Pattern of Synergy / December 22, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The Master said, 'If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge so as to continually acquire new knowledge, he may be a teacher of others.'

These words were written by Confucius 500 years before our era. You’d think that in all this time, humanity would have taken them to heart. But no, people have split into factions.

Some cling desperately to an idealized past, rejecting any forward motion. Others rush to destroy everything in sight, determined to build a brave new world on the ruins.

Sadly, neither group fares well. The first sinks into the swamp of stagnation. The second squanders opportunities and resources in frantic chaos, only to end up with nothing.

How many more thousands of years will it take for humanity to grow up?

Maturity remains out of reach as long as the two halves of the whole fight each other, ignoring the synergy they could achieve.

What happens if exhaling (or inhaling) tries to dominate the process of breathing? A part, by definition, is not the whole. It can grasp the meaning of unity only later, by looking back.

The secret of synergy reveals itself only to those who take a step in faith.

Wisdom is weaving the threads of past and future into the present pattern.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

How can I help you?
If you've long been trying to understand what is limiting you and/or your business and how to finally give important changes a push, then The Catalyst Session is designed specifically for you. Book it here.

To Be at One / December 21, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

How do you win a fight? By forcing your opponent to surrender under the threat of choking him, tearing a ligament, or breaking a joint.

Let me start by saying that such outcomes are rare in the gym. You take care of your training partners—not necessarily out of compassion, but out of self-interest. If you don’t, they’ll quit, and you’ll have no one left to sharpen your skills with.

But the threat has to be real, or there’s no meaning, no progress.

To control your strength precisely, you need complete control over his body. Meanwhile, your opponent thrashes in your grip like a wild cat.

The winning strategy? Isolate a joint. As long as the body remains unified, it’s invincible. But when an elbow, knee, or neck is cut off from the whole, it becomes vulnerable and weak.

Create asymmetry: your entire body versus one of his joints.

This seems like a simple idea, but it holds bottomless wisdom. It teaches you what to seek and what to avoid in business and in life.

It’s foolish to attack a problem head-on. Like a hydra, it will exhaust you. Instead, dig up the root and cut it off. The branches—the symptoms—will wither on their own.

When you’re under attack, flip the strategy around.

The goal of any agent of chaos is to isolate you, cutting you off from your source of unity. To survive, you must rebuild that connection—with everyone you love, admire, and share a path with.

This is where the concept of synergy comes to mind.

In Christianity, synergy (from the Greek συνεργός, “cooperative action”) refers to the collaboration between God and man in the work of salvation—a co-creation of divine energy and human freedom.

Buckminster Fuller, the American philosopher, systems theorist, architect, and inventor, once said: “I find all of our world society is operating exclusively in parts. We know this because the word synergy is unknown popularly and it is the only word that means 'behavior of wholes unpredicted by behavior of their parts.' This proves that society does not even think that it has a need for such a word. This discloses that society does not think that there are behaviors of wholes unpredicted by the parts.”

He also said: “We are here as local information harvesters, local problem-solvers in support of the integrity of eternally regenerative Universe.”

In any moment, we can choose to be at one with the universe or not.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Fragile Illusions / December 20, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

People create most of their problems themselves. How? By stubbornly seeing the world, others, and even themselves as something they’re not.

They split every part of life into two: light and dark, pure and corrupt, desirable and repulsive. Then they destroy one half and elevate the other to the heavens.

The world becomes perfect, simple, and comfortable in their imagination.

Some even manage to impose these illusions on their family, team, community, or nation. A kind of collective trance.

In a trance, you can meditate in a monastery cell, but you can’t drive a car. One day, reality will wash away these castles of sand, like waves crashing on the shore.

This divided way of seeing things is fragile and brittle. That’s why, for such people, facing the truth causes psychological and other pain.

The way out lies in voluntarily exploring the “underside.”

What embarrasses, worries, frightens or repels you today is nothing but foul-smelling manure for the stunning roses of tomorrow. The key is to take it slow, move at your own pace, and find a guide to help you along the way.

Start with small things. Look for how a plus implies a minus, and how a minus can turn into a plus.

Imagine you’re a prospector in the Klondike. You’ve got a river, a shovel, and a pan. You sift gold from the mud, creating something out of nothing.

Who are you in this process? A creator, a magician, a shaman.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Jump for Gold / December 19, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Business is a complex game where becoming a champion is no easy feat.

