Alexander Lyadov

The Birth of an Entrepreneur / July 9, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Starting a business is tough. Especially your first. A woman? With a 16-year-old daughter? In a foreign country (UK), because of war? Oh, and you don’t speak the language fluently.

You’d think prior business experience would help. Nope—just corporate jobs after college, then decades raising kids. Worse, when asked what you want to do, you’d confess: “I don’t even know. No ideas.”

Sounds like zero chance for something new, right?

But life outsmarts the odds-makers. They miss what Nassim Taleb calls “tinkering”—a chain of spontaneous experiments, trials, errors, and magic. It doesn’t matter where a beginner starts. What matters is how:

She stubbornly tries one thing, then another, then a third.
She humbly learns from those who can show a glimpse of truth.
She admits clear misses and adjusts her path.
She listens for the inner whisper: “This is mine, this is not.”

Over time, a pile of “no’s” builds up, like pencil shavings exposing the lead. A shy realization hits: “This is what I want—X, Y, Z.”

Hallelujah! That’s a seismic shift. Once the desired future takes shape, the anxiety changes. The question “What for?” becomes “How?” It’s still uneasy, but different. The first is existential; the second, technical.

Happy birthday, new business—Inspiration.in.antiques: vintage and antique treasures for inspiration and sale. It was worth it. All the tries, flops, doubts, and struggles paid off.

No wonder there’s energy to hunt unique finds at British car boot markets, scour catalogs for ancient hallmarks, or pack a parcel with care for someone waiting eagerly in the US. What else could a buyer say?

“I wholeheartedly recommend this seller. I can't remember the last time I smiled so broadly. Not only as described, it is beautiful & scented from the inside by delicate mint tissue paper. I got also a lovely little envelope with a note from the seller and an elegant chocolate as a nice touch. Perfectly secured and packaged, fast, tracked shipping - sended with extra care - postage should cost me more. I am enchanted. Other sellers should learn from you. It was pure pleasure. Thank you, Marina🌹.”

This entrepreneur? I know her personally. Marina’s my wife )

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.

Break Your Business Curse / July 8, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Everything was fine until… That’s how many fairy tales start.

A ruler falls to a strange ailment. Or an angry sorcerer curses the kingdom. Either way, nature withers, people freeze, and once-fertile land stops yielding.

Life’s natural flow breaks. Now it’s a swamp instead of a river.

The kingdom’s people suffer, clueless about the problem. Even if they know the source of evil, no one has ideas to root it out. A whole nation is stuck “in-between.”

It’s clear: old wineskins won’t hold new wine. Salvation lies beyond the paradigm that caused the stagnation. And the future savior? He’ll look like a loser, a nobody, a fool.

But notice—this character isn’t a superhero. First, he (or she) must face trials that transform him. Only then do inner strengths and outer possibilities unlock. By healing himself, he saves others.

Don’t look down at fairy tales. They mirror our daily lives with stunning accuracy. Swap “kingdom” for “business” and “ruler” for “entrepreneur.” See? The same story plays out everywhere.

Sometimes, I feel I’m not doing business therapy but reading legends, myths, and fairy tales from around the world. A founder’s mysterious apathy, a lack of growth ideas, a drying cash flow—these are problems scripted at least 5,000 years ago.

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.

Back to the Center / July 7, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

The trainer is a ball with a board glued on top. You balance on one leg for a minute. It looks childish, but try not grabbing for support. Your body freaks out—everyday life has flat surfaces, but here, there’s chaos beneath your feet.

First lesson: regaining balance drains crazy energy. The wilder you sway, the more you tire. The ideal? Tiny shifts around the vertical Y-axis.

Here’s the kicker: you sabotage yourself by setting your foot off-center. Just a bit to one side, and your body tilts toward the ground. Some muscles strain to stop the fall, overwork, and swing the pendulum the other way.

But stand dead-center, align your spine with the Y-axis, and your body finds eerie stability, almost effortless. Chaos swirls around, but you? Harmony and calm.

That’s how ancient people saw life—a dance toward or away from the source of life within a circle. Modern folks think life’s a straight line, like a roulette wheel. Ordinary, routine life leans toward decay, ruin, and decline. To save and renew it, people always returned to the center, touching the sacred, the Other.

Far from the world’s axis—axis mundi—a man grows weary, sick, and suffers. It’s a nudge: “Come back, you’re missed!”.

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.

