The Gift of Nothing /  by Alexander Lyadov

For the next week or two, my letters will stop coming. I chose to gift myself, and maybe you, a well-earned break.

A fierce longing for the Void hit me. I want to stew in my own juices. Ferment. Let noble mold grow.

From a rational view, this is reckless. The critic inside me chokes on arguments about duty, order, business, creativity, rituals. Five years of newsletters isn’t nothing.

But I’ve long known the mind misses what truly matters. First among them is the Void, which the mind fears, sure that “stopping life means death.” Such a sweet fool.

The paradox: a one can only be born from zero. All those bold shapes, complex graphs, and big numbers come only after the X, Y, Z axes are drawn.

First, there was Nothing. Zilch. The origin. The starting point.

This feels like my old ritual. Years ago, every five to seven years, I’d vanish for weeks into Peru’s jungles, the Himalayas’ pines, or somewhere else. This time it’s different—I stay put, yet travel far.

No psychedelics. No mysticism. The cosmos lives inside us all.

Sometimes it terrifies us with icy darkness and cold silence. But that’s just a mirror of how we face the abyss. Pay warm attention to it, and a black hole turns into a horn of plenty.

Where there was nothing, everything we need will rise. Maybe not how or when we expect. But in the end, we’ll be grateful we trusted that strange urge within.

I hope this “in-between” does us all good.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Treasures in the Dark /  by Alexander Lyadov

Do you dream nightmares that truly scare you? Ones you wish you could unsee? So shocking you can’t fall back asleep?

I used to fear those dreams. Now I watch them with curiosity. I even write them down and dig into their meaning. Though they feel uneasy in the moment, I don’t want to forget them.

I’ve learned to value not their form, but their hidden truth. Darkness, madness, violence, filth, slime, and blood serve the Self—the core of who you are—to trick the guard, your mind. Then your Ego catches a spark of insight.

Sometimes, horrific acts show the deep despair of a rejected part of you. It’s just trying to grab your ever-drifting gaze. Other ways didn’t work.

Understand this: where you feel calm and cozy, there’s no new information. But in that “filth” lie your treasures—wild energy, Wow solutions, and possibilities, each brighter than the last.

Next time a nightmare strikes, ask your subconscious: “Judging by the heat, this matters to you, and so to me. What are you trying to say?”

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Touch the Rock /  by Alexander Lyadov

Watching a rock climber from afar, it feels like he’s stuck. Against him stands a smooth vertical wall and relentless gravity. What does he have? Only a fading spark of strength, experience, and love for life.

Here lies the gap between the watcher and the doer.

The first sees the whole scene, so he spots the objective risk. His worry makes sense: the problem is clear, the answer absent.

The second sees just a tiny patch before him. Sees? No—he merges with that fragment of reality, body and soul. Their bond is so fierce, the rock whispers its secrets to him.

Like a student cracking a Zen koan, the climber must become a question mark. Only then can he grasp the faint cracks in the world around him.

These are real chances, but no one sees them. To see, you must leave the cozy armchair of thought and crawl onto the sheer cliff’s edge. Real danger wakes a sharp focus that sleeps in safer times.

By paradox, the climber has less to fear—the abundance of opportunities outweighs the risk. Talent and practice cut danger to driving a car in the city.

You can’t grasp this with your mind. Let your fingers touch the rock.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

The In-Between Path /  by Alexander Lyadov

What is stretching? The pull of an opposite force. And vice versa.

We reach one extreme, 90%, and crave more. With every extra push (+1%), the resistance grows exponentially. As if the whole Cosmos turns against us.

Oh, paradox! By chasing the “plus,” we feed the “minus.” We bring closer what we wanted least.

Here’s the secret: epic wins turn to ruin, and the victor crafts his own downfall. He who picks one extreme will fall. Why? Because ideologically, psychologically, and even metaphysically, he cannot stop. His “A” must destroy “not-A.”

He forgets: “A” and “not-A” are inseparably linked. In a dichotomy, if one disappears, the other loses all meaning.

Yes, extremes are sometimes inevitable and even useful. But steady growth always happens in-between.

