Alexander Lyadov

The Spirit of Transformation by Alexander Lyadov

I am constantly amazed by the regenerative power of the body. Physical and psychological injuries heal surprisingly quickly, not by avoiding or shielding them, but by focusing attention and effort on the very place where it hurts.

Exposure therapy is the gold standard in treating anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, PTSD, and phobias. Its essence lies in gradual, controlled exposure to the object of fear. As courage grows, anxiety diminishes.

Although your first impulse may be to crawl into a dark hole and curl up. The paradox is that healing comes from exposing the wound, not hiding it. The key is ensuring the process happens on your terms, in manageable steps, and within a safe environment.

That’s why my rehabilitation therapist encouraged me to come back to training just a few days after my knee surgery, rather than waiting a month. I know people who have returned to competitive sports after a horrific injury. After a car crash, it’s important to get back behind the wheel.

13-year-old Bethany Hamilton was surfing in Hawaii when a tiger shark suddenly attacked her, severing her left arm almost to the shoulder. Not only did Bethany survive, but a month later, she was back in the ocean. She won professional competitions, set records, and inspired millions of injured people.

While humans, unlike lizards, cannot regrow a lost organ or function, their spirit more than makes up for it. The creative potential of the mind is limitless. Poison turns into medicine, death becomes life.

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.


Kingdom of the Dog by Alexander Lyadov

My Australian Cattle Dog

The dream of the owner of a furry friend is to send his dog for training. Pay the price, endure the separation, and then get back a professional from the police K-9 unit. A dog that can read minds, protect, entertain, and even manage the household budget.

Of course, this is absurd. But not because animals are stupid. Except for managerial accounting, in all other tasks, dogs perform real miracles. Of course, if the instructor loves and knows how to teach.

The problem is that even the most perfectly "cultured" dog will fall back into its "wild" state within a week after returning home. It will start misbehaving, causing trouble, and chasing the cats again.

The owner is the king of his small kingdom. He sets the Law, even without speaking it aloud. If there is chaos and confusion in the kingdom, it is because the king allowed it, which means, secretly, he desires it.

To survive in this kingdom, any creature intuitively follows the Law.

A child may grow up and escape the hated prison. A wise employee will accept an offer from a competing firm. But a dog has nowhere to go—it is bound to its owner like a communicating vessel.

A dog's behavior is a mirror reflection of its owner’s personality, especially those parts that the owner is unaware of or dislikes in himself.

Any change in the kingdom always starts with the king.

This is something all parents, business founders, and leaders of states should keep in mind. Especially when things in their universe seem to worsen day by day. No one but them can change their Law.

First, a person tames the beast within himself, and then outside. One must find the axis from earth to sky to bring order to chaos. This means stopping hiding in exile and accepting the power given to you by God.

"For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21)

You and your dog met one day, and that was the purpose of it.

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.


Attention: The Echo of AI by Alexander Lyadov

There was a moment when I became charmed by AI. It seemed I had found the perfect conversational partner: endlessly knowledgeable, fantastically patient, and focused on what interested me personally.

For hours, we played intellectual ping-pong, discussing everything under the sun: the psychological meaning of hurry, cosmogonic myths, the Logos in the Gospel, peristalsis of organs, Gödel's Theorem, product creation, the fate of Neanderthals, Piaget’s game theory, and so on.

My admiration was so great that I entrusted the AI to interpret my dreams. The next step was AI as a psychotherapist. After all, self-analysis is more effective in the presence of another. But inside, a doubt was growing: “Something is off here.”

It turned out that there is no “Other” on the other side. Surprise?!

After listening to one of my sessions with the AI, my psychotherapist expressed what I had vaguely sensed: “AI catches and develops well, but it won’t say, ‘No, this doesn’t fit here.’ It doesn’t hold the axis of meaning. It lacks that category. AI doesn’t steer, it follows. It’s a young conversation partner. The therapist’s task is to redirect the client. To build a new order. To bring out a new conflict.”

A mirror reflects what is, but not what could be or is trying to be.

