Alexander Lyadov

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.

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.

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.

Ego and Self Change Together / June 19, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Psychology is hard to call a science. Its subject—human—is too complex. It’s easier to implant a brain chip, split an atom, or tweak a virus, especially if you ignore the long-term consequences.

Still, psychology helps us grasp the big question: what’s it all for?

Carl Jung figured it out, and Edward Edinger explained it clearly. The personality has two centers—Ego and Self, linked by an axis.

The Ego is the part reading this, feeling the chair against your back, and thinking, “Is it too late for coffee?”

Unlike the subjective Ego, the Self is objective. It’s like rich soil, packed with 200 million years of reptile, mammal, and human experience. This collective unconscious holds everything needed for growth.

In childhood, Ego and Self are fused into one amorphous mass. Then the Ego grows, like a tree from the earth. A strong Ego pulls away to claim its uniqueness. But a mature Ego returns to the source of energy, ideas, dreams—in short, Life.

The wildest part? During self-discovery, not only the Ego changes, but the Self—this collective unconscious—changes as well. In other words, one affects all.

The takeaway: To better society and the world, no need for another revolution or social experiment. Just strive to be your true self.

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 Rise of Authenticity / June 18, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

I don’t know about you, but I’ve stopped trusting those so-called Alan Watts lectures on YouTube or alleged Kafka quotes on Twitter-X. “Content creators” figured out that readers will like and repost a flashy idea without checking its truth. And now, Pandora’s box has opened—the AI.

A wave of lies or half-truths swells, threatening to become a tsunami. In nature, parasites have their niche, but the ecosystem dies if parasites outnumber the organisms whose blood they drain.

Something similar happened with food. Chasing profit, corporations stuffed shelves with ultra-processed junk, then convinced us nothing’s healthier.

What did wise folks do? They went back to the source.

A candy bar’s ingredients are a puzzle, but a nut is just a nut. There’s a difference between quenching thirst with a glass of Coca-Cola or water. One smuggles 105 calories into your body; the other, zero.

A small thing? Burning 105 calories takes 30-40 minutes of walking.

Fake information pollutes the mind the same way. A man gets mentally sick, forced to heal and detox. Hygiene matters:

Be picky, choosing authors over marketers.
Doubt “tasty” promises and headlines.
Cook meals from ingredients instead of buying fast food.

History seems to spiral in a circle. The number of trustworthy sources dwindles. Authenticity, sincerity, and consistency are rapidly increasing in value.

In an era of excess noise, the rule holds truer than ever: Less is more.

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.

Ecstasy Without Words / June 17, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Listen to this composition. If it’s not beautiful, you’re my worst enemy forever! Kidding, of course. There are as many preferences as there are people.

But here’s the question—how do you judge beauty in music? Especially if it’s original. Even more, if it’s a new genre.

Hearing it, many—especially experts—feel shock, anger, disgust. The novelty shatters the status quo in their minds.

Even a simple melody’s hard to rate. Plenty of three-chord songs skyrocket to number one.

If music holds magic, musicians are modern shamans. By bypassing the neocortex, their rhythms directly implant into our reptilian brain. Our bodies begin to move as if under hypnosis.

Our hidden self recognizes and embraces the offered form. Tears flow, a shout escapes, a grin stretches wide. Our soul howls, purrs, or sings.

The impact of music on people is immense, yet unexplained. It’s funny that despite the mystery of music, people use its power for their benefit every day. Funny thing: despite its mystery, we use its power daily. For at least 40,000 years.

By the way, babies come with musical hearing built in. A “chip” inside us lets us catch, create, and send musical cipher.

A man can feel joy, find meaning, even break past his ego—all from a “tra-la-la.” No words, theories, or mental constructs. A strum—and ecstasy!

If something works wonders, the mind doesn’t need to know how or why. This is just as true for the things in life you feel “No!” or “Yes!” about.