But the entry bar is low—anyone can join. It’s like soccer: everyone plays, from Real Madrid to a scrappy neighborhood team.

Take Nvidia, for example. Its revenue is a million times higher than a small-town design studio, yet their essence is the same.

Both create value for a group of clients. The difference? Nvidia’s value is astronomically higher.

From this extraordinary value comes a sky-high price, covering all expenses while still leaving 55% in pure profit.

Soccer, though, isn’t the perfect metaphor. Diving or high jump fits better. Here, athletes compete not just against others but, more importantly, with themselves.

Judges evaluate skill and the beauty of execution. A gold medal symbolizes the ultimate achievement, reflecting the highest value in sports, as well as respect from rivals and love from the crowd.

The point of the game? To create the greatest value for someone else.

Think that’s obvious? You’d be surprised how many business owners and CEOs miss this fundamental truth.

They think the game is about tripping competitors, cutting costs, squeezing clients, pressuring contractors, or controlling staff.

But such jumps neither refine skill nor create beauty.

Want to win gold? Focus on the value you create in someone else’s eyes.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Shameless Creation / December 18, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Shamelessness is the root of all true creativity.

At its core, what is shame? It’s the clash between your actions or motives and society’s expectations or norms. Plato described shame as “the fear of a bad reputation.”

Psychologist K.E. Izard writes: “A person consumed by shame cannot put his feelings into words. Later, he’ll inevitably find the right words and replay the moment over and over, imagining what he could have said when shame stole his voice. Shame is usually accompanied by an acute sense of failure, collapse, or utter defeat. This feeling often arises simply from being unable to think or express oneself in a way that feels natural and authentic.”

Let’s remember this: shame robs us of the gift of living speech.

And yet, creativity is all about breaking expectations and norms—stepping outside the familiar. The key difference between creativity and mere production is the uniqueness of the result, not just “copy-paste.”

No wonder people often find themselves trapped in a downward spiral:

To live fully, we crave to create. But creating requires breaking the rules, which brings shame, which then silences us.

Climbing out of this whirlpool takes enormous effort.

The tragedy is that so much energy is wasted in this cycle. But here’s the good news: this spiral can be reversed—turned upward.

In your life, you must carve out a space where freedom reigns. A time and place where not only is it safe to explore, but where shameless immersion in novelty is actively encouraged.

If creating such a “greenhouse” on your own feels overwhelming, find someone (or a group) who is unconditionally kind to you and knows that the soil of creativity needs to be rich, dark, and messy.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Hello, Uncertainty / December 17, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

It’s amazing how a drop of uncertainty changes everything.

Take this example: my partner and I are practicing new throws, repeating them over and over. Then we add a small twist—when it’s my turn, I have to choose a throw at random.

It seems simple. These are the same techniques we’ve polished today. It’s not even a fight—there’s no resistance from an opponent.

But suddenly, I’m overwhelmed with confusion and anxiety—my pulse quickens, my movements are clumsy, and the throws lose their precision. My brain knows the new patterns, but my body does not.

A slight change in context, and the knowledge falls apart.

The same thing happens with how we see the world. As long as the environment stays stable, we feel like we know, understand, and control almost everything.

But then something abnormal happens, and life collapses like a house of cards.

The trigger could be anything—betrayal by a partner, damage to your reputation, losing a business, a robbery, COVID, war, and so on.

Even smaller disruptions—new laws, a frozen bank account, or a power and water outage—can knock a person into despair: “How fragile my world really is!”

Luckily, adaptability is one of humanity’s greatest traits. The human body, mind, and spirit seem designed to skillfully pull something valuable out of uncertainty, again and again.

And as long as we’re doing this, we are truly alive.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Switching the Mind / December 16, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The mind is an amazing thing. Convince it of something, and it’s like flipping a switch—suddenly, the current flows.

That’s how I’ve radically changed my behavior in the past:

I gave up sweets,
Committed to daily workouts,
Lost 45 pounds in three months,
Went years without eating meat,
Switched industries multiple times,
Performed the Ayahuasca ritual 11 times,
Built a $50M investment fund from scratch,
Meditated two hours a day for two years straight,
Worked with a psychotherapist weekly for six years,
Skipped fine wines at Michelin-starred business dinners.

That last one? Not so easy. Especially when your key investor—a wine expert and connoisseur—offers you a rare wine.

But once the mind makes a decision, there’s no stopping it.