Through this lens, it’s striking to watch the dance of opposites:

  • democrats and conservatives,

  • collective and individual,

  • religion and science,

  • control and freedom,

  • safety and creativity,

  • intuition and logic,

  • man and machine,

  • women and men,

  • past and future,

  • matter and spirit.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Sacred Mic /  by Alexander Lyadov

Here’s a guy, Ari. He carries 20 kilos of music gear on his back. Wanders the chaotic streets of New York. Crafts melodies on the fly.

Streams it all online. Surely he’s wasting his time, right?

Here’s what YouTube subscribers (800K and counting) say in the comments:

  • “Words cannot express how awesome this is”.

  • “One of the better youtube rabbit holes I’ve ever stumbled into fa sho!”

  • “The coolest thing about this is that the mic is free for anyone with the courage to grab it”

  • “Most talented people are unfamous”.

  • “This is the coolest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life”. “

  • Ari is a legend for sharing his time and talent with anyone on the street. He always does his best to make everyone sound as good a he can”.

  • “There is something magical about strangers randomly making music together”.

  • “Bro is just living”.

  • “The guy is a harmony genius.”

  • “No race. No color. We all the same people musically. United through the love of the beat and lyrics”.

  • “This channel is legitimately the best thing in music currently.”

  • “Ari is the future of improvisation.”

  • “So many talented people just walking around. Ari, out here attracting them like moths to the flames”.

The last comment nails why it’s so thrilling. Any passerby can grab the mic and sing or rap. Strangers whip up something from nothing, right here, right now.

Turns out, talent’s everywhere. Pizza delivery guys, managers, comedians, musicians. Their brilliance stayed hidden, tucked in the shadows.

Then Ari came along. On an ordinary street, he creates a sacred space where people feel the urge to share their God-given gift.

Suddenly, it’s clear: nothing stops creation. No need for degrees, experience, money, or setups. You don’t even need to know who’s who. Just answer the call.

A listener’s right: “This restores my faith in humanity.” When the world seems ready to lose it, drowning in lies, hate, and blood, moments like these spark hope that we still have a shot.

Ari’s wandering mirrors true living. It’s a fierce flow of creative energy where people drop their egos, find their unique spark, and weave a pattern of unearthly beauty with the threads of their souls. This quietly transforms everyone.

Enjoy:

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

The Second Birth /  by Alexander Lyadov

As the years pass, birthdays lose their shine. A man grows less impressionable. Celebrations happened so often, in so many ways, that surprising him now is tough.

But even if he skips the party, deep down he knows: “Today’s a special day.” And it’s true.

After all, for some reason, you were called, and you came into this world. Out of endless combinations of genes and circumstances, anyone could have been born. Yet it was you.

Why? Some find the answer early, in childhood or youth. Others walked a long, tangled, thorny path first. Maybe life forged your vessel to hold and carry a Wow-answer.

Some must lose themselves, only to find, love, and value who they are.

Congratulations! You’re born anew. The world and its people need You.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Embrace the Unseen /  by Alexander Lyadov

Life bursts through any structure or plan with brutal force.

Every form has its place, time, meaning. Take a spider: he weaves a web, and it serves him well—catching careless flies and butterflies. The form sustains his life.

But the world shifts. Winter hits, or drought. Wind tears the useless web to bits. The one who used it, who could fix it, is long gone. Shreds of the form slowly turn to waste, food for bacteria and fungi.

Without the web, the spider would die. Without the spider, the web is dead.

It’s a dance of potential and form: what could be and what already is. They need each other, like two wrestlers in a match, like inhale and exhale in a breath.

Modern folks often forget this. They prize only what they can hold, analyze, or deposit in a bank. They dodge the question, “Where does it all come from?”

No wonder they suffer when their precious forms decay. Life, which they ignored, forces its way back in. Change always catches them unprepared.

Want to skip pointless pain? Consider this: the most valuable things are implicit, invisible, hidden.

The paradox? Life’s greatest energy hides in what seems to not exist.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Help Your Shareholders /  by Alexander Lyadov

Mostly, I help founders. But sometimes my hands itch to create a course for top managers, answering: “How do you create wow-value for shareholders and enrich yourself too?”

Founders set the boundaries of what’s possible in a company. It’s like chess rules—you can’t change them. But you can play like a grandmaster or a rookie.

Shareholders often seem like gods. As if, even when managers don’t get it, those atop Olympus see it all. That’s idealization, blocking the team from tackling big questions.