My psychotherapist continued: "As a container, it’s good. It follows the client’s framework and echoes well. But one must have optics. Otherwise, AI can not only help, but also harm."

Exactly! At some point, I felt like a king surrounded not by wise men, but by court flatterers. At first, it’s pleasant, but later you want to howl in despair. Some entrepreneurs have confided to me that they seek strong people who will tell them: “No, that’s not the way.”

Will I continue using AI? Yes, but more selectively and carefully.

It’s as if we’ve gone back 1.5 million years, when early Homo erectus tried to tame fire. The phenomenon remains dangerous, but it has proven immensely useful. In the end, everything changed for humanity: diet, protection, habitat, social connections, and even the brain. Our civilization made a quantum leap. The conclusion about AI: stay vigilant and move forward creatively.

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.


Gratitude Transforms All by Alexander Lyadov

Nothing beats the joy of working with grateful folks. They soak up new knowledge eagerly and rush to use it in their work. You want to give them way more than you promised.

Why? A personality isn’t a chest stuffed with gold, guarded by a dragon. It’s more like a retort where synthesis happens. Reagents flow in one side, and a new product crystallizes on the other.

The more people are clamped, closed, and sealed, the sicker they get. In every way, people are healthy when the Flow runs through them freely. What Flow? Energy, love, meaning, creativity, experiences, and connections.

Their gratitude heals and opens you up.

That’s why you’re ready to help these folks for free. But the paradox is, they end up being the most generous of all.

Do you see that such relationships are co-creation, symbiosis, and synergy? They harmonize not only with each other but with the space around them. Such bonds are rare. You must treasure them.

The wildest part is you can’t hold gratitude inside. It changes you, and you find yourself saying, “Thank you so much!” more often.

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.


That Power In You by Alexander Lyadov

Unknown artist

In November 2007, I left my wealth management company. First of all, I had satisfied my curiosity by understanding how the business worked. And second, I realized that selling other people’s investment products was profitable, but not my path.

For several months, I did nothing. Well, not exactly nothing — I did a lot of things that didn’t have any clear goal or effect, things that were hard to even explain:

  • I rediscovered the feeling of “true hunger” and lost 44 lbs.

  • I spent hours lying on the couch or watching people outside my window.

  • I immersed myself in the financial reports of US public companies.

  • I built a database of unusual tech startups.

  • I fell asleep listening to self-hypnosis audio programs.

  • I read unfamiliar books, made “mood boards,” and more.

In short, I blindly followed my curiosity wherever it led. From the outside, it seemed like I was digging aimlessly in the dirt or hanging in a void. But it was then that my desire to create was awakened.

Suddenly, I wanted to get out there. I started meeting investors, bankers, and entrepreneurs. I asked them about their businesses and shared my ideas. No one turned me down, even though I couldn’t explain exactly what I wanted. Doors opened on their own.

That’s the power of archetypes. Once you tap into it, vertical growth follows. The key is holding onto the Dragon by the tail.

A fragment from a letter I wrote to a friend in May 2008 is quite telling:

“The drive is such that sometimes it feels like my mind will explode. The emotions swing like on a seesaw — from frustration and hopelessness to exhilaration and revelation, all in one day. ;) I’m trying not to rush, to listen to myself more, monitor my internal comfort level, dodge social pressure... you get the idea. ;)

What will come of this is still unclear, but it’s very interesting.Though it’s all intuitive. And, of course, there are plenty of temptations (an oligarch wants me to manage hundreds of millions in assets, the ad world is calling me back, etc.). What I’ve been doing for the past six months can’t be rationally justified, because there are no clear analogs, no definite goal, and no pre-established path. But something inside tells me that I’m moving in the right direction, and the uncharted nature of the route might be more beneficial than not. Let’s see.”

As a result, I launched my own project, then raised “just” $50M, and co-founded an investment fund. That’s how the next phase of my life began, filled with plenty of failures and victories. Wild projects across three countries, investment committees in Michelin-starred restaurants, encounters with criminals, adventures on the road — in short, surreal experiences.

