Executive Coach | Your Copilot to a Fulfilling Life and Career Growth | Powered by the Ignite Life Method™ | Coached 1,200+ Leaders at Dropbox, Salesforce, Coinbase | Take the Quiz to See What Needs to Shift — Now

Do you feel that you are stuck in your career,
life overwhelmed with busyness, 
and you are disconnected from yourself... 
then we need to talk.

Most high achievers I coach aren’t broken — they’re just disconnected.

🚨 Disconnected from their purpose.
🚨 Disconnected from the work they once loved.
🚨 Disconnected from the life they truly want to live.

It shows up as: STUCK, FRUSTRATION, LOST.

❌ Career stagnation
❌ Constant firefighting
❌ Burnout masked as busyness
❌ Imposter syndrome despite success

I help ambitious professionals — founders, product leaders, and emerging executives — reignite clarity, rebuild courage, and create conscious impact using The Ignite Method™.

You don’t have to choose between growth and fulfilment. You can have both.

🔥 The Ignite Method™

1. Clarity Journey — Rediscover who you are and what truly matters.
2. Courage Building — Move through fear and start acting boldly.
3. Conscious Impact — Create a career and life that actually feels like success.
4. Cohesive Action — Align what you think, feel, and do every single day.

🎯 What My Clients Gain

✅ Unshakable clarity on what’s next
✅ Courage to make big, aligned decisions
✅ Confidence to lead teams or businesses with purpose
✅ Energy and ownership to thrive at work and at home

📍 A Bit About Me

- PCC Certified Coach (ICF)
- 1,200+ leaders coached in 18+ countries
- Clients from Google, Coinbase, Dropbox, Salesforce, Intel, EA Sports, Rubrik, Visa, Zynga and more
- TEDx Speaker: Can Fear Push Us to be Courageous? Google it!
- Founder, IgnitedNeurons — a platform helping build a culture of high performance, growth mindset and based in values!
- Building the IgnitedNeurons Podcast to extract lessons you and I can apply in everyday life

💼 If You’re Leading a Team or Organisation:
I also partner with founders, HR heads, and L&D leaders to design bold cultures, build values-driven teams, and humanise leadership.

📩 Ready to Take the First Step?
Take the free 5-minute Ignite Life Quiz to discover what’s holding you back.

Let’s ignite your next chapter.

Utkarsh Narang

Most career advice tells you to bounce back fast.

This story says something far more important.

At the 2026 Golden Globes, EJAE (Kim Eun Jae) accepted the award for Best Original Song for “Golden” from Netflix  Kpop Demon Hunters.
She became the first Korean-American to win at the Golden Globes.

But that’s not the part that matters most.

What matters is what came before the win.

She spent 10 years chasing one dream.
To become a K-pop idol.

She was rejected.
Told her voice wasn’t good enough.
Watched the original plan fall apart.

So she did what many of us are doing right now.

She adapted.

She leaned into what still worked.
She stayed close to her craft.
She rebuilt her identity instead of abandoning it.

And years later, she stood on that stage not as what she once wanted to be
but as something truer to who she was becoming.

Here’s why this matters if you’re:
• scared of being laid off
• already laid off
• quietly questioning your career path
• thinking about a pivot but afraid to start over

A detour is not a downgrade.
A rejection is not a verdict.
And changing direction is not failure.

Careers are not ladders anymore.
They are stories.

And the people who win long-term are not the ones who never get disrupted.
They are the ones who don’t let disruption silence their voice.

If you’re in a season of uncertainty, remember this:
Your next chapter does not need to look like your last one to be meaningful.

♻️ Repost this for someone navigating a career reset right now.
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for grounded perspectives on career change, resilience, and rebuilding with confidence.

Executive Coach Helping Ambitious Professionals Breakthrough Stuck Careers & Inner Frustration | Ignite Life Method™ | Coached 1,200+ Leaders at Dropbox, Salesforce, Coinbase | Take the Quiz to Reignite Yourself

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My dad hired a tennis coach at 70.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Seventy years old.
Retired.
Comfortable.

And yet, he decided to hire a tennis coach.

Not because he wants to compete.
Not because he wants to prove anything.
Just because he wants to get better.

That one decision stayed with me.

Most people slow down with age. They protect comfort.
They say things like, “What’s the point now?”

My dad doesn’t.

He shows up to the court.
Listens. Practises. Learns.

Like a beginner.

Watching him, I realised something important about growth.

Growth is not driven by fear of falling behind.
It is driven by love for learning.

No pressure. No urgency. Just curiosity.

As a son, it inspires me.

That is what I have always prioritised. Learning. Growing. 
Always asking what more and what’s next?

I thank my dad for it. 70 years. Racket in hand. On the court.

That’s discipline.
That’s presence.
That’s a quiet kind of courage.

And most of all, that’s love, for life, for movement, for becoming a little better than yesterday.

If I ever wonder what kind of man I want to be as I grow older, I don’t have to look far.

I just look at my dad.

If this lands, don’t rush past it. Sit with it.

Growth has no expiry date.

li_at

JSESSIONID

Talks about #personalgrowth, #bebettereveryday, #leadershiplessons, #utkarshbrainspark, and #leadershipcoaching

During one of the worst layoff periods at a global cryptocurrency company, I was coaching their senior leaders.

The market had turned. 
Pressure was relentless. 
Decisions were being made fast, often without the space to process the human cost.

The instinct was predictable.
“We need to rebuild fast.”
“Let’s hire stronger people.”
“Let’s bring in fresh energy.”