Why Make a Sacrifice? / July 6, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

The word sacrifice comes from Latin sacrificium. It’s two parts: sacer (holy) or sacra (holy things), and facere (to make). So, to sacrifice is to make something sacred.

The ritual demands a man give up something deeply precious. The pain cuts like a fox gnawing off its leg in a trap. This proves his intent—his skin’s in the game.

Furthermore, he doesn’t expect a sure reward. If he did, it’d be a simple trade, a legal deal. So he lingers in doubt and fear: “What if it’s not enough? Were all my sacrifices for nothing? If so, I’m definitely lost.”

Inside, a void opens—a wound, a hole. Raw vulnerability. But it’s also a portal to another reality. Into that empty space, Something Other can slip through. At last!

This is where two worlds meet—the profane and the sacred. Here, transformation happens: the old dies, the new is born.

We witness "creatio ex nihilo"—creation from nothing. In utter emptiness, Something sparks. You can’t force or rush it—just offer the sacrifice and hold faith.

A man shows humility, respect, and awe before a Force greater than him, one that can bless or break him.

When does this readiness come? In moments of raw despair, when every usual path fails, and relief won’t come. Or when disaster strikes out of nowhere. Rarely, a man is so mature he chooses to sacrifice on his own.

By creating a lack within, he sanctifies the empty part of himself. Then life fills with energy, harmony, and meaning.

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.

Hide in Plain / July 5, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

The urge to speak out chases two goals at least.

You need to hide something from someone. The question—where’s the best place?

The answer is simple—where no one would ever think to look. Right beneath his feet, in plain sight, out in the open.

But that’s not enough. Even if he trips over it, he should kick it aside as an annoying nuisance. Why?

What is desired must appear in a form he loathes:

White cloaked in black.
Strength veiled by weakness.
Beauty smeared with dirt.
Care disguised as tyranny.
Health stinking of sweat.
Great good posing as small evil.

Now grab some popcorn and watch him search in vain for years, missing what’s always been with him. You might bristle, saying you’d never do that to anyone. Really?

No. Shockingly, many do this—not to others, but to themselves. They hunt frantically everywhere—in careers, knowledge, pleasures, relationships, mysticism, and so on.

The one place they don’t look? Inside themselves. Specifically, at the part of their soul that feels “strange,” “bad,” or “scary.” Instinct whispers the keys are close, but they search where the light falls, not where the keys were lost.

But enough gloom! The fix doesn’t need trendy methods, a Harvard degree, a new career, or ashram retreats.

The desired changes begin with a heretical thought: “What if I’ve been looking in the wrong place, and the answer’s already in me?”

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.

Free the Light / July 4, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

The urge to speak out chases two goals at least.

First, to unload everything piled up inside. It’s a release for the mind. The “receiver” could be anyone—a spouse, kids, another driver in traffic, a cat, even a lamppost.

Like lightning, all it needs is something to conduct the charge.

The other goal? To be heard and understood. A parent, friend, or therapist—none will do if he can’t grasp the meaning you’re trying to convey.

The first case is easy. Most talks are like that. Hardly communication at all. People don’t listen—they wait to dump their excess baggage off themselves.

So it’s not surprising that folks hide their souls. What’s shocking is that anyone opens up at all. Even if someone offers full attention, there’s a bigger hurdle.

Few can handle you as you are. Instinct stays cautious for a reason. Your raw truth might unsettle, upset, tempt, spark envy, or scare someone.

Why? Those traits live in the shadow of his or her soul. Unprocessed, the traits are seen not in them but in you, stirring up fierce emotions. Many crack under pressure.

You’d love to bare your soul, but their fragility kills the point.

Truth is, I’ve met only a handful of “unbreakable” people. You could tell them anything, and in return, you’d feel — no fear, no judgment, no shock.

My God, the freedom in that moment! Masks fall, defenses drop, like pulling a plastic bag off a sprouting seed. Energy surges, and a certainty grows: you can do anything.

Such people are rare, their work is quiet, but their impact is huge. In a pitch-black stormy night, one lighthouse saves many ships. What if it’s a network of lighthouses, growing stronger?

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.

Full Speed Ahead! / July 3, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

On July 3, 2020, I sent the first email of this newsletter. Five years flew by. Mind-blowing.

Except for the beginning of full-scale war, my dear readers got a new article every day. How? Willpower? Responsibility? Profit? Discipline? Only partly.

It’s more of an illustration of where curiosity can lead. The deeper I went, the more the ritual hooked me: push tasks aside, pour coffee, stare at a blank screen.

