Category: Thinking Clearly

Trust Is An Asset; Fear Is A Liability

Published on February 7, 2026

Trust is an investment into your future that becomes an asset with what you do.

When you trust, you open. You soften. You believe.

This kind of energy leads to initiative, action, opportunity.

This leads to a future filled with improved, more, better—in whatever way(s) that means to you.

Fear is a withdrawal from your future that becomes a liability because of what you take.

When you fear, you close. You harden. You doubt.

This kind of energy leads to procrastination, inaction, hiding.

This leads to a future filled with regression, less, worse—in whatever way(s) that means to you.

What you don’t gain from trust, you lose from fear.

Embody this. Envision this when you’re in the midst. It’s your future that hangs in the balance.

Something Has Got To Give

Published on February 3, 2026

One of my employees mentioned struggling to get her work done after being asked to take on new work.

What I told her was simple: you’re being asked to take on new work because we see you as the person who can help us solve this problem in our business.

And what I suggested she do is prioritize her work tasks and continue to take on the highest level, most important tasks on that list (it’s what adds value to her position and what leads to better titles, positions, and pay) and to delegate the rest of the lower level, easier to do tasks.

What doesn’t lead to better titles, positions, and pay is overcommitting and underperforming. Burning out isn’t good for anybody—not her and not the business. And neither is spreading herself too thin day-in and day-out and pretending like everything is fine.

And if delegating isn’t an option for you in the context of your life… then consider deploying the same strategy, but automating or deleting those lowest level tasks instead.

Something has got to give.

And if it’s not some of your tasks… then it’s probably gonna be you.

How Often Do You Upgrade Your Thoughts?

Published on February 1, 2026

One of the best things I ever did for my career? Daily writing.
One of the best things I ever did for my relationships? Daily writing.
One of the best things I ever did for my mental health? Daily writing.

Here’s why: writing is thinking upgraded.

We download the raw content of our mind in our initial drafts…

Each edit not only improves our piece, but updates the original thought process.

And so if we ever download that content again… it’ll be the updated, upgraded version.

…And the more we repeat the process the more upgraded our thinking becomes.

So when I’m asked to give a presentation at work, my most recently upgraded thoughts get pulled… when I’m asked a question by a family member, friend, lover, etc., my answer is a reflection of what my most recently upgraded thoughts are… when I’m alone and thinking existentially or self-critically, the thoughts I pull are the most upgraded ones.

And if you haven’t written or done any inner work in 10 years… your most recently upgraded thoughts are going to be from 10 years ago. The same is true for a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, or a day ago.

…And not only that, but think about the frequency, too. One upgrade per year? Per month? Per week? Daily?

A bug fix is a bug fix is a bug fix—they all matter. Big upgrades and small ones.

But maybe think about how you might increase the frequency of them in your life.

I promise you it’ll be worth it.

Reading With A Brilliant Little History Professor At Your Bedside

Published on January 29, 2026

History was a subject I struggled with in school.

Dates, names, countries… I had such a hard time remembering specifics.

A curiosity has come alive, however, as of late while reading historical fiction that’s changing this internal narrative.

It started with a fascination of Miyamoto Musashi and the historical context that surrounded him during feudal Japan.

And has grown considerably within the past few weeks as I began to read All The Light We Cannot See after having recently finished The Book Thief.

Typically, reading was something I did to understand overarching story lines, general plot, and to absorb key insights. Dates, names, countries… I mostly just skimmed and paid little attention to.

Now I find myself curiously doing deep dives into dates and what was happening in countries at that time and what it might mean for the character context.

And let me tell you… this is an excellent use of AI.

I use Claude and it’s like having a brilliant little history professor at my bedside ready to answer my ignorance with crucial digestible context.

Some questions I’ve recently asked: “What was happening in the world, specifically around France, around August 1944…” and “Can you give me an overview of d-day?” and “What does congenital cataracts… bilateral… mean?” and “The story went back in time. Can you tell me what was happening in Germany in 1936 roughly?” and “What was so humiliating for Germany at the end of ww1?”

I share this for two reasons: (1) “I’m not good at history” is a made up story—one that can be rewritten at any time; (2) Using AI as a comprehension companion is a highly underrated life hack.