But that wasn’t the real problem.

The people being let go weren’t weak.
They weren’t uncommitted.
They weren’t unrealistic.

They were exhausted from uncertainty, confused by shifting priorities,
and slowly losing trust in how decisions were being made behind closed doors.

What finally changed things wasn’t a new hiring plan.

It was a harder, quieter set of conversations.

Leaders started asking different questions.
Not “How do we replace them?”
But “What made staying feel impossible?”

Layoffs don’t just reduce headcount.
They expose culture.

They amplify how safe it feels to speak up,
how clearly people understand the future,
and whether leaders default to control or clarity when things get uncomfortable.

If people keep leaving, hiring faster only treats the symptom.

The real work is understanding what your culture is teaching people about loyalty, growth, and honesty when the pressure is on.

Because the truth is simple and inconvenient: people don’t quit companies at scale, they quit environments where staying starts to feel like self-betrayal.

Before you open the next role, make sure the work environment you’re hiring into is one people would actually choose to stay in.

♻️If this resonated, repost it so someone else sees it today.
➕Follow Utkarsh Narang for more thinking on growth, resilience, and building momentum over time.

Did you know most people quit their goals by the second week of January?

Not because they’re incapable.
But because they’re relying on motivation instead of structure.

Motivation is unpredictable.
Systems are not.

The people who actually stick with their goals don’t “try harder.”
They design their environment to make follow-through easier.

That means:
• clear reminders
• real accountability
• visible tracking
• time protected on the calendar

If you’re feeling stuck, scattered, or unsure what to focus on next, clarity is the real starting point.

Take the Ignite Life Quiz to understand where you are right now and what deserves your energy next. 
(📌DM “Quiz” for the link)

♻️ Repost if this resonated.
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for practical thinking on career growth, transitions, and building stability in uncertain times.

1 simple way to stay more consistent with your 2026 goals

Most people see pressure as a sign they are doing something wrong.

But the people who grow see it differently.

Pressure often shows up right before something meaningful changes.
Not as a threat. As a signal.

The same goes for mistakes.

Not proof of failure.
Proof of engagement.

You only get feedback when you are actually in the arena.

The real shift is this:
stop taking friction personally.

Treat it as information.
Something to study, not escape.

Curiosity does what confidence cannot.
It keeps you moving when certainty disappears.

Growth does not come from ease.
It comes from staying present through discomfort and choosing to refine instead of retreat.

If things feel heavy right now, that does not mean you are off track.

It might mean you are finally working on something that matters.

♻️If this resonated, repost it so someone else sees it today.
➕Follow Utkarsh Narang for more thinking on growth, resilience, and building momentum over time.

You can’t change what you can’t measure.

Every January, we promise ourselves:
 “More clarity.”
 “More courage.”
 “More impact.”
 “Better habits.”

But most resolutions fade because there’s no baseline.

You don’t know:
 – where you’re clear
 – where you’re stuck
 – where you’re avoiding
 – where you’re actually making impact

And without that… change becomes guesswork.

Over years of coaching, I’ve seen this pattern repeat:
People don’t lack motivation. They lack visibility.

That’s why we built the Ignite Life Scorecard — a free tool to help you measure where you stand across:
 👉 Clarity
 👉 Courage
 👉 Action
 👉 Impact

No labels. No judgment.

Just an honest snapshot of where you are right now.

If you want 2026 to be intentional — not accidental — start by measuring.
👉 Take the free scorecard here: https://lnkd.in/gEYUvyea

Because awareness isn’t the end of growth. It’s the beginning.

Welcome to another beautiful week. When an idea sparks that I think is worth sharing, it becomes this weekly newsletter. If something hits home, write

Open article: You Can’t Change What You Can’t Measure by Utkarsh Narang • 3 min read

You Can’t Change What You Can’t Measure

A year ago, on January 1, 2025, the IgnitedNeurons podcast had 24 subscribers. 

Not 24 thousand.
Twenty-four.

There was no launch strategy.
No momentum.
No guarantee anyone would care.

Just a decision to show up… even when it felt pointless…
to have real conversations, hit publish, and do it again the next week.

Fast forward to January 1, 2026: 873 subscribers.

Still not viral.
Still not flashy.
But undeniably built.

Here’s what changed in that year:
not my talent,
not my confidence,
not my circumstances.

What changed was that I stopped waiting to feel ready
and started acting like the life I wanted was already under construction.

Most people don’t fail because they aim too low.
They fail because they keep rehearsing a better future
instead of tolerating the boredom and doubt of building one.

One year will pass anyway.
The question is whether you’ll be able to point to something real or just another version of the same wish.

What are you quietly committing to build this year, even if no one’s watching yet?

♻️ Repost if this feels like the right reminder for this stage of the year.
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for more clarity on growth and inner work.

I took a two-week break from work recently.

It was calm.
It was slow.
It was peaceful.

And yet, something felt uncomfortable.

Not because of money.
Not because of pressure.

I was okay on that front.

The discomfort came from somewhere else.

Freedom isn’t time off. It’s knowing what you return to.

Work gives me energy.
It gives me joy. It gives me a sense of who I am.

During the break, I realised how much I value that.

We are often told that if you truly love life, you should want to escape work.
That wanting to return means you are trapped or over-attached.

That isn’t true for me.

When I came back to work on January 5, it felt… right. Almost joyful. Not because I had to work. But because I wanted to.

That moment taught me something important.

Freedom is not about getting away from work. Freedom is about choosing work that gives you energy instead of taking it away.