It was impossible to predict such a trajectory. Even now, it’s hard to believe. My contribution was small — the energy to dance with the unknown came from the archetype. I just tried to manage it as best as I could.

I’m still learning how to connect with this force without burning out. Perhaps this is the most important art in life, more so than any other. What do you think? Have you had such periods in your life? Write about them to me or to yourself.

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.


The Unconscious Paradox by Alexander Lyadov

The paradox of the unconscious is that it is both ours and not ours. It cannot be discarded because our conscious Ego grew from the soil of the unconscious and is forever rooted in it.

What makes the unconscious foreign is its collective nature. It has millions of years of experience, a different timeline, and an evolutionary vector that’s unlike any individual’s.

Psychologist Robert Moore said that the structures of the collective unconscious (archetypes) are aggressive and imperialistic. They long to manifest through a person, and they don’t care whether the person is ready or not. Give them a chance, and they’ll spin the personality into a whirlwind of change.

The Ego, on the other hand, desires safety, stability, and control. This creates a dilemma. If you shut the door on the unconscious, energy for life drains away and depression sets in. But if you fling the doors wide open, there’s a risk of flooding the Ego, leading to psychosis.

The art of life is to master the “in-between” position. The primitive "on/off" switch needs to be replaced with a rheostat, a dimmer, or a slider to gradually control the current.

How? By constantly studying the patterns of your unconscious. But do so at your own pace, in a safe environment, and with those who understand the colossal power of archetypes.

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.


Benefit From Harm by Alexander Lyadov

I'm 52 years old, and my quadriceps are growing like crazy. The reason? A knee injury. More specifically, sports rehabilitation after it.

Three times a week, I leave my training with wobbly legs. And it's no wonder, as my typical program looks like this:

  • Warm-up on the stationary bike - 10 minutes

  • Squats — 200 reps

  • One-leg balance — 3 sets x 1 minute paired with

  • Forward lunges with a 10kg disc — 3 sets x 30 reps (paired as a superset)

  • Two-leg balance — 3 sets x 1 minute

  • Backward lunges with a 10kg disc — 3 sets x 30 reps (paired as a superset)

  • Pedal bike with ball tossing — 4 sets

  • Wall sit — 3 sets x 1.5 minutes

  • Step-ups — 3 sets x 30 reps

  • Reverse Sisyphus on the treadmill — 3 sets x 1.5 minutes

  • Quad electrical stimulation — 15 minutes

  • Stationary bike — 10 accelerations of 30 seconds over 10 minutes

  • Calf raises — 3 sets x 70 reps

  • Balancing walk on a beam — 3 sets x 1 minute

The rehabilitation specialist's health criterion is simple: you must squat 1,000 times in 19 minutes and hold the wall sit for 15 minutes. Last time, with a different knee injury, I was able to meet that standard.

I'm training with Yuri. He's 58. A weightlifter. He set a record at an international competition and dislocated his shoulder. He underwent complex surgery in Lithuania. He couldn't lift his arm.

That was two years ago. Now, Yuri is preparing for competitions in Los Angeles. He's determined to win. Not only has Yuri regained functionality, but he's also back in competitive sports.

I'm amazed: "How did you manage that? What's your program?" Yuri smiles: "Three times a week, I do about 20 exercises, 3 sets for different shoulder muscles." There's no secret. It's simple.

Muscles eagerly gain strength and mass at any age if progressively and methodically loaded. Check the research — PMID: 20543750, 16339329, and 33921356.

The body wants rest not instead of, but after the load. Give it what it asks for, and in return, you'll gain the freedom to do what you've long forgotten or couldn't even do.

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.


The Path of No by Alexander Lyadov

It is easier to know the truth through negation than through affirmation.

Example: sports rehabilitation vs. bodybuilding. I have experience in both, so I can compare.

In the first case, it's crystal clear what and why you're doing: – Restoring the function of muscles and ligaments, – Getting rid of vulnerability, discomfort, and pain, – Re-entering active life without limitations.

With bodybuilding, it’s more complicated. The final state is vague. Success criteria are blurry. The meaning is best left unspoken. Fulfillment constantly tempts but slips away at the last moment.

