Paradise Mud / January 1, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

What do you think of mud? You know, the wet, loose, rich stuff, packed with humus where bacteria and microorganisms thrive in symbiosis.

How about diving into it headfirst? Not just getting your clothes dirty, but getting completely soaked in the mud?

Chances are, you’ll cringe: “Ew, gross! Never!”

But a baobab seed wouldn’t understand you: “Are you crazy? This is paradise!” In fact, the seed would ask you to throw in some manure. It would tell you about the value of organic fertilizers for the soil and list the nutrients they offer: proteins, amino acids, peptides, purines, pyrimidines; carbohydrates; monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides; lignin; lipids; resins; tannins; organic acids; alcohols; aldehydes, and more.

For the baobab seed, mud isn’t hell. It’s heaven.

Fertile soil is essentially the primordial soup, teeming with nutrients plants need to thrive—nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, potassium, and more.

Life needs primordial chaos to begin.

To the tiny baobab, mud is beautiful and desirable precisely because it’s undefined, chaotic, and full of potential. It’s a cornucopia, generously offering everything new life needs right now. How could it not love mud?

No wonder the African baobab grows so enormous and otherworldly as if its roots are reaching for the sky. One in South Africa’s Limpopo province reached 15.9 meters in height and 47 meters in circumference.

No one even knows how old they truly are. Radiocarbon dating suggests baobabs can live up to 5,500 years or more—older than sequoias. It may be the oldest tree on Earth (Wikipedia).

Now, imagine that baobab seed is the future You.

Think: what is your nourishing, strengthening, rejuvenating, stimulating, and inspiring Mud?

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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

How can I help you?
If you've long been trying to understand what is limiting you and/or your business and how to finally give important changes a push, then The Catalyst Session is designed specifically for you. Book it here.

The Power In You / December 31, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Modern culture highly values what is obvious: big, solid, reliable, well-formed, and flawless. In short, anything you can lean on confidently—something that predictably grows every day.

People tend to view the less obvious with doubt, suspicion, or even ridicule. They scoff, “What’s the use of something tiny, nascent, and half-transparent? Sure, it’s there—but is it really?”

"Grow up and earn your place under the sun; then we’ll talk."

But every massive thing was once small. The timeframes vary, but this is true for everything: stars, continents, termite colonies, scientific paradigms—even you.

For example, are you the "you" of today? Or of last year? Maybe your teenage self? Or the child you once were? Perhaps the moment you were born? Or when you were conceived? Or could it be when your mother and father first locked eyes?

Clearly, you existed long before you ever realized it.

Your Yin and Yang found each other and began their creative synthesis long before any participants or observers noticed. Moreover, the principle of creation, Dao, brought forth your Yin and Yang. Dao is Logos, Meaning, Truth, Cause, Universal Order, and more.

In the ancient text Tao Te Ching, the Dao is described as unspeakable, empty, invisible, eternal—the origin of all things. The Stoics described the Logos as the ethereal, fiery soul of the cosmos, carrying the potential to shape all forms. Logos is the word of a personal and living God—a word that “calls out” to things and brings them into being (according to Wikipedia).

All explicit forms eventually deplete, wither, decay, or vanish. But not Logos—the eternally living soul of the cosmos, the inexhaustible source of creating Something out of Nothing.

It turns out, within you is a spark of divine power that brought you into the world, helped you grow, understand, love, and be loved, and uncover the hidden meaning of it all.

Logos was, is, and always will be within you. Each of us is free to hinder it, diminish it, or become part of it.

I hope 2025 brings you joyful surprises—and that you surprise it, others, and yourself.

I believe in your power to transform your world.

Yours sincerely,

-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 (Not) to Earn Trust / December 30, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

To help someone, you need to earn their trust. Without trust, your good intentions might feel like violence and harm.

When does trust arise? When a person feels that you truly understand who they are—or at least that you’re sincerely trying to. This means no judgment, no attempts to change them, no desire to erase their identity.