If something lights you up, don’t push it aside. Don’t feel guilty about it. Don’t let someone else’s definition of balance make you doubt yourself.

Hold on to it.

And if you haven’t found that yet, keep going.

Try new things.
Change direction.
Learn about yourself.

There is a place where effort feels meaningful.
Where work feels like contribution, not compromise.

When you find it, you won’t need convincing.

You’ll feel it.

♻️ Repost if this feels like the right reminder for this stage of the year.
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for more clarity on growth and inner work.

I have learned to enjoy my own company.

This didn’t come naturally to me.

There was a time when silence felt heavy.
When being alone felt like something was missing.

So I filled the gaps. Anything to avoid sitting with myself.

Over time, I realised something uncomfortable.

If I couldn’t be alone with my own thoughts, no amount of company would fix that.

So I started small.

Early mornings.
Quiet walks.
Journaling with no agenda.

At first, it was awkward.
My mind kept wandering.
I wanted to reach for my phone.

But slowly, solitude stopped feeling empty.

It started feeling honest.

In solitude, there is no performance. No role to play. No one to impress.

Just you, as you are.

That’s where I hear myself most clearly.
That’s where I notice what excites me and what drains me.
That’s where my values show up without being forced.

Solitude is not loneliness.

It is presence.

It is choosing to sit with your life instead of escaping it.

And the more comfortable I became with my own company, the richer my relationships became. With my work, family, and with myself.

Now, I protect my solitude.

Not because I want to disconnect from the world. 

But because it helps me show up fully when I do.

The most important relationship you’ll ever build
is the one you have with yourself.

A reminder for the first week of the new year.

Stress is rarely about pressure.
It is about postponement.

❗️The email you are avoiding.
❗️The decision you keep circling.
❗️The conversation you know you need to have.

Unfinished things quietly drain more energy than hard work ever will.

This year does not need a perfect plan.
It needs movement.

✅ One small action today can release weeks of mental weight.

If 2026 is about anything, let it be this:
Do the thing you keep delaying.

Momentum follows action.

♻️Repost if this feels like the right way to start the year.
➕Follow Utkarsh Narang for more reflections on growth, leadership, and clarity.

Getting Joshua Freedman on the IgnitedNeurons  Podcast didn’t happen because of reach, status, or a perfectly crafted pitch.

It happened because of patience.

I reached out.
Then I waited.
Then I followed up, respectfully.
Across platforms - LinkedIn. Email.
Not chasing. Not spamming. Just staying present.

And I did it with love, one of my core values.

There were long gaps with no response.
Moments where it would have been easy to assume disinterest and move on quietly.
But something told me to stay consistent.

Eventually, he said yes.

What followed wasn’t just an episode.
It became one of the most powerful conversations I’ve had on emotional intelligence - 
deep, grounded, honest, and deeply human.

That moment reminded me of something I keep relearning:

The best things in life often come not from intensity,
but from sincerity sustained over time.

Perseverance doesn’t always look loud.
Sometimes it looks like showing up again, calmly, without entitlement.

Grateful for the conversation.
Grateful for the patience it took to get there.
And grateful for what happens when values lead the way.

Leadership isn’t about your resume.
It’s about your ripple effect.

Want to be remembered?
Leave people better than you found them.

✅Speak truth.
✅Stand for something.
✅Choose compassion over ego.
✅Listen more than you talk.

That’s the real scoreboard:

→ Not your position, but your presence
→ Not your awards, but your actions
→ Not your accolades, but your attitude

Robin Sharma said it best:

“Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence and inspiration.”

How you lead matters.
But how you make others feel, that’s what endures.

Be someone who lifts others.
It’s the kind of wealth that multiplies.

♻️ Repost if this hit home
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for more on human-centered leadership

Six months from now, you’ll either have....

six months of real progress behind you
or six months of very reasonable excuses.

I’ve learned this over the years:

You don’t grow because you’re the smartest person in the room. 

You grow because you are deliberate, intentional, and willing to sit with discomfort longer than you’d like.

Most of the time, the thing holding you back isn’t lack of ability.

It’s avoidance —
> of the hard conversation,
> the awkward decision,
> the honest admission that something in life or work is no longer working.

It’s easier to stay busy than to be brave.

Easier to explain why now isn’t the right time than to admit you are scared of what happens if you actually try.

Six months will pass whether you confront this 
or keep negotiating with yourself.
 
The question isn’t whether time will move.
It’s whether you will.

When you look back, you don’t regret moving too slowly.

You regret the periods where you knew better and chose comfort anyway.
Six months from now, you want evidence... not intention.

If this hit, you already know what you’ve been avoiding.

Save this to re-ignite that spark and follow Utkarsh Narang for more!

I need to admit something. I am being vulnerable here.

Selling does not come naturally to me.

I love deep conversations. Meaning. Reflection. Human connection.

Sales calls used to feel like a performance. I’d walk in hoping they’d like me. Hoping they’d say yes. Hoping I wouldn’t mess it up.

And every time I needed the outcome… I stopped being myself.

Then I learned a concept from Daniel Priestley that changed everything:

“With or without you” energy.

It doesn’t mean I don’t care. It doesn’t mean I’ll succeed at your expense.

It means this: I want you with me. But my success is not dependent on your approval.

The moment I started walking into conversations with that energy:
– the pressure disappeared
– the conversation deepened
– I stopped performing and started practising my craft

I was no longer trying to convince. I was trying to understand.

People don’t respond to desperation.
They respond to calm conviction.

