Who's Getting in My Way? / March 27, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The core struggles of individuals, groups, and companies are alike.

It's tempting to blame the competition or fate. But in 99 out of 100 cases, the subjects restrain themselves. Consciously, no one does this. Everything seems to happen by chance.

Remember that popular game? "The city sleeps. The mafia awakens." For law-abiding citizens, it's inconceivable to admit that the mafia are themselves. The flattering image they've long crafted collapses. It feels like one is left with nothing.

A division of power is evident. By day, citizens toil, but when consciousness sleeps, criminality conducts its dark affairs. In the morning, consciousness is shocked by the disorder: "Who's hindering our life?"

The first step is to take responsibility. Entertain the thought that all coincidences aren't coincidental. Refuse to seek the oppressor around. Recognize organized crime within yourself.

Then comes the intriguing part. It's crucial to understand why it was created. You'll notice a resemblance to "Merry Men", a group of outlaws. The intentions of Robin Hood are inherently noble.

Realizing the conflict's cause and the intentions of all sides, you can act as a mediator between them. When the heat of internal struggle subsides, you unleash enormous energy for creativity and 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.

Passion vs. Consistency / March 26, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

When asked about the secret to his success, UFC founder Dana White said: "Passion and consistency.

Essentially, this means:

light and darkness.
chaos and order.
sun and moon.
Yin and Yang.

Remove one element from the equation, and nothing will work. The fate of lonely consistency is merely treading water. And left to its own devices, passion will lose as much as it creates.

For better or worse, few entrepreneurs harmoniously embody these polar qualities. In the realm of business therapy, it's common to observe clients limping to one side.

It seems like the obvious solution would be to find someone who balances your deficiency with their surplus. Successful businesses would skyrocket if not for one "but."

Passionate individuals are generally not fans of consistency. Moreover, they consider possessors of this quality as unhelpful, primitive, and dreadfully boring.

Conversely, those inclined towards consistency often associate passion with hysterical frenzy, chaos, and an unsystematic approach. All this unsettles and even scares them. They disdainfully mutter, "Nonsense."

You see, their conflict is just one step away. That's how it goes in business all the time. Even if co-founders managed to tolerate each other for several years. Now it's arguments, lawsuits, etc.

Don't want such a scenario? Work on yourself. Here's a hint - learn to appreciate the "repulsive" quality. After all, it's within you too.

You keep it confined like a captive slave. It's time to set yourself free.

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 Transformative Spirit / March 25, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Prosperity is simple if two conditions are met:

Become invulnerable.
Embrace Chaos.

Really?

If you're fragile and vulnerable, even the slightest volatility can be fatal. What development is there if your only concern is to survive until dawn?

But suppose your world resembles a museum—orderly and static. In such a scenario, invincibility serves no purpose. There's no risk, but there's also no upside.

As your invulnerability grows, chaos shifts from foe to ally.

After all, any encounter with uncertainty has three scenarios:

Everything is much worse than we expected — it's a disaster.
There's nothing important — you can ignore it.
Like Aladdin, you gain access to the robbers' treasure trove.

Prosperity is inevitable when you make scenario #1 unlikely.

So, what's the catch? Carl Jung noticed: "Simple things are always the most complex." Invincibility is a significant personal endeavor.

It's not so much about physical strength or weaponry. Nor is it solely about the speed of decision-making or the adaptability of your paradigms.

It's about what's invisible yet most valuable. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14:38).

The spiritual vector indicates what to strive for. It's within our power to enhance our invincibility each day. Then almost everything will turn out to be good.

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.

Stability Through Tension / March 24, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Healthy tension is key for the System to develop in a stable manner.

Let's dive into some diverse examples.

To swiftly navigate through many obstacles, the rider simultaneously presses the clutch, accelerator, and brake. In the stretch between polar forces, the system gains maneuverability and stability.

In jiu-jitsu, it's crucial to limit your opponent's degrees of freedom. He pulls, you resist. He pushes, you push back. Out of two opposing forces emerges a "rigid" system, one you control.

When a board of directors is first formed, many things seem vital. Yet, the paramount goal is improving judgement. How? The board needs someone to challenge the founder-CEO.

As we see, the aim is to always create the right tension in the string, preventing it from slackness or overload.

Mastering this is half science, half art. Primarily because the environment shifts. You must adjust the tension of the bowstring when it rains or the sun blazes.

The fundamental premise is finding value and purpose in system tension. Only then are you willing to pay the price of effort and discomfort.

A Japanese proverb hints: "A carp swimming against the current may become a dragon."

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.

Garden of Love / March 23, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Everyone knows the quote: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

The problem is, people rarely love themselves.