And their initial distrust is entirely justified. Would you jump with a new type of parachute without understanding how it works or how to deploy it? I doubt it.

First, figure out what you’re dealing with. Then decide if anything needs to change. You might discover there’s no problem at all—or that it resolves itself.

Unfortunately, some “saviors” need people to save just to feel fulfilled. If there’s no one left to rescue, they’ll seek out someone in need—or invent problems in their own minds.

Their well-meaning care blinds them, pushing them to act before they understand the person or the issue. Good intentions illuminate an eternal sign:

“Roadwork Ahead. Path to Hell.”

We’ve all experienced such interference at some point. The real question is, which is worse—violence from malice or from overwhelming love? The latter is harder to recognize and nearly impossible to resist. If your nerves can take it, watch the film Misery (1990) sometime.

The good news? Earning someone’s trust is entirely within your power. All it takes is deciding, even as an experiment:

“For the next hour, I will forget myself completely. My focus will be 100% on you.”

Yours sincerely,

-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.

Invisible Efforts / December 29, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The biggest challenge in business is to create the right conditions - necessary and sufficient ones, to be precise.

When the dominoes are lined up just right, a single touch can set off a beautiful chain reaction in an instant.

Of course, that’s not always possible. In lean times, even a bear has to settle for berries or chase prey over long distances.

But it’s a different story during the salmon run. The bear finds the perfect spot by the rapids, and the fish leap into his mouth, just like a fairy tale. There are so many, he couldn’t eat them all.

Creating the right conditions means being in the right place at the right time.

For an entrepreneur, this is an immense yet invisible labor. First, you work hard—with your head, hands, and feet—so that later, people will say you’re just lucky.

This is why entrepreneurship isn’t something you can teach in business school. The magic happens below the surface, far “underwater.”

A better way to learn is through apprenticeship, where the master is Reality itself, and the founder’s task is to seek feedback from it with gratitude.

This kind of collaboration breeds success after success.

Yours sincerely,

-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 Did the Clock Stop? / December 28, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

“Did the clocks stop?!” we exclaim, checking the time again. It happens when what we’re doing feels dull compared to what we could be doing instead.

So, what are the options here?

Maybe the task is boring or unpleasant, but it has to get done.
We struggle to find meaning in everyday activities.
We ignore the quiet pleading of our souls for something else.

In the first case, discipline, habit, or pairing activities can help. For example, I’ve turned workouts into a ritual. When I clean or wait for something, I listen to my favorite podcast.

Sometimes, I even feel sad when the line moves too quickly.

The second case is different. This person is always rushing, meticulously measuring time, tracking efficiency, and fuming when someone slows him down. In chasing achievements, he risks missing the point—Life itself.

And, by the way, mind-blowing insights often come in moments of stillness. Even monkeys in studies solved problems faster when they stepped back and gazed around for a few minutes.

The third case is the toughest. When you’ve been off your path for too long, there’s no clear alternative—just a vague protest: “This isn’t it!” You might numb yourself with alcohol or binge-watch shows, but the gnawing question inside grows louder: “What am I living for?”

Fortunately, every misstep we make points us toward our goal.

Logic can help here, especially the kind where negation loops back to identity. Using a double negative, we can return to the truth:

not(not-A) = A.

In this way, the process of “thesis → antithesis → synthesis” can lead us to a renewed sense of self. Like a new scientific paradigm, it will include the past but offer a better understanding of the world, people, and ourselves.

Step #1 is what you’re doing right now—turning every mistake into raw material. Learn to value the hidden meaning within them.

Yours sincerely,

-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.

Hidden Cosmos / December 27, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Someone might scoff: "Why this illustration? There’s nothing here."

But I’ll say: "Don’t rush. Pause. Give your eyes a moment."

Then, you might witness a birth. From the white void, meaning emerges. This tiny being blends into the background, almost invisible.

Why? The snowy environment created it, will feed it, and protect it.