So here’s a question for you:

👉 Where in your life or work are you needing the outcome a little too much?

Try walking in with “with or without you” energy this week. Care deeply. Release the outcome.

That’s not arrogance. That’s leadership.

Open article: With or Without You Energy by Utkarsh Narang • 3 min read

One of the most important mindset shifts I have learned over the years is this:

The question you ask determines the direction you grow.

“Why is this happening to me?”
keeps you focused on the problem.

“What is this trying to teach me?”
moves you into agency.

The moment you switch questions, you switch power.

Nothing magically becomes easier.
But you stop feeling helpless inside the situation.

In leadership, in careers, in personal growth
this shift separates people who stay stuck
from people who evolve through difficulty.

❌Growth is not about avoiding hard seasons.
✅It is about extracting wisdom from them.

That is how experience turns into maturity.

♻️If this resonates, repost it for someone navigating a hard moment.
➕Follow Utkarsh Narang for more clarity on growth, leadership, and inner work.

We romanticize success.
But survival comes first.

Tesla didn’t grow in a straight line.
It stayed alive long enough to figure things out.

That’s the part most people skip.

Before scale comes stability.
Before dominance comes endurance.
Before momentum comes survival.

If you’re in a phase where the goal is simply to last,
you’re not failing.

You’re building the foundation that growth requires.

Survive first.
Refine next.
Scale later.

♻️ Repost if this reframes how you see slow or difficult seasons.
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for more clarity on growth, resilience, and long-term thinking.

Comfort rarely looks dangerous.

It looks like stability.
Familiar routines.
Staying “reasonable.”

But comfort has a quiet cost.

❌It delays hard conversations.
❌It postpones decisions you already know you need to make.
❌It keeps you busy, but not moving.

Failure, at least, gives feedback.
Comfort gives none.

Most careers don’t stall because people fail too much.
They stall because people wait too long.

If something has been on your mind for months, maybe years, it’s probably not going away on its own.

Discomfort is often the price of growth.
Avoiding it is often the reason dreams fade.

♻️ If this made you pause, repost it.
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for grounded thinking on growth, career transitions, and building momentum without burning out.

Most people want business ideas.
They just don’t look in the right place.

They look outward.
Markets. Trends. Tools. Tactics.

But some of the most powerful ideas come from lived experience.

On the latest episode of the IgnitedNeurons Podcast, I sat down with Bart Merrell, an entrepreneur who believes that life’s challenges often carry the seeds of opportunity.

We spoke about:
• Why setbacks are not wasted
• How adversity can become an asset
• The “lemonade stand” mindset for entrepreneurship
• When monetization makes sense and when it doesn’t
• Why perspective matters more than strategy

This conversation is not about hustling harder.
It’s about seeing differently.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your experiences matter, this episode might shift how you think about work, business, and opportunity.

🎧 Listen on Spotify and Youtube!

♻️If this resonates, support IgnitedNeurons Podcast by sharing it with someone who’s navigating a challenge and wondering what to do next.

Your brain is not stuck.
It is trained.

And anything trained
can be retrained.

Every reaction you repeat
teaches your nervous system what to expect.

Tension becomes familiar.
Chaos feels normal.
Rest can feel unsafe.

Healing is not a personality change.
It is a pattern change.

Pausing instead of reacting.
Choosing calm on purpose.
Staying present when avoidance feels easier.

By now, the new year energy has settled.
This is when real change begins.

Not loud.
Not rushed.
But consistent.

You are not broken.
You are rewiring.

♻️ Repost if this feels like the right reminder for this stage of the year.
➕ Follow Utkarsh Narang for more clarity on growth and inner work.

Most people wait for permission
before they begin.

The right title.
The right funding.
The right room.

But progress rarely starts in boardrooms.
It starts in garages.
Side projects.
Rough drafts no one applauds.

Apple did not begin fully formed.
Neither do ideas worth building.

Small starts are not a disadvantage.
They are an advantage.

They force clarity.
They reward focus.
They build resilience early.

Start smaller than you want.
Think bigger than feels reasonable.
And keep going longer than feels comfortable.

That is how most meaningful things are built.

♻️Repost if this is the reminder you needed.
➕Follow Utkarsh Narang for more clarity on growth, leadership, and long-term thinking.

Ranked #1 in Branding | AI Strategist for High-Stakes Communications | I Help You Attract Premium Clients, Stages & Global Media | 35M Views

Iza Montalvo is an award-winning journalist, founder, and speaker whose work has been recognized on the floor of the U.S. Congress.

She works at the intersection of media, reputation, and influence, shaping how leaders, companies, and experts are seen, trusted, and remembered.

Over the past 15+ years, Iza has helped craft public narratives and media strategy for U.S. elected officials, public figures, advised C-suite executives at Fortune 100 and 500 companies, and partnered with product and go-to-market teams to launch and scale complex technologies. 

Her specialty: translating high-stakes ideas, from AI platforms to enterprise systems into human stories people understand and believe.

Her own platform has reached more than 50 million people, building a 115k-strong audience in a single year. 

She has been featured in Times Square, recognized by Forbes as a LinkedIn expert, and ranked #1 globally for branding and positioning by Favikon.

Whether on stage, online, or on the page, Iza challenges one belief:
talent isn’t enough, visibility shapes opportunity.


IZA MONTALVO 🧲

This isn’t persuasion.
It’s how the brain works.

Most offers don’t fail because the product is weak.
They fail because the decision feels hard.

Carousel created by Tom Pestridge.

