inside a hyperlinked PDF so you can move in one tap between your vision, your annual plan, your quarters, and your day. (Because if it’s hard to use, it won’t get used.)

From purpose to plan

When your purpose is clear, your goals change their nature. They stop being wish lists and become vehicles for meaning.

“I want to lose weight” becomes: “I want the energy to be present with my kids.”
“I want to earn more” becomes: “I want the freedom to choose projects that matter to me.”
“I want to change jobs” becomes: “I want to contribute to something bigger than myself.”

The goal may look similar. But the fuel changes. And fuel determines whether you keep going in February… or quit.

What I’m inviting you to do (without drama)

I’m not asking you to drop your goals. I’m asking you to anchor them. To sit with the hard questions before you write the list. To give yourself permission not to have everything clear right away. And to trust something simple: clarity arrives when you commit to reflection.

If you want ongoing support, I will send a monthly email with one idea and one short exercise (Spanish and English). No noise. Just tools to think better and decide better.

Your year doesn’t change in January. It changes on an ordinary Tuesday.

Your exercise for today (7 minutes, on paper)

Before you write a single goal for 2026, answer—without filtering:

1. If a year from now I look back and feel I lived with purpose, what would have had to happen?

2. Why does that truly matter?

3. What would be the concrete evidence? (What would I see in my calendar, my habits, and my decisions?)

Don’t look for a perfect answer. Look for an honest one. That’s usually where the truth is—what you’ve been avoiding naming.

May 2026 not be the year you achieve more things.
May it be the year you live with more meaning.

If You Don't Plan Your Life, Someone Else Will

December 2021. A blank notebook. A decision that didn't seem important at the time.

That year, I created a journal. Not to sell it. To give it away. It was a simple document: daily questions I used myself to think, to avoid getting lost in the noise, to remember who I wanted to be when no one was watching.

I shared it with a few friends. "Use it if it helps," I told them. "And if it doesn't, just ignore it."

Four years later, I'm still giving it away. And along the way, I learned something very simple: giving doesn't leave you the same. It's not magic. It's when you deliver something useful, with intention, that you start becoming clearer, more humble, and more accountable for what you say and what you do. In the end, giving is just that: a way of becoming the person you want to be.

The journal has evolved year after year. Every July and August, I revise it. Every January, I listen to feedback. Each version is clearer, more useful, more honest. This 2026 marks the fifth edition.

The inevitable question is: why give away something I could monetize?

Why I give instead of sell

People ask me all the time: "Natalia, you've invested hundreds of hours. Why free?" The answer doesn't start with marketing. It starts with an idea that's been with me for a long time.

Leonardo Polo spoke of the person as a being who grows by giving. We don't grow just by accumulating resources, titles, or achievements; we grow when our life becomes a gift to others.

Aristotle would say it with another word: virtue. Virtue isn't a speech; it's a habit. We're not generous when we think about generosity, but when we act generously, again and again, until giving becomes part of who we are.

Giving this journal away is my personal practice: being truly useful, without asking for anything in return, and becoming—day by day—the person I want to be.

What science suggests about writing

I don't want this to stay just in the realm of philosophy. Writing—when done with intention—has real effects.

Research by James Pennebaker and others suggests that putting our experiences into words helps us organize emotions, reduce rumination, and gain clarity. It's not magic: it's processing. It's turning experience into meaning.

And the literature on goal-setting has been confirming something practical for decades: when we define objectives clearly, externalize them, and review them, we increase our chances of sustaining coherent action. Writing doesn't make goals happen on their own, but it does something decisive: it makes what matters visible. And what's visible helps you focus.

In short: writing isn't documenting. It's thinking. And thinking well is a competitive—and human—advantage.

Leaders who write

The examples are everywhere. And that's no coincidence.

Benjamin Franklin started each day with a written question: "What good shall I do today?" and closed it with another: "What good have I done?" It wasn't romanticism: it was a system for inner direction.

Oprah Winfrey has talked for years about her gratitude practice. Not because life is perfect, but because gratitude gives you clarity: you train your eyes to recognize what's valuable in the midst of noise, and that changes your decisions.

And in the business world, Richard Branson is famous for always carrying a notebook. His logic is simple: an idea that isn't captured evaporates; a written idea can become a plan, a conversation, or an action. Writing isn't about "remembering": it's about turning intuitions into decisions.

And Leonardo da Vinci... his notebooks weren't "diaries." They were laboratories: observation, questions, hypotheses.

The pattern is clear: those who reflect deliberately, decide better.

What I've learned from giving this journal away

Giving the journal away has taught me more than I imagined.

I've learned that generosity accelerates trust. When you give without asking for anything, people feel safe. And when they feel safe, the valuable stuff appears: honesty, depth, and real conversation.

I've learned something Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett say in different ways: the most valuable things are often invisible to metrics. The messages I receive—from people who dared to make difficult decisions, who regained clarity, who stopped living on autopilot and designed a different year—are evidence of a kind of impact that doesn't fit on a dashboard, but changes lives.

I've learned that the leadership I care about isn't the kind that impresses, but the kind that serves. The kind that shows up in what's useful, in what's consistent, and in doing the right thing even when no one applauds.

And I've learned something that sounds simple but is hard to live: giving is its own reward. Not as a nice phrase. As a practical truth.

December doesn't ask for speed. It asks for truth. Before the calendar turns, it's worth remembering this: if you don't plan your life, you end up living someone else's.

You don't need to promise yourself an epic transformation. You need a small, real starting point: a question that brings order inside and gives you clarity when January's noise arrives.