At first, I feared ideas would dry up. I panicked a couple of times. But the Process taught me that emptiness, like Arctic ice, hides a bottomless ocean holding everything we need.

This newsletter does many things. It’s a journal of insights, a meditation, a quest for meaning, a way to learn and teach. By the way, I’d love to hear what value it brings you.

Some readers joined recently, others have been with me almost from day one. It’s known that a journey changes travelers; it pulls them out of their usual world.

Something like that happened to us. This newsletter is unique—it’s for those who have heard the inner call for change and are ready to move from one level to another.

We’re already members of the “In-between” club. Wise ancestors knew that lingering in that liminal space is uncomfortable, but that’s where deep beliefs shift, sparking the fiercest growth.

Thanks to you, I know I’m not alone—thousands of “weird” folks like us are scattered in the millions-strong crowd. This newsletter links us, and for that, I’m deeply grateful.

Recently, Jonathan Stark interviewed me about why I write daily. Jonathan is a renowned consultant, podcast host, and author of a popular newsletter. His newsletter inspired mine, and I owe him a lot for that.

I don’t know what the next chapter holds—the future is uncertain. But writing to you taught me to take a step of faith into the unknown. And each time, in that scary void, I found my footing.

So, hold fast and full speed ahead!

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 Healing Force / July 2, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Forget what people say—doctors don’t heal. The body heals itself. Don’t believe it? Ask a doctor the odds of saving a man who refuses to live. Zero percent.

What’s the doctor’s job then? Clear what blocks healing and boost what helps it.

Modern man doesn’t see it that way. He turns doctors into demigods while dismissing his body’s wisdom.

But isn’t it a miracle when a torn ligament mends, blood clots in a wound, or a fever fades in days? A doctor leans on these processes like a physicist leans on thermodynamics. Only the patient takes them for granted.

Big mistake. They’re proof of an inner Force, always watching over us, day and night. With the resources we’re given, this Force fights for us to the end—filtering poisons, killing germs, burning viruses.

Yet we often act like we’re testing it: “Let’s see if you can save me.” We eat junk, skimp on sleep, barely move, or, like I once did, catch malaria in the jungle. Time to ask ourselves: “Whose side are you on?”

This Force doesn’t just guard our body—it saves our mind and soul. Think back: how many times could you have wrecked yourself, lost your mind, or drowned in booze?

Something held us back, kept us safe, pulled us up.

The question isn’t what to call THAT. It’s enough to be grateful It’s there, unseen, inside 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.

Fertile Shadow / July 1, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Everything casts a shadow under the sun. It traces the shape of whatever blocks the light. Sure, the shadow’s tied to its object, but it’s also something else entirely.

This isn’t just about, say, a tree—it’s about the psyche. Jung called the shadow the hidden part of a man’s soul, the piece his conscious self won’t face. But, ha-ha, he can’t escape it either.

The easy way out? Deny it: “That shadow’s not mine!” Since a shadow needs an object, he points fast: “It belongs to that guy!” The important thing is to accuse first; let him justify himself later.

Relief washes over, like dumping a heavy pack on someone else’s back. A man without a shadow feels divine—an angel, maybe an archangel, commander of heaven’s army.

That fits, because blaming others for his shadow is just the start. Now he can hunt those who carry his rejected traits, fight them, wipe them out. The witch hunts and burning of heretics, which became widespread in the Middle Ages, remain popular to this day. Scapegoats change; the game doesn’t.

Punish the symbol of evil—better yet, destroy it—and it feels like the problem’s gone. An illusion of cleansing and control sets in. The soul’s tension eases. He sleeps soundly.

Not for long. The shadow never left. Time to find a new victim. But of course, this one will be called: “Monster! Beast! Demon!”So the inquisitor’s life rolls on—hunts, trials, executions.

Beyond the drama and sorrow, it’s dull. Every act is scripted, predictable. No meaning. No freedom. Sophisticated accusations and tortures aren’t exactly art.

Worst of all, there’s no growth, no real life.

Here’s the thing: shadow traits are like compost. Dirty, foul, repulsive—but vital for enriching soil, making it fertile. Without it, rich earth turns to barren sand and stone. Toss in seeds, pour on water—it’s all for nothing.

For a soul to rise high and bear fruit, its roots must feed on filth, rot, and muck. One's greatest task? Turn flaws into strengths, curse into a gift, dung into a rose.

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.