Every buying decision runs on a few shortcuts.
Ignore them and strong offers stall.

9 principles that shape buying decisions:

✅ Anchoring Bias
✅ The Framing Effect
✅ The Contrast Effect
✅ The Affordability Illusion
✅ The Power of Free
✅ The Rule of 3
✅ The Paradox of Choice
✅ The IKEA Effect
✅ The Endowment Effect

Good marketing isn’t deception.
It’s structure.

It aligns the offer with how decisions happen
so value doesn’t need explanation.

📌 Save this before you price or package anything.
♻️ Share it with someone who builds offers.

NEUROMARKETING CONCEPTS TO KNOW

I lost time trying to “figure things out myself.” Speed matters more than pride.

So in 2023, I made a rule:
If I want to learn something fast, I hire the best.

I treat this as a practical decision.

Jobs are contingent.
Markets are cyclical.
Titles are temporary.
Skills are portable.

I’ve seen people lose income, security, and status.
The ones who recovered weren’t unusually confident or optimistic.
They were competent.

They could do something useful in more than one setting.
They didn’t need ideal conditions to function.
They weren’t dependent on a single system continuing as planned.

One distinction:

You’re not paying for information.
Information is easy to access.

You’re paying to shorten the gap between not knowing and being able to act effectively.

There’s evidence behind this way of thinking.

The World Economic Forum estimates that 44% of workers’ skills will change by 2027, driven by technology and shifting business needs.

Skills that only work in one role or one environment don’t age well.
That’s why I don’t see learning skills as a gamble.
I see it as limiting downside.

When you invest in property, equities, or a role, you rely on external conditions holding.
When you invest in skills, you increase your ability to operate when they don’t.

The filter I use before investing in a skill:

Can I use this in more than one role or industry?
Does it improve how I think and decide, not just what I produce?
Would it still be useful if my current job disappeared?

If the answer is no, I skip it.
If things went wrong tomorrow, I wouldn’t be starting from zero.

I’d be starting with capabilities I can apply again.
That’s the difference.

PS: If you’ve built a skill that paid off later than expected, share it below, those examples are more useful than advice.

♻️ Repost to help spread this message

When I say it's never too late, I mean it because I've lived it.

At 40, I:

got married for the first time
had my second child
quit my corporate career in news
built my first serious business
traveled to my dream city in Europe 
bought my first investment property

At the same time, life didn't stop happening.

I lost a job. 
My husband got sick.
I spent years trying to find the right support for my child with additional needs.
I got scammed online.
I had to reinvent myself.
I found success again. 

If you're new here, I want you to know this:

You're not late.
You're not broken.
You didn't miss your one chance.

Some of us move slower because we're carrying more.
We are figuring out things as we get older and wiser. 

If you're in the middle of a reset, this isn't the end of your story.
It's the part where you realize what you're really made of.

PS: What's one thing you started later than you "should have" and still made happen?

Award-Winning Founder, Journalist & Speaker | Top 1% Creator | Former U.S. Congress Communications Director

Kindness matters more now than it used to. 
Or at least it feels that way. 

Sometimes it’s a smile, a helping hand, or a simple gesture that brightens someone’s day. 

Work has sped up, gone remote, stripped back to tasks and messages and calendars. 
A lot of the human stuff has thinned out.

There’s data behind that feeling. 
Studies on modern workplaces show declines in perceived empathy and connection as work becomes more digital. 

Gallup has found that only a small fraction of employees feel genuinely seen or cared about at work, even when performance stays high.

During remote learning, a professor logged into what he assumed was just another final Zoom class. 

Same faces. 
Same screens. 
Nothing to mark the end.

Then the cameras came on.
One at a time.
Every student holding a handwritten sign.

"Thank you".
"For caring".
"For showing up".
"For treating us like people".

He stopped talking.
Just looked at the screen for a second.

Then said is a whisper: “You’re gonna make me cry.”

Someone recorded it. 
The clip made its way around. 
People shared it, saved it, sent it to each other.

Psychology research explains why moments like this are so memorable. 

Under stress, the brain holds on to emotional experiences more than information. 
Facts blur. 
Feelings don’t.

That semester was full of isolation, deadlines, and glowing rectangles. 
And this is what stayed with people.

Not the material.
Not the grades.
Not the lectures they crammed for.

Being noticed.
This isn’t really about teaching.
It’s about leadership. 

Or maybe it’s about what leadership looks like when all the extras fall away.
If you manage people, build things, mentor someone, the impact you have usually shows up later.

In trust.
In who sticks around.
In moments you never planned for.

That’s the part people carry with them.

🎥 Video credit: Brain Nourishment, IG
♻️ If you believe in kindness, pass it on.

Perspective arbitrage is worth 30% more revenue.
Research on cultural adaptation found this pattern.

Companies that adjust products and messaging see higher revenue growth than those that don’t.

Most companies already have this advantage.
They just don’t see it.

What is perspective arbitrage?

The ability to profit from insights others can't access because you think in multiple cultural contexts.

Inside organizations, this ability is often treated as translation.

I’ve seen the cost of that mistake.

A company planned to enter a new market.
The discussion centered on translation and launch timing.
One person raised a different concern.

The product story didn’t match how customers in that market judged value.
That observation changed the launch plan.
Projected revenue increased threefold.

Nothing new was added.
The decision changed.

So why does this keep getting overlooked?

1/ It gets framed as language
“I can help translate.”
Instead of: “This won’t work the way we expect.”

