Drunk Bus Diaries / August 6, 2025 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 / August 5, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

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 / August 4, 2025 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:

List every flaw and danger of the present.
Hype the glories of the transformed future.
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 / August 3, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Hercules and Antaeus. Engraving by L. Kilian, 1610

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:

It fights to the last,
stays open to paradox,
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 / August 2, 2025 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 / August 1, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

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 / July 31, 2025 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:

Study your Beast’s nature and habits closely.
Start clearing your Ego of illusions and lies.
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.

More Than You / July 30, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

The secret to a strong business partnership is the same as in marriage.

It’s not about crafting a perfect agreement, trust, or equal shares. Those matter, sure, but they take a backseat.

The main thing—do they value what they're building more than themselves?

In marriage, it’s the bond between two souls. It’s worth fighting for. Fighting who? First and foremost, with your own demons.

Daily routines breed irritation, anger, resentment—plenty to go around. You can’t dodge tension. It grows and, suddenly, spills into conflict. Both sides feel right.

The real question: Is there something you’d protect at all costs?

At all costs means rising above yourself:

Don’t assume your partner’s out to hurt you.
Recall all you’ve survived and achieved together.
Take a breath, pause, talk to a therapist.
Ask what you’ve added to this mess.
Be the first to reach out and say the unsayable: “I’m sorry.”

This only works if your answer to that question screams, “Hell, yes!”

But like a marriage, a business can mean little to one partner. If so, he’ll always put himself above the venture. You see it in:

Slacking off when the stakes are high.
Chasing side projects that steal focus.
Refusing to step aside for someone sharper.
Blocking a sale to a strategist who’d grow it faster.
Ignoring his own flaws, unwilling to grow.

It’s different when partners give everything for the business. Then the business doesn’t just grow—it shapes them.

The reward? Not just wealth, but maturity, wisdom, and knowing yourself.

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 Alchemy of Two / July 29, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Is thirty years a lot or a little? For humanity, it’s a blink. For a family? It’s so vast it’s hard to grasp: “Was it really Marina and me who chose this road back in 1995?”

But years alone don’t earn bragging rights. If the bond sours, if two souls grow distant, if dependency chains them, marriage becomes a prison on Alcatraz.

It’s not about the years. It’s about the quality of being “you + me.” A wise psychologist once said marriage is a rare chance to work on yourself. You can’t find a perfect match, but you can try to build one.

It’s one thing to dream of a fairy-tale princess—or prince—who guesses your every wish, stands by you always, and never stops inspiring, like a god who worships you.

It’s another to see your partner as a living person, flawed, with her own mission and meaning on this earth. You find you’re not just on the same road—you are each other’s road.

Your union doesn’t just make you both stronger; it exposes weaknesses you’d otherwise hide. Trust, patience, and a hunger to grow are key. Then marriage becomes an alchemical vessel, its bubbling brew transforming both souls.

Yes, bubbling—tension, arguments, conflict. That’s how it should be. Two opposites collide. Each stumbles over the other’s differences, learning to embrace them in their partner, and so in themselves. And vice versa.

Joseph Campbell was right: “Marriage is a relationship. When you make the sacrifice in marriage, you’re sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship.” Both see there’s something greater than either alone.

Together, you craft a cosmos from your shared chaos. It’s hard sometimes, painful, even bitter. No guarantees for tomorrow. But when your efforts align and it works, peace settles in your soul.

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.

Unlocking Muscle Growth / July 28, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Social media algorithms push content creators to shock with novelty, dive into details, and split hairs over everything. Sadly, this tilts the signal-to-noise ratio toward noise.

So, when you hear someone’s claim, it helps to ask: “Compared to what?”

Take muscle growth. I got curious about what drives it. I asked an AI to channel Dr. Huberman and Dr. Galpin, listing the factors and their real impact.

Then I pitted ChatGPT against Grok to forge a unified stance. For a 52-year-old man training seven times a week, here’s the breakdown:

1.Training (Volume + Progression) — 42%
Hit the gym 3–4 times a week (10–20 sets per muscle group, 6–12 reps). Grapple in BJJ 2–3 times a week.

2. Sleep and Recovery — 22%
Sleep 7–9 hours, keep a fixed schedule. Breathe deep for 5–10 minutes daily. Take a cold shower once or twice a week.