Sounds like a superpower, right? There’s a catch. I’m still learning how to control it.

In comic books, superpowers show up unpredictably—sometimes saving the hero, other times causing havoc. Shooting fire from your eyes is cool, but only if it happens on command, not randomly.

That’s how my mind works. It’s like a wild stallion, often resisting every plea or argument. And then, suddenly, it decides to cooperate—transforming into an obedient and resourceful Arabian horse.

But perhaps it’s not the mind at all. Maybe it’s the spirit, the will, or a yearning for meaning.

That yearning lies dormant in us because we say the wrong words. Copying others, avoiding imagined dangers, chasing illusions, feeding the ego—these lies won’t awaken the superpower.

Only the call of reality can spark something genuine within us.

If that’s true, then the question isn’t how to force yourself to do something. It’s how to understand yourself.

In a way, life is like writing a book: 'My Superpower: An Owner’s Manual, Version X.0.'

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

No Free Pleasure / December 15, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Pleasure is never free. If someone tells you otherwise, they’re either lying, or you’re failing to notice the deceit.

In this world, every force is balanced. When the left side of a seesaw rises, the right side sinks.

“Freebies” are a balance violation; for any system, an imbalance is a death.

And not metaphorically, but literally. In a well-known experiment, caged rats chose free cocaine over food, to the point of killing themselves. Wild rats rarely made the same choice.

Effortless pleasure destroys itself in the end.

Knowing this, a wise man willingly refuses “free lunches.” He doesn’t take the bait; instead, he builds a world on his own terms:

Contentment over fleeting pleasure.
Noble work over begged-for handouts.
Freedom of choice over the slavery of addiction.
A horizon of “I will get it” over the impulse of “I want it now!”
Honest value exchange over deceiving others—or himself.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

The Paradoxical Seesaw / December 14, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Waves are recurring cyclical phenomena where the oscillation phase fits perfectly into one cycle (360°).

Let’s trace the life cycle of every wave:

Start (0°),
Reaching the peak (90°),
Leveling out (180°),
Dropping down (270°),
Restoring (360°).

A 180 ° phase shift between two waves means that while one touches the sky, the other hits the bottom.

Now imagine not two waves in opposite phases, but one wave.

Think back to your childhood when two of you played on a seesaw. As one child soared upward, the other dove downward.

The parts (the kids) are in polar states, yet the system (the seesaw) is one.

The phenomenon is singular, but it manifests in ways so paradoxical it’s hard to believe.

Take heat and cold, for example. At first glance, they seem to have nothing in common. Or do they? Then why does an icy shower burn? And where would you place warm water—already hot or still cold? It's a single phenomenon - temperature — with many gradations.

Instead of opposites, we see an infinite spectrum.

Here’s another example: Neuroscientists have found that the brain’s centers for modulating pleasure and pain are in the same location, working like a balance—one intensifies only as the other diminishes.

What’s the value of this "seesaw," "wave," or "spectral" perspective?

It explains why:

Darkness isn’t the negation of light; it’s just its absence.
Any ideology pushed to its extreme flips inside out.
Conflicting sides begin to look more alike.
Love easily turns to hate—and vice versa.
To create is both to build and to destroy.
Opposing viewpoints can coexist.
Life is both a sprout and ashes.

In his work, The Emerald T, Hermes Trismegistus wrote:

"What is below is like what is above. And what is above is like what is below, to accomplish the wonders of the one thing."

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Up or Down? / December 13, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Warning: If you’re overly sensitive, skip this article.

There’s a blunt phrase: “I (don’t) get it up for this.”

Usually, men say this about business opportunities, but I’ve heard women say it too (which is charming).

Sure, it’s an allusion to an erection, but the meaning goes deeper.

The thing is, the phallus is honest, direct, and uncomplicated.

When the phallus encounters what it truly desires, it fulfills its mission completely. It gives itself to the process without hesitation, laziness, or avoidance.

But if the spark isn’t there, no power on Earth can move it. Promises, persuasion, guilt, or threats—none of that matters.

It knows the difference between ice and fire, harm and good, chaos and order. The phallus never lies—not to others, and certainly not to itself. Why would it?

It is what it is. Right where it belongs. Perfect for its purpose:

Protect and provide. Love and create. Search for and discover meaning.

This is why it’s trustworthy when phallus signals “Yes” or “No.”

It’s an intuitive compass—helping us see what blocks or supports the flow of Life. So, when you’re stuck in a tough dilemma, ask yourself:

“Do I get it up for this opportunity or not?”