2/ Differences get set aside
Teams aim for speed and miss context.

3/ Observations don’t carry forward
Adjustments get made in meetings,
then disappear once the decision is done.

When insight isn’t named, it doesn’t influence the next choice.
Seeing across cultures isn’t a soft skill.
It’s how blind spots get caught early.

Many bilingual professionals are hired for language.
The ones who advance earn trust for how they think.

Perspective arbitrage isn’t a personal advantage.
It’s how companies avoid making the wrong call.

Your cultural lens isn't just heritage.
It's a business advantage.

🔁 Share if you've used cultural insights to drive business results
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Founder | Top 1% Creator | Journalist | Former U.S. Congress Communications Director | 50M Views

Intelligence opens doors. 
Adaptability keeps you moving.

Someone with less experience just got promoted 
over 5 people who'd been there longer.

Same role. 
Same manager.
Happened over 18 months.

The difference wasn't talent.
It was how they responded when things changed.

When feedback came, they didn't defend it. 

They listened. 
Took notes. 
Applied it without ego.

When a new system rolled out, they learned it first. 
While others complained, they were already fluent.

They copied what worked. 
Emails. 
Meetings. 
How to handle pushback. 

Same personality. 
Upgraded execution.

They admitted gaps early. 

"I haven't used this before. 
I'll learn it this week." 
Speed beats pretending.

They systemized mistakes. 

What went wrong. 
Why it happened. 
What changes next time. 

Fix once. 
Avoid forever.

Research shows 64% of senior leaders say: 
a growth mindset enhances productivity and performance. 
Source (TalentLMS)
and 94% of employees would stay at a company longer 
if it invested in their career development.  
Source (LinkedIn)

The pattern is clear: 
Internal promotions happen 20% faster than external hires 

PS: What's one habit you picked up from watching someone else work?
♻️ Share with your network of high-performers

Most leadership misses one simple truth:
Connection isn’t one-size-fits-all.

My 9-year old son’s teacher proves this every morning.
At the classroom door, she gives her students five ways to be greeted:

High-five
Hug
Fist bump
Smile and nod
“Good morning”

That’s it.

No pressure.
No forcing energy.
Just choice.

What matters isn’t the options themselves
it’s what they mean.

👉 You get to decide how you want to be seen today.

Some mornings kids want closeness.
Some mornings they want space.
Some mornings they just want acknowledgment without attention.

And every choice is respected.

That small moment does something powerful:
It gives students agency before the day even starts.

When people are acknowledged in ways that work for them, engagement follows.

They participate more.
They take risks.
They trust.

It made me think about leadership.

How often do we decide for people how connection should look?
How often do we mistake our preference for a universal rule?
The best leaders don’t demand sameness.

They design for difference.
Because confidence doesn’t grow from being managed.
It grows from being met where you are.

♻️ Worth sharing with someone who leads people.

Some fires don’t burn you all at once.
They warm you first 🔥 

You stand close.
You tell yourself it’s manageable.

You adjust instead of stepping back.

Until one day you realize...
you’re not tired.
You’re scorched.

I used to stay near things that were silently burning me.
I thought endurance was a virtue.
It isn’t.

There’s research that backs this up.

Studies on chronic stress show the body reacts before the mind does: 
elevated cortisol, muscle tension, sleep disruption, long before people consciously label a situation as “toxic” or unsustainable.

That’s why logic rarely gets you out first.
Your nervous system tries to.

What finally changed things wasn’t a conversation.
Or closure.
Or an apology.

Relief came the moment I stepped out of the burn radius.

That’s emotional intelligence.
Not reading the room
reading the heat in your own body.

Those Sunday night knots?
That’s not anxiety.
That’s information.

Psychologists call it somatic signaling, the body flagging prolonged threat when the mind is still negotiating.

Signs you’re standing in the fire:

🚩 You explain it more than you enjoy it
🚩 You’re depleted, not restored
🚩 You don’t recognize who you’re becoming
🚩 Every interaction feels like careful movement
🚩 You’re giving fuel, getting smoke back

Leaving doesn’t mean you failed to control it.
It means you stopped pretending you could.

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do 
is walk away and chose yourself.

♻️ Repost to share this message with your network.

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Your biggest limit isn’t skill. 
It’s self-perception.

Before effort.
Before chances.
Before experience.

I didn’t apply for leadership roles
because I didn’t see myself there yet.

That took me longer to admit than I’d like.

You don’t try everything you can do.
You try what feels right for someone like you.

That starts early.

The jobs you apply for.
The roles you raise your hand for.
The rooms you expect to be in.

Over time, this view becomes familiar.

You learn what you’re known for.
You learn what people come to you for.
You learn what feels normal to reach for.

Then something bigger shows up.

A role with more responsibility.
A chance to lead instead of help.
An opportunity that could change things.

You pause.
You read it twice.
You tell yourself to wait.
You think you need more time.

So you stay where you are.
The work stays busy.
The results stay good.

But nothing really changes.

While that view stayed the same:

Skills stayed boxed
Growth slowed
Opportunities passed you by

Nothing broke.
Nothing failed.
That’s how limits work.

They don’t stop you.
They guide what you try.

People who move ahead see themselves doing more.

They apply sooner.
They speak up earlier.
They step into roles they grow into later.

That starts with how they see themselves.

Different view.
Different actions.
Different results.

Change how you see yourself,
and the line moves.

Little by little.
You reach higher.
You stay in the room.

You try things that once felt out of reach.
That’s how limits lift.