We're not talking about treating yourself to ice cream. We're talking about knowing deep down that your existence in this world is wanted, necessary, and precious.

A lack of self-love breeds irritation, envy, and anger. After all, one can only be generous to others from abundance.

If the above resonates, then you have the seeds of love within you. Long ago, someone planted them in the fertile soil of your soul.

If this role was fulfilled by a parent, let alone both, consider yourself hitting the jackpot. Given the dynamics of divorces, this is rare.

Perhaps only your grandmother and/or grandfather truly loved you. Maybe you were born in a terrarium, but a sports coach truly cared about you. Or an English teacher. Or even a stranger.

Such an experience a person can never forget. One day, the seeds will sprout. Now, you must uproot the stumps, cut the weeds, protect from pests, water, and so on.

There's a huge task ahead, but it will bear rich fruits. Where there was once wild forest or desert, an apple orchard or a Japanese garden 日本庭園 will spread.

As you harvest the fruits of love, you'll want to share them with your neighbor. Starting with your wife/husband and children. The circle will expand. Despite all the evil in the world, you have a source of love that no one will take 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.

Theory and Practice of Constraints / March 22, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

In the Theory of Constraints, there are five focusing steps.

Step one — identify the constraint. Without this, all other measures will bring weak or harmful effects. This is where people, companies, and states squander their basic resources.

Let's name just a few reasons:

1. Impatience. People rush to shoot the arrow instead of taking a second to precisely aim. Why? They aren't used to enduring discomfort. Hence: "We must do at least something asap!"

2. Lack of purpose. Not everyone understands why they should bother. Working on the constraint allows you to get rid of unbearable pain in the future at the cost of bearable pain now. As the Sicilian mafia saying goes, "It's worth trying to get rid of the pebble in the boot."

3. Lack of skills. Even if there's patience and purpose, experience and skill are still needed. The system's constraint cleverly hides in the lush bushes of symptoms. The latter seem important, tempting one to get distracted by trimming them down.

4. Irresponsibility. The constraint is hard to find because people look for it where it isn't, i.e., outside themselves. Circumstances, history, other people, etc., are to blame. One must entertain the thought: "I've put myself in this position."

5. Immateriality. It almost always turns out that it's not about a shortage of capital, people, or tools. The true constraints are false beliefs, i.e., the belief in things that don't actually exist.

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.

Who Keeps the Company Alive? / March 21, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

If you want to grasp the entrepreneur's essence, write an article. Not just any, but one you'll want to reread years later.

It's clear from the start: the main toil is finding the idea.

Editing, error-checking, and publishing demand effort too. Even significant effort, but at least it's clear. And the outcome relies entirely on you.

Yet, in the hunt for an idea, everything's foggy. No one knows where ideas dwell, to whom they come, when, or why.

I remember our marathon brainstorming sessions in the ad business. Complete team despair—deadline looming, and no Big Idea. A creative steps out for a moment. Returns astonished: "Guys, while I was washing my hands, it hit me...". Voilà! We're saved.

Companies make a mistake when the Editing function suppresses the Search for new ideas.

For instance, when a business model runs smoothly and for long. A critical mass of managers forms, convinced that such stability is forever. Novelty seems unnecessary to them.

Then, an environmental cataclysm strikes. War, Covid, or an economic crisis. The company's problem isn't that its business model is breaking. The tragedy is the wellspring of "living water" has long dried up. Breakthrough ideas are nowhere to be found.

At that moment, the business's only hope is the founder. The one who once found the Big Idea can rediscover it. At this moment, everyone remembers who breathes life into the corporate body.

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.

Decoding the Expert / March 20, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

How to tell if you're dealing with an expert or not?

You ask a question and listen to their response. If you find yourself thinking, 'Wow, that's so smart!' but end up feeling more confused, then you're likely dealing with an archivist, a memory stick.

His (or her) mind shelves are bursting with books on the subject. Potentially, everything's in there. But alas, there's no one to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Conversing with an expert is different. You're astonished: "Wow! Is it that simple? Can't be." From a vast medical reference book, he extracts one likely diagnosis, not twenty-five.

For the former, the value is the knowledge itself; for the latter, it's what that knowledge helps to accomplish.

Accomplish for whom? The client. That's why expertise is always aimed at solving someone's specific problems. Because only humans have those.

So, an expert is someone who can see and hear you. Otherwise, you're facing a "database." It's not tragic. In that case, you must extract expertise from the database yourself.

For example, an investment fund manager I know told the legal team, "Don't write a dissertation. Identify the three biggest risks of this decision. Just three."

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.