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 Ego / June 16, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Look at the diagram from Canadian psychologist Paul T. P. Wong. The horizontal axis shows life’s outcome, from failure to success. Here, it’s about hitting Ego goals: comfort, wealth, fame, and so on.

The vertical axis runs from Emptiness below to Meaningful Fulfillment above—a transcendent Mission, serving not “I” but a Greater Purpose.

Four paths emerge.

“Wasted Life” sits bottom left, where nothing worked out, big or small. Bottom right, we see “Shallow Life.” It seems that a person has reached the desired heights, but for some reason, he feels unbearably nauseous.

The paradox: man feeds his Ego, yet stays hungry.

Even a “Sacrificial Life,” top left, satisfies more. The Greater Purpose may not be reached, but he gave all he had. Others will carry on his work.

The ideal? When personal goals merge with the Mission. Then a person is not an airplane stuck in Earth’s atmosphere but a spaceship piercing through it, heading toward another planet.

Question: Which path feels like your life? Answering sparks 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.

Finding the Father / June 15, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Today is a holiday—International Father’s Day. I never knew my dad. My biological father left for another family when I was five years old.

In my youth, I tried to shrug it off, like it didn’t matter. But the deeper I dig into myself, the clearer it becomes: that moment shaped my fate.

A father’s role is to bless everyone, especially his child.

If he refuses, he casts a curse. A hole lingers in the child’s head or heart. No matter how strong the rest of the body grows, a jab in that spot can kill.

Life becomes a hunt for patches, umbrellas, helmets, weapons—anything to hide or shield the wound. Instinct quietly does most of the work, stitching defenses.

But these fixes fall short, flawed. Sooner or later, you face the truth: the only way out is to sculpt and fire the figure of a Father within yourself.

This is far from a trivial task. Without divine help, it would be doomed. But as psychologist Edward Edinger explains, a curse can turn into a priceless gift:

"When the personal father is missing and, more particularly, when he is completely unknown, as may happen with an illegitimate child, there is no layer of personal experience to mediate between the ego and the numinous image of the archetypal father. A kind of hole is left in the psyche through which emerge the powerful archetypal contents of the collective unconscious. Such a condition is a serious danger. It threatens inundation of the ego by the dynamic forces of the unconscious, causing disorientation and loss of relation to external reality. If, however, the ego can survive this danger, the “hole in the psyche” becomes a window providing insights into the depths of being."

Without a father outside, the child turns inward—to the Self. That’s what Carl Jung called the core of the personality, a deep force pushing for wholeness and potential.

The transcendent Father steps in where the earthly one fled. As an archetype, this Father is endlessly wise, strong, generous, kind. He’s always been there, is there now, will always be. Ready to support you—just call.

It’s like planting unknown seeds, unsure how fast the tree will grow or when it will bear fruit. But from the pulse of my dreams, one day, God willing, a garden will bloom inside me.

I love you, my Father. May every day be yours!

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.

Poison to Gold / June 14, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

“Everything is poison, everything is medicine; the dose decides which.” Paracelsus knew how to spark hope. If something brings us pain, its true nature hides from us. We are at the beginning of the journey.

Someday we’ll master what torments and poisons us now. But the real master turns harm into good. Look around—evil is raw material, waiting!

Yet the experiment happens alone, in a tiny lab. Giant factories, clever logistics, thousands of workers, billions in funds—all that comes later.

Turning lead into gold begins inside, not out there.

In practice, this means looking deep into your soul. Where it’s pitch-black, where danger reeks like damp rot, where cold pierces to the bone.

The goal is to find, understand, and embrace every rejected piece of yourself. A mature soul is whole, with a place for everything and everyone.

By the way, why do we prize gold?

It’s rare, stirs awe.
It reflects the sun without dulling.
It resists corrosion and rust.
It conducts heat and current superbly.
It kills bacteria, viruses, and infections.
It’s soft, perfect for a jeweler’s craft.
It’s a symbol of nearing divine perfection.

Once you forge gold within yourself, you’ll want to do it 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.