PS: What’s one limit you’re ready to question?
♻️ Share this with someone who needs it.

A bad boss makes weekdays hell. 
A great one gives you Sundays off. 

I’ve worked for managers who made me dread Mondays.
And managers who made me want to take on things I didn’t feel ready for.

The difference wasn’t title or tenure.

7 signs you’re working with a great manager:

They remember what you told them weeks ago.
They ask how it turned out without checking notes.

When you mess up, the first question is:
“What do you need to fix this?”

They back you in rooms you’re not in.
You hear about it later, casually, from someone else.

Bad news doesn’t trigger panic.
It starts with: “Walk me through what happened.”

They give you work that makes you pause before saying yes.
The kind that forces you to rise.

Their one-on-ones aren’t updates.
They’re honest conversations about what’s stuck and what’s next.

When they’re wrong, they say it.
Out loud in front of others.
Then they move on.

The best managers don’t just manage work.
They change what you think you can do.

If you've got one, appreciate them. 
If you don't, become one. 

PS: What’s one thing a great manager did that you still remember?
♻️ Share if you believe good leaders deserve recognition.

5 mindsets I see in every successful person 
(you’re not born with this)

95% of people want to be high performers.
Only 5% install the mindset required to sustain it.

The difference isn’t effort.
It’s how they interpret pressure, failure, and time.

I’ve had to consciously rewire these myself, especially after hitting plateaus where “working harder” stopped working.

Here are 5 mindset reframes that separate winners from everyone else:

Reframe #1: Failure
Every setback is data.
Every obstacle reveals something.

❌ "I'm afraid of making mistakes."
✅ "Mistakes show me what to fix."

Reframe #2: Discipline
Pressure isn't the enemy.
Avoidance is.

❌ "I don't feel like doing it."
✅ "I do what needs to be done."


Reframe #3: Time
You don't find time.
You protect it.

❌ "I don't have time."
✅ "I protect what matters most."


Reframe #4: Success
Success isn't motivation.
It's repetition.

❌ "I hope this works."
✅ "I make it work through action."


Reframe #5: Opportunity
Momentum beats timing.
Action beats waiting.

❌ "I'll start when it's right."
✅ "I start now."

Your mindset determines your ceiling.
Reframe how you think.
Change what you achieve.

♻️ Repost this if it helped.

>>5 MINDSET REFRAMES OF HIGH-PERFORMERS<<

The best KPI no one talks about 👇🏽
because you can’t measure it

It’s how your team feels on Monday morning.
You won’t find it in a dashboard.
It won’t show up in a report.

But you notice it straight away.
It’s there when people walk in.
In the energy they bring.

In whether ideas get shared or kept to themselves.
In how people treat each other before the meeting even starts.
That tells you more than most metrics ever will.

What tends to move that needle:

1/ Keeping people interested
Not just busy.
Not just ticking tasks.
Engaged in what they’re building.

2/ Keeping people informed
Sharing the why, not just the plan.
Letting people see the bigger picture, not just their lane.

3/ Keeping people involved
In decisions that affect their work.
In changes they’ll have to live with.
In wins they helped create.

4/ Keeping people inspired
Through trust.
Through space.
Through leadership that doesn’t rely on pressure.

You can track every number in the business
and still miss the important one.

How many people want to be here.
Look at how your team show up in the morning.
That’s the real dashboard.

I used to hide every struggle behind a smile.
Burnout? "I'm fine."
Stress? "Just busy building."
No boundaries? "I can handle it all."

That wasn't mental strength.
That was a strategy that doesn't scale.

Here's what I learned:

Mental strength isn't:

X Saying yes to everything to prove your worth
X Handling stress alone because "strong people don't need help"
X Pushing through burnout like it's a badge of honor
X Pretending you don't have limits

It's these things instead:

1/ Set boundaries and call it business strategy, not selfishness
2/ Recognize burnout as data, not failure
3/ Ask for help before you're drowning
4/ Say no to preserve your yes for what's worth your time
5/ Schedule rest like you schedule meetings
6/ Acknowledge your struggles and work through them systematically
7/ Protect your peace like you protect your profits
8/ Build support systems instead of trying to going it alone
9/ Know being human doesn't make you a weak entrepreneur
10/ Use boundaries to create space for your best work
11/ Choose authenticity over performing "having it all together"
12/ Treat your mental health like a business asset to maintain

The research backs this up: entrepreneurs who practice these behaviors report higher satisfaction and better business outcomes.
More importantly, they stay in the game longer.

Choose what serves your business and your life.
Not what looks impressive to other people.

PS: Which one of these are you practicing most right now?

P.S. I'm still working on #5. 

If this resonates, share it forward.

Old thinking built control.
New thinking builds outcomes.

Good people don’t leave bad companies.
They leave bad leaders.

Treat people like a risk and you’ll churn talent.
Treat them like an asset and they’ll grow the business.

This isn’t a culture debate.
It shows up in revenue. 

Here's what works:

→ Hire for behavior, train for skill
→ Give people freedom to get results
→ Apply the same rules to everyone

The business owners I work with get this.
They don't build places where people count down to Friday.
They build places where people want to show up.

This change is happening now.

The best leaders aren't building better companies.
They're building places where people grow.

PS: Which shift has made the biggest difference where you work?
♻️ Share this if you agree

"If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed."
William H. McRaven

If you can’t do the small things right
You’ll never do the big things right 

That’s a Navy SEAL lesson to remember. 

Admiral William McRaven said it best in a commencement speech that has been watched over 100 million times.