Island of Knowledge / March 19, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Edward Quin's Historical Atlas (1830) vividly illustrates how people's worldviews have evolved.

At first glance, we see a map: "Eden, circa B.C. 2348." It's a small island, the 'known world,' encircled entirely by a dark ocean.

With each century, light seems to wrest territory from darkness.

On the map "A.D. 1498. The Discovery of America," Europe, Africa, and Asia are already outlined. Only the edge of North America is visible. The known world is vast already, but how much more discovery lies ahead!

You can't help but smile, thinking of our ancestors' ignorance. And then the smile fades. Because we're no different from them.

Yes, the Earth's surface is meticulously charted. People are exploring outer space and even dreaming of colonizing Mars. Science delves deeper into atoms, synthesizes intelligence, and modifies genomes.

The scale of these achievements is both awe-inspiring and frightening. But like before, we live on an island. It's gotten a bit bigger and more comfortable. But the primordial chaos still swirls around it. We can't fathom what lies in its depths.

What we don't know is infinitely greater than what we do.

This holds true for everyone: humanity, nations, and you. Just when you think you've unraveled the universe's greatest mysteries, reality will douse you with icy water: 'Kneel, proud one!'"

Conversely, if your virtue is humility, then your island will safely expand 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.

Combustible Environment / March 18, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Some employees burn out due to personal issues. Everyone needs to untangle those themselves. Perhaps, with a therapist.

But some work in conditions where they can't help but burn out. For example, when responsibility and authority are out of balance.

In business, a fire breaks out. A manager sees it. He (or she) has buckets and hoses. He wants to put it out but can't. Another department controls the water supply. He gets blamed for the ashes: "You should've been able to do it!"

What should he do? If he's weak, he becomes cynics and covers his ass. Fires will become more destructive and frequent. When there are too many of such adapters, company will meet its end.

If the person is responsible yet naive, he'll endure this nonsense for a long time. "Management knows better." Cognitive dissonance is guaranteed. So stress, overheating, and breakdown are inevitable.

And if the employee is conscientious, strong, and mature? H'll try to convince management of the absurdity of the situation.

His argument will be: 'The company is missing out on these benefits' instead of 'Our department is suffering' or 'I'm tired of working without breaks.'

Option #1 — competent leadership will expand the manager's authority. The CEO might notice an employee thinking as a shareholder. His career will skyrocket.

Option #2 — up top, the manager won't find understanding: "We don't care. Others endure. Do you think you're special?" The smarter the manager, the sooner he'll leave this madhouse.

Notice that the problem of burnout is always solved by the individuals themselves. But only if they're willing to take responsibility for their 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.

The Secret of Burnout / March 17, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Hey CEO, is employee burnout a hot topic for you?

A person loses motivation, falls ill, and resigns. The latter usually happens suddenly. Your company stumbles and loses pace.

Although the ending is the same, there are many roads to it.

Unfortunately, not in all cases can a leader help.

For example, if an employee is eager to burn out. This is not said out loud. Usually, the person is not even aware of it themselves.

It would look like this:

CEO: "It's already evening. You've stayed late again. Go home."

Manager: "Oh, I'm perfectly fine! I'll finish this pile and be done."

CEO: "But you look exhausted! I even allowed you to hire an assistant or pass the project to a colleague. She has the resources available."

Manager: "No worries. It's temporary. I can handle it myself."

To understand what's happening, you need to understand the benefits of the "fire victim":

A reason to be proud of themselves: "I've given you everything."
Release from the guilt that torments them the rest of the time.
Proof of their beliefs: "The cruel world is trying to devour me."
Self-admiration through tragedy: "How epic my burning is!"
Escape from control: "Leave me alone, I'm doing my best."
Pleasure from the futile attempts of others to save them.
Ability to manipulate, instilling guilt in others.

It's obvious that only the arsonist can put out that fire. For one, it requires approaching the abyss. For the other, it's about growing weary of this futile game.

What should the CEO do? Avoid hiring people who brag about their lack of vacations and the sleepless nights they spend at work. Let them fix themselves first.

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.

Hunting Within / March 16, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

What happens when you take away hunting from a hunting dog?

The animal will wander, misbehave, and suffer. Its "factory" function won't vanish. It'll manifest itself, one way or another.

If the owner obstructs this function, misery awaits. Nothing exhausts like fighting against the forces of nature. They're ready to go all the way, and you're not.

Now imagine, within you, there are both—the owner and the dog.

The dog feels it's a born hunter. Sadly, it can't speak. And the owner "accidentally" bought the cute puppy at the market. Some drifter was selling it nameless and pedigree-less "as is."

