The Wise Polish Proverb / May 16, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Never attempt to cure what you don't understand.

A Polish proverb captures the essence of a typical leadership mistake.

It sounds illogical, but it often happens in business. Why?

Firstly, the itch of a problem pushes for urgently doing something, anything.

Diagnosis is perceived as a delay, turning torment into torture.

Secondly, instead of searching for the root of the problem, its symptom is taken.

You know, the temptation of a "small victorious war" is too great.

Thirdly, inertia traps a new problem into a familiar pattern.

A black swan is perceived as a large laying chicken.

The leader "cures" quickly, expensively, and efficiently... but not the right thing.

Activity, expenses, and fatigue are present, yet recovery is absent.

The wise leader can distinguish between the ordinary and the novel.

The former provides stability, the latter either complete failure or exponential growth.

A true leader is ready to admit in such a moment, "I don't know."

Humility opens the mind to new ideas.

Thus, from a rural healer, the leader transforms into an R&D lab.

Such a company will heal itself and present the market with an antibiotic.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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From Vulnerable to Victorious / May 15, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Vulnerability makes a person indecisive and overly cautious.

The goal is no longer to win the competition, but to avoid defeat.

I realized this today when I protected my injured knee in a jiju-jitsu fight.

I would start to attack my opponent and then stop myself: "I can't do that!

Similar fear often restricts the actions of business founders.

Like a hole in the bottom, vulnerability hinders venturing into the open ocean.

Which significantly reduces the chances of returning home with a bountiful catch.

The level of reward in the market is proportional to the level of risk taken.

Only 100% "healthy" companies act decisively in chaos.

Fortunately, unlike the physical body, the corporate "body" is easier to heal.

After all, the vulnerability of a business lies in the founder/CEO's mental barriers.

To overcome your false assumptions is to set your business free.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Who Should Be Watered? / May 14, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

I am best at helping those who would succeed even without me.

Sounds like a paradox, but judge for yourself.

It's useless to train an athlete who has given up the fight.

The gardener wastes water by watering a tree that hasn't taken root.

No efforts will make a poodle rip the throat of a thug.

In other words, you should only water what grows on its own.

Example: hydrogen peroxide H202 under the influence of daylight.

Hydrogen peroxide slowly decomposes into water and atomic oxygen.

But add potassium permanganate KMnO4, and the peroxide literally "boils."

The process was happening naturally, but the catalyst dramatically accelerated it.

The founders will embody their vision because that's their essence.

Like a catalyst, my role is modest—to reduce their time by X times.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Essence of Serial Entrepreneurship / May 13, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Creators know that when an idea comes to them, they must write it down asap.

Otherwise, without finding you home, it will get annoyed and vanish forever.

An entrepreneur is in a hurry, just like a writer or a poet.

Once he (or she) finds a promising idea, it becomes his number one priority.

Until the potential of the idea is realized, the founder can't find peace.

Just like molten glass, an idea needs to be shaped in time.

Both competitors and the dynamic context pose a danger.

Entrepreneurs' nightmare: "I could have done it, but I didn't, or too late".

This strange obsession is hard for others to comprehend.

But imagine a salmon arriving upriver too late to spawn.

A system that fails to fulfill its purpose loses all meaning.

Thus, the phenomenon of serial entrepreneurship becomes clear.

Once you've reached the peak of meaning, it would be a sin not to climb again.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Step By Step / May 12, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Why do we take so long to find the right answer for some problems?

Firstly, it's because the problem somehow exists, but simultaneously it doesn't.

The implicit hasn't yet become explicit.

So capturing the chaos in the web of meaning is the first step. What is indicator?

An accurate problem formulation brings relief in itself.

Furthermore, clarification can unpredictably change the problem.

If that's the case, then why is this step taken carelessly and hastily?

The pain, itching and burning of the negative symptoms are unbearable.

The pause prolongs the torture, and we want to take action, anything at all.

Thus, resources are wasted, as watering stones makes no sense.

Only a few individuals can stitch themselves up (but what about on their back?).

The rest need a professional, for whom the job is more important than emotions.

An expert won't lift a finger until the target is in the crosshairs.

Such confidence infects everyone: "No need for haste. Let's act step by step."

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Breaking the Vicious Cycle / May 11, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

In TRIZ*, there is a rule that has long shocked me with its simplicity.

It goes like this:

First, you need to try to eliminate the source of evil.

And only then, if that didn’t work, start fighting the evil itself.

Look around - people too often act the opposite way.

Like lions, they fiercely attack what they consider evil.

Huge resources are essentially wasted on fighting the symptom.

The untouched source of evil produces another symptom, a third one, and so on.