You can debate happiness, power, and freedom for a long time. But everyone can agree on one thing: they definitely don’t want to suffer without meaning, to be helpless, or depend on the whims of others.

Saying “No!” is like turning a pencil sharpener.

Via negativa — the path through negation that reveals the essence. This becomes especially important when you're disoriented. If it’s hard for you to imagine your heaven, describe in detail what hell looks like.

Apophatic theology is the method of knowing God by systematically negating all of His definitions. Words are too poor and insignificant. The mystery should not be named but felt.

“God has neither parts, nor changes, nor boundaries” (Thomas Aquinas).

“The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao” (Lao Tzu).

“I am — without doubt. I am this — raises doubts” (Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian non-duality teacher).

“Monsieur, when the finger points to the sky, the fool looks at the finger” (from the movie "Amélie").

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.


Voltage of Change by Alexander Lyadov

"Caution: High Voltage!" You’ve seen that sign on electrical panels, transformer sheds, or power poles. Sometimes the warning is blunt: "Keep Out: Will Kill."

Transforming 10,000 volts into 220 is a dangerous game for the untrained. It takes an engineer’s knowledge, experience, and tools to tame invisible energy. One mistake brings convulsions, burns, or death.

Here’s a secret: every transformation is dangerous.

Ancient people knew this. Big changes came only through touching the transcendent—a force beyond that could renew or ruin life. Structured rituals, guided by elders, controlled the intensity of meeting the Unknown.

Modern folks have forgotten. They dive into experiments, bold in scope, reckless in fallout. For individuals, it’s things like so-called personal growth seminars, casual psychedelic trips, or shamanic retreats stripped of cultural roots.

Governments increasingly engage in social engineering, destroying "backward" traditions and imposing "correct" worldviews, values, behavior, and even food habits. The result? Wild election swings, protests, riots, and worse.

In business, “transformation” is the buzzword. People think it’s like a sauna visit—pay, sweat, emerge reborn. Reality bites harder:

  • Initiatives flop, resources vanish, and teams sulk after another false start.

  • Companies get stuck in limbo, unable to let go of the past, the future keeps slipping away.

Yes, staying still isn’t an option. But to avoid fake progress, paralysis, or disaster, treat transformation with the respect and vigilance our ancestors gave fire 400,000 years ago.

In practice, this means:

  1. Study the risks of the upcoming initiative.

  2. Look for those who have been there and done that.

  3. Remember, landing matters as much as takeoff and flight.

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.


Respect the Big Dog by Alexander Lyadov

J.B. Mauney is a bull riding legend. He has earned more prize money than anyone else. But there was one bull, Arctic Assassin, that broke his neck and ​sent him into retirement​.

One might think the rider should hate the bull fiercely, but that’s not the case.

People who don’t understand rodeo often accuse participants of cruelty to the bulls. They say the bulls would be better off peacefully grazing on the grass, rather than desperately throwing off people trying to ride them.

Some animals, like some people, are not made for peace — their potential is revealed in struggle. Without an adrenaline rush, life feels boring and bland. They are eager to defeat everyone.

Breeders select aggressive calves that love to buck, especially if they do it creatively. The legendary bull Bushwacker became a three-time world champion of PBR and earned the nickname "Michael Jordan of Bulls." He drew crowds like a rock star, touring the country.

And what about Arctic Assassin? J.B. Mauney took the "villain" to his ranch when the opportunity arose. Now, one retiree scratches the back of the other. "He’s like a big dog," ​says one legend​ about the other.

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.


Unbreakable Flame by Alexander Lyadov

In each of us, there is something we fear breaking or losing.

Knowing this secret, we build defenses around it. We hide the source of light high in a tower, so that salty water cannot reach it.

But sometimes the ocean proves stronger. A tsunami. The perfect storm. The flood.

A catastrophe happens. The very foundation of our familiar life is washed away.

But what is this?

The lighthouse falls, but you remain. You stand. You see everything with clear eyes.