Though small, it’s an agile and fearless predator. It can hunt animals larger than itself. In desperate situations, it might even dare to attack a human.

Legend has it that Duke Alan of Brittany, nicknamed "Twisted Beard," once fled from the Normans. He noticed an ermine, which, like him, was blocked by a river but suddenly turned back, choosing death over the mud. The creature’s courage inspired Alan II and his comrades. Today, an ermine adorns Brittany's coat of arms and flag [Wiki].

Its hunting strategy is fascinating. The ermine rarely hides in ambush when seeking prey, preferring direct attacks. One of its techniques is the so-called "war dance"—instead of chasing its target, the ermine performs acrobatic, seemingly meaningless tricks. Slowly but surely, it closes the distance until it’s close enough to strike [Wiki].

The format of this article doesn’t allow for a deeper dive into the life and habits of this remarkable creature. But perhaps that limitation only highlights the main idea:

Nothing is as it seems. A single drop contains an ocean. The smallest being hides a sleeping giant. A part reflects the infinite cosmos in its fractal design.

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.

Reason vs. Intuition / December 26, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

De Sphaera, Giovanni Sacrobosco, circa 1230

Your intuition stubbornly pulls you toward an intriguing unknown. Reason resists because the risks are obvious, and there’s no control.

Inside you, a stalemate forms—a tug-of-war pulling equally in both directions. What are the consequences?

You waste a tremendous amount of resources—your own, your family’s, and, if you’re a founder, your company’s. Your tank runs dry, but there’s no forward progress.

On top of that, you swing between extremes. At times, you’re overly cautious, almost paranoid. Other times, you dive headfirst off a cliff. Naturally, this is a path of disappointments and losses.

The conflict between spirit and reason is unnatural but is, unfortunately, everywhere. Look at Western culture, where science and religion are at each other’s throats.

It’s no wonder that a person hesitates about what to rely on—something tangible they can grasp, or something intangible they cannot command.

Spirit and Reason rule different worlds. So different, in fact, they see each other as alien strangers. This lack of understanding breeds mistrust, and mistrust leads to hostility.

Their conflict is unavoidable—unless there’s someone above them.

Someone who:

Understands not just the parts but the meaning of the entire system.
Knows the strength and vulnerability of both reason and intuition.
Loves the Process of Life, which harmoniously integrates everything.
Acts as a mediator, a guide, and a bridge between worlds.

Dear reader, that someone is 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.

Value Where It Isn't / December 25, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

If years of therapy taught me anything, it’s that I still don’t know myself. In every session, the real reasons for my actions burst open like popcorn in a microwave.

But an even bigger revelation is the shift in perception. The things I once found unacceptable about myself—the things I hid from, feared, and avoided—turned out to be precious gifts, worthy of admiration and love.

For years, I stubbornly searched the world for what had been within me all along.

Sadly, I stared right at it but didn’t see it. Just like the Australopithecus, who lived surrounded by the same periodic table of elements we know today. Yet, all he saw was dirt, waste, and ash.

For nonsense to turn into meaning, for harm to turn into good, we need a revelation—a dialogue between man and God.

Epiphany (from ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, meaning “remarkable appearance”) is the sudden, clear realization that lets you see a problem or situation in a new, broader light.

Even if that knowledge fades later, you can’t unsee it.

When you gather enough examples of turning a “minus” into a “plus,” you can’t help but wonder—does this phenomenon have a limit?

What if all the world’s evil is just raw material for the Creator within each of us?

“Pollution is nothing but resources we're not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value,” said Richard Buckminster Fuller, the American architect, inventor, philosopher, and poet.

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.

Master Your Breath / December 24, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Looking for a quick mood lift, sharper focus, and an energy boost?

Try this: take 30 deep, intense breaths in and out, followed by a long exhale and a deep inhale. It’s a core technique from Wim "Iceman” Hof.

This man definitely knows something. He nearly climbed Everest wearing nothing but shorts and boots.