Life’s Spine / June 13, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

The vertical position symbolizes life. Psychologist E. Edinger offered an idea, simple yet deep.

If one body lies flat on the ground and another stands upright, you’d bet on the second for its vital spark.

Of course, the horizontal can mean rest or sleep. It’s a kind of potentiality. But not all energy moves from potential to kinetic. Sometimes it’s death. Or paralysis.

To slither along the ground, you only need “cold” blood, like snakes or frogs. Calling that life feels wrong. It’s more like existing. Standing up demands energy, a fire inside. Dozing on your feet is risky.

The harsher the world, the truer this is. Criminals pick victims with hunched backs, sluggish steps, eyes glued to the dirt. A grappler, lost in panic, hears one command: straighten your spine, look up.

Standing straight is more than body posture. You can soar to a meta-level, where contradictions dissolve. The ideal is to find your inner axis of meaning. The world pillar (Axis Mundi). The cosmic tree (Arbor Mundi). The Ego-Self axes.

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.

Treasures in the Mud / June 12, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Drop you back 300, 3,000, or even 300,000 years, and you’d stun anyone who cared to listen.

You’d look around, horrified, and say, “Why all this suffering? Let’s fix your life fast. Everything you need lies at your feet or in the mud.”

Picture your listener—a hunter, healer, or born builder. He’d grasp your advice and make it real. His comfort, safety, crops, health—everything would soar.

Every thing is a pattern turned solid. For example, hammer-ness becomes a hammer. Knowing the pattern matters more—you can craft a tool from nothing.

What once seemed trash or trouble turns out to be raw material. We walk knee-deep in mud every moment, stumbling over gold nuggets and whining about scarce resources.

Interestingly, the same happens inside a man. He aches for something—safety, understanding, energy, respect, purpose, health, abundance, connection, or love.

It’s all there inside him, but cloaked in forms his ego calls weird, ugly, scary, or just wrong.

The task is to hunt gold in your own mud. Then you not only fill your voids but help others find their riches.

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 Life Stumbles / June 11, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

In Evernote, you type a word, and it crawls out, sluggish, a second or two late. Or in a bank’s support chat, you ask a question, and no answer comes, none at all.

Seems trivial. So why the irritation, the anger inside?

It’s simple—your life stumbles. A micro-abyss opens between action and response. Tiny, sure, but it’s uncertainty. The familiar world cracks. Anxiety seeps in.

A heavy dose of uncertainty sparks not irritation but shock. Say an investor stalls on signing the agreed term sheet. Is he just busy, or did he pick your rival at the last second?

An entrepreneur handles delays differently. He refuses to endure them. He attacks uncertainty head-on. “Action is information,” said Brian Armstrong, founder of Coinbase.

Doing something, anything, forces reality to respond sooner. That cuts your anxiety. That’s why founders worry less and stay calmer than employees, though their risks tower higher.

How to keep life simple?

Avoid anything or anyone that muddies clear, quick feedback.
Choose activities where most depends on you.
If no response comes, don’t wait. Act.

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 Beast Is Calm? / June 9, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Hypnotic video of a bear wandering into the Arctic nowhere.

No solid ground beneath him—just ice floes sinking under water. Each holds his weight as he steps. If the floes stayed still, fine, but no—waves churn wildly. Yet the bear keeps walking.

Why doesn’t he panic? Chew his claws? Pop Zoloft?

Some say a wild beast lacks consciousness. So he can’t suffer like we do. But I think it’s something else.

Even this predator turns into a drooping teddy bear if you drop him in a world alien to him.

But this world? It’s his home. More than that, the Arctic wouldn’t be itself without the polar bear. And, of course, the other way around. The bear is bound to the ocean, the ice, the seals, and so on.

Ursus maritimus—sea bear in Latin—stays calm. This is his iceberg, his water, his land. Let the stranger swept here fret.

Mankind, as a whole, has a stunning knack for mastering any habitat or moment in history. No matter what chaos life throws at us, we ultimately turn it into a safe, cozy home.