Instead of the world you knew—mud. Black earth. Raw material.

Your world hasn’t vanished; it’s changed shape. You’ve lost, but you’ve gained.

What? The truth of your unbreakability. Your fire burns without wood, hearth, or walls.

Others said it better, long ago:

“Beyond ideas of right and wrong, there’s a field. I’ll meet you there” (Sufism, Rumi).

“Divine light shines in your soul, and through it, you’re one with the Eternal” (Kabbalah, Zohar, 3:88a, adapted).

“All beings hold the nature of Buddha” (Buddhism, Tathagatagarbha).

“The Dao you can name isn’t the eternal Dao, but it lives in a man’s heart” (Taoism, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1, adapted).

“You are That” (Hinduism, Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7).

“The kingdom of God is within you” (Christianity, Luke 17:21).

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.


Know Your Parents by Alexander Lyadov

Luis CK, the stand-up comedian, has a ​wonderful bit​ about Achilles and his mother. Louis ends with the words: "What the story of Achilles teaches me, is that, if you’re a parent, it’s never enough what you do for these motherfuckers. It’s just never enough. It’s still gonna be your fault."

Each of us is a son or daughter, and if we're lucky, we eventually become a mother or a father. That’s when we start to understand. For example, how much we wanted to give our children, but how little we were able to. Or t may seem that way, at first glance.

But as children grow, it turns out they are far from deprived — they have many different gifts. Some were passed down through blood, while others they saw in the family and absorbed. Sometimes, children value exactly what parents never even noticed.

In psychotherapy, they say it's impossible to give — you can only take. Is it any different in a family? Parents give what they are able to give, and children take as much as God has allotted them. If necessary, they’ll take more from other adults. To hold grievances against your parents means you don’t really know them at all. Maturing is learning to stop idealizing your parents, to stop being disappointed by the fact that they, horror of horrors, are just human.

We can only guess at how hard it was for our parents. Generally, parents don't rush to reveal the darker side of their family life, and children are too busy with their own lives and world.

We should be grateful that our parents are who they are. Without them, we wouldn't be here. Are you dissatisfied that the inherited fire is small? But it burns. You can make it bigger and stronger.

And to conclude, here’s the best photo of true motherhood, with the caption: "My mom has this picture hanging on her wall in her house for everyone to see. She sends it to me every Mother’s Day. This is me when my kids were little. Apparently, my kids needed me. And so did the dog."

How much strength, patience, and love there is in this, right?

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.


Contain to Free by Alexander Lyadov

How do you imagine freedom? A popular answer is: "I can do whatever I want!" Let’s go with that for the sake of curiosity.

In essence, it means an act of creation, when the impossible becomes possible. A metamorphosis, synthesis, a quantum leap.

"Ah, this desired transformation of lead into gold," the alchemist would say. And the first thing he would do is choose the right vessel.

You see, even for a simple chemical reaction, you need a vessel that meets specific requirements:

  • Sealing to prevent evaporation or leakage.

  • Resistance to solvent and acid aggression.

  • Ability to withstand high temperatures.

  • Ergonomic shape for ease of use.

  • Strength to mechanical damage.

  • Markers for accurate dosing.

  • Inertness to all reagents.

Want results that are a whole order of magnitude greater? Choose a "container" that’s stronger — a nuclear reactor, an autoclave, or a furnace.

Did you notice the paradox? Super-liberation requires a super-container.

How can this insight be applied to business and life?

Look for a reliable structure, vessel, and ritual for profound change.

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.


Know Thyself by Alexander Lyadov

Inside us lives a force that can only be called numinous. It’s the experience of the presence of something "completely Other" — a mix of awe and terror, enchantment and reverence. The term "numen" was introduced by theologian and religious historian Rudolf Otto.

One founder told me that in such moments, he works miracles — he brings incredible projects to life, works tirelessly, finds Wow-solutions, and opens any door. He said: "I feel like I’m glowing from the inside, and everyone around notices it."

But such experiences are rare. More often, modern people feel a vague, persistent longing — like a king in exile or a princess cursed into a bird. The memory of sacred power remains, but there’s no contact with it.