3. Protein and Nutrition — 25%
Eat 2.0–2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Take 30–40 grams of protein four times a day, plus a post-workout shake. Aim for a 5–10% calorie surplus (e.g., 2500 kcal becomes 2625–2750 kcal). Load up on carbs (4–6 g/kg) and fats (0.8–1 g/kg).

4. Supplements and Electrolytes — 6%
Take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily. Pop 2000–4000 IU of vitamin D3. Get ≥2 grams of EPA+DHA omega-3s. Use 300–400 mg of magnesium glycinate or threonate. Mix 10 grams of collagen with vitamin C, 30–60 minutes before training. Drink 2–3 liters of water daily, with electrolytes (2–3 g sodium, 1–2 g potassium) on BJJ days.

5. Other — 5%
Check testosterone and blood sugar yearly. Hit the sauna or cold plunge 1–2 times a week. Get a massage to calm the nervous system.

The big takeaway: Training, sleep, and nutrition drive 89% of muscle growth. Don’t waste time obsessing over vitamin brands, collagen types, or massage styles. Work hard, eat well, sleep deep.

You can copy this list, add your own details, and ask any AI (better yet, two) to fine-tune it for 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.

Who Creates? / July 27, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

In creating, one of the richest moments is the unknown. It doesn’t always feel that way. Especially when you’re green, this phase can confuse, annoy, or terrify.

You’re set to make something. Tools laid out. Fresh coffee brewed. Energy surges. Ready to roll, right?

Nope. You’re like a fairy-tale knight, geared for battle, but the dragon’s gone. A wasteland stretches wide. Wind chases tumbleweeds. Your fire, dreams of glory, shiny new weapons—all useless.

So you sit, a fool, wondering what’s next. Go back? Shameful and dumb. Why all the prep? Stay and wait? You’ll die here, if not from hunger, then from boredom.

In the stew of uncertainty, your pride, your narcissism, your sense of control simmer down. Ha! The dragon’s your Teacher! You must learn the limits of your power, for not everything bends to your will.

Especially when it’s about the Other—ethereal, beyond. Saying “I’m the creator” is, at best, naive; at worst, reckless. So the lesson comes: “Oh, really? Create then.”

And suddenly, you see you can’t make anything new alone. Before, those “Wow” ideas came “from somewhere.” You claimed them eagerly: “Eureka! I made this!”

But now your mouth’s open, starving, and no food falls from the sky. Your gut growls, and worry creeps in: “What if the source is dry?”You can’t do a thing. That’s how humility dawns.

At last, you get it: you’re a co-creator at best. A junior partner. An apprentice. Above you always was, is, and will be Someone. He teaches, supports, guides—patiently, wisely, quietly.

And then a new chapter starts. You consciously try to connect with the Unseen. Slowly, you let go of safety, power, control. In return, you find authenticity, spontaneity, drive, meaning, freedom.

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.

Craving Wholeness / July 26, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Man feels his flaws and craves wholeness. Looking around, he searches for someone who’s made it, and, of course, he always finds one.

Usually, it’s a significant Other—parents in childhood, later a celebrity, billionaire, guru, or influencer. They all burn with passion for some object X. They chased it and found their prize—fame, power, wealth, or spirituality.

It brought them pleasure, joy, and peace. At least, that’s the picture they’ve painted for us. These “artists” don’t deny it. They’ve found wholeness. So, can I, if I want the same?

The trouble is, now our desires clash. We’re rivals, fighting over a scarce resource. Anxiety, envy, aggression, and violence follow.

Violence sparks more violence. This spiral plunges downward. Like a whirlpool, it drags everyone into the inferno.

This danger has always existed. But traditions and rituals once saved society from falling apart. Modern man rejects them, floundering in an ocean of chaos without a lifeboat.

Worse, our ancestors’ competition was confined to clans and social ranks. Today, social media bombards us with thousands of reasons to feel like nothing compared to “demigods” across the globe.

Hatred spreads like mycelium. It’s a miracle the world creaks but still stands.

Before seeking solutions, we must study the phenomenon deeply. French philosopher and cultural critic René Girard helps here. His brilliant intuition offers insights you can’t unsee.

A hint: man’s greatest mistake is seeking wholeness outside himself.

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.

Lead the Inevitable / July 25, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Resisting the inevitable drains too much strength. It’s smarter to take charge and lead it.

Here’s a simple case: midday, you face a task needing sharp focus and a creative spark. But after a tough workout and a heavy meal, sleep pulls you so hard that coffee can’t save you.