And only after squandering everything, at an impasse, do people begin to seek the root cause.

What sets apart those few who, as a first step, search for the root of evil?

There are two options:

They got tired of repeating the cycle of a meaningless struggle once again.

Or they encountered someone who had been there themselves and observed many others.

When collective experience is woven into a pattern, the personal decision becomes obvious.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

*TRIZ is the theory of inventive problem-solving.

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Unleashing the Untapped / May 10, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

I'm watching the drama "Sanctuary" about the inner workings of Japanese sumo.

The series is strange and brutal, yet captivating and beautiful.

The story of a young wrestler illustrates the journey of many of us.

Enno unquestionably has a gift for sumo, but he doesn't embrace it immediately.

Fate has to test, break, and inspire him somewhere along the way.

In other words, without external catalysts, his development stagnates.

We often tend to overlook or not notice our own gifts.

After all, society worships sweat and tears, while undervaluing what comes easily.

Mistakes are similar to how businesses calculate their costs:

"My product is expensive because I didn't sleep many nights and invested $XM."

Meanwhile, customers care about exceptional results, not excessive effort.

However, having a gift doesn't eliminate the need for sacrifice.

Michael Phelps, a 23-time Olympic swimmer, worked as hard as everyone else.

But his long arms gave him an advantage, all things being equal.

A gift is a raw material that still needs refinement.

It's a shame that not all of us meet someone who reveals our strengths.

I, for example, only got lucky in this respect in my late forties.

But the thorny journey taught me to see the superpower in others.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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How (not) to get old? / May 9, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Old age is not caused by age itself, but by inner monologue:

‘I am already __ years old. This means it is already too late for me to _____.’”

Ironically, even an 18-year-old model could say this.

Envying teenage models, she feels like an antique.

In contrast, energy is bubbling in someone who forgets to keep track of time.

Such a person is like an oak tree that is busy growing its roots and crown.

Engrossed in these activities, the oak tree can stand for 300 or 1500 years.

The true age of a tree can only be known by cutting down its body.

Those who are worried about their age cut themselves off in their prime.

Negative thoughts, like an axe, shorten one’s health, peace, and strength.

After all, statistics are true for a sample, but they are false for an individual.

One person may burn out at 25, while another can still work at 95.

So avoid those who complain that something or someone is hindering them.

OK, but what then is the elixir of eternal youth?

It’s your Thing - your business, family, sport, ministry, or creative work.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Write Your Own Meta-Book / May 8, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Counting the number of books read in a year is nonsense.

It is commendable only for a child who is just discovering the world.

An adult does not expect to be transformed by the latest bestseller.

And he (or she) does not measure success by the number of talmuds consumed.

Maturity lies in being able to see patterns in life amidst its chaos.

A book is just one of many threads, as the pattern is manifested in everything.

Insights are available during illness, meditation, or conflict.

The same pattern is visible through business, dog training and sports.

Lock him in a cage and he will be exploring the laws of ant movement.

Over time, all observations should come together into one Meta-Book.

But a mature person does not buy this existential book, he writes it himself.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Secret for Wow-worthy Conversations / May 7, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Do you want your conversation partner to exclaim “Wow!” after your talk?

Give me 60 seconds, and I’ll share a secret from psychotherapy.

In everyday conversations, we ask each other questions.

And tend to accept the answer our interlocutor gave us.

Politeness assumes that people say what they mean.

A psychotherapist, however, never takes things at face value.

A professional will always gently but persistently dig deeper.

After you say, “I think that __,” the therapist will encourage you with, “…and?”

And every time, it turns out that the words implied something more.

At the seminars of philosopher and psychologist Eugene Gendlin, I understood why.

I understood why at the seminars of the philosopher/psychologist Eugene Gendlin.

Everything that is evident (symbols, concepts) exists implicitly.

The presumed meaning is always richer and more complex than any form.

Words are merely a finger pointing at the moon.

Thus, the session turns into an expedition to search for treasures at the bottom.

Interestingly, clients find relief from the process itself.

They finally manage to express precisely what has long been brewing inside.

However, the secret is not just to clarify with “…and?” every time.

You need to sincerely want to understand the client and accept any answer.

The ability to listen in this way is surprisingly rare these days.

Perhaps that’s why the experience of being genuinely understood is so precious.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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From Boredom to Breakthrough / May 6, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

To change, one must exhaust oneself brutally.

When the circle of suffering turns N+1 times, boredom sets in.

It becomes clear what will happen next and what the outcome will be.

Becoming aware of meaninglessness helps to break the vicious circle.

Otherwise, it will continue, as the cycle exists not by chance.

