Help Your Shareholders /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Blessing of the King /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nothing in the kingdom changes unless the king wills it.

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

You and It /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

  • Why does Y spark curiosity, not X?

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

  • Why do breakthroughs, insights, and dreams come?

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

  • Why do some people form a bond of trust?

  • Why do changes stall, then leap forward?

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

When the Core Erupts /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

Sound familiar?

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

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

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

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

Remember, your growth isn’t linear.

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Dormant Talent /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

To survive, the child had to abandon himself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Know Thyself, Anyway /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, knowing yourself brings steadiness in a wild world.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

First Image, Than Word /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

Here’s the thing. Words have limits:

  • They’re tied to signs.

  • They demand language knowledge.

  • Culture shapes them.

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

  • They unfold linearly, in sentences.

  • They work through the mind.

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

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

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

Images hold advantages:

  • They lean toward symbols.

  • They tap universal archetypes.

  • People across cultures grasp them intuitively.

  • They carry layers of meaning.

  • Their sense lands instantly, complete.

  • They strike feelings, body, the unconscious.

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

The Master’s Risk /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

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

Nicknames like these aren’t handed out for nothing:

  • Diego “Golden Boy” Maradona,

  • Wayne “Great One” Gretzky,

  • Earvin “Magic” Johnson,

  • Usain “Lightning” Bolt,

  • Mike “Iron” Tyson.

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Be Your Self /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Fever’s Gift /  by Alexander Lyadov

Can you find value in sickness?

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

Sure, you can’t do anything productive.

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

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

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

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

Deep Talk Matters /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

There are at least two ways to talk.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

The Banana Way /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Treasures of the Night /  by Alexander Lyadov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Drunk Bus Diaries /  by Alexander Lyadov

Long ago, I worked in advertising. Our clients raced to dominate markets, and we were ambitious, so we cooked up wildly complex projects, always “due yesterday.”

No surprise, the team’s burnout risk ran high. As CEO, I racked my brain to find ways to ease the strain and revive our collective “body” after such overloads.

Parties were an obvious way to vent emotions, but this wasn’t a crew of insurance agents—it was a gang of creative minds. So, the internal brief was to stun those who stun others.

That’s how the “Drunk Bus” was born.

Here’s how it went. On Friday night, we rented a regular city bus, loaded it with whiskey and cola, and hit the road. The route wound spontaneously through memorable spots. Each expedition member picked a place in the city that meant something personal to him or her. When we arrived, our crew piled out and listened to the “speaker” share what happened there.

As you’d guess, we landed in the most unremarkable, odd, even unsettling places, transformed by the stories. After all, our agency had the country’s sharpest talents.

I don’t recall the places, but the experience of the journey sticks with me. It felt like we rediscovered our beloved city, goofing off and laughing. In truth, we glimpsed the inner worlds of our team.

More than that, those memories revealed each man to himself. The paradox? We saw each person’s uniqueness while threads of trust wove our group tighter.

Only now do I see the secret—how we managed to craft and reinvent our clients’ brands, shaking up entire markets.

Sure, we searched intuitively, acted on impulse, yet in the things that mattered most, we were strikingly right.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Learn from Anywhere /  by Alexander Lyadov

Unknown photographer

Business lessons hit hardest from fields far removed. The best insights skip the mind and sink straight into the body. Pick anything—motor racing, dancing, sculpting, or wrestling.

The trouble with business books, programs, and seminars? Too much noise. A student can’t sift the signal from the clutter. Rules and nuances pile up, but there’s no hierarchy of what matters most.

When learning anything, one rule stands: less is more.

Luckily, human endeavors share a core truth. It makes sense—everywhere, a human wrestles with the world, himself, or others. An ocean differs from the air or society, but not by much. Patterns of success or failure show up here and there.

So, if a revelation strikes you in, say, sports, pause and think: “How does this apply to my business?” If the idea shakes you, it’s gold. Pure meaning, no filler.

Take John Danaher, coach of champions. He said, “In jiu-jitsu, you are judged by the outcome of the throw not the throw itself.”

