3 convos that are all the same

I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately who are looking to level up their leadership and they tend to fall into one of 3 kinds of conversation. They look different on the surface, but they’re all the same deep down. I’m going to tell you why.

Here are the 3 kinds:

1️⃣ People who are on the verge of freedom and have no idea what to do next

2️⃣ People who need a boost to make something work that isn’t quite working and/or step into a higher and more visionary level

3️⃣ People who want to start something new but are scared to fail

Here’s what they all have in common: they are based on deeply irrational fears related to current moment in human history. And that’s what I’m here to help people sort through. Because this moment in history is both stranger and harder than most people realize or acknowledge.

Here’s where we are…

Our most pressing problems have been solved. There is abundant food. Medical care has extended lifespans to multiple times their previous standard. Our level of wealth and automation in the west has given us unprecedented leisure and convenience. This all leads to a level of freedom and choice that our brains are not used to, which gives us anxiety and paralysis.

Further, starting a business is easier and within more people’s grasp than ever before. We can all do it if we want to. And we can scale it. Or we can stay in a job. Our choice.

Want to know why all these conversations are the same? Here are the reasons:

1️⃣ We are terrified to face the bare experience of our existence. When we have nothing to do this is what happens. It’s why we work so hard to distract ourselves. The only way out is to face the absurdity of the human condition and use that to find joy in the present moment.

2️⃣ We can’t accept abundance without guilt. This is why politics gets tricky. And this gives us other problems, which distract us as described in point #1. So we’re constantly creating new problems for ourselves and each other, which is actually important because it gives us business to build and organizations to lead.

3️⃣ Even though we have nothing to fear, we still have many fears baked into our psyches from our ancestral histories and they feel SUPER real. It used to be life or death. If you failed and got locked out of the city walls, you were dead. But not now. If your business folds or you are ostracized from a social group, what’s the worst that will happen? You won’t die. It will suck, but you won’t die. It doesn’t happen anymore.

Do you follow?

Everyone I talk to is scared, uncertain, and overwhelmed by the strangeness of our moment in history.

But there is a way out of the fear, and it’s what I help people find. I help my clients connect with the present moment, feel its absurdity, turn it into joy and possibility, and use that to find their purpose. Once you get clear on your purpose, everything else falls into place because it has to.

Fear turns to joy. Anxiety becomes forward momentum. And paralysis gives way to a deep optimism and drive.

And then the strategy becomes clear, and you can take the right actions.

It’s a weird time to be alive. Maybe even the weirdest. But you can thrive. We need visionaries like you now more than ever.