As you breathe, your body will experience a cascade of sensations: restlessness, exhilaration, euphoria, and finally, calm. It’s positive stress—a kind that’s good for you. This method increases your energy reserves and jumpstarts your immune system, which is especially handy in winter.

Feeling anxious instead? Try a “physiological sigh.” Breathe in through your nose twice in quick succession (no pause in between) and then exhale fully through your mouth. Repeat this 2–3 times, and you’ll feel as calm as a snake after a big meal.

Want to reduce stress and sleep better? Make the 4-7-8 breathing technique by Dr. Andrew Weil your morning and evening ritual:

Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Relax your shoulders.
Inhale through your nose for a count of
Hold your breath for a count of
Exhale loudly through your mouth for a count of
Repeat the cycle 4 times.

Focusing on exhaling relaxes the body, while emphasizing inhaling energizes it.

The best part? You don’t need doctors, medicine, or fancy gadgets. The most effective tool for self-regulation—your breath—is always with you.

Your body is like a trumpet. It’s just a matter of learning to play.

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.

Running from Luck / December 23, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

It’s hard to believe, but sometimes luck stubbornly chases us. And yet, we skillfully run away, hiding and covering our tracks.

What’s more, we even grumble about fate’s hostility. We claim all our energy goes into fighting these battles against “evil.” By evil, we mean change—unwanted, inconvenient, and downright unpleasant.

Years later, we’re shocked to realize we denied the very thing we needed most. The paradox is this: we were running from ourselves. We feared the emptiness of the VIP entrance. We bit the hand extended to us. We demanded perfection.

This is pride—the mind’s arrogance in believing it knows everything ahead of time: the dynamic world, human nature, and our own potential.

The mind relies only on what it already knows. That’s its strength—and its weakness. Everything else it dismisses or, at best, meets with skepticism.

But the unknown surrounds the known, like an ocean around an island. Reality constantly startles the mind, catching it off guard. To the mind, it feels like some ferocious beast is relentlessly hunting vulnerable prey.

But it’s all illusions, hallucinations, and lies.

One day, a person collapses from exhaustion, realizing there’s nowhere left to run. He doesn’t care what happens anymore. He’s even glad it’s all about to end. He turns to face the beast and stares straight into its jaws.

And then, unexpectedly, he feels a wet nose gently touch his face, and a warm tongue lick away his tears. His fingers sink into comforting, soft fur. The vicious wolf has “turned” into a loving dog.

“My God, how wrong I was! It’s the exact opposite of what I thought.” At last, luck has caught up with you. Harness it and charge full speed ahead!

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.

Pattern of Synergy / December 22, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The Master said, 'If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge so as to continually acquire new knowledge, he may be a teacher of others.'

These words were written by Confucius 500 years before our era. You’d think that in all this time, humanity would have taken them to heart. But no, people have split into factions.

Some cling desperately to an idealized past, rejecting any forward motion. Others rush to destroy everything in sight, determined to build a brave new world on the ruins.

Sadly, neither group fares well. The first sinks into the swamp of stagnation. The second squanders opportunities and resources in frantic chaos, only to end up with nothing.

How many more thousands of years will it take for humanity to grow up?

Maturity remains out of reach as long as the two halves of the whole fight each other, ignoring the synergy they could achieve.

What happens if exhaling (or inhaling) tries to dominate the process of breathing? A part, by definition, is not the whole. It can grasp the meaning of unity only later, by looking back.

The secret of synergy reveals itself only to those who take a step in faith.

Wisdom is weaving the threads of past and future into the present pattern.

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.

To Be at One / December 21, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

How do you win a fight? By forcing your opponent to surrender under the threat of choking him, tearing a ligament, or breaking a joint.

Let me start by saying that such outcomes are rare in the gym. You take care of your training partners—not necessarily out of compassion, but out of self-interest. If you don’t, they’ll quit, and you’ll have no one left to sharpen your skills with.

But the threat has to be real, or there’s no meaning, no progress.