That’s the heart of entrepreneurship! Founders live by it, but too many managers, even CEOs, stall, unable to embrace it.

The universe doesn’t care how you won or how sloppy, flawed, or foolish it looked. Your fearsome rival’s on the ground, gasping, begging for mercy? Bravo!

You’re the creator. You’re free to play the games that fire you up.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Shadow of the Future /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

People resist change. That’s a fact, and reasons pile up. One sneaky cause? The future gets painted too rosy.

Here’s the usual trick in marketing, leadership, or sales:

  1. List every flaw and danger of the present.

  2. Hype the glories of the transformed future.

  3. Smash any argument against acting right now.

It’s a simple picture: hell on the left, paradise on the right.

This pitch hooks the naive, the weary, the beaten-down. But a man who’s lived long enough smells a rat. “Too perfect,” he thinks. “Gotta be a lie.”

Unlike childish dreams, maturity embraces life’s ambivalence. It means holding two truths at once, living with polarity and paradox.

Something looks like a blessing at first glance? Dig deeper, and you’ll find its shadow. Paracelsus said, “Everything is poison, everything is medicine; the dose decides.” For most of life, there’s no encyclopedia of doses.

Then there’s enantiadromia—the principle that every extreme flips into its opposite. The harder a man defends idea X, the faster he’ll face its inverse, -X.

A seasoned soul isn’t seduced by a shiny future. He won’t buy a cure without knowing its side effects and risks. A thing without a shadow? It’s a flat half-truth, a fake, or bait.

The real negotiations, sales, and transformations happen inside us. So, hunt the hidden meaning in what repulses, disgusts, or scares you. That’s the antidote to self-deception.

What about business transformation? It sparks faster when you’re upfront about the cost and struggle of shifting to the new.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Outsmart the Giant /  by Alexander Lyadov

It doesn’t matter how big, strong, or tech-savvy your opponent is—if you lift his feet off the ground, he’s yours. This truth isn’t just for the mind to grasp; it’s better felt in the bones.

For example, take grappling. The other guy has the upper hand. He’s heavier, stronger. He’s got you pinned to the mat and choking you out.

And then—by pure accident, in a rush of desperation—you push your legs against his body and lift him just a little.

What’s that? A miracle, no less! One tiny inch changes everything.

You almost feel sorry for him. He doesn’t yet know the hunter and the prey have traded places. All his power is gone. You’re free to toss him to any corner of the wind’s rose.

This echoes the myth of Antaeus, son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Gaia, the Earth. He forced every passing stranger to wrestle, killed them, and built a temple to Poseidon with their skulls.

Hercules couldn’t beat him either. Each time he threw Antaeus to the ground, the giant grew stronger, recharged by his mother.

When Hercules cracked the secret, he hoisted Antaeus high, severing that bond. The giant weakened, and Hercules crushed him—or snapped his spine.

The myth feels like a fairy tale or a rite of passage. The hero faces a trial, needing not just strength and guts but intuition and wit—to solve the riddle, break the curse, outsmart the Shadow.

In my favorite movie, The Edge (1997), Charles, played by Hopkins, holds a Native American paddle. On one side, a rabbit smokes a pipe; on the other, a panther prowls. Someone asks, “Why isn’t the rabbit scared of the panther?” Hopkins replies, “Because he’s smarter.”

In the end, the mind always beats brute force, if:

  1. It fights to the last,

  2. stays open to paradox,

  3. and above all, refuses to lie to itself.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Hidden Truth /  by Alexander Lyadov

Modern folks chase the obvious—stuff you can grab, weigh in ounces, lock in a safe, or swallow right now.

But more and more, you hear complaints:

  • “Where’s the beautiful architecture gone?”

  • “How did a company’s vision shrink to a quarterly report?”

  • “Where are the leaders who plan for decades, not just election cycles?”

  • “Why do tech, knowledge, and comfort grow as fast as inner chaos and collective discord?”

  • “Did we free ourselves from old prejudices, superstitions, and traditions to become slaves to ideas, pills, and things?”