Inside you, too, lives a beast, drawing strength from its bond with the world.

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.

In-between Extremes / June 9, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Every polarized phenomenon, once it reaches its peak, shifts into its opposite. This is how nature maintains the balance of things. Heraclitus wrote: "Warm things cool down, cold things warm up, wet things dry out, and dried things get moist again."

Carl Jung introduced the term "enantiodromia" into psychology, which literally means "running backwards."

Example: A passionate desire for universal equality and love for the planet leads to intolerance and terror toward those who don’t share the "noble" goal. And the workaholic CEO, who has prayed to GTD and ROI for years, suddenly drops everything for surfing in Bali.

One should avoid extremes like the plague. Otherwise, the subconscious will play a cruel trick on you. When Yin is forced into hiding, he will commit sabotage by derailing your train, which is loaded only with Yang.

Your eyebrow should automatically rise at any dogma:

"Work hard, and success will come"
"Technology will save humanity"
"Money solves everything"
"Love rules the world"
"No pain, no gain"
"Life is a struggle"
"Follow your dreams"
"People are the cancer of the planet"
"All people are inherently good," and so on.

Feeling "righteous anger"? Look for mental lameness.

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 King of Questions / June 8, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

One of the scariest questions is “What for?” Until a man asks it, he can do plenty on autopilot. Especially when life’s energy surges with nowhere to go, and a clever charmer appears, ready to sway someone eager to be swayed.

In essence, it’s a betrayal of man's own interests. But first, he must shape those interests into clear words. And before that, he has to trust the uneasy twist in his gut: “Hmm, something’s off here. I’m out.”

Otherwise, he’ll waste colossal effort on someone else’s goals. One day, the sacrifice will loom so large that shock and clarity spark a reckoning of what matters.

His body, mind, and soul unite in a single cry: “Go #@*! yourselves!”

Despite its raw edge, this is a hopeful sign. Sometimes, truth shines clearest through negation. For a mighty oak tree to grow, you must dig a hole for the seedling “Yes!” with a shovel “No!”.

From a life spent in vain—or worse, in harm—remains a scar. It’s a reminder of the price of maturity, like a knocked-out tooth, a severed finger joint, or a tattoo from an ancient rite of passage.

So the question “What for?” rises to the peak of meaning’s pyramid.

Asking it doesn’t make life easier—quite the opposite. But inside, a core strengthens. He stumbles and falls? No problem! Grab that core and stand up fast.

In the horizontal plane of existence, “For what?” is the vertical of 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.

Create, Don’t Search / June 7, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

There’s a big difference between finding something and creating it.

Take this: it’s easier for me to write an article on a topic from scratch than to dig through archives or search the internet. There are thousands of articles published over there. Skimming them would waste hours.

Instead, I wrestle with the void for fifteen minutes—and boom!—“You’ve got mail.” Sure, the tone, the phrases, the words shift. But the text captures “me-in-the-moment” better, because both of us—me and the context—have inevitably changed.

Here’s a theory: this is how entrepreneurs, composers, designers, engineers, and all creators think and act. They don’t hunt for perfection. They reshape reality to bring it closer to the ideal.

A man experiences ecstasy when he encounters the embodied ideal. The harmony of nature, the beauty of art, or the purity of a soul’s impulse—they’re flawless. Nothing to add, nothing to take away. He can only stand in awe.

But those moments are fleeting and unpredictable. Chasing them risks wasting energy. Waiting for them squanders time. No thanks—creators are too restless for that.

So, he looks around and grabs what’s at hand. Then he starts shaping, forging, blending—giving raw material the form he wants. In a master’s hands, that form nears the ideal.

Even a novice creator wins. Neuroscientists say dopamine, the hormone of satisfaction and joy, flows from steady progress toward a goal, not from reaching it.

Want more joy in life? Stop searching and waiting. Take what’s there and make it better with your own hands.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

P.S. I drew the illustration for this article myself using PowerPoint.

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.