The usual fix—jolt yourself awake with extreme measures: ice-cold shower, spiky mat, or double espresso. Even if drowsiness fades, it slams you again in an hour or two.

Instead, you can decide: “Fine. If my body craves oblivion, I’ll dive in first, on my terms.” Your body follows gladly, almost grateful.

Someone might say: “What’s the gain? The task’s forgotten. The day’s wrecked.” Wrong. It’s the opposite—the task’s done fast, energy surges, and your mind clears.

The secret? A leader sets the direction and pace. You dove first, hit the dark bottom, pushed off, and surfaced. You did what your body wanted all along.

It turns out, ten minutes of reset was enough. Your mind’s fears—long sleep, lingering sluggishness—never came true. This is a small example of harmony between mind and body.

Now imagine that same unity in every part of your life. How much clearer, healthier, and more productive would it be?

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 Value of Empty / July 24, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

“How do you become a blue belt?” someone asked a famous Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach. Murilo Santana replied: “Stop being a white belt.” Wisdom shines everywhere.

Take change in any area—business, relationships, life. You know what your soul craves. The status quo wears you down. Yet you’ve been stuck for ages, neither forward nor back.

Your problem is a desperate lack of Emptiness.

A person is like a vessel—a cup, horn, jug, bucket, or barrel. Being unfilled feels like a flaw, a betrayal of purpose. You rush to fill it to the brim, no matter with what.

Sadly, every substance has an expiration date. The vessel still works, but the nectar inside turns to poison. Time to replace it, but how? ou must pour it out. Clean it. Let it dry.

For a moment, you must become an Anti-vessel, filled with Nothing.

Worse, while you reel from the void within, “vessels” around you brag about their contents bubbling over. It feels like you’re the only broken one in the world.

The irony? It’s the opposite—in your small world, you’re a pioneer, not an outcast. While others fight to prove their lives are fine, you refuse to lie to yourself.

You’ve started to transform. My advice: don’t fear the emptiness. It holds meaning and value. A hollow vessel signals future abundance, a new stage, room to grow.

Savor this rare moment of freedom to choose.

Choose what? Almost anything!

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.

Life in Waves / July 23, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

“The best posture is the next one,” a rehab expert explains. “The problem is staying still. Your body isn’t built to sit frozen at a desk for eight hours. You need variety. Switch positions, stand, stretch, and so on.”

His advice echoes a lesson from the tatami. After a break from an injury, I fought worse, though I remembered techniques and kept my strength. I’d lost a subtle skill: “energy management.”

That’s what I call dosing effort in a match, blending tension and ease. It’s like the peristalsis of the throat, the heart’s pulse, or breathing—in and out, up and down, on and off.

Try an isometric exercise, such as a plank. The more tired you are, the louder you thank heaven for even a second’s rest. The body recovers quickly when given a chance.

Almost any task takes time. You don’t hit a Wow result in one strike. Mastery is about spreading energy wisely from start to finish. On a chart, the best strategy looks like a wave—a smooth sine curve.

Your results in business, sports, or art can soar higher. Stop praising “isometry”:

pushing through fatigue,
non-ergonomic desks,
endless work heroics,
skipping vacations,
chronic sleep debt,
forgotten meals,
ignoring pain.

Instead, make your life rhythmic, like Nature:

animal migrations,
moon phases,
brain waves,
ocean tides,
seasons.

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.

Earn Your Power / July 22, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

The boulevard near my house attracts car and motorcycle daredevils. They screech and roar off the light, like it’s F1 in Monaco. Tuned-up cars weave and dodge at breakneck speed.

That might be fine—if not for the regular crashes. Bent metal wrapped around lampposts. Long skid marks like a meteor strike. Flashing lights. Police reports.

Having a herd of horsepower under you isn’t a privilege; it’s a burden.

Tapping into raw Power tempts you. Now you can outrun everyone, kill with one shot, or see hidden truths. But gifts don’t come free. The gods demand a sacrifice.

Carl Jung, I think, said: “Beware of unearned wisdom.”

Psychedelics teach this fast. Peek inside yourself for fun, on a whim, and you might get PTSD, depression, or psychosis as a “present.” That’s why in Peru, the ayahuasca ritual was done with reverence. The plants were called healers, and every ceremony began with a clear intention.

Top speed, strength, power, smarts, wealth, even pleasure—they’re supercharged energy needing a strong vessel. Without it, they spill and dissolve everything, like a mix of nitric and hydrochloric acids.