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Insight 20 Years Later / December 12, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Only now, 10–20 years later, do I understand the meaning behind my actions.

Take, for example, buying a favorite painting with an "abstract" theme. Or choosing a plant with an unusual shape for my home. The dynamics of my relationship with a business partner. The design of my offices. The name of my podcast. And so on.

Finally, everything is making sense and falling into place.

Why? Because of a methodical exploration of myself, nurtured by the wise and kind guidance of my therapist.

Breakthroughs, after all, happen both upward and downward in equal measure. Remember Ernest Hemingway’s words: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike answered. “Gradually, and then suddenly.”

All meaningful changes happen in a nonlinear way. Ostriches incubate their eggs for 35–45 days, seemingly in vain, and then—bam—a chick!

20 years ago, my eyes and hands performed certain actions, but my mind couldn't grasp their meaning. Just like an unborn baby in the womb doesn’t understand where it is, why it’s there, or how its limbs are forming.

Yet the immaturity of the mind doesn’t stop Life from moving the organism forward.

That’s why so many of our adventures and misfortunes often feel like random accidents, mistakes, whims of others, or coincidences.

But in reality the whole mess was cooked up by our hungry inner selves.

It’s fascinating how this new insight gives value to both what I’ve always been proud of and what I’ve been deeply ashamed of. Something within me has been expressing itself all along, but I could only accept certain forms while rejecting others.

When every experience and feeling finally finds its place, it’s almost absurd to think about how much I resisted, avoided, and agonized over them.

The shadow cannot block the sun. Darkness cannot stain the light.

It turns out, all that was needed for metamorphosis was:

Creating an atmosphere of acceptance for the whole self.
Choosing the right lens to study the phenomenon.
Finding words that precisely capture the essence.

How many mysteries still lie hidden within us?

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

The Chaos of Strategy / December 11, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Leaders often make a critical mistake when developing company strategy: They involve too many people in the process.

The result? The opposite of what they hoped for:

The exercise eats up resources,
Control over the process weakens,
Conflicts and grievances multiply,
Respect for the leader declines,
Instead of a strategy – a fiction,
Everyone sticks to their own perspective,
and the team lacks unity.

A leader may use plenty of elegant words to justify this approach. But the real reason?

Fear of taking full responsibility for the outcome. This fear drives the attempt to share the burden with others. Often, that's also why moderators and business consultants are brought into the mix.

Yes, uncertainty weighs heavily on the leader. But every competitor feels the same weight. The difference is, some impose their strategy on the market, while others follow the crowd.

The overwhelmed leader thinks: “Everyone around me expects a winning strategy—employees, co-owners, investors, creditors, clients. Am I a magician? I don’t have the answer. And I can’t admit that to anyone!”

Think of the image of Atlas holding up the sky. It’s brutally hard. I’ve been a CEO myself—my shoulders still remember it. But I also remember the relief—mine and that of other leaders I’ve helped.

There’s no real dilemma between holding up the sky alone or dumping it on others.

The load needs to be meaningfully divided, with each participant taking a piece they can handle. While all share similar intentions, their understanding of the context, roles and responsibilities varies.

I firmly believe that within every company, the resources needed to craft a winning strategy already exist. The leader has a choice:

a) Struggle alone, risking burnout,

b) Shift responsibility onto the team, moderators, etc.,

c) Create the conditions for the strategy to reveal itself naturally.

Someday, I’ll detail how this works. For now, here’s one tip:

If you’re a founder-CEO, hold off on calling a strategy session until you’ve answered this one question: “What’s it all for?”

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Alchemy of Love / December 10, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The most important things in life happen when their time comes—not when we want them to, even if we want them with all our hearts.

If it were otherwise, we’d quickly lose interest in life.

Think about it—why bother with longing, worry, or anticipation if every move is already mapped out and the ending is printed in tomorrow’s paper?

At its core, life is a surprise: “Oh! No! Wow! Really?!”

If all surprises were pleasant and profitable, they’d lose their magic. Without the risk of loss or disappointment, champagne goes flat, and gold turns into copper. We need uncertainty in full measure—the good and the bad.

Triumph pushes us to wander too far into the unknown. Defeat forces us to pause, transform, and hunger for a comeback.

Each extreme exhausts itself, nudging us toward a turnaround.

So why do we loathe the risk of mistakes so much that we get stuck in the swamp instead of rafting down the mountain river?