If you want ongoing support, every month I send reflections and tools through my newsletter (in English and Spanish). No pressure and no information overload. Just practical ideas to think better and decide better.

Your exercise for today (5 minutes): Before the day ends, write on a piece of paper or on your phone: "If this were my last year, what would I not forgive myself for leaving undone?" Don't overthink it. Write the first thing that comes to mind. Then add a second line: "What's the smallest step I can take this week?"

May 2026 not be just another year. May it be the year you choose to live with intention.

Are You the Problem or the Solution?

There's something deeply unsettling about living in an age where we have more access to information than ever before, yet we trust less those who provide it. Where the institutions that promised to protect us feel more distant than the stars. Where six out of ten people walk through the world carrying a silent resentment against the system around them.

But here's the uncomfortable question no one dares to ask: What if we are part of the problem?

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, which surveyed over 33,000 people across 28 countries, reveals that 61% of people harbor a moderate to high sense of grievance toward the system. It's easy to point outward: corrupt politicians, greedy corporations, the wealthy who don't pay their fair share. But Socrates taught us something more radical in his dialogues: real change begins with self-knowledge. "Know thyself" wasn't an invitation to navel-gazing, but a call to personal responsibility.

When you harbor grievance, your brain rewires reality: people with high grievance are twice as likely to believe that what helps others with different political beliefs comes at their own expense. The world becomes a zero-sum game. And here's what's dangerous: 4 in 10 people approve of hostile activism—including intentional disinformation, threats of violence, and online attacks—as legitimate means to drive change. It's the philosophy of the ends justifying the means, and we know how that story ends.

Aristotle warned that when we lose our sense of the common good, civic virtue disintegrates. But he also gave us the solution: we are who we choose to be through our repeated actions. Trust isn't something "they" must give us; it's something you build every day.

How? Start where you have real influence: your work team, your community, your family. The study shows that when institutional trust increases, only 8% maintain high levels of grievance, while 86% develop personal economic optimism. You don't need to be a CEO to create that effect. You need integrity in your conversations, empathy with those who think differently, commitment to truth over comfort.

Leonardo Polo insisted that the human person exists in relationship, in mutual gift-giving. We're not passive victims of the system; we're co-creators of the culture we inhabit. Every time you choose transparency over opacity, collaboration over toxic competition, listening over hasty judgment, you're rebuilding the social fabric.

The most radical truth from the study is this: businesses are seen as the most trustworthy institution when they demonstrate being both competent and ethical, but that perception is built person by person, decision by decision.

"Trust isn't declared; it's built day by day, decision after decision, truth after truth."

Your exercise today: Identify a difficult conversation you've been avoiding at work or in your family. One where you chose comfortable silence over uncomfortable truth. This week, have that conversation with honesty and compassion. Not to be right, but to rebuild trust. Because all systemic change begins with one person who decides to act differently. Will that be you?

Why Hitting Snooze Says More About You Than Your Resume

The alarm goes off, you hit snooze "just five more minutes"... and without realizing it, you've just decided who you're becoming. You don't shape your life once a year with big resolutions; you shape it in those seconds every day. And here's the question that will follow us to the end: What standard are you training yourself to today?

The tension shows up when you look at your day honestly. You say you want health, but you eat whatever is in front of the screen. You say you want to lead better, but you respond to your team on autopilot. You want more financial freedom, but you keep putting off looking at your numbers. It's not lack of ambition; it's that your daily standards aren't matching the story you say you want to live.

Tony Robbins puts it brutally simple: you don't get in life what you "want," but what you tolerate. Your standards are that invisible line between what you're no longer willing to accept from yourself and what becomes non-negotiable: your attitude, the quality of your conversations, how you use your time, how much you learn, how you take care of your energy, what you do with your money, and how you talk to yourself inside.

Aristotle would see it from another angle: we are what we repeatedly do. There's no such thing as a "good leader" without daily habits that sustain that virtue in practice. An executive who listens, prepares for difficult conversations, and blocks time to think is training a very different standard than one who just "puts out fires" all day.

For me, this is where journaling became a quiet but radical tool. Stopping five minutes daily to write transformed my life from just a packed calendar into a learning journey. Putting on paper what you think, feel, and decide makes your real standard visible, not the imaginary one. Writing honestly what I commit to and what I actually accomplish lets me see clearly where I'm growing and where I'm betraying myself. Without journaling, many of those decisions would happen on autopilot.

The breaking point comes when you understand that, whether you realize it or not, you already have a training routine. Every excuse also trains a muscle: the one of inertia. Every small conscious action trains another: the one of responsibility. It's not about making ten heroic changes tomorrow, but about raising your standard one millimeter today and holding it.

In the end, the question comes back to you: What minimum, non-negotiable standard will you train tomorrow, even when you don't feel like it? That's where real change begins.

Your life doesn't change through epic goals, but through non-negotiable daily standards.

Exercise for tonight: Write for five minutes: what did I do today that honored my standards, and what did I do that lowered them? Choose one five-minute action to raise them tomorrow and follow through even if you're tired. If you repeat it three days in a row, level it up.

The Detachment Paradox: Why We're Sabotaging Our Own Best Intentions

A groundbreaking 16-study research project reveals the hidden contradiction undermining our work-life balance efforts—and what every leader needs to know.

Last week, I had coffee with a brilliant leader who confided something that stopped me cold: "I tell my team to disconnect and recharge, but honestly? When performance review time comes, I find myself questioning the commitment of people who actually do it."