Their life together will be drama and comedy. Until the owner sheds illusions and starts studying the dog's habits.

Then you might discover what lies behind the seemingly sinister stubbornness and wild antics. As a result, you can begin to live with the hunting function together, not against it.

Start by giving the dog the opportunity to search, chase, and fetch "prey." Then find a trainer to develop the skills. Finally, head out into nature and put it to the test.

You may be pleasantly surprised. As you breathe in the forest's scent and feel the rush of the hunt, you'll exclaim, "This is exactly what I've been longing for!"

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.

Money and Love / March 15, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

No one buys a company as it is now.

Yeah, buyers inquire about the current profit level, client list, team quality, and so on. They listen carefully to the business's creation story. But in reality, their interest lies elsewhere.

Verifying existing facts is hygiene. That's how buyers shield themselves from incompetence and deceit. It's unbearable for a pro to be made a fool.

Buyers also try to predict future cash flow. Will it grow or suddenly dry up? The income and profit dynamics over the last 5 years aren't a guarantee, but a trend, hence a hint.

Unlike a financial investor, a strategic buyer is concerned about something else. And that "something" is hard to grasp for the founder who doesn't cherish his company X with all his heart.

The secret is that a strategic buyer is indifferent to company X. He is passionate about his business Y. His question is - how will buying "Element X" help "Rocket Y" go higher and faster?

Founders feel offended by the buyer, thinking, "They don't value my business." The paradox is that you'll get a higher price for your company if you manage to love the buyer's business as much as he loves 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.

From Yes to No / March 14, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Starting a new project, venture, or career?

There is a common mistake. Premature optimization.

It's like artificially narrowing reality with some random criterion. You need experience for selection. But you're lacking it for now.

So, at the beginning, being open-minded is a boon. A savvy business analyst once told me, "With a heap of data, I simply begin sorting them in various ways. Later, a pattern emerges."

Now, if you're already an expert in your field, it's a different story. Having been through a lot of events and facts, you can already tell truth from lies.

What's the boon now? Focus. Being versatile has turned into a curse. Before, you'd say "Yes!" to everything. Now, you're cutting through with a "No!" sword. Selectivity demands ruthlessness and discipline. It's clear what for.

At every stage, your personal meaning propels you. Only its form changes. It gradually crystallizes out of the solution like a salt crystal.

The more you trust yourself, the faster meaning will reveal itself.

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.

Mistakes Make Us / March 13, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

In the past, folks kind of imagined what the future held for them.

Today, no one can predict what's gonna happen next.

Every day, fate tosses new logs into the fire:

tribalism,
deadly viruses,
loss of meaning,
confusing terms,
fake and lies on the rise,
tyranny of the minority,
bureaucracies fighting for global control,
a tendency to resort to violence instead of persuasion,
technologies altering the DNA of humanity and society, and so on.

You can throw in the towel and gripe about the growing chaos.

Or, you can embrace the new reality with all your heart. As the US Navy Seals ispire themselves: "Embrace the suck."

Besides the downsides, every phenomenon has its upsides. Losing track for a tram is a bummer. But in return, the whole world unfolds before the passenger.

Uncertainty breaks the templates that served us. Instead, we gain the freedom to invent solutions here and now.

The only thing holding us back is the fear of making mistakes. It paralyzes the will to take any action. Sadly, in a dynamic environment, a static system is doomed to collapse.

It's crucial to remember why Homo sapiens are still kicking.

The British physicist David Deutsch put it this way: "The society of the West, quintessentially, it's not the society that makes the right decisions all the time. It's the society that corrects errors. There is no limit to the size of errors that we can make. Individuals, groups or society as a whole can make arbitrary large errors. And the important difference between different societies, different groups, and different subcultures is therefore how good they are at correcting."

We survive and thrive only by fixing the mistakes we can't help but make.

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.

Symptom vs. Cause / March 12, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Helping someone get rid of their issues is tough. It's way simpler to temporarily ease their pain. Just prescribe some painkillers, disguise the consequences, or entertain them.

Just like after Prosecco, everything feels lighter, safer, and more fun. Sadly, a few hours later, drowsiness kicks in. Or a brutal hangover if that heavenly state was fueled by whiskey and wine.

In business, group strategy sessions and team training often serve the same purpose as Botox or a new haircut in life. There's usually no systemic improvement, just a cosmetic effect. Why?

The conditions for transformation aren't ripe yet. Because the focus is shifted.

The founder should get sick and tired of this "Groundhog Day." Pain relievers only push him deeper into a dead end. He'll desperately seek a way out.

Why couldn't anyone help him? The problem is an integral part of his lifestyle. The latter is based on beliefs. Not everyone is ready to question them.