Worse, they usually ask you questions, not the other way around.

Shareholders are just people, full of blind spots. One used to be an expert, but that was years ago. Another has no time to dig into your project. A third owns a stake as a technical co-founder but never built real business skills.

If there are several shareholders, it gets messier. Their views likely clash on key issues, but they won’t admit it—even to themselves. The team gets mixed signals.

As a top manager, you can help everyone at once.

Three things matter. First, you love the company’s potential and see yourself in it long-term. Second, you like the shareholders as people. Third, you’re a go-getter.

Your job: stop thinking like a manager and think like a shareholder.

That means asking the big question: “What are we even building?” Get a solid answer from each shareholder. Then align their visions.

It won’t be easy. You’ll need patience, tact, a personal touch. Worst case, you’ll see you misjudged these folks. But if they meet you halfway, the company gains a clear goal.

When shareholders agree on what company they’re eager to build, their next question comes naturally: “Who’ll make this wonder happen?”

But by then, they already know the answer. So do you.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Blessing of the King /  by Alexander Lyadov

Think of your company as a kingdom. Don’t let the “frivolous” term throw you off. A metaphor’s job is to jolt your mind from its usual rut.

By kingdom, I mean the ancient view, where people saw the king as God’s embodiment, not just His deputy on earth. France’s Louis XIV reportedly said, “The state is me.” He was dead right.

In ancient societies, the king stood for safety, fertility, peace, order. No wonder his every wish, let alone command, was absolute Law. His words and deeds literally shaped and held the world together.

Modern folks struggle to grasp such hierarchy. Most monarchies today are shadows of themselves. But here’s the twist: our psyche hasn’t changed. Kingdoms may be gone, but deep down, we still seek and find our kings.

When an entrepreneur starts a company, he creates a micro-world. He might be a benefactor or a tyrant, but his laws and rules have so far shielded the kingdom from troubles. Even top managers might not see the “cornerstone” the whole business rests on.

Someone might ask, “Fascinating, but why does it matter?”

Nothing in the kingdom changes unless the king wills it.

Even a CEO, especially a new one, rarely turns the business around alone. Middle managers have even less sway. But this isn’t about being passive—it’s about knowing the king’s heart.

If you grasp what drove the founder then and what he aims for now, you can move mountains.

Why? Your bold initiative will carry the blessing of the King.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

You and It /  by Alexander Lyadov

Parents get mad when their kids say, “It wasn’t me. It happened by itself,” pointing to a broken vase or a mud-stained suit. Grown-ups try to teach children responsibility, knowing that you can’t thrive in the adult world without it.

Through others’ efforts, we learn not just to own our actions but to control everything around us, avoiding “shards” and “dirt.”

In the end, the “I” remains. The “It” disappears.

Sadly, with time, you realize that betting everything on the “I” has limits. Yes, you’ve achieved much. You’ve mastered a craft. But on life’s big questions, the “I” has no answers:

  • Why does Y spark curiosity, not X?

  • Why is the real treasure where “I” refuses to look?

  • Why do breakthroughs, insights, and dreams come?

  • Why does common sense, someone else’s, stop satisfying me?

  • Why do some people form a bond of trust?

  • Why do changes stall, then leap forward?

  • Why do we act with passion, unable to explain?

One learns through pain, another through grace, that beyond the narrow Ego lies a greater force within. Call it Self, Atman, Dao—whatever you like. But IT gives you everything.

Society’s goal is to make a child safe for itself, to tame him. The group’s survival trumps the individual. The upside? He’s welcomed into the world. The downside? He forgets who he really is.

So an adult’s task is to reconnect with Self. In the language of fairy tales, to find the forgotten spring of Living Water. In the language of psychology, to build the Ego-Self axis.

At its core, you must bring your duality back to its original unity.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

When the Core Erupts /  by Alexander Lyadov

Nobody knows why volcanoes wake up. Science can only offer theories and describe the process in detail.

“Deep in the Earth, hot mantle plumes or melting zones at plate boundaries may activate” sounds smart. But why? AI says: “Uneven heat flow from below.”

In short, nobody knows, and eventually AI admits it.

Earth's core is always boiling inside. Energy builds, seeking release. If a crack forms in the crust, magma surges up. This occurs 50 to 70 times a year, but no one can predict which volcano will erupt next.