We lack unconditional love—the kind that values us simply for existing, not for what we’ve achieved.

In our imperfection, we are worthy.

Like water, love is a universal solvent. Without them, life on Earth is unimaginable. Love dissolves and washes away everything—fear, filth, doubt, sins, and scars.

Whoever loves and is loved meets the unknown head-on. In such a person, an alchemical furnace burns. It transforms evil into good.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Pause to Expand / December 9, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

There are moments when I just want to stand by the window.

My mind shifts from the glow of car lights to raindrops and back again.

Thoughts flow unpredictably, and I follow them like a paper boat.

I like that so many people are rushing off to do their own things.

But I’ve frozen time. Why?

The pause is doing important work inside me.

Like a compressed Oshibori towel swelling when soaked with water, I expand.

I could easily occupy my mind with another task, book, or podcast.

But that would be like quenching thirst with soda instead of spring water.

Right now, it’s essential to create and hold onto emptiness.

That way, the water of life has a chance to seep into my mind, body, and soul.

What is this source? I don’t know. But it’s there, always ready to nourish.

All you have to do is stop rushing, be still, and receive it with gratitude.

A pause is a necessary step before you can create something again.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Born to Create / December 8, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

How to improve something that already exists—that's clear. You just need to figure out where it squeaks, rubs, or malfunctions, prioritize the problems, and make changes.

Version 100 will undoubtedly be better than version 99.

But it’s a different story if you’re trying to create something from scratch. Sure, it’s not about unraveling the mysteries of consciousness or volcanic activity. But in your own little universe, you’re creating something out of nothing.

You’re driven to solve a problem that poisons life for many.

There’s something about it that won’t let you just walk away. It grips you. Why? Because of the potential for a solution. You anticipate the relief everyone will feel once it’s resolved.

And there’s this strange conviction that you can do it—if you commit fully and luck is on your side.

At this moment, your perfectionism becomes your worst enemy.

Imagine if, instead of you as a baby, a fully grown, mature, and completely accomplished person were born. Where would they go from there? What would be the point of their life? Your existence would lose its meaning.

Instead, your potential is hammering to break free, like a chick pecking its way out of an egg.

In this scenario, you don’t really know what you’re dealing with. The beauty of anything new is its ability to surprise you. It doesn’t matter if it’s a startup, children, or even yourself.

It’s those moments of wonder—the “Aha!”—that make creating something new so magical. Later, it will grow, expand, and evolve. But in the beginning, it just needs to be. Simply exist as it is.

The very act of bringing the implicit into any form is an achievement.

It’s always a miracle. You can, and you should, be proud of yourself.

Someone who truly loves you helped you become a Creator.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

How Do We Enter (Anti)Flow? / December 7, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

In 1975, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced the concept of Flow—a state we reach when a task's challenge perfectly aligns with our skills.

The process of your merging with the problem creates the solution itself.

Without a meaningful challenge, boredom becomes unbearable. When skills fall short, anxiety and panic creep in. And if neither challenge nor skill exists, apathy takes over our soul.

Imagine you're faced with a task. Is it fascinating or insurmountable?

There are both objective and subjective parts. The objective part is straightforward—it’s tied to your accumulated knowledge and experience. But the subjective perception of the problem? For me, that can shift wildly within a single day.

In the morning, it’s “I'm doomed!” By evening, it’s “I’m the Lord of the Rings!” Fatigue, illness, injury, conflict, failure, or bad news can change everything. Suddenly, what felt like a pesky dwarf becomes a bloodthirsty Cyclops.

By the way, for managing emotions, check out this episode.

Another factor shaping whether you think “This is awful!” or “No big deal” is this: Did you choose the task willingly, or was it forced upon you? Curiously, one can transform into the other and back again.

No resources or tech are required for this transformation—just willpower, faith, and thought.

I’m both inspired and awed by the infinite potential that lies within each of us.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Demand for Real / December 6, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

In winter, you won’t find fruits and vegetables native to your region. Sure, the supermarket sells things that look the part—same name, color, texture and shape. Polished produce sits on the shelf, every piece identical, like it’s been selected for a show.

But the moment you bite into, say, a tomato, it’s obvious: “Ugh, not even close.”

And suddenly, you’re nostalgic for your youth, for that summer garden, and the freshly picked Bull’s Heart. Oh, that lovely misshapen form, its hefty weight, dense flesh, and sweet taste!

