For Leonard Cagno, success has never been about shortcuts. It’s been about discipline, flexibility, and the drive to create something meaningful. His journey – from flying planes to leading multiple businesses – shows how focus and adaptability can turn experience into lasting impact. From the cockpit to the boardroom Cagno grew up in West Hempstead, New York, where he played football, volleyball, and basketball. Those sports shaped his early ideas about teamwork and grit. “Sports taught me that effort beats talent when talent stops working,” he says. “You learn to show up even when it’s hard. That mindset has followed me into everything I do.” After high school, he attended Dowling College, where his love for aviation took off. He earned his Aviation Management degree and became a certified flight instructor (CFI, CFII, CPL, INS Rating). Flying, he says, was about more than skill – it was about precision and decision-making under pressure. “When you’re in the cockpit, you can’t afford to panic,” Cagno says. “You rely on training, logic, and calm thinking. Business is no different.” Shifting gears: From aviation to finance After years in the air, Cagno made a career pivot. He joined AXA as a financial advisor, earning his Series 7, 66, and health and life licenses. It was a move that blended his analytical side with his passion for helping people plan for their future. That time, he says, taught him how money connects to every part of life. “Finance is about trust,” he explains. “People don’t just want numbers – they want to feel understood. Listening is everything.” It was also during this period that Cagno began developing his interest in entrepreneurship. He saw how systems worked – and where they broke. Over time, he learned to bridge those gaps himself. Entrepreneurship and the power of adaptability Cagno went on to help build and grow several businesses, including Cambridge Who’s Who, Marquis Who’s Who, ACS Consulting, TEG Health, and TEG Wellness. His work spans health insurance, wellness benefits, technology integration, and payroll – industries where innovation and regulation often collide. He says the key to navigating it all is adaptability. “You can’t cling to one way of doing things,” he says. “The moment you stop learning, you start falling behind.” That mindset has helped him lead teams through rapid industry change. “Being flexible doesn’t mean you don’t have structure,” he explains. “It means your structure can move with you. You can adjust the plan without losing sight of the goal.” How Leonard Cagno defines success Cagno’s definition of success has changed over time. In his early career, it was about proving himself. Now, it’s about balance and purpose. “I used to think success was all about hitting targets,” he says. “Now I measure it by impact – on my team, my family, and the people we serve.” He sees every achievement as part of a larger story of growth. “Sometimes a project doesn’t end the way you planned,” he says. “But if you’ve grown, helped others, and learned something new, that’s still a win.” This perspective comes from experience. After years of leading in different industries, Cagno has learned that integrity and consistency matter more than quick wins. “Success that lasts is built on character,” he says. “It’s how you act when no one’s watching.” Staying grounded in growth Even after decades in business, Cagno continues to make learning and growth a priority. He blocks time each week to read, explore new technologies, and mentor younger professionals. “Every level of success demands a new level of skill,” he says. “If you’re not evolving, you’re falling behind.” He also believes in learning through action. “You can’t grow in your comfort zone,” he adds. “You have to take on challenges that stretch you. That’s where you discover what you’re capable of.” Cagno often mentors others through his companies, helping them develop structure and accountability in their work. He teaches them to use clear frameworks – like his favorite ‘must do, should do, nice to do’ system – to stay focused on what matters. Balancing work, family, and purpose For Cagno, balance isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. Between his professional responsibilities and family life, he’s learned to define success on his own terms. “Without balance, even your biggest achievements can feel empty,” he says. “Work is important, but so are the people waiting for you at home.” He makes time for his kids, hockey, and flying, which still brings him peace. “Flying clears my head,” he says. “It reminds me of how far I’ve come and what’s possible when you stay calm and focused.” A leader who leads by example Ask anyone who’s worked with Leonard Cagno, and they’ll say he leads with clarity, discipline, and heart. He doesn’t just tell people what to do – he shows them how to do it through his own habits. “I’ve had great mentors,” he reflects. “They didn’t just give advice – they lived it. That’s what I try to do. I want people to see consistency, not just hear words.” From teaching others how to set goals to reminding them to stay flexible, Cagno’s leadership style blends accountability with empathy. “You can’t just manage results,” he says. “You have to invest in people. When they grow, everything else follows.” The flight path ahead Today, as a partner and business leader, Leonard Cagno continues to build companies that connect wellness, technology, and purpose. His career – rooted in discipline, adaptability, and heart – shows how lessons from the field, the cockpit, and the boardroom can all lead to the same destination: growth that matters. “I want to leave things better than I found them,” he says. “That’s the mission that drives me every day.”