Sound familiar?

No one knows why a person suddenly awakens. Genetics, upbringing, environment might explain the eruption after the fact, not before, never naming who or when.

One thing’s clear: at the center of every person burns a nuclear reactor.

If he’s alive, his core simmers. Don’t let depression fool you—it’s often a sign of vast strength pushing against a concrete dam of false beliefs. It looks like a paradox: an unstoppable force meets an “immovable” object.

You might feel crushed, wondering why change doesn’t come. It’s long overdue, yet no leap happens. Or maybe you lose what you hoped to hold.

Remember, your growth isn’t linear.

For ages, everything inside stays still. Then—bam! Your volcano wakes. Smoke rises, lava flows down slopes into the sea. Cold water turns to steam. New land forms. That means you’ve grown—wiser, stronger.

Your core—your true self—answers to no one, not your ego, not anyone else. It knows when it’s time. Your job? Don’t block it when its raw energy bursts through every crack.

Your core—the Self—belongs neither to you (the ego) nor anyone else. It knows the time. Your job? don’t block it when its raw energy bursts through every crack.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Dormant Talent /  by Alexander Lyadov

A random passerby raps like a marvel​, but his music isn’t online. “It’s weird knowing the world’s best rappers, singers, artists are out there working nine-to-five, likely never discovered,” a YouTube viewer nailed the thought.

Most people don’t see their hidden spark. Reasons vary, but a big one is this: as kids, no one blessed them. Worse, the grown-up world cursed their talent.

Why? Maybe their gift was so wild, so strong, it scared parents, caregivers, teachers. Or it reminded them of their own diamond, flushed away.

To survive, the child had to abandon himself.

It’s a rotten cycle with no end, because long ago someone turned those gifted children into the envious parents and bitter teachers of today.

Here’s the thing. A person who denies himself suffers deeply. Some channel their pain onto others, some inward. The disharmony of society is a function of the disharmony of individuals. The reverse is partly true, too — and that’s why it’s a downward spiral.

“Partly” matters, because society rarely changes itself. Many tried, but disasters outnumber wins. An individual, though, can fix much by working on himself.

Before, a person with a dormant gift might slog through life in a dull office. Now, like in this video, sudden chances to shine pop up. That inspires.

I confess, nothing in my work beats the moment I spot someone’s gift and show it to him or her. You’d be shocked how many people, even successful ones, can do far more.

Yesterday, I wrote my goal is “Know Thyself.” Today, I realized that I help others know themselves too. By finding your true self, you add a drop of harmony to the world.

This is a realm of nonlinear waves, where one drop changes everything.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Know Thyself, Anyway /  by Alexander Lyadov

“List your strengths and limits,” my therapist said. I split the page in half and filled both sides about even.

“Feels like work, you know yourself,” she said, words that mattered.

At its core, my aim for years has been: “Know Thyself.” No illusions here—I’ve barely scratched the surface in my digging. That’s why a nod, a find, a marker means so much.

Gauging your own progress is tough. One day, you feel a grand breakthrough. The next, after long wandering, tired and muddy, you’re back where you started.

Real changes in a person go unnoticed. By the time new seeds sprout, the whole field has shifted. My wife helps, thankfully: “You know, you react differently now.”

Dreams hint too—whether the process stalls or races forward. You have to learn to see meaning past their strange shapes. Twenty years ago, last night’s dream would’ve scared me. Today, it fuels me.

Here’s a solid measure: how much has your view of X changed? X can be anything tied to strong negative feelings—shame, guilt, fear, disgust, irritation, loathing, anger. Or something you idealize, that makes you breathless, enchanted, submissive—losing your freedom in the process.

What’s interesting is how little this work depends on where you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re in tense Kyiv or quiet Helsinki. Your inner conflicts show up everywhere, just in different ways.

So, knowing yourself brings steadiness in a wild world.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

First Image, Than Word /  by Alexander Lyadov

“In the beginning was the Word” — everyone knows the New Testament’s opening line. That translation feels incomplete to me.

Here’s the thing. Words have limits:

  • They’re tied to signs.

  • They demand language knowledge.

  • Culture shapes them.

  • They point to one main meaning, with the rest left to associations.

  • They unfold linearly, in sentences.