To control your strength precisely, you need complete control over his body. Meanwhile, your opponent thrashes in your grip like a wild cat.

The winning strategy? Isolate a joint. As long as the body remains unified, it’s invincible. But when an elbow, knee, or neck is cut off from the whole, it becomes vulnerable and weak.

Create asymmetry: your entire body versus one of his joints.

This seems like a simple idea, but it holds bottomless wisdom. It teaches you what to seek and what to avoid in business and in life.

It’s foolish to attack a problem head-on. Like a hydra, it will exhaust you. Instead, dig up the root and cut it off. The branches—the symptoms—will wither on their own.

When you’re under attack, flip the strategy around.

The goal of any agent of chaos is to isolate you, cutting you off from your source of unity. To survive, you must rebuild that connection—with everyone you love, admire, and share a path with.

This is where the concept of synergy comes to mind.

In Christianity, synergy (from the Greek συνεργός, “cooperative action”) refers to the collaboration between God and man in the work of salvation—a co-creation of divine energy and human freedom.

Buckminster Fuller, the American philosopher, systems theorist, architect, and inventor, once said: “I find all of our world society is operating exclusively in parts. We know this because the word synergy is unknown popularly and it is the only word that means 'behavior of wholes unpredicted by behavior of their parts.' This proves that society does not even think that it has a need for such a word. This discloses that society does not think that there are behaviors of wholes unpredicted by the parts.”

He also said: “We are here as local information harvesters, local problem-solvers in support of the integrity of eternally regenerative Universe.”

In any moment, we can choose to be at one with the universe or not.

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.

Fragile Illusions / December 20, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

People create most of their problems themselves. How? By stubbornly seeing the world, others, and even themselves as something they’re not.

They split every part of life into two: light and dark, pure and corrupt, desirable and repulsive. Then they destroy one half and elevate the other to the heavens.

The world becomes perfect, simple, and comfortable in their imagination.

Some even manage to impose these illusions on their family, team, community, or nation. A kind of collective trance.

In a trance, you can meditate in a monastery cell, but you can’t drive a car. One day, reality will wash away these castles of sand, like waves crashing on the shore.

This divided way of seeing things is fragile and brittle. That’s why, for such people, facing the truth causes psychological and other pain.

The way out lies in voluntarily exploring the “underside.”

What embarrasses, worries, frightens or repels you today is nothing but foul-smelling manure for the stunning roses of tomorrow. The key is to take it slow, move at your own pace, and find a guide to help you along the way.

Start with small things. Look for how a plus implies a minus, and how a minus can turn into a plus.

Imagine you’re a prospector in the Klondike. You’ve got a river, a shovel, and a pan. You sift gold from the mud, creating something out of nothing.

Who are you in this process? A creator, a magician, a shaman.

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.

Jump for Gold / December 19, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Business is a complex game where becoming a champion is no easy feat.

But the entry bar is low—anyone can join. It’s like soccer: everyone plays, from Real Madrid to a scrappy neighborhood team.

Take Nvidia, for example. Its revenue is a million times higher than a small-town design studio, yet their essence is the same.

Both create value for a group of clients. The difference? Nvidia’s value is astronomically higher.

From this extraordinary value comes a sky-high price, covering all expenses while still leaving 55% in pure profit.

Soccer, though, isn’t the perfect metaphor. Diving or high jump fits better. Here, athletes compete not just against others but, more importantly, with themselves.

Judges evaluate skill and the beauty of execution. A gold medal symbolizes the ultimate achievement, reflecting the highest value in sports, as well as respect from rivals and love from the crowd.

The point of the game? To create the greatest value for someone else.

Think that’s obvious? You’d be surprised how many business owners and CEOs miss this fundamental truth.

They think the game is about tripping competitors, cutting costs, squeezing clients, pressuring contractors, or controlling staff.

But such jumps neither refine skill nor create beauty.

Want to win gold? Focus on the value you create in someone else’s eyes.

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.