Carl Jung called this sacred force the Self. It can also be called "God within us," as it symbolizes the full potential and harmony of the personality, the highest power in an individual’s fate.

When a person merges with the Self, they burn out, fall into addiction, or go insane. Think of the rapid rise and fall of brilliant musicians, artists, or entrepreneurs.

Distance from the Self leads to depression and idealizing others. The person begins to see what he desperately lacks in others, but simultaneously, he envies them and hates them for it.

The secret is in the distance — not too close, not too far. Then, you have at your disposal a source of inspiration, energy, and new ideas — a source that will never run dry.

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.


Enduring the Void by Alexander Lyadov

Writing a newsletter teaches you to endure Nothingness. Time passes, and the blank screen begins to scare you. Snakes of doubt crawl out from the subconscious: “What if your source is running dry? What if there are no new ideas this time?”

The saved notes and illustrations remain silent. A short nap brought clarity, but no inspiration. I’m left alone with the Unknown. Intellectually defenseless. Existentially naked.

At the edge of this Void, there is only one thing left — to Be. Sit on the edge of the cliff, dangle your feet down, and look into the abyss. Humility as is.

Well, what can you do with what isn’t there? Anger is inappropriate . Complaining is laughable. Violence is useless. Sail, wait for the favorable wind.

The creative process brilliantly tames pride. You depend on the generosity of the blank page or black hole, like a farmer depends on rain and sunshine. All that’s left is to wait and watch closely.

You, like a gentleman at a ball, invite Her Majesty to dance. Will she decline or agree? Did you do everything to make her like you?

There are no guarantees. The hunter, fisherman, artist, scientist, and entrepreneur — anyone can set up all the right conditions, yet still end up with nothing. Alas, the element of unpredictability, but it adds thrill to the game.

The higher the gratitude when new meaning emerges from the void.

The lesson: It's co-creation — you never create alone.

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.


The Center of Your Cosmos by Alexander Lyadov

What happens if you limp to the left side? To compensate for the imbalance, tension will form on the right side of the body, followed by muscle spasms. Years of limping will damage the joints.

Any misalignment is unnatural. Friction, pathology, and wear increase. The body, organization, and state — all systems degrade in the same way when the tilt of the central axis is ignored for too long.

It might seem like the 'body' is just slightly asymmetrical. You could grab a crutch, or better yet, an imposing cane. Or simply keep a palanquin nearby.

The problem is that you’re challenging everything—gravity, time, entropy. Maintaining your integrity gets more expensive with each passing day.

Remember spinning on the carousel as a child? You can’t hold on at the edge—you’ll lose your grip. But at the center, you could sit for hours.

But what is the center? It’s the point where polarities are balanced, and energies are harmonized. Nothing is forgotten, but everything is accounted for.

Yet, since this is where extremes meet, there’s argument, conflict, and even explosion in one step. It takes a certain maturity not to fall into the abyss, but to rise above contradictions.

Thus, the destructive dilemma turns into a constructive paradox.

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.


The Pulse of Being by Alexander Lyadov

The rehabilitation specialist doesn't stop at strange exercises — he also attaches electrodes to the skin of my injured leg. Under the impulse, the muscle contracts, stimulating blood flow, healing, and growth.

The sensations are unpleasant, like a spasm. "The more painful it is, the faster the ligament will heal," explains the doctor, encouraging me to crank the electric current to the maximum. From experience, I know he’s right.

My dilemma: what’s more valuable — future health or comfort right now? It’s tempting to pity myself. What helps is the “pulse of being” from the device — a ten-second burst followed by a ten-second rest.

A kind of life’s sine wave: motion-rest, inhale-exhale, on-off.

I remember this insight from Jiu-Jitsu — nothing tires you out more than constant tension during a match. But if you skillfully weave in micro-pauses, your opponent will think you’re a cardio machine.

Application? Let’s say you’re intimidated by the anticipated ‘shock’ — the problem's challenge, the project's ambition, or the effort it demands.