  • They work through the mind.

That last one matters most. The mind is the main brake on change.

But think back to a moment that shook you, when you could draw a line between life “before” and life “after.” That happens when a new experience hits you, whole and sudden.

Usually, the cause isn’t a word. It’s an image.

Images hold advantages:

  • They lean toward symbols.

  • They tap universal archetypes.

  • People across cultures grasp them intuitively.

  • They carry layers of meaning.

  • Their sense lands instantly, complete.

  • They strike feelings, body, the unconscious.

Sure, a word can turn symbolic in poetry. An image can act like a sign, like a road marker. But for transformation, images win, hands down. Words shine when it’s time to make sense of the experience, to weave it into your life.

Why does this matter? If your business or your soul craves big change, words alone may not be enough. Picture your desired state in vivid detail. Live it with your whole being.

“In the beginning was the Image” — what do you think of that version?

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

The Master’s Risk /  by Alexander Lyadov

Climber Alex Honnold became a legend with his ​free solo​ ascents, no ropes, on massive walls. Some worship him. Others call him a madman chasing death.

In this ​video​, Alex shares his epic free-solo climb of El Capitan, 2,307 meters tall. He started preparing a decade earlier, scaling it with a partner and ropes.

You decide if that’s cautious or not. Such slow, steady method clashes with a reckless urge to leave this world. It’s how a creative soul tackles a grand challenge.

Here’s the truth. What looks like insane risk to the average eye is just another day for a gifted pro. Think of the stride of an old man and a child—the old man fears tripping, the child falls over and over.

It all comes down to resilience, margin, degrees of freedom—different for everyone. But hone your talent, train for a decade, and your projects will seem like magic.

Nicknames like these aren’t handed out for nothing:

  • Diego “Golden Boy” Maradona,

  • Wayne “Great One” Gretzky,

  • Earvin “Magic” Johnson,

  • Usain “Lightning” Bolt,

  • Mike “Iron” Tyson.

Only a few masters can judge a master’s risks.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Be Your Self /  by Alexander Lyadov

You often hear calls to be authentic, to be real. “Just be yourself!” they say. But what’s the catch? Why can’t some people do it, while others seem to refuse?

It sounds like freedom—a state where a man paints the world with his unique hue. He lives in harmony, no need to chase approval, defend himself, or conquer others.

But for many, he’s a thorn in the side—too free, too wild, too hard to predict. His realness shines a light on how gray, repetitive, and imitative their lives are.

Less obvious? That inner freedom scares you too. It’s one thing to follow society’s script, another to keep asking, “What do I truly want?” and stay calm when your next step is a mystery.

There’s also confusion in the words. “Be yourself!” sounds nice, but what does it mean? It’s not about chasing desires—think of addicts. Nor is it self-obsession, since nothing big happens without others.

Carl Jung coined the term Selbst, the Self. Unlike the ego or a small-s self, the Self is the core of a man, holding the “divine spark”—what he could become with effort.

The Self is the future you, guiding the present you. Picture 66 million years of oak trees whispering to one acorn: where, when, how to grow.

For psychologists, the Self unlocks the unconscious. For mystics, it ties to the Cosmos. For believers, it’s a bridge to God.

Better to say, “Be your Self!” It’s not a pep talk or a command. It’s a tough, thrilling quest, where you know exactly Who you’re walking toward, and Why.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Fever’s Gift /  by Alexander Lyadov

Can you find value in sickness?

Say you’ve got a virus: fever at 101.3, throat like razors, nose stuffed, head heavy as iron. Work’s out, creativity’s a pipe dream. You want to crawl into a dark cave, curl up, and sink into sleep.

Sure, you can’t do anything productive.

But you can watch. Sickness shifts your mind—stronger than coffee, milder than DMT. Perception, thoughts, behavior change enough to make you think, “Man, I’m something else!”

Me? I get irritable, impatient, might snap. But I’m razor-sharp, with zero tolerance for nonsense. Skip clients, but a therapist? Perfect timing.

Sickness teaches humility fast. Yesterday, you were lifting weights, crushing tasks, feeling unstoppable. Today, you’re so wrecked that walking the dog feels like climbing Everest.

Your body fights the infection while you sit quietly in the corner. No matter what potions you swallow, the real bet is on your body’s drive to live, its power to heal.