A Helpful Exercise To Do Before Public Speaking

Published on January 26, 2026

What question(s) are you trying to answer? Write your answer(s) as completely as you can. Try to incorporate stories whenever possible.
Wait at least 8 hours and answer again, but don’t read what you wrote the first time.
Repeat one more time.
Read back through everything you wrote and extract the key answers, insights, and stories. Edit to its most concise form.
Highlight the key trigger words that remind you of the complete ideas.
The first time you do Step 5, you’re most likely going to highlight more words than you need to. Repeat Step 5, but find ways to consolidate more ideas into fewer trigger words.
Practice presenting by only checking your notes for those trigger word(s)—share ideas in your own words in real time… don’t try regurgitating pre-memorized paragraphs.
Repeat Step 7 until you’re feeling about 75% ready to perform in public, then, go do it.

…Remember: you’ll never feel 100% ready. And you’ll never feel like you nailed it 100%.

…And guess what? That’s not what it’s about. It’s about getting out there and doing it, and doing it imperfectly, and learning from it, and growing from it.

…Not what you might’ve been conditioned to believe since you were a nose-picking, booger-flinging, direction-following toddler—that everything is graded and 100% is the only acceptable grade.

Unlearn this belief.

It’s not realistic. It’s not healthy. It’s not human.

In fact, if anything… it’s holding you back. It’s keeping you hiding in fear that you might get graded less than 100%. When the only thing that’s 100%… is that you’ll end up regretting not doing things like shine a light on your ideas, your uniqueness, your life.

We’re All Acting All Of The Time

Published on January 25, 2026

We have our family mask, our work mask, our friend mask…

And in most cases each of those masks have several variations based on which family members or work associates or friend groups we’re around.

These masks that get created, however, the ones that we wear, aren’t always fitting to who we want to be or how we ideally want to present.

We let people manipulate our masks… we let criticism and influence steer us away from our own tastes… we sometimes wear a mask for so long that we forget that it’s outdated or that we’ve outgrown it or, worse yet, what it even looks like…!

But once you realize that it’s acting and masks… the beautiful thing is… you can reclaim your power as an actor.

You can choose in this moment that you want to adjust your mask, shed a layer that’s no longer relevant, or add a component that your highest self would have.

Take a few moments today to “lay” your masks down and take a closer look.

Are they each aligned with who you most want to be?

Are there little tweaks that need to be done that you can take care of today?

The ones who wear only one mask are limited.

Be free. Expand your closet. Be anything and everything you want to be when the time calls for it.

Make taking masks off and putting new ones on seamless… smooth… invigorating…

Limiting your spirit to just one is a situation that makes none of our spirits feel free.

“Your Life Expands When Your Nervous System Relaxes”

Published on January 23, 2026

Think about what happens when your nervous system tenses…

Vision narrows; loss of peripheral vision; hyperfixation on tension/fear.
Speaking becomes forced; choppy; we ramble and overuse filler words.
Body language closes off; we look unapproachable; we repel people away.
Thinking gets mudded; invasive thoughts distract focus; anxiety is created from fear.
Coordination short circuits; normal muscular patterns feel heavy/weird; we become clumsy/awkward.

…Maybe not all at one. But for many of us… it’s many of the above things.

When you learn how to relax your nervous system, however… think about what happens…

Vision expands; we regain peripheral vision; we notice opportunities.
Speaking slows; becomes more clear; presents more confidently.
Body language opens; people feel more comfortable approaching and opening up to us.
Thinking clears; keeping a train of thought is easier; creativity arises.
Coordination smoothens out; muscular patters feel light and crisp; we feel grounded.

…Again, maybe not all at one. But for many of us… it’s many of the above things.

Think about the difference in how the former type of person approaches life versus the latter… how they might respond to life situations… how they might handle challenges…

Think about the way the two types might interact with people… how people might interact with them… what kinds of opportunities might come up… or not…

And finally, think about some of your favorite life moments… which type of energy were you trying to embody in those moments… and what type of energy preceded them…

I think you’ll find it to be true for yourself: “Your life expands when your nervous system relaxes.”

Just remember this as you approach all of the upcoming, unavoidable “scary/fearful” moments of your days.