  • “Why, the harder I chase my goals, do I feel more stuck and lost?”

Things aren’t always what they seem at first. Two forms can look the same and mean the opposite.

A sign, a facade, words, or a uniform—easy to fake. Plenty of con artists are ready to scam fools. Most stare at the finger, not the moon it points to.

Worse, the shell is just that—a husk, a paw print, a beaver’s dam. If someone was there, he’s likely long gone.

That’s how life slips away when we cling to the surface:

  • Relationships crumble over nitpicked words.

  • Resistance to the inevitable breeds suffering.

  • The new can’t break through “safe” old patterns.

  • What already exists kills what could be.

  • Authenticity waits in the dark, while we run from the void.

Remember often: everything explicit was once implicit.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

Lost&Found /  by Alexander Lyadov

Nanay River, Iquitos, Peru

Eight years ago, I went through 11 ayahuasca ceremonies in Peru. I wrote about it ​here​. Since then, people keep asking, “When are you going back?” My answer: “No way, I’m good for now.”

It’s not about the heavy, dark feelings I faced there. I think I grasped their meaning. What's more, I’m grateful for the test and learning I could handle it.

But I still feel my cup’s full to the brim.

During the prep and the ceremony, your mind, soul, and body shed what’s extra—symbolically and literally. This “dirty” phase hurts, but it’s necessary. To make room for the Other, you must empty yourself.

Describing what happens there is tough. Let’s just say neutrality’s not an option. You face what you’ve always dodged at all costs. Often, it’s a personal version of death. Sometimes, it’s unconditional love.

Your empty self fills with new meaning. It’s so vast, so strange, it overwhelms your mind. You want to lie in a hammock, stare at clouds, while your brain struggles to digest even a fragment.

In the years that follow, the ceremony’s gifts unfold when the time’s right. Suddenly, you get it: “Oh, that’s what it meant! Now I see why I felt X, craved Y, feared Z.”

I got lucky with my therapist—she took my weird “material” in stride. Dream analysis helped too. The truth grew clearer as I added lenses: neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, religion, mythology, and more.

So much has been rethought, understood, absorbed. You’d think I’d be ready to go again. But there’s no urge to travel to nowhere, to search for who-knows-what. It’s like a spring of living water flows inside me now.

Turns out, I had to lose myself so deeply to find myself there.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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

The Beast Inside /  by Alexander Lyadov

In grim medieval Europe, a brutal torture was all the rage. They pinned a man to the ground, placed a cage of rats on his belly, then heated it. The crazed rats, naturally, gnawed their way out through his flesh.

Guess what? Many people put themselves through this torture. A Beast devours their insides just the same. It has many names: the unconscious, an archetype, untapped potential, the Self.

Some folks think this Beast is a cuddly pet, like a neutered housecat. Archetypes sound mystical, romantic, right? It’s got my back, doesn’t it?

Yes and no. The Beast cares about the Future You, not the current you (the Ego). Those two only partly align. The first is the embodiment of your true essence. Your Ego? It’s stuffed with nonsense: illusions, delusions, lies.

So, a clash brews between the conscious and the unconscious. The Ego craves safety and comfort. The Self demands rapid growth and radical change. Yet their strengths don’t match.

Can a shell hold a fully formed chick? It’s like trying to plug Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano. Block your potential too long, and in the dark, the Beast becomes a Dragon. In fairy tales, it appears from nowhere, smashing everything in its path.

Unexplained illnesses, bad luck, sudden depression, paralysis. “There are no accidents,” Master Oogway wisely said. The trap? You don’t expect betrayal from within.

But who betrayed whom? The Beast, fighting for the acorn’s right to become an oak grove? Or the Ego, wanting to encase the acorn in plastic, a trophy on the wall?

Only you can stop this pointless war.

Here’s what it takes:

  1. Study your Beast’s nature and habits closely.

  2. Start clearing your Ego of illusions and lies.

  3. Learn to forge a healthy bond between Ego and Self.

Even the smallest step in this direction brings harmony to your life.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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

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