It’s like whispering, awkward and quiet, for the first time: “I love you.”

Authenticity is beautiful, first for its essence, then for its form.

But artificial things usually get it backward. And that makes sense—form is easy to copy and mass-produce, but capturing the essence? That’s the real challenge. What’s more, when something seems too perfect, it probably isn’t.

Because what is your life? It’s a constant adaptation to the surprises the world throws at you and tossing your surprises back in return. In this whirlwind, what matters are forms that fit the here and now, not flawless ones.

Digital technologies, especially artificial intelligence, can multiply every known form a billionfold. That means the demand for authenticity will grow exponentially.

The paradox is that to thrive, all we have to do is be ourselves.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Gold in the Mud / December 5, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The further we go, the more obvious it becomes how harmful social media is. Like strong alcohol, if there’s any benefit to it, it’s mainly for forgetting your problems for a while.

Content creators will do anything to grab attention—from staging mean provocations with strangers to outright distorting facts. Sadly, artificial intelligence has become gasoline for this fire.

But every phenomenon has a dual nature.

Even in muddy streams, you can find grains of gold. On Instagram, for instance, I sift through health insights, art, humor, and grappling techniques.

Here’s my current “catch of the day”:

The “Waltz” of judoka @jflojudo
News about protein helping kidneys by @biolayne
Hypnotic photo streams by @loeildelaphotographie
A kaleidoscope of impressions from @art_cage_budapest
Charming family humor from @mikeandjoelle
Kind and innocent pranks by @ayorook

The last creator constantly receives comments like: “I can’t get enough of these videos )),” “So refreshing,” and “bro is spreading happiness.” I can’t help but smile in anticipation whenever I see his latest “question.”

Remember that old debate about whether existence shapes consciousness or vice versa?

These creators prove that a lot depends on us, no matter how bleak, deceitful, or corrupt the environment may seem. There’s always a chance to teach, inspire, or make someone laugh.

These "little things" keep humanity from falling into the abyss.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

When Profit Lies / December 4, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Profit margins are a great metric, but sometimes they lie.

Imagine an entrepreneur sketching a new business idea on a napkin in a café for a potential partner. At this stage, there’s no profit, no revenue, no team, no structure—nothing.

Now, compare that to a solid company, maybe even a market leader. Sophisticated processes, offices worldwide, thousands of employees—and profits so massive they barely fit in the annual report.

Metaphorically, the first case is like a seed planted in rich black soil. The second? A tree stump covered in mushrooms. Outwardly, the stump looks alive and thriving, but inside, it’s dead.

Of course, not every new project will survive. And sometimes, even a large organization can reinvent itself. But that’s not the point here.

Pay attention to the source of life.

A lush appearance shouldn’t blind you to a hollow core. And on the flip side, don’t rush to dismiss what seems insignificant. “Nothing” might just surprise you.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Beyond Either-Or / December 3, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

An infantile mind craves simple answers: yes or no, good or bad, black or white. But just like indulging in sugar or alcohol, the fleeting satisfaction comes at a steep cost later.

Reality, with all its dimensions, punishes those who insist on thinking in 2D.

Take beginner bikers, for example. They tend to slam either the brakes or the gas. On a quiet straightaway, that might work, but not in the city, and not off-road.

To master the art of maneuvering, you must engage the clutch, brakes, and throttle simultaneously—like playing a trumpet.

Every phenomenon is always more complex than your mental image of it. That’s why we suffer when trapped in dilemmas. On one side, there’s X; on the other, Y. Both have their merits. You can’t choose, but you must. And so, we swing wildly between them.

Stress is nothing but a short circuit when the mind can’t decide.

Here’s the thing: the mind sees the world only through what it already knows. Anything beyond that, it ignores entirely.

That’s where you, the master of your mind, must push it—like freeing a stuck motorcycle from the mud.

Paradox (from the Greek paradoxos, meaning “unexpected” or “strange”) refers to a statement or idea that clashes with common sense and seems illogical (Wiki).

Your “wild” mission is to destroy the dilemma—or at least shake it loose.

One way to do that is to step out of the either-or mindset and into both-and. It’s a different way of seeing things, where opposites coexist without conflict. Their tension creates value, not harm.

One day, I might create a course about dilemmas in business and life—how they arise, what drives them, and most importantly, how to manage and resolve them. If this course interests you, let me know: “Yes, and here’s why...”

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.