Her admission echoes what comprehensive new research has just confirmed—we're living a contradiction that's quietly sabotaging the very employees we claim to want to develop.

The Global Burnout Crisis We're Unknowingly Fueling
Across industries and cultures worldwide, the lines between work and personal life have blurred dramatically. Whether it's the always-on culture in tech hubs, the extended hours in competitive markets, or the 24/7 connectivity enabled by remote work, employees everywhere are struggling with boundaries. The pandemic accelerated this trend, with burnout rates climbing globally as home offices eliminated the natural separation between work and rest.

Organizations everywhere are responding—implementing wellness programs, championing work-life balance, encouraging employees to set boundaries and prioritize mental health. Leadership teams discuss the importance of sustainable performance in boardrooms from São Paulo to Singapore.

But here's what a fascinating new study spanning 16 experiments reveals: when employees actually heed this advice, we punish them for it.

The Paradox That Changes Everything
Researchers have uncovered what they're calling the "detachment paradox"—a stunning contradiction at the heart of how we evaluate talent. The study, conducted across various samples from experienced managers to everyday evaluators, documents something remarkable:

Managers intellectually recognize that psychological detachment from work during non-work hours benefits employee well-being AND enhances their performance during working hours. Yet these same managers consistently penalize employees perceived as detaching when making hiring and promotion decisions.

This isn't about obvious red flags or poor performers. The penalty applies to:

• Employees who set out-of-office replies.

• Those who take their earned vacation days.

• Workers who don't check emails after hours.

• Even employees detaching for reasons like caring for sick family members.

The research tested this across multiple methodologies, different types of workers, and various detachment strategies. The result was consistent: we say we value balance, but we promote based on perceived commitment—and detachment signals the opposite of commitment to most evaluators.

The Science Behind the Self-Sabotage
What makes this particularly devastating is that the research confirms what we already know about detachment's benefits. Studies consistently show that psychological detachment:

• Improves mood and decreases fatigue (reducing burnout risk).

• Leads to better sleep and healthier choices.

• Increases productivity and engagement when employees return to work.

• Boosts energy, motivation, and purpose in high-pressure environments.

• Creates measurable performance improvements across both short breaks (lunch) and longer ones (weekends).

The benefits aren't just felt by employees—colleagues and family members notice the difference too. Yet despite knowing this, we unconsciously interpret healthy boundaries as lack of dedication.

The Commitment Trap That's Costing Us Talent
The mechanism driving this paradox runs deeper than simple bias—it taps into fundamental beliefs about effort and success. The research reveals that detachment strategies trigger concerns about work commitment, creating a devastating equation in evaluators' minds:

Boundaries = Less commitment = Lower promotion potential

This happens even when the detaching employee's actual performance is stellar. We're not questioning their productivity or quality of work—we're questioning their heart for the job.

The Theater of Productivity Problem
I see this play out constantly in performance evaluations. Teams penalizing top performers who close deals efficiently because they don't show enough "hustle" compared to colleagues making more—but less productive—efforts.

The implications are staggering: Our highest-performing employees, the ones wise enough to work strategically and maintain sustainable practices, may be getting passed over for advancement. Meanwhile, we're promoting based on performative availability and visible activity rather than actual results.

Breaking Free: What the Research Shows Works
The good news? The study doesn't just identify the problem—it reveals solutions that work. Here's what the researchers found can mitigate the detachment penalty:

1. Make Detachment Institutional Policy When companies implement formal detachment policies (like "no emails on weekends"), the penalty significantly decreases. Employees aren't choosing boundaries over work—they're following company guidelines designed to optimize performance.

2. Reframe Detachment as Performance Strategy The research shows that when detachment is positioned as enhancing work performance rather than escaping work, evaluators respond more positively. Frame boundaries as professional optimization, not personal preference.

3. Signal Work-Related Commitment in Other Ways The study found that employees are penalized less when their detachment strategies are coupled with clear signals of work commitment. This might include explicitly stating work-focused reasons for boundaries or demonstrating commitment through other channels.

The Leadership Reckoning We Need
This research forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about our own evaluation processes. How many times have we:

• Unconsciously favored the candidate who emails at midnight over the one who delivers exceptional work within business hours?

• Questioned the "hunger" of employees who actually use their PTO (Paid Time Off)?

• Interpreted healthy boundaries as lack of ambition?

The detachment paradox isn't just about policy—it's about examining our deeply held beliefs about what commitment looks like in the modern workplace.

Four Actions Every Leader Must Take
Based on this research, here's what we need to do immediately:

1. Audit Your Performance Metrics Examine your current evaluation criteria. Are you measuring outcomes and value creation, or are you inadvertently rewarding activity over results? These activity-based metrics often disguise themselves as performance indicators but actually reward theater over results.

2. Implement Context-Aware Evaluations. Replace simplistic activity tracking with nuanced performance assessment. A developer who solves complex problems efficiently shouldn't be penalized for working smarter, not longer. Strategic thinking often requires fewer actions but better outcomes.

3. Create Formal Detachment Policies Don't leave healthy boundaries to individual choice. Make them organizational standard practice. When detachment becomes policy, not personality, the commitment signal disappears. This includes respecting off-hours, encouraging vacation use, and measuring outcomes rather than face-time.

4. Train Managers to Recognize Real Performance Share this research with your leadership team. Help them distinguish between visible activity and actual value creation. The manager who can identify strategic thinking will build stronger teams than one focused on activity quotas.

The Future of Work Depends on This
We're at a critical juncture. The war for talent has never been more intense, and our best performers have options. If we continue to unconsciously penalize the very behaviors that lead to sustainable high performance, we'll lose our most valuable people to organizations that understand this paradox.