Shameless Creation / December 18, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Shamelessness is the root of all true creativity.

At its core, what is shame? It’s the clash between your actions or motives and society’s expectations or norms. Plato described shame as “the fear of a bad reputation.”

Psychologist K.E. Izard writes: “A person consumed by shame cannot put his feelings into words. Later, he’ll inevitably find the right words and replay the moment over and over, imagining what he could have said when shame stole his voice. Shame is usually accompanied by an acute sense of failure, collapse, or utter defeat. This feeling often arises simply from being unable to think or express oneself in a way that feels natural and authentic.”

Let’s remember this: shame robs us of the gift of living speech.

And yet, creativity is all about breaking expectations and norms—stepping outside the familiar. The key difference between creativity and mere production is the uniqueness of the result, not just “copy-paste.”

No wonder people often find themselves trapped in a downward spiral:

To live fully, we crave to create. But creating requires breaking the rules, which brings shame, which then silences us.

Climbing out of this whirlpool takes enormous effort.

The tragedy is that so much energy is wasted in this cycle. But here’s the good news: this spiral can be reversed—turned upward.

In your life, you must carve out a space where freedom reigns. A time and place where not only is it safe to explore, but where shameless immersion in novelty is actively encouraged.

If creating such a “greenhouse” on your own feels overwhelming, find someone (or a group) who is unconditionally kind to you and knows that the soil of creativity needs to be rich, dark, and messy.

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.

Hello, Uncertainty / December 17, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

It’s amazing how a drop of uncertainty changes everything.

Take this example: my partner and I are practicing new throws, repeating them over and over. Then we add a small twist—when it’s my turn, I have to choose a throw at random.

It seems simple. These are the same techniques we’ve polished today. It’s not even a fight—there’s no resistance from an opponent.

But suddenly, I’m overwhelmed with confusion and anxiety—my pulse quickens, my movements are clumsy, and the throws lose their precision. My brain knows the new patterns, but my body does not.

A slight change in context, and the knowledge falls apart.

The same thing happens with how we see the world. As long as the environment stays stable, we feel like we know, understand, and control almost everything.

But then something abnormal happens, and life collapses like a house of cards.

The trigger could be anything—betrayal by a partner, damage to your reputation, losing a business, a robbery, COVID, war, and so on.

Even smaller disruptions—new laws, a frozen bank account, or a power and water outage—can knock a person into despair: “How fragile my world really is!”

Luckily, adaptability is one of humanity’s greatest traits. The human body, mind, and spirit seem designed to skillfully pull something valuable out of uncertainty, again and again.

And as long as we’re doing this, we are truly alive.

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.

Switching the Mind / December 16, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

The mind is an amazing thing. Convince it of something, and it’s like flipping a switch—suddenly, the current flows.

That’s how I’ve radically changed my behavior in the past:

I gave up sweets,
Committed to daily workouts,
Lost 45 pounds in three months,
Went years without eating meat,
Switched industries multiple times,
Performed the Ayahuasca ritual 11 times,
Built a $50M investment fund from scratch,
Meditated two hours a day for two years straight,
Worked with a psychotherapist weekly for six years,
Skipped fine wines at Michelin-starred business dinners.

That last one? Not so easy. Especially when your key investor—a wine expert and connoisseur—offers you a rare wine.

But once the mind makes a decision, there’s no stopping it.

Sounds like a superpower, right? There’s a catch. I’m still learning how to control it.

In comic books, superpowers show up unpredictably—sometimes saving the hero, other times causing havoc. Shooting fire from your eyes is cool, but only if it happens on command, not randomly.

That’s how my mind works. It’s like a wild stallion, often resisting every plea or argument. And then, suddenly, it decides to cooperate—transforming into an obedient and resourceful Arabian horse.

But perhaps it’s not the mind at all. Maybe it’s the spirit, the will, or a yearning for meaning.

That yearning lies dormant in us because we say the wrong words. Copying others, avoiding imagined dangers, chasing illusions, feeding the ego—these lies won’t awaken the superpower.