It comes down to one simple idea:

Make your bed.

It sounds silly.
It isn’t.

True leadership isn’t built in big moments.
It’s built in what you do every day.

When small things slip, bigger things follow.
1/ Start with one finished task
Before email.
Before meetings.
Before anyone needs you.
Do one small thing you can complete.
You start the day with a win.

2/ Use hard moments to pull people together
In SEAL training, the toughest tasks can’t be done alone.

When something breaks:
→ Don’t avoid it
→ Don’t carry it solo
→ Bring someone in and work through it

Teams don’t bond when things are easy.
They bond when things feel challenging.

3/ Notice what others skip
Details tell the truth.
What you check shows what you care about.
People trust leaders who pay attention.

4/ Say what didn’t work
In training, failure was normal.
What mattered was owning it and learning fast.
When leaders talk about mistakes, people stop hiding.
Trust goes up.

5/ Make one person feel seen
In the hardest moments, one comment kept people from quitting.
Leadership lives here.
In checking in.
In noticing effort.
In showing up when it’s uncomfortable.

The gap between good and great isn’t talent.
It’s doing the small things.
Every day.

video credit: IG

♻️ Share this with your network of high-performers

Everyone wants prompts to sound like an expert.
Real growth comes from earned credibility.

If you have real expertise, 
If you want to stand out faster online
If you want to become the obvious choice

Start building credibility in stages.

Here's how:

Over the last decade, I worked with members of Congress, executives, founders, and public figures. 

Here's what surprises people:

I didn't have a personal brand until last year.

No social media strategy.
No posting schedule.
No content calendar.

What I did have was credibility earned through years of journalism and working inside high-trust environments. 

Most of my work happened behind the scenes.
Referrals, reputation, and one room leading to the next.

Still landed contracts.
Still got the calls.
Still closed the deals.

That worked for a while.
Then the game changed. 

Research shows 82% of buyers review your profile before taking a meeting.
Someone pulls up your profile, makes a call in seconds, and moves on.

You never get the email.
You never know what you lost.

So when people say "just be visible" that's not how it works.

Being visible is one thing.
Being trusted is another.

And trust grows in stages.

→ When you're new
Share your credentials and your story.

→ When you have results
Show the proof: testimonials, case studies, wins.

→ When you're established
Let others speak for you: stakeholders, stages, published work.

Different season, different strategy.

Most seasoned professionals skip the first stage entirely.
They think the work speaks for itself.

It doesn't.

Without visibility, your expertise never reaches the people who need it most.

Do this right and there's no convincing needed.
People trust you before you ever talk.

That's it.

PS: You're not too late. You're too credible to stay quiet.

♻️ Reshare with your network

Built your credibility face-to-face.
Keeping it offline is the bottleneck.

I analyzed 50+ leaders’ online presence last year.

Not to study content.
To see where opportunity breaks.

The pattern showed up across the same roles:

📣 Investors.
📣 Executives.
📣 Founders.

People with track records.
Very little to verify in public.

That gap creates credibility leaks.
If you’re missing deals, it’s usually coming from 1 of these 4 places:

1/ Your wins are hard to find
Media features buried
Exits never named
Board seats invisible
If someone has to work to understand your background, they won’t.

2/ Your language sounds like everyone else’s
Careful phrasing
Safe opinions
Nothing that shows judgment
You don’t look wrong.
You look replaceable.

3/ Your presence doesn’t match your level
Generic posts
Helpful tips
No authority markers
You wouldn’t hire this version of yourself.

4/ Your footprint is too light to confirm influence
Search doesn’t validate you
So decisions move on without you

Here’s what that costs in practice:

❌ Investor intros that don’t progress
❌ Board seats that go to visible peers
❌ Speaking invites that never land
 
When leaders fix this, the shift is predictable.

✅ Inbound increases.
✅ Demand rises.
✅ Opportunities start finding them.

Same experience.
Clear positioning.

If you want to close the leaks:

1 / Look yourself up like capital would
First three results only
Do they show relevance?

2 / Put proof where attention goes
Headline: the win that opens doors
About section: the track record you already have
Once a month: explain one real outcome

3 / Remove corporate or technical language
Write how you speak in closed rooms
State what you believe
Let judgment show

4 / Leave authority trails
Share how you decide
Break down calls you’ve made
Show the method behind results

Staying quiet doesn’t protect your name.
It makes it easier to pass over.

PS: Where is your credibility leaking?
♻️ Share with your network of high-achievers

>>Your Perception Capital VS Your Intellectual Capital<<

The mistake doesn’t define you.
It’s what you do next.

This video shows that.
The chair breaks.
The performance continues.

There’s no pause or restart.
The movement changes.
The routine carries on.

That pattern shows up in real work.
When something goes wrong in front of people, they don’t stay on the error.
They watch what happens next.

This lines up with what Atul Gawande describes in The Checklist Manifesto after studying surgeons, pilots, and emergency teams.

Mistakes are expected.
What counts is whether the work keeps moving.

People tend to notice three things:

1/ does it stall or continue
2/ does form hold or break
3/ does ownership stay visible

That’s what shapes judgment.

When something breaks in public, decide fast:
what still works
what needs to change

Then move forward.
The error passes.
The response stays.

Everyone has a version of this moment.
VC: motivatengrwvin

♻️ Repost to help spread this message

Iza Montalvo 🧲

Ranked #1 in Branding | Award-Winning Journalist Turned Founder | Ex-US Congress Director | Atract Premium Clients, Global Media & Stages 🧲

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