The research is clear: psychological detachment isn't the enemy of high performance—it's the foundation of it. Companies that align their promotion practices with this reality will have a massive competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent.

Your Next Move
Take a moment to honestly assess your own evaluation practices. When you review performance, are you looking at:

• Activity metrics (calls made, hours worked, days present) or outcome metrics (problems solved, deals closed, value created)?

• Visible effort (late emails, weekend work) or actual results (innovation, efficiency, strategic thinking)?

• Availability signals (immediate responses, constant connectivity) or performance indicators (quality of work, client satisfaction, team impact)?

The detachment paradox isn't just an academic curiosity—it's a mirror reflecting the contradictions that may be undermining your talent strategy. The question isn't whether this bias exists in your organization. The question is what you're going to do about it.

Because in a world where burnout costs us $190 billion annually and the best talent can work anywhere, we can no longer afford to sabotage our own best intentions.

Have you observed the detachment paradox in your organization? What strategies have you found effective for promoting both performance and well-being? Share your experiences—and let's start the conversation about building truly sustainable high-performance cultures.

The Art of Listening Like You're Wrong

Picture this for a second: you're at a family dinner. Your uncle starts talking politics, and you already feel your muscles tensing up. What do you do? Do you gear up for verbal combat, or do you actually open yourself to hearing something that might surprise you?

Adam Grant says something that many of us see, but rarely pause to reflect on: "We spend too much time arguing like we're right, and too little time listening like we're wrong."

Why is it so hard for us to truly listen?
The answer is simpler than we think. Our brain is wired to defend itself. When someone challenges our ideas, the same area literally activates as when we're physically attacked. That's why passionate speeches don't change minds—they just put them in defense mode.

But here's where it gets interesting. The Greeks had this figured out ages ago. Socrates, that man who changed the way we think, didn't do it by giving masterful lectures. His real power lay in something much more subtle: asking questions. "I only know that I know nothing," he said. And it wasn't false modesty—it was pure strategy.

Modern science backs him up. Julia Minson's studies at Harvard show that people change their minds 300% more when they feel the other person genuinely wants to understand their perspective, not demolish it. Authentic curiosity disarms like no brilliant argument ever could.

Here's the big secret: the best teachers aren't those who know the most, but those who are most eager to learn.

When someone says, "I hadn't thought of that, tell me more," they're not showing weakness. They're opening a space where two minds can meet without armor.

Think about it this way: when you listen with genuine curiosity, you're not giving up on your ideas. You're giving them a chance to evolve, to find their best version.

In a world where everyone's shouting, the one who asks with humility disarms. In an age of bulletproof certainties, intellectual vulnerability becomes the superpower nobody saw coming.

The next time you feel the urge to prove you're right, ask yourself this question: What would happen if, for a moment, I acted like I could be wrong?

Wisdom isn't about having all the answers, but about asking the questions that no one else dares to ask.

In every difficult conversation, ask yourself: "What might this person be seeing that I'm not?" And then simply listen. No agenda, no prepared counterattack. Just listen.

The Only Test That Really Matters (And That Everyone Avoids)

When the sea is calm, anyone can steer the ship. But the question guiding this text is different: who am I when the waves rise and there's no applause?

On easy days, we're all our best version: patient, fair, generous. The challenge appears when there's uncertainty, budget shortfalls, someone contradicts you in public, or a decision hurts people you care about. That's when the real you emerges.

The ancient Greeks understood this perfectly. They had a fascinating word: eudaimonia. It didn't refer to superficial happiness, but to that inner strength that emerges when you're under pressure. Aristotle taught that true virtue isn't measured in times of calm, but when life challenges you.

Seneca, the great Stoic philosopher, expressed it clearly: "I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent... no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you." It's easy to be generous when you have abundance, honest when there's no temptation, and humble when there's nothing to defend.

Think of someone you truly admire. You probably don't respect them for their perfect days, but for how they handled their most complicated moments. For how they chose kindness over bitterness, action over paralysis, hope when they had every reason to give up.

And here's the learning we must always remember: character isn't a heroic pose, it's the architecture of decisions under pressure. You can't improvise in a storm what you didn't practice in calm. Those who train small steadiness on ordinary days (saying "I don't know," admitting a mistake, returning what isn't theirs) arrive at the hurricane with muscle memory of integrity.

Research in psychology confirms what the Stoics knew: people with greater emotional strength are those who have developed the capacity to cognitively reframe crises, not as enemies, but as character revealers.

Return to the initial question. Who am I when no one applauds? The answer isn't an adjective; it's a protocol. Three non-negotiable acts on difficult days: first, breathe before responding; second, remember your three non-negotiable values; third, respond consistently with them, even if it costs.

When pressure increases, that's where gold separates from common metals. That's where true leaders emerge, where you discover who your real friends are, and where stories worth telling are written.

The great truth is this: your character isn't something you possess, but a habit you cultivate. We are what we repeatedly do. Each difficult moment is as if life asks you: "Who do you want to be when no one is watching, when there's no immediate reward, when you only have your inner compass?"

Character isn't built on easy days; it's revealed on days that challenge you.

What has your last adversity shown about you? And what will you choose to reveal in the next one?

Speak Less, Influence More

The boardroom felt like a drum: the harder they hit it, the more hollow it sounded. Are there really still people who think you gain authority by shouting?