Body Screams Truth / June 30, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

“When the mind suffers, the body screams,” Cardinal Lamberto tells Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III. During their talk, Michael has a diabetic attack. In confession, he admits he betrayed his wife and himself, killed men, and worst of all, his own brother. No wonder the fire is burning him from the inside.

I recall this scene when a client’s body—or mine—rebels. If a man ignores his gut and keeps doing what hurts him, his subconscious can shut his body down.

Suddenly, an injury hits, immunity drops, life’s energy drains. Pills, treatments, and self-help books spark hope, then let you down. The heads of the Lernaean Hydra grow back. The question isn’t the symptoms, but where they come from and why.

It seems simple—find the root cause and heal. Sure, his Ego will squirm. He’ll need a skilled guide. But the real hurdle? He must rethink his beliefs and his way of life. Not everyone’s ready for that.

It’s tempting to back out: “I want to live like before. Just give me a painkiller.”

That’s human, and I get it. Psychologist James Hollis shared: “I have a client who was in AA for many years, and he said the core sentence of his group was this isn't working well for me, but I do it very well.”

Readiness for change grows with pain. Alas.

There’s a way to skip extra suffering, though. Picture an unwanted future now. If it’s too hard or scary, find someone to guide you through it, eyes wide open.

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 Yourself / June 29, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Want a universal principle for solving problems?

Step outside yourself, and the problem fades—or even vanishes.

Example: I woke up this morning feeling low. My back aches, my foot won’t heal. I recall annoying tasks I can’t dodge. I read the news —it sucks th oxygen out.

A workout, a healthy breakfast, and coffee help a bit. The gloom steps back, but it’s like a cloud blocking the sun.

Then a thought hits me, one that flickered at the edge of a dream. It weaves together judo’s “sacrifice throws,” Systems Theory, non-equilibrium processes, and my freedom.

Intrigued by the promise, I start grilling my AI. A minute later, I’m diving into insights, completely forgetting the pain in my body, the nagging chores, and the gloomy context.

A clearing opens, energy flows, and a new angle shifts my view. Maybe I grew, or maybe the problems shrank.

The same fact can either drag you into depression or lift you up. The difference lies in whether you’re observing it from inside the fishbowl or from outside.

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.

Digest Your Past / June 28, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

I can’t take my eyes off the video. I watch it again and again.

Someone might say, “No big deal. A lizard sheds its old skin.” And sure, in the wild, that happens all the time.

I want to shout, “How can you miss the deeper meaning?!” The living Dragon of Chaos is devouring its tail, just like ancient Egyptian drawings from the first millennium BC.

The Uroboros, the tail-eater, stood for cycles with no start or end—death and rebirth. In China, the snake turned into a dragon, a bringer of luck.

This reptile deserves a book, not a post. I just want you to see how nature handles its past.

Old skin—what’s it good for? It did its job, lost its shine, wore to holes, and got old. It probably cramped the creature's movement, squeezed tighter each day.

Is the lizard’s “wish” to shed that skin quick, to bask in something new? No, it carefully eats every scrap of its past. That’s raw material for its future.

Think of this when you’re tempted to erase parts of your personal or shared past. Everything happened for a reason. Behind the ugly form lies precious meaning.

It’s not a curse or madness, but your invitation to find gold in the dirt. Digest the past, shift your view, and give it a new place.

By the way, this little dragon teaches one more lesson: you renew yourself alone. You can’t hand that off. All you can seek is advice, understanding, or support from those who’ve walked that path before.

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 the Present / June 27, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Are you happy with your business or life right now? Partly, sure, but you’ve got a long list of gripes too. “If only I could ditch A, find B, and boost C,” you dream.

Discontent with what you have pushes you to act.

Amazing, isn’t it? What could be—the vision, the dream, the image—is intangible. Compare that to the solid, tangible matter you hold in your hands right now. You can weigh it, measure it, divide it... but you're not satisfied.

Is the unreal worth more than the real? How can that be?

“When a finger points at the moon, the fool looks at the finger,” says a boy in Amelie. A fool sees the shell, not the mollusk inside. Or current assets, not future cash flow.

Your gut is right when it reaches for what’s not here yet. It’s more dangerous to identify yourself only with the current form. The result is depression, stagnation, and decline. Thanatos triumphs over Eros.

Chasing the unseen is faith in your potential. The fact you’re still breathing proves there’s abundance, wealth, and harmony begging you to bring them to life, fast.

Your first step? Analyze the “delta” between Present & Future.

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.