Only the call of reality can spark something genuine within us.

If that’s true, then the question isn’t how to force yourself to do something. It’s how to understand yourself.

In a way, life is like writing a book: 'My Superpower: An Owner’s Manual, Version X.0.'

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.

No Free Pleasure / December 15, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Pleasure is never free. If someone tells you otherwise, they’re either lying, or you’re failing to notice the deceit.

In this world, every force is balanced. When the left side of a seesaw rises, the right side sinks.

“Freebies” are a balance violation; for any system, an imbalance is a death.

And not metaphorically, but literally. In a well-known experiment, caged rats chose free cocaine over food, to the point of killing themselves. Wild rats rarely made the same choice.

Effortless pleasure destroys itself in the end.

Knowing this, a wise man willingly refuses “free lunches.” He doesn’t take the bait; instead, he builds a world on his own terms:

Contentment over fleeting pleasure.
Noble work over begged-for handouts.
Freedom of choice over the slavery of addiction.
A horizon of “I will get it” over the impulse of “I want it now!”
Honest value exchange over deceiving others—or himself.

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 Paradoxical Seesaw / December 14, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Waves are recurring cyclical phenomena where the oscillation phase fits perfectly into one cycle (360°).

Let’s trace the life cycle of every wave:

Start (0°),
Reaching the peak (90°),
Leveling out (180°),
Dropping down (270°),
Restoring (360°).

A 180 ° phase shift between two waves means that while one touches the sky, the other hits the bottom.

Now imagine not two waves in opposite phases, but one wave.

Think back to your childhood when two of you played on a seesaw. As one child soared upward, the other dove downward.

The parts (the kids) are in polar states, yet the system (the seesaw) is one.

The phenomenon is singular, but it manifests in ways so paradoxical it’s hard to believe.

Take heat and cold, for example. At first glance, they seem to have nothing in common. Or do they? Then why does an icy shower burn? And where would you place warm water—already hot or still cold? It's a single phenomenon - temperature — with many gradations.

Instead of opposites, we see an infinite spectrum.

Here’s another example: Neuroscientists have found that the brain’s centers for modulating pleasure and pain are in the same location, working like a balance—one intensifies only as the other diminishes.

What’s the value of this "seesaw," "wave," or "spectral" perspective?

It explains why:

Darkness isn’t the negation of light; it’s just its absence.
Any ideology pushed to its extreme flips inside out.
Conflicting sides begin to look more alike.
Love easily turns to hate—and vice versa.
To create is both to build and to destroy.
Opposing viewpoints can coexist.
Life is both a sprout and ashes.

In his work, The Emerald T, Hermes Trismegistus wrote:

"What is below is like what is above. And what is above is like what is below, to accomplish the wonders of the one thing."

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.

Up or Down? / December 13, 2024 by Alexander Lyadov

Warning: If you’re overly sensitive, skip this article.

There’s a blunt phrase: “I (don’t) get it up for this.”

Usually, men say this about business opportunities, but I’ve heard women say it too (which is charming).

Sure, it’s an allusion to an erection, but the meaning goes deeper.

The thing is, the phallus is honest, direct, and uncomplicated.

When the phallus encounters what it truly desires, it fulfills its mission completely. It gives itself to the process without hesitation, laziness, or avoidance.

But if the spark isn’t there, no power on Earth can move it. Promises, persuasion, guilt, or threats—none of that matters.

It knows the difference between ice and fire, harm and good, chaos and order. The phallus never lies—not to others, and certainly not to itself. Why would it?

It is what it is. Right where it belongs. Perfect for its purpose:

Protect and provide. Love and create. Search for and discover meaning.

This is why it’s trustworthy when phallus signals “Yes” or “No.”

It’s an intuitive compass—helping us see what blocks or supports the flow of Life. So, when you’re stuck in a tough dilemma, ask yourself:

“Do I get it up for this opportunity or not?”

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.