Why do we confuse volume with value?
This question has haunted us since ancient times. Socrates, the master of maieutics, never raised his voice to teach. His method consisted of asking the right questions, creating spaces of silence where ideas could germinate. He understood something that seems lost today: genuine wisdom whispers, it doesn't shout.

There's a powerful mirage at work: confusing volume with leadership. When someone monopolizes the conversation, everyone else shrinks their ideas. Adam Grant put it sharply: "The people who dominate the conversation often have the least to say."

Plato warns us about the cave: internal noise can make us confuse shadows with truth. Leonardo Polo proposes a real opening: abandoning the limit of our own perspective to let the other in. In modern practice, teams that cultivate psychological safety—where it's safe to disagree—learn more and correct course faster. The common pattern? Intentional silence that enables thinking.

Modern neuroscience confirms what philosophers intuited: our brain processes information better in moments of calm. Studies from the University of Rochester show that strategic pauses in conversation increase information retention by 40%. Silence isn't empty; it's the space where ideas come to life.

The idea is simple and demanding: leadership is built with the quality of silence you offer, not the quantity of words you impose. The leader who speaks last, who synthesizes fairly and gives credit first, turns a meeting into a truth-discovering machine.

Growing in listening involves three concrete acts:

1. Listening ritual: before giving your opinion, ask two questions that clarify and one that raises the level ("What am I overlooking?").

2. Closing order: summarize others' ideas accurately, validate disagreements, and only then share your position.

3. Game design: rotate facilitation, schedule minutes of silence for thinking, and request anonymous notes beforehand; reward evidence, not volume.

Because people don't follow whoever shouts the loudest, but whoever thinks best with others. That's how you earn authority without shouting.

The silence that listens is the one that leads.

For your next meeting, send a question beforehand, set a "I speak last" rule for yourself, and schedule 90 seconds of silence before concluding. Then evaluate: who spoke up that used to stay quiet? What idea emerged thanks to that space?

Who's Driving When Your Mood Takes the Wheel?

The day starts off-kilter. Outside there's sunshine, but inside you feel like it's raining. Suddenly, you catch yourself about to cancel something important, and you wonder: Who's driving when your mood takes the wheel?

A gap opens between what you feel and what you value. It's happened to me more times than I'd like to admit. And I've learned that's exactly where everything gets decided. We can obey our impulses like slaves to our sensations, or we can choose to take responsibility for our reactions.

Character is forged by habits, not by circumstances. Every time we manage to act from our values instead of our moods, we strengthen that inner muscle. Modern neuroscience shows us it's possible: our brain can develop the ability to pause between what happens to us and how we respond.

Alfred Adler left us a powerful tool: separating tasks. My emotion is my task; the external situation is not. When you manage to understand this, you gradually stop being a victim of circumstances and start building your character.

True freedom isn't "feeling good," but learning to choose well even when you don't feel good. It's doing things even when your mood doesn't support you, or when you don't feel like it. That decision, when we repeat it day after day, shapes both our character and our results.

Moods change; character decides.

Reflect: In what area of your life have you been letting moods drive?

Are You Hiring People Who Fit In?

The interview room smells of fresh coffee. The candidate has rehearsed every answer, every gesture they think the panel wants to see. A question troubles me as I watch this courteous dance: what if no one here is willing to challenge them? The panel isn't evaluating the future; they're recognizing themselves in every nod, in every familiar smile.

Can this person really take us where we haven't been before, and what's the evidence?

For years, organizations have fallen into the "cultural fit" trap—that seductive phrase that sounds smart but hides an uncomfortable truth: we're hiring versions of ourselves. When we look for someone who "fits in," we reduce uncertainty, but we confuse similarity with suitability. Affinity bias disguises itself as business judgment.

Neuroscience reveals something fascinating: our brains are wired to favor the familiar. But companies that transcend don't emerge from comfort; they arise from the creative friction between different perspectives. As Plato understood in The Republic, true wisdom comes from dialogue between opposing ideas, not from the comforting echo of our own beliefs.

I've learned that everything changes when we dare to reframe the fundamental question. Not "Do they fit in here?" but "What strategic problem do they solve better than us, and what evidence backs that up?" This difference isn't semantic; it's revolutionary. One seeks confirmation, the other seeks evolution.

Don't hire mirrors; hire people who will help you go further.

Exercise: Write down three questions today about what specific problem you're trying to solve in that role and the concrete evidence that answers them. Use these as your standard guide in your next interview and watch how both the conversation and the decision change.

The Silence That Leads

What if the answer you're looking for needs three breaths of silence? How do I turn silence into a leadership method?

Silence makes us nervous, so we fill it with words. But often teams don't stay quiet out of apathy—they're thinking. Aristotle would call this practical wisdom: stopping the impulse to choose better. Research on wait time shows that pausing 3–5 seconds increases both response quality and participation.

Leading isn't about speaking first—it's about designing the pause.

Studies suggest 3 steps: Breathe three times after each question; Register a phrase you heard or noticed; Round out with "this is what I understood, anything else?" Watch how your responses and choices improve.

The right pause says more than ten speeches.

The Question That Changes Everything

The day started early, I'm away from home, and there I am standing at the train station. The platform is buzzing with people, and the loudspeaker crackles out destinations. Everyone stares at the board as if their name were written there. I look at my hands: invisible ticket, familiar tremor. And I ask myself the same question that will guide my day: Who am I choosing to be today?

We were trained to answer with titles and achievements, confusing the role with the person. Aristotle already knew it: “We are what we repeatedly do." Socrates reminded us that choosing well requires knowing yourself first. And modern evidence confirms this ancient wisdom: identities aren't announced, they're trained through sustained small decisions.