Despite hardships and deprivations, the participant in the drama secretly enjoys it.

The pleasure is so subtle that it’s hard to notice without psychoanalysis.

Thus the 'curse' is passed from parent to child for generations.

Stopping it (or at least weakening it) is everyone's job.

The curse formula: “It’s above me. I just can’t help but _____.”

The man is no longer his own master, he is enslaved to anger, fear, control, etc.

Watching the same show over and over again is boring to death.

This means: The necessary conditions for change have matured.

Inside, the person has already become different.

It is only a matter of time before these changes manifest themselves externally.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Power of Sacrifice / May 5, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

David Burnett, Dean Panaros, platform diving, Florida, 1996.

Blindly trusting your body's desires is not advisable.

Example: I almost never feel like going to the gym.

But 99 times out of 100, I'm very happy with myself when I finish.

With clarity in your mind and exhaustion in your body, work and creation are easy.

Plus, tired muscles + a cold shower = the best feeling of the day.

Like an eraser, exercise rubs away anxiety, depression and lack of sleep.

The states before and after are so different, it's like two different people.

It turns out, the old me must make sacrifices for the future me.

But every time it feels like a risky investment, a leap of faith.

If the return is so high, then the goal is to minimize the investment.

How? First, if you find a favourite sport, or better yet, two or three.

Secondly, if daily workouts have become a habit.

Finally, if the act of sacrifice itself gives you satisfaction and meaning.

This is the highest level because you become an unstoppable force.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Nature's Truth / May 4, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

What motivates a man who teases a female bear and her cubs with food?

What does the woman think when choosing an elk for a selfie partner?

When you finish reading it and find out what it means, you will be surprised.

The power of humans lies in their ability to create new worlds.

Myths, rituals, ideologies, games, corporations, and social networks.

Yet, this ability also creates a dangerous vulnerability.

Living in a man-made world, people forget about the real world.

Worse still, they try to bend reality to their fantasies.

Sooner or later, this ends in trauma or catastrophe.

Animals, carriers of the Laws of Nature, show humans their place.

And in a moment, precious illusions of man crumble to pieces.

Objective reality can no longer be ignored.

This is an act of symbolic castration, as a psychoanalyst would put it.

A kind of healing cauterization of an inflated pride.

The beasts, the elements and gravity perform the function of the therapist.

So how can we protect ourselves or avoid shocks and misfortune?

We need to consciously and voluntarily seek to re-engage with Reality.

For example, look for those who tell you the truth kindly but firmly.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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An Unobvious Skill to Win / May 3, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

a young Conrad Anker on the Gurney Peak by Robert Ingle

When I am fatigued to death, I become dumb right before my eyes.

This happens in business, but the insight comes best in jiujitsu fight.

Exhaustion turns even a daring black belt into a timid novice.

As if in a dream, he is aware of the danger, but is unable to resist.

The gap between knowing and doing widens into an abyss.

Mistakes snowball, and catastrophe looms around the corner.

Some athletes train a special skill of survival on and beyond the edge.

However, it's easier and quicker to learn how to maintain your pace.

As a mountaineer, you have to be able to rest while you climb.

Did you secure a favorable position? Great, catch your breath for a few seconds.

I'm shocked at how little the body needs to recover its strength.

Those who can maintain their pace can fight for days, not minutes.

It's essential because any business is not a sprint, but a marathon.

Ultimately, the one who becomes a Master of Self-Management wins.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Secret of Entrepreneurial Loneliness / May 2, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

The loneliness of an entrepreneur has many reasons.

But there's one excruciating reason that no one talks about.

If you'll allow me, I'll tell you what it is...

In business, logic is valued and irrationality is criticized.

The system is only valuable if it's predictable and reliable.

Otherwise, it's not a business, but a sandcastle.

However, there's a third entity - suprarationality.

Real entrepreneurs know what I'm talking about.

The X phenomenon already exists, but it doesn't have a clear form yet.

99% of people won't see it or will devalue it if X is described to them.

But a creator recognizes X, whether he or she is entrepreneur, an artist or a poet.

That's enough for the creator to go all-in and bet on X.

In the eyes of the layman, such a step by a founder is pure madness.

The layman doesn't know what suprarationality is and what it entails:

Everything that's evident was once implicit (without exceptions).

Therefore, there's a process of birth of one from zero.

The founder is the keeper and ambassador of this secret process.

The torture of loneliness is to know the secret but not be able to talk about it

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Know how to signal "SOS!" / May 1, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

For a long time I made the mistake of thinking I had to solve my problems alone.

In essence, I was trying to defy the second law of thermodynamics, how naive!