Become the Force / June 26, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

We boldly, proudly, and easily say “I want,” “I know,” “I did,” “I figured it out,” “I will,” and so on. It feels like we control our lives completely. Yet thousands of processes inside you happen on their own:

heartbeat
digestion
sweating
tissue repair
nerve impulses
hormone production
immune system work, etc.

But it's not just physiology beyond our control. Emotions and feelings also arise on their own. So do pleasure and pain. Ideas, long-forgotten memories, and dreams come from nowhere.

In therapy, you learn there are no accidents in your personal life. Your slips of the tongue, missteps, forgotten things, or lost items—they’re often the work of unconscious desires.

And your interests—are they really yours? Something grabs your gaze, holds it tight, and you can’t look away. Ignore that pull too long, and your energy drains in every part of life.

Who cuts the power? Call Him what you want, but it’s not you. Not the Ego skeptically reading this. Deep inside, you feel an autonomous Force, one that has an interest in you.

Jung calls it the Self, and it hungers to unlock your potential. It can feed you, guide you, scare you, or lift you up. But the Self can’t act alone. It needs your Ego to turn its desires into reality. Without you, that Force stays locked in potential.

No wonder it gets demonic when you ignore it. In extreme cases, the Self starts taking revenge on the Ego. One could consider psychopathology as the war between two centers within a person.

“There is an old saying — the eleventh commandment is to become yourself. And that's the hardest one of all,” said psychoanalyst James Hollis.

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.

Climb the Paradox / June 25, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Standing at the mountain’s base, you strain to spot the peak through the clouds. The slope is so steep it makes your neck tingle. Symbolically, this is your boldest goal—in business, sports, art, or life.

How do you climb it fast?

In feet, the shortest path is straight up. But unless you’re a pro climber, the only thing short will be your life.

Now look at the road to Machu Picchu in Peru. It twists up the slope like a snake. It veers far left, then right, pulling you away from the goal. You’re stepping away from your goal, but that’s exactly what’s optimal!

On some mountain resorts, you’ll see a zigzag trail. It cuts back and forth diagonally. At each turn, a bench waits for you to catch your breath and enjoy the view.

Besides the big zigzag, there’s also a small one —steps.

For a really steep, high mountain, a serpentine path loops around. You trudge upward, going in circles. Not only does it take a long time, but every time you end up almost in the same place, just a bit higher. Boring?

Think of it as a ratchet, letting the system turn one way and locking it against sliding back. Your ascent becomes unstoppable, like... an avalanche.

Looking at these paths, a paradox hits:

Sometimes the fastest path is the longer one.

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.

Small Group, Big Change / June 24, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

For big organizational changes, you don’t need everyone right away. A handful of people is enough, but they’ve got to be crazy. Of course, that’s how the rest see them. These change-makers, though, believe their moves are sane.

By the way, it’d be risky if the majority didn’t push back. The organization would sway side to side. It’d end up frozen. Inertia suggests that everyone accepts the old model.

Besides, moving from A to B brings a stretch of uncertainty. A small group can handle this pressure without falling apart. Why? In chaos, they read the context and each other better.

Decisions slow as more people join in. A tiny group’s feedback loop is tighter. They learn faster. Their odds of winning grow.

But here’s the catch. Obsession, grit, and flexibility aren’t enough for transformation. You need authority—power and resources.

So, transformation demands few people and big power.

Who meets both terms? You guessed it—only the founder.

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 Power of Co-Creation / June 23, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

It’s magic when a creator works alone, but when there are two or more, the process becomes mesmerizing.. Maybe because creating together is harder. Or maybe you feel the bond—where two stand, a third appears.

I learned the thrill of co-creation while working in advertising. Our daily tool was group brainstorming. The sharpest memory? When a client needs a killer solution by tomorrow, and we’re out of ideas. Despair, frustration, and anxiety rule.

But then, in that darkness, one sparks a light. Another catches it. A third shields it from the wind of criticism. A fourth breathes life into it. Soon, flames dance on our faces. Somehow, we’ve found the Big Idea again.

It didn’t always happen. Skill meant even average ideas boosted client sales. But when we soared to the skies, that experience was its own reward.

Since then, I chase spontaneous co-creation everywhere: in business therapy with clients, podcast interviews, jiu-jitsu, even casual talks.

I started a folder called “Spontaneity” to collect others’ examples:

A recent find is my favorite. Musician Fulton Lee asked a passerby to sing along, and got so much more. The clip’s vibe was so strong, he and Karen Linette cut a full single together. Isn’t that just wild?