We often hear the question: "What do you want to be?" But we should ask ourselves, "What do I decide and practice being today?" If I practice telling the truth with respect, I end up being trustworthy. If I practice generosity, generosity reshapes me from within. The role adapts to character, not the other way around.

Work changes, but what you train every day ends up training you. Generosity, integrity, humility, and wisdom don't appear on any resume, but they build the only legacy that truly matters: the invisible impact we leave on every person we touch.

"Who we are isn't answered with titles or roles, but with the character we strengthen every day."

Reflect: Today, before going to sleep, ask yourself not what you did, but how you chose to be. That answer is your real resume.

No-Regret Results: Microhabits to Bulletproof Your Decisions

Life is a rehearsal room: dim lights, tape marks on the floor, and a script that changes at the last minute. Center stage, there's one guiding question: what will I regret more—not achieving more or not being better?

We chase success by accumulating stuff and cramming our calendars, but the regrets that really sting aren't usually missed goals, but dishonored values—the "I didn't speak up," "I wasn't brave," "I didn't say thanks in time."

Aristotle already warned us: virtue is acquired through habits, practiced like tuning an instrument through repetition and careful listening. It's no coincidence that the Greek philosopher understood character isn't innate, but built day by day.

Modern research backs this up: Daniel Pink, mapping thousands of regrets worldwide, found four core themes—foundation, boldness, moral, connection—with a clear pattern: what we didn't do weighs heavier than what we did. Think about that difficult conversation you put off, the hug you didn't give, the professional risk you avoided: these aren't planning failures, they're failures of courage or generosity.

What I've learned is that the problem isn't your to-do list, but your habit system. When you practice daily micro-actions aligned with your values, character stops being just talk and becomes the architecture of your decisions.

The answer to our guiding question is clear: choose being better over doing more. One brave act today, one generous act tomorrow. Results will come; true fulfillment gets built act by act, decision by decision.

Ambition fills your calendar; character fills your life.

Start today with this exercise: Write down three non-negotiable values. For each one, define one micro-action under 10 minutes. Tonight, complete: "Today I practiced ______ when ______."

The Key Elements in Building a Strong Company Culture

Imagine walking into an office where the energy is palpable, creativity flows like a river, and every employee moves with purpose. This isn't a scene from a utopian movie—it's the reality of companies with strong, vibrant cultures. But how do they do it? Let's uncover the secret to building a company culture that not only survives but thrives.

The Simple Truth: Shared Values

At its core, a strong company culture boils down to one simple idea: shared values in action. Everything else stems from this fundamental truth. When every decision, hire, and policy aligns with your core values, you're on the right track.

Did you know that companies with strong cultures see 4x increase in revenue growth? This surprising statistic from a Deloitte study shows that culture isn't just about feel-good vibes—it's a serious business driver.

As an HR professional, I've seen countless companies transform through intentional culture-building. But don't just take my word for it. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, famously said, "The C in CEO stands for culture, and it defines the success of every organization." Under his leadership, Microsoft revitalized its culture, moving from a "know-it-all" to a "learn-it-all" mindset, which has been credited as a key factor in the company's remarkable resurgence and growth since 2014.

Remember your first day at a new job? The mix of excitement and nervousness? Now imagine if that day began with a warm welcome, a clear outline of the company's mission, and an immediate sense of belonging. That's the power of a strong culture—it turns anxiety into enthusiasm and transforms jobs into purposes.

Let me tell you a tale of two tech startups.
Startup A focused solely on product development, viewing culture as a 'soft' issue they'd address later. They hired based on skills alone and kept their heads down, working long hours.
Startup B, however, defined their values early. They hired for cultural fit as well as skills, celebrated team wins, and fostered open communication. They even turned down a lucrative contract because the client's ethics didn't align with their values.
Fast forward three years: Startup A had high turnover, missed deadlines, and a demoralized team. Startup B? They'd become an industry leader, with a waitlist of top talent wanting to join.
The difference? Culture.

The big question is how to build a strong culture. Let's break down the key ingredients:

1. Define Your North Star: Clearly articulate your vision and values. Make them so simple a fifth-grader could understand and repeat them.

2. Lead by Example: As a leader, your actions set the tone. Be the living embodiment of your culture. When executives and managers consistently demonstrate the behaviors they expect from others, it sets a powerful precedent. Remember, actions speak louder than words.

3. Hire Cultural Contributors: Look beyond skills. Seek out individuals who will add to your culture, not just fit into it. While skills can be taught, values are intrinsic. Seek candidates whose personal values align with your company's ethos. However, be cautious not to create an echo chamber—diversity of thought and background is crucial for innovation and growth.

4. Onboard with Purpose: First impressions matter. Design an onboarding experience that immerses new hires in your culture from day one. Follow this with ongoing training and development programs that reinforce cultural values and help employees grow.

5. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Foster transparency. Create multiple channels for open dialogue across all levels. Create channels for employees to share ideas, concerns, and feedback. Regular town halls, open-door policies, and anonymous suggestion boxes can all contribute to an atmosphere of openness and trust.

6. Celebrate Cultural Champions: What gets rewarded gets repeated. Recognize and reward behaviors that exemplify your values. Make heroes out of your culture champions.

7. Create Memorable Traditions: Shared experiences build bonds and reinforce culture. Establish rituals that bring your team together and reinforce your culture. Maybe it's Taco Tuesdays or monthly volunteer days.