The law states that in a closed, non-equilibrium system, entropy will inevitably increase.

Digging deeper only sank me further into the quagmire of dark thoughts.

Contradictions cannot be resolved within a system that gave rise to them.

Greek myths teach us that wandering in a labyrinth ends either in exhaustion or meeting the Minotaur.

Once life pushed me into a dead end so hard that I had to say new words: "I need help!"

But no one helped me right away - it turned out to be not a cry, but a whisper.

And only when I loudly and clearly signaled "SOS!" did kind and wise people enter my life.

The paradox is that in the end, I still solved all the problems myself.

But thanks to the support of other people, I was able to step outside of my system for the first time in my life and look at it from the outside.

I didn't understand it right away, but I was already a different person.

And then, my life began to improve - relationships, sports, education, hobbies, and of course, my business.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Forget About Equality / April 30, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

spear into dragon's throat by Francisco Vasquez — Francisco Vasquez

People invented the idea of equality, but it does not exist in the wild.

This is valuable when it comes to cooperating, but harmful when trying to survive.

When someone tries to kill you, only the effectiveness of self-defense matters.

The goal is not an epic battle, but a shocking victory at the least cost.

The master of jiu-jitsu and founder of judo, Jigoro Kano, formulated the Golden Rule of Combat: "Your most powerful weapon, applied to your opponent’s greatest vulnerability, at his time of maximum imbalance" [1].

The rule also applies to inanimate forces, that is, problems.

A noble duel with a problem makes no sense or honor.

And it is foolish and reactive to throw oneself at it when caught off guard.

The hunter chooses the time and place to (counter) attack the predator.

Your best strike is in the weakest spot, when it is least prepared.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Power of Fixing Things / April 29, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

What's more important — fixing things or preventing them from breaking?

Being able to fix things is more valuable, says Boston Dynamics' CEO.

As a graduate student at MIT, Robert Playter was initially afraid of accidentally breaking expensive equipment in the lab. However, he soon realized that his skills allowed him to create the necessary parts. "That was enabling feeling. Then you are not afraid. It may take time. It may take more work than you thought it was required to get things done. But you can just go make it. And that is freeing in a way that nothing else does."

Many spend their whole lives tiptoeing around fearing the catastrophe. They only act if the outcome is guaranteed. The problem is that you can only gather gold dust that way. You can't find sand, let alone a gold nugget or vein, by avoiding risks altogether.

The cycle of development always involves phases of destruction and creation. Something must inevitably crack during the encounter with novelty, whether it is a piece of equipment, your hypothesis, or your pride.

And if you attach too much importance to that something, you will inevitably try to shield it from contact with the chaos and tremble every time the collision occurs.

The solution is simple - the importance of an indispensable object disappears if you choose the role of an active creator instead of a passive owner. Falling on asphalt ceases to be a tragedy if you know how to do a roll to absorb the impact. Mistakes become an exciting experiment whose cost is manageable, but whose potential is limitless.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Protecting Yourself From Yourself / April 28, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

You are doomed to cause meaningless pain to someone or yourself.

You haven't thought about defending against yourself yet.

I know it sounds strange, but let me explain.

Naturally, a square peg won't fit in a round hole.

But if that's your ultimate goal, then damage and losses are inevitable.

This is what happens when there is no other option but one.

Almost everyone is inclined to violence in haste or desperation.

The only difference is whether the person feels guilty afterwards or not.

Knowing this, it's important not to back yourself into a corner and to get out as quickly as possible.

How? Start by questioning the ultimate goal - are the stakes really that high?

Often, broadening the context of the problem lowers the heat.

Next, you need to localize and accurately describe the source of evil.

This turns unbearable panic into manageable anxiety.

Finally, increase your degree of freedom by exploring options 2, 3,..., N.

Perhaps the question of geometric shapes wasn't even relevant to begin with.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Don't Devalue the Treasure / April 27, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

You're putting in colossal effort, but there's no result. Why?

Instead of relying on your superpower, you've bet on your "Achilles heel."

For example, you want to achieve something that's foreign to you.

And at the same time, you devalue the treasure you already have.

You can train a border collie to bite, but it will never become a killer.

Yet this brilliant dog manages a flock like a Lord of Sheep.

Only a few people are lucky enough to find and accept their gift in childhood.

Most of us are led astray by our parents, school and society.

Sometimes a person builds a long career with doubts: "Is this mine?

And inevitably, he or she is disappointed: "Why do others have it so easy?"

Fortunately, it's never too late to start returning to your true self.

And with each step, achieving your goals takes less effort.

Now you and your superpower are at one.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.

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