What’s this secret love for life? Whose gift is it? Vulnerability in sickness means openness—maybe it’s the right time to think about that.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander
P.S. By the way, if you find value in sickness, you’ll find it everywhere.

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Deep Talk Matters /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

There are at least two ways to talk.

The first is “small talk.” Words spill out fast, like you’re reading a teleprompter. The script’s polite, nothing to fault, but it’s got no heart, no depth.

This kind of talk is like grease—it smooths friction between people. I see you, you see me. We meet, nod, and move on. It lets you size up if someone’s a stranger or friendly.

It’s not really talk; it’s a ritual dance. Pass this step, and you can dive deeper or bail out quick. Introverts have to learn the steps.

The second way is “deep talk.” Words don’t come from a stockpile; they’re born in the moment. You need pauses, the guts to sit in silence while thoughts take shape.

But if you keep skimming the surface, snorkeling with flippers, you might forget how to dive deep. You can spend days in crowds, on calls, grabbing coffee, yet feel unheard, misunderstood, alone.

To avoid this, intentionally weave “deep talk” into your life.

– walk long with your wife, child, or friend, – align your vision with a business partner, – work with a therapist or a group, – write a newsletter, – keep a journal, – pray.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

The Banana Way /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

A banana starts green, turns yellow, then black. When is it ripe and edible, and when is it rotting and foul? The line’s tough to draw.

Add personal taste to the mix. One guy craves the dense, tart bite of unripe starch. It’s harder to digest but raises blood sugar smoothly.

Another waits for the starch to break into glucose, fructose, sucrose—simple sugars. He wants a banana at its peak: fragrant, soft, and sweet.

But hold that banana a bit too long, and it gets a funky smell, a boozy taste, and slime. Too much sugar sparks fermentation, microbes bloom, and tissues rot.

In one day, an unripe banana turns toxic. Now it belongs to mold and bacteria, and they don’t share their prize.

People agree on the extremes: unripe and overripe bananas are no good. The first needs special cooking to digest; the last is poison.

But the spectrum in between? No point arguing. Let each man pick his flavor—every shade there is safe.

The banana shows why you can’t make all humanity happy. It’s a dangerous utopia, a false mirage, a mad dream. One group’s version of bliss would wipe out all others.

The paradox? Misery unites us—or rather, escaping it does. Suffering is universal. And in each field, the path to less of it is usually clear.

Some call this goal too grim, too grounded. They’ve bought the lie that man was made for happiness. Happy people are rare, but ideas? Everyone’s got plenty.

Man fights suffering for meaning and with love. In a fleeting moment of triumph, he feels unity, harmony, and peace.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.

Treasures of the Night /  by Alexander Lyadov

Some folks, even the sharp and successful ones, swear there’s no real meaning in dreams. They say it’s just random neural sparks. The brain “digesting” the day’s events.

When I stumble across such posts or tweets, I can’t help but smile. I feel like a bushman in the Kalahari Desert, puzzled why the outsider can’t read the animal stories etched in the sand’s tracks.

The irony? The tourist probably thinks the bushman’s primitive, his tales mere fantasy. But the “people of the steppe” have a secret: they’ve studied these patterns for 60,000 years. This isn’t idle curiosity—it’s survival in the harshest lands.

I’m no bushman—I got hooked on dreams maybe five years back—but I’ve already collected hundreds. Dreams reward you. They show up more often when they’re welcome.

Dreams are like messages scrawled in hieroglyphs or code. To the untrained eye, they’re just scribbles on a wall, like a child’s mischief or, worse, a teenager’s prank.

It took time, but I learned to unearth their meaning. Books on philosophy and psychology helped, along with careful study of individual dreams and their patterns.

Yesterday, my therapist said, “Wow, your dreams guide you! Your psyche works day and night.” They reveal changes already rooted inside, not yet blooming outside.

Sure, it’s no GPS—just a clunky mechanical compass from the Song Dynasty. I’m grateful for it.

Dreams don’t give directions like GPS. They’re more like the first mechanical compass from the Song dynasty. Crude, but I’m grateful. In total darkness, any spark is a blessing.

People who don’t believe in treasures hidden in the mud never find them.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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.

Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials ​here​. Ready? ​Book your Catalyst session​.