8. Stay Agile: A strong culture isn't static—it evolves with your company. Regularly pulse-check your culture and be willing to evolve as your company grows.

9. Promote Holistic Well-being: Show that you value your employees as whole people, not just workers. Policies that support work-life balance, mental health, and overall well-being show that you value the person.

10. Tell Your Story: Every company has a unique story. Share yours widely and often. Share your cultural journey far and wide. Let your culture become your brand. When employees connect with your company's narrative, they become more invested in its success.

Building a strong company culture isn't about installing a ping pong table or offering free snacks. It's about creating an environment where people feel valued, motivated, and united in pursuit of a common goal. Build an environment where people can thrive.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Take that step today. Starts with intentional actions. Nurture it, and watch your organization come alive with purpose, innovation, and success.

The future of your business is shaped by the culture you create today. You can lead this positive change.

Embracing Challenge: The Key to Personal Growth

“Mistakes are a part of life,” I told her, “but what you did this time was really unexpected. I am really proud of you!”

My eleven-year-old daughter had a project week in her school. She had to pick a topic, learn, experiment, and make a final presentation to the whole school at the end of the week. There were several topics, all around the central theme of the circus. Activities like cooking, dancing, painting, recording, etc. Many of the topics were familiar to her, but not the one she chose: driving a unicycle.

Every day, she returned home excited about her improvement. She was determined to challenge herself, and at the end of the week, even though she was nervous, she did it. Was it perfect? Far from it. But her sense of accomplishment was incredible. More importantly, it reminded her that she can tackle intimidating tasks. She also taught me that I need to challenge myself more, too.

We all face obstacles in life. But what if I told you that those very obstacles could be your greatest opportunity for growth?

Nat Eliason's insight on the importance of doing hard things resonates deeply. It's not just about overcoming challenges – it's about building a stronger, more resilient version of yourself.

Think about it:
1. Your past shapes your future. Every difficult task you conquer becomes evidence of your capabilities. It's like building a highlight reel of your own potential. 

2. Small wins lead to big confidence. Tackling tough problems in one area of life makes other challenges seem more manageable. That chemistry class you aced? It's fuel for tackling your next work project.

3. Avoiding difficulty limits you. When we shy away from hard things, even minor setbacks can feel overwhelming. Don't let fear hold you back from your true potential.

 4. It's a gift to yourself. Proving you can handle tough situations is empowering. It's an investment in your future self.

 So, how can you start embracing difficulty? 
• Set a small, challenging goal outside your comfort zone.
• Celebrate your efforts, not just the outcomes.
• Reflect on past accomplishments when facing new obstacles. 

Remember: You are capable of more than you realize. By consistently pushing your boundaries, you're not just solving problems – you're building a stronger, more confident you.

What's one hard thing you'll tackle this week?

Nobody Can Do You Better Than You

Ever feel like giving up?

I recently listened to Lisa Nichols. Her words were a wake-up call. She reminds us that we're each uniquely equipped to face our challenges and inspire others along the way.

As you read, ask yourself: What unique gifts do you bring to the world? How can you tap into your resilience today? Remember, nobody can do you better than you.

---

Nobody Can Do You Better Than You
by Lisa Nichols

No one else has to get your vision because God, the divine, did not give your vision to anyone else but you.

Resiliency is not something that you download from Google. It's not something that you look up in the glossary and you instantaneously have it.

Resiliency is that thing that you tap into when you hit a wall, and nothing seems to be going the way you planned it.

Resiliency is that thing that you muster up when you feel like you can't go any further, when the best plan that you made falls right in front of your face, or when the relationship that you thought should go on forever ends abruptly.

Resiliency is that thing you tap into when you say I'm not ready to give up. I'm not ready to stop. I'm tired, but I won't quit.

Resiliency is that space that you go to inside of you where you begin to say the things you never thought you would say and do the things that you never thought you would do because you want to be the woman, the man you've always known yourself to be.

There is a time in your life when you have to find something that you never thought you would have, do something you never thought you would do because you know the man, the woman you're supposed to be, is on the other side of that action. And not everyone's going to agree with you. Not everyone's going to align with you. Not everyone's going to support your vision. Not everyone's going to support your dream.

There are times when you have to carry your dream alone. But in those moments when you are the only one carrying your dream, you're the only one getting your ideas, and you're the only one that understands your vision, see, you're the nurture, the conduit, that there's something unique and divine coming in that can only come through you.

You are the person, you are the perfect person, with all of your imperfection, you woke up enough, you are smart enough, you are brilliant enough, you're wise enough, you're tall enough, you are short enough. You are enough, you are dark enough, you're light enough. You are enough. You are the only person that can bring this divine, unique. And when you rise, and when you lift, and when you breathe, and when you stand again, when you turn the crawl into a walk, and you walk into a run, and your run into a soar, when you do that, you liberate every single one of us witnessing you. You liberate every single young child, every single young woman, every single older woman, every senior citizen, and every single person from two to twenty to ninety who crossed your path and saw they witnessed your resiliency.

Your life is so much bigger than just this moment. Your life is meant to leave and indelible impression on all of us, and you are the perfect person to do it. Look at who you are. Look at what you've been.

Look at who you are. Look at what you've done. Look at what you've come through. Look at what you're going to do. You're perfectly designed for such a time as this.

No one can be better than you. No one can move with your rhythm. No one has your style. No one has your grace. No one has your sense of ownership. No one has your sense of determination. No one can do better than you. And when you do you, and we witness, you give us all permission to do as.

So go ahead.