One day, you decide: "I am the root cause of all my problems." You become the origin. Following you, your business begins to improve on its own.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

Body's Secret / March 11, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Body is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter if you're a dude or a lady, young or old, living in Kinshasa or New York, saving pennies or indulging every whim.

Everyone must care about their own body. You can't delegate that.

Sure, there are muscle stimulators, massage chairs, and those "lazy man" exercise machines. Dieticians, cosmetologists, and plastic surgeons promise miracles. And supplements and drugs abound on the internet.

Seems like you could just place an order and chill while the magic happens. But, at best, the effect of such help is superficial and fleeting. At worst, a person gains nothing, losing even what they had. Illusions are paid with a microcredit interest.

Why don't people want to pay attention to their bodies? Some see their bodies as annoying appendages to their magnificent brains. Others were never taught to endure discomfort. The rest quietly replay their parents' fate, where sports only happened on TV.

Ah, if only they saw profound meaning in caring for their bodies!

Fortunate are those who've discovered the "Body Secret." Insights, experiences, skills, and transformations rarely enter the mind directly. The body is the key to everything. Often, you have to start with the body to change your whole 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.

The Best of All Worlds / March 10, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Bird soars in the sky. Fish swims in the river. One environment is vastly different from another. It's no wonder their inhabitants try not to cross the border. The bird doesn't want to drown, and the fish - to suffocate.

But what if someone decides to study a foreign environment? Of course, it will never become native to them. Yet, in exchange for curiosity and patience, the explorer will receive a generous reward.

Example: osprey. Weight up to 2 kg, wingspan up to 170 cm. Unlike other birds of prey, its diet is 99% fish. The osprey hovers above the water, then, with its feet forward, swiftly plunges into the water. Dives are successful in 24-74 cases out of 100.

Narrow specialization has developed a series of morphological features:

Longer legs, claws convex and curved.
The outer toe turns backward for catching slippery fish.
One leg holds the fish in front, and one behind for aerodynamics.
Feathers have a greasy water-repellent structure.
Nasal valves protect nostrils from water ingress.

The osprey has learned to survive on the border of worlds. That's how it takes the best from all. The land provides the security of the nest, the air offers the freedom of flight, the water supplies an abundance of food without competition.

How to achieve stable prosperity in business? Some hire McKinsey, others go to Harvard, and the third buy the Top 100 business books. But all you need is to look at the world around you in a new way.

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 Problems We Choose / March 9, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Have you ever had a doctor feed you the right but empty words? He talks to an abstract illness, not to you as an individual. Those "experts" will soon be out of a job, thanks to AI.

You don't need knowledge in general; you need solutions that will sprout in the soil of your life. What you complain about didn't happen by chance. Even a harmful habit tries to fill some deficit.

So, the doctor's ultimatum: "You need to stop doing X" is nonsense if activity X fills your life with meaning every day. Yes, injuries are bad, but the existential vacuum is much scarier.

Find a professional who sees the world as it is—complex, ambivalent, and dynamic. If they genuinely care about you, their advice will be insightful and applicable here and now.

For instance, my neurologist, jokingly scolds me at every visit: "Oh, that Lyadov again." But then he philosophically notes, "Problems are inevitable. Active sports lead to one set of problems. A sedentary lifestyle leads to others."

I choose jiu-jitsu, kettlebells, and maces, and then try to avoid getting hurt. But when injuries happen, I always go to the same specialist. And it's obvious why.

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.

Don't Look Askance at Obliques / March 8, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Before us stands a physiology professor, bodybuilder, and renowned blogger. Seems like a smart guy. But then he declares:

“Don’t train your obliques. It’s a fucking waste of your time”.

In his logic, your goal is to have an attractive physique. For whom? Probably for the opposite sex, IG followers, and IFBB judges.

Yet, all of them focus on appearance, forgetting the essence that birthed it. They are driven by whim, not the question: “What for?”.

Modern IG athletes are like German shepherds. The latter were so actively bred to win in external shows that the breed degenerated. Now, they don’t use these “beauties“ for protection; they go for the tough Malinois.

Oblique abdominal muscles are present in the body not by chance. Yes, there’s no need for them when posing on stage or flirting on the beach.

But if you need to lift a 19” wheel or throw an opponent in grappling, oblique muscles are just as crucial as the back and abs. No wonder lower back pain is the modern folks’ scourge.

Judging statues, ancient Greeks didn’t worry about beefed-up obliques ruining their look:

Maybe peace and war set different standards in society? No, rather, trials bring us back to reality as it is.

The seasoned stormtrooper advised, "Guys, work on your backs and legs."

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.