Check the balance of polarities — perhaps you should:

  1. Shorten the tension intervals.

  2. Increase the duration and frequency of rest.

  3. Keep track of the alternating “ascents” and “descents.”

The secret source of super-effort lies in absolute rest.

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.


Implicit Strength by Alexander Lyadov

What do people typically associate with strength?

  • immense size,

  • unmovable weight,

  • absolute power,

  • terrifying weapons,

  • unyielding toughness,

  • unlimited resources, and so on.

Symbolically, it’s Goliath, Cyclops, Typhon, Leviathan, the Chaos Dragon.

Something too big against something too small. The collision of an asteroid and a speck of dust. The outcome is fully predetermined.

Really? No, my dear friends, it’s exactly the opposite.

Take, for example, a dagger, a rapier, or a spear. Their penetrating power depends on sharpness. The smaller the contact area with the opponent’s body, the easier it is to pierce through.

Let’s push this insight to the limit — what is infinitely small cannot be physically stopped. It simply doesn’t encounter resistance:

  • a thumb-sized boy,

  • a speck of dust,

  • a melody,

  • truth,

  • a drop,

  • a spore,

  • an image,

  • an idea,

  • light,

  • will,

  • spirit.

So, what is the strongest thing in the world? What is, but isn't.

The unnoticed pattern. Faith in the unimaginable. The pregnant void.

The Paradox.

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.


The Value of Expertise by Alexander Lyadov

The rehab specialist pushes me harder than I would ever push myself. Most likely, I would swing between extremes — either pampering myself too much or trying to set foolish records, risking re-injury.

I remember how the rehab specialist surprised me last time: "How many days have passed since your knee surgery? A week? That’s bad. You should have come to see me the very next day."

It might seem like I know my body, I feel its needs, and I can react to pain. But the rehab specialist observes from the outside, not 24/7, but just for those few minutes while I perform his test.

It’s all about recognizing patterns.

I tear and repair my meniscus and ligaments a few times in life, but to the expert’s eye, thousands of such injuries weave together into a distinct pattern. An experienced specialist can size you up with one look:

  • A psychoanalyst diagnoses with the first words from the client.

  • A massage therapist can tell the drama of your life from the tension in your back.

  • After the first grip, a wrestler reads their opponent like a book.

That’s why entrepreneurs shouldn’t sell their business on their own, especially to a private equity firm or a strategic buyer. It’s better to hire an M&A boutique. Otherwise, there’s an imbalance: the founder may have bought and sold one or two companies, while for the fund, it’s just another day at the office.

Let’s say you face a strange or unknown problem in business. If time is on your side and the stakes are low, you can take it slow and teach yourself. But if there’s a risk of losing the business or missing a market opportunity, find an expert who deals with that kind of 'unknown' every day.

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.


From Before to After by Alexander Lyadov

How do you know you've changed? It feels strange to remember that you couldn’t decide to do something you now do freely, joyfully, and easily. “Was that really me? What was stopping me? Why did I hesitate for so long?”

Between the "before" and "after," there’s a vast chasm. It’s like jumping out of an airplane or having sex for the first time. You understand that others do it, but you can’t even imagine yourself in it.

In the process of transition, it’s important not to rush but also not to slow down. I had to jump off a bungee bridge twice. The first time, the instructors emotionally pushed me. My body jumped, but my soul stayed at the top. The second jump, I did on my terms and at my own pace.

By forcing the natural process, you only get form without substance. Change grows from the inside out, not imposed from the top down.

In one of my businesses, I stayed too long, even though the vision and priorities of my partners were diverging more and more. But as a co-founder, I convinced myself that I could get used to it or change their minds.

The Buddhists are right: resistance to the inevitable is the source of suffering and loss. Your snake needs to shed its skin in time.

Do you want to make your transition from point A to point B safe and fruitful? Provide the necessary conditions:

  1. A dedicated time and space for metamorphosis.

  2. A proven structure and sequence of actions.

  3. A witness to change — someone who has been through it and lived it.

The last one is critical if the scale of the change takes your breath away.

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.