If you get knocked down, get knocked down. If you sit down for a minute, sit down for a minute, but then get back up. Because who you've been made to be, who you've been designed to be, you will always get back up. It's not in your mind, it's not in your essence, it's in your DNA. You will get back up, and when you get back up, you will stand up tall. When you stand up tall, you will run fast. When you run fast, you will soar high.

Why? Because you always do.

What You Tolerates Define Your Future

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you didn't get your promotion, that salary increase you were expecting, or recognition for your hard work?

This is a hard truth: you don't get what you deserve. You get what you are willing to tolerate.

According to a recent Gallup poll 77% of workers worldwide are unhappy or completely disengaged at work. 77% of people spend most of their day maybe physically present or logged into their computer, but they don't know what to do or why it matters.

If you want a different life, you have to make different choices. You have to set a high bar and refuse to tolerate anything less.

It's not easy. Complacency is comfortable. Real change requires constant self-awareness and discipline.

Small improvements, compounded over time, can entirely reshape your trajectory. When you orient yourself towards excellence, new opportunities emerge. You develop resilience and confidence. You inspire those around you.

As former U.S. Navy SEAL Jocko Willink writes, "When it comes to standards, it's not what you preach, it's what you tolerate." If you accept subpar performance, that becomes the norm. But if you continuously raise the bar, you'll develop insatiable drive and capability.

So, take an honest look at the standards you've allowed to take root based on your own behaviors. Do they align with your vision for your life? If not, it's time to reset and commit to a higher bar.

In the end, the boundaries you set for yourself determine the life you build. What will you choose to tolerate?

The Career-Changing Two-Letter Word

When I was starting my career, my boss had a simple mantra: "We can do it." As an eager young professional, I wanted to jump at every opportunity. I said yes to every new project, aiming to prove my hunger and potential. My plate overflowed with commitments.

Then, a powerful moment of clarity struck during a lunch with a visiting VP. When asked for career advice, her response was an "aha moment" for me. She told us: "Stop saying yes to everything."

Wait, what? I was a young professional who just said yes to everything to show I was a hard worker and team player. But that VP's advice made me see things differently. If you try to make everything a top priority, then really nothing is actually your top priority."

That day was life-changing. Learning to say no allowed me to be more strategic about which projects to pursue, dramatically increasing my impact. I focused my efforts where they mattered most.

Now, I frequently share this advise: say no judiciously. It's not easy, especially in cultures where saying no risks being viewed as uncooperative or even jeopardizing your career. The truth is the opposite - saying no is professional. It shows clarity about your capabilities and confidence in doing exemplary work on chosen commitments.

Protect space on your calendar to respond agilely to real issues and opportunities. As Stephen Covey said, "When you have too many top priorities, you effectively have no top priorities." Master the power of no to reclaim your focus and make your highest impact.

The Integrity Advantage: How to Earn Real Influence

When I started working in a new division with a new leadership team —people I didn't know anything about and unfamiliar with how the team operated— gaining credibility became my aim. It was clear that I needed a thoughtful plan.

Fortunately, I had one. I turned to the wisdom of Peter Drucker and Marshall Goldsmith.

Goldsmith emphasizes that making a positive difference in people's lives matters far more than merely being smart or proven right. But Drucker provided specific principles for earning credibility and elevating one's influence.

Of Drucker's credibility principles, these three deeply resonated with me:

1. Every decision in the world is made by the person who has the power to make the decision. Make peace with that.

2. If we need to influence someone in order to make a positive difference, that person is our customer and we are a salesperson.

3. We should focus on the areas where we can actually make a positive difference. Sell what we can sell and change what we can change. Let go of what we cannot sell or change.

Gaining true credibility as a leader is no easy task. It requires personal integrity at every step. As Drucker knew, integrity is non-negotiable for effective leadership. Without it, a leader has no legitimacy and will not be trusted.

In an era of low trust in leaders, Drucker's timeless wisdom is more essential than ever. Personal integrity, reality-based thinking, and a spirit of service must ground every decision. When our actions align with our stated values, we earn credibility. With that credibility, we gain the power to lead positive change.

Leveraging Your Uniqueness for Maximum Impact

We all want to make a difference and have an impact in our work and lives. But there is often a frustrating gap between our good intentions, hard work, and actual influence. The concept of leverage can help bridge this gap.

Leverage boils down to how much more valuable you are to others than they are to you. It's about scarcity and uniqueness. As Coco Chanel said, "To be irreplaceable, you must always be different."

If you bring common resources that others can easily get elsewhere, you have little leverage. But if you offer rare and invaluable skills, expertise or assets, then you gain leverage over others who need what you uniquely provide.

Imagine two women who create breakthrough technology in their garage. They're willing to sell it for $1 million. A big tech company like Google sees its potential and is willing to pay up to $10 million for it. Where will the sale price land - closer to $1 million or $10 million? It depends on leverage.

If these women are the only ones with this technology, and multiple companies are interested buyers, then the price will get bid up towards $10 million. The women have high leverage due to scarce supply.

But if instead there are many others also selling similar technology, while Google is the only viable buyer, then the women have little leverage. Price gets pushed down to $1 million due to abundant supply.

The same leverage principles apply whether you're selling a product, pitching an idea, negotiating a deal, or just trying to have more influence. Your impact rises and falls based on your unique value compared to the alternative options.

So cultivate skills that set you apart. Develop expertise that few others possess. Find undervalued strengths to capitalize on. Build your personal brand and relationships.

In essence, make yourself not just hardworking and capable, but distinctly invaluable. That's how you gain true leverage to achieve outsize impact in your career and life.