By the way, in this newsletter, the spark of our co-creation flickers too.

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 Hidden Savior / June 22, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

In the legendary film Predator, there is a lesson-packed scene. The alien beast hunts “Dutch,” the mercenary leader (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Dutch tumbles down a waterfall, claws his way onto a muddy bank, and collapses face-first in the filth.

He’s not safe yet. The monster’s splash echoes in the water. In despair, Dutch turns, grips tree roots, and braces to face his certain death.

The Predator steps close and drops its cloak of invisibility. At last, the man sees his terrifying enemy for what it is. But wait? Death glances around and moves on.

Relieved, Dutch scrambles to understand what saved him. Why didn’t the Predator finish its cornered prey? Then it hits him—the mud! It hid him from the monster’s infrared vision.

Mud, that banal substance nobody wants. We tolerate it as a minor nuisance. When stained, we rush to wash it off. Yet here it was—a cloak of invisibility, a charm, a shield.

This revelation flips the story upside down. The hunted becomes the hunter, luring his quarry into a trap. The lesson’s so sharp, it’s worth rewatching the film to soak it in.

Sometimes in business or life, we face an insurmountable problem. We fight, we use every tool at our disposal. But it’s no use. The pursuer’s far stronger.

At the bottom of despair, in the dark depths of hopelessness, we spot a spark. It lights up a paradox. What we’ve always dismissed, feared, hated, and ignored—is the very thing that will save us.

I’ve seen this creative twist many times, in business therapy with clients and in my own work with a psychotherapist. The paradox works so well, I don’t wait for it now—I hunt it down every time.

In a tough spot, ask yourself: “What ‘mud’ will shield, liberate, heal me?”

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.

Roots vs. Walls / June 21, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Picture yourself building a grand house. You’ll need a sturdy foundation, with long piles driven deep. If the soil’s loose and soggy from groundwater, you can’t skip waterproofing the concrete.

Your home, a symbol of safety and warmth, loses its meaning if nature’s forces secretly gnaw at its base, don’t they? Without sealing it tight, you’re doomed to lose your sanctuary one day.

Now imagine an acorn falling into rich black soil. That thick, stinking mud has swallowed countless plants and creatures. Your first thought: “Ugh, gross! Just don’t get dirty.”

If that acorn could speak, it’d laugh and say, “Are you nuts? This is a black paradise! Nothing in the world’s finer, richer, or tastier!” Coating an acorn in sealant? That’s death.

What’s the difference here?

The house is a man-made thing, thrust into a world that might turn hostile. For man, nature’s less a mother, more a stepmother. He’s got to stay sharp.

But for the acorn, soil’s its natural home. It’s bound to the earth—without soil, no oak grows. And without oaks, nature itself would look mighty different.

Why’s this matter? Protection wears you down. It eats your strength.

If you’re stepping into a new market, forging a partnership, or switching jobs, try turning that strange, scary world into something neutral—or better, friendly.

How? Study the new ground carefully, take your time. But the real treasures? They’ll shine through the muck when that foreign place feels like home.

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.

Food for Thought / June 20, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Do you often order takeout? I do it less and less. It’s usually so tasty you lick your fingers. But afterward, your body wonders, “What on earth did you just put in me?” And no amount of water quenches the thirst.

A chef once swore any dish tastes better with olive oil and sugar. Food makers stretched that list to fake flavors, tweak textures, stretch shelf life, and nail the right taste or color:

Salt
MSG
Caramelizer
Flavorings
Hydrolyzed plant protein
Preservatives and stabilizers
Sugar and fake sweeteners
Soy sauce and fermented stuff

Their motive is clear: if the taste flops, it’s their failure. If the “food of the gods” wrecks your stomach or kidneys later, nobody connects the dots.

Investor Charlie Munger taught, “Show me the incentives, I’ll show you the outcome.” Dining at a fancy restaurant with a chef you know is one thing. Station-side shawarma is another.

There, you’re friends for years. Here, you’ll never meet again. The shorter the relationship horizon, the stronger the temptation to cheat.

When you’re drained, street food in Calcutta might be the lesser evil. But knowing this, keep a handful of almonds in your pocket. Hunger won’t force you to buy a greasy snack.

Eating well is like sleeping well. To rest deeply at night, you make smart choices from dawn: greet the sunrise, skip caffeine after 3 p.m., no late meals.

Caring about food quality pays off. This profane matter shapes everything—body, mind, spirit. Feeling low? Weak? Stuck? Check the source that fed 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.