So, if you’re frustrated that your business isn’t growing fast enough, try asking: “Is some part of me not ready for that speed?” To remove the limiter, you have to work on yourself.

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.

Bless to Bloom / July 21, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

One role of parents is to bless their child. That means offering approval, support, and kind wishes. Like watering a young tree — you help it grow.

Without this “water,” a child doesn’t stay neutral. Psychologist Robert Moore says the absence of blessing becomes a curse. You heard right—harsh judgment, rejection, harm done by the magic of words.

Sunlight touches a tree, and photosynthesis begins. But what happens if there’s only darkness?

Children grow up, but their need for photons never fades. Especially if childhood felt like the Arctic winter. So don’t be surprised when people react strongly to small things — a glance, a kind word, a simple nod.

Or a fierce reaction, but negative, if you “show disrespect” by ignoring an aggressive bully—someone deeply wounded inside. For that light, he’d kill.

Robert said this isn’t just parental approval; it’s royal. Deep in us lies a social hierarchy. A subject’s survival and success hinged on the king’s gaze. In ancient tribes, a king wasn’t elected; God gave him power. He kept cosmic order in his realm, bridging heaven and earth.

You, too, can wear the crown and take the throne any moment to fulfill a sacred role—sharing life-giving energy with people, harvest, land. Just turn your eyes to the good already around you.

One look from you, and someone shakes off a curse. Another blooms.

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.

Remember the Source / July 20, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Have you noticed how much your state affects what you see?

Let sickness, disappointment, or hurt sour you, and every problem looms large, spelled with a capital P.

In extreme moments, it feels like the whole world’s against you. Everything’s wrong—from nuclear threats and mob madness to a skin blemish or cigarette stink at the cafe.

When your fever hits 104, even a loving hand on your forehead feels disgusting. Anything unknown, strange, or sudden drains your last drop of strength.

It’s the opposite when you’re sharp, alive, on fire. You’re a honey badger, fearless, no matter how many predators lurk. You charge so fiercely that 99% of problems just vanish.

In that strong state, the Creator calls the shots.

The unknown doesn’t scare him—it excites him, thrills him. Chaos, once a vicious aggressor and saboteur, becomes a steady supplier of raw material for the Creator.

Your only problem — what kind of Wow will I create today?

So, priority one is your state—your energy, your vitality, your spark. But where does this drive come from? You don’t make it; you just manage it, wisely or poorly.

The source lies within you. Forget it or turn away, and you feel rotten, the world baring its teeth. Dip one finger into that source, and you’ll flip any negative to a positive with ease.

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 Off to On / July 19, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

It’s wild how life does things right on time.

For days, months, even years, something seems totally impossible.
And if someone could do it, it sure wouldn’t be you.

A chasm gapes between where you are and where you want to be.

And then—bam! You just do it.
Easily. Lightly. Riding the wave.
And what shocks others feels obvious to you: “Of course I did. No big deal.”

That’s what real change feels like.
No drama. No grit. No force.
You don’t need to push or bribe yourself.
The shift in perception, attitude, or behavior just happens.
It was “Off.” Now it’s “On.”

Kongen leve kongen er død!
Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!
The king is dead, long live the king!

Congrats. That means you’re already someone new.

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.

Black Treasure / July 18, 2025 by Alexander Lyadov

Nature keeps nothing extra. Man, on the other hand, carries way too much. He either misses the value of what he has or clings too tightly to what’s long expired. Is it any wonder he’s never content?

Fate sends signs, gently nudging him: “Enough, let go. Here’s something steadier, grander, better.” At last, fate loses patience and kicks him into a new state with force. He screams: “How sudden! How unfair!”

Buddhism says suffering comes from resisting what is. Think of holding back a hiccup, a cough, or vomit.

Some people block the flow of their lives like that. A rushing river turns into a quiet pool, then a swamp. The soil shifts, thick mud gathers, and life starts to rot. Animals leave; only mosquitoes, leeches, and toads remain.

The longer the neglect, the harder it is to clear. But nothing is impossible—especially if you’re not afraid to get muddy.

Peat, a flammable fossil fuel, forms “from the natural death and incomplete decay of swamp plants in wet, airless conditions” (Wikipedia). Unlived emotions, grudges, compromises, fears, and forgotten dreams simmer long within, becoming a black treasure.

The question isn’t what you have, but how you use 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.