Written by Michelle M Sherbun, Executive Leadership Coach Michelle Sherbun came to her career first as a vocalist and an actor. And while she no longer performs, the listening and improv skills she honed on stage became the foundation for the leadership coaching she does today. A story: Judgment, empathy, and compassion walk into a bar. Judgment pushes ahead of everyone else and orders first. Empathy asks what's really going on with the bartender today. He normally handles bullying customers. Compassion, well, compassion quietly picks up everyone's tab. While it makes for an interesting joke, reality is not far off. True story, I remember a friend telling me about standing in a pharmacy line with a small group of customers during COVID. A gentleman rushed in and stepped ahead of everyone else to get a prescription. The group openly expressed their anger at what the man had done and were frustrated that the pharmacist had just let him ignore the line (judgment). Then the group saw how upset the gentleman was. Once he had the prescription, he rushed off. The group realized it was an emergency and commented on how concerned the gentleman looked (empathy). Then someone in the group said they were sorry they had reacted without knowing what was going on (compassion). As simple as this story may be, it’s a great example of judging others. The reality is, we get triggered often. Our emotions erupt before we can realize, or even understand, what just happened. We move from a neutral stance to emotional judgment in a nanosecond. Unfortunately, when we judge, we create distance. We disconnect. We see those we judge as objects or obstructions rather than meeting them as people. So, how do we create greater awareness to avoid getting triggered? Practice. Practice with the goal of tapping into empathy. Carl Rogers, an American psychologist and one of the founders of humanistic psychology, described empathy as “the highest expression of accepting and non-judgment.” However, what if empathy by itself is not enough? Beyond empathy is compassion, the desire to alleviate suffering. Compassion requires that we activate empathy. In this shared partnership, we create a way to be in the world that’s more open, connected, and responsive to all the complexities of our human experience. We literally free ourselves from judgment. We recognize suffering as suffering, worthy of compassion. This belief, the partnering of empathy and compassion, also allows us to better relate to and understand ourselves. Self-compassion requires the same kind of nonjudgment toward our own struggles and the empathy to understand our inner experiences with love and openness. Suspending judgment, allowing ourselves to fully immerse in the experience (empathy), and responding with kindness (compassion) awaken our curiosity and enable us to meet life with openness rather than armored evaluation. When we live a life of self-compassion, we nurture compassion for the world we live in. The power of connection through nonjudgment, empathy, and compassion “The nature of humanity, its essence, is to feel another’s pain as one’s own. And to act to take that pain away. There is nobility in compassion. A beauty in empathy. A grace in forgiveness.” – John Connolly, Irish Poet Yes, we live in a tumultuous world, and our nonjudgment, empathy, and compassion are desperately needed now more than ever, if not for sanity in the world, then for sanity within ourselves. Remember, turmoil brews self-judgment inward and outward, so seek clarity. What emotions are we feeling? Where are they coming from? Then give the emotions a name and take away their power. When we acknowledge the emotions swirling around us, we are reminded that judging will only add layers of criticism that keep us from learning, growing, and accepting ourselves and others. So, work to be like compassion in the story above. Take a breath, silently, and simply pick up the tab. “I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.”  – Walt Whitman Follow me on LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Michelle M Sherbun Michelle M Sherbun, Executive Leadership Coach Michelle Sherbun came to her career first as a vocalist and an actor. And while she no longer performs, the listening and improv skills she honed on stage became the foundation for the leadership coaching she does today. Whether partnering with an individual leader or working with a nonprofit or business team, she taps and nurtures their courage, curiosity, and creativity to create the possible. Her favorite question: WHY?

Written by Maria Akela, Intuitive Holistic Practitioner & Coach Maria Akela is a transformative healer, connector, and catalyst who has formed a holistic treatment & coaching concept that helps guide and connect people to their own inner wisdom and assists in trauma release on both physical, mental & spiritual levels. Integration is the key to lasting transformation. After any healing session, activation, or energetic download, your system needs time to process and embody what it has received. This article explores why integration is essential, what upgrades mean for your energetic body, and how to navigate both beginner and advanced stages of integration with practical tools to support your spiritual growth and balance. Why integration matters Integration is one of the most overlooked, yet most essential, parts of the spiritual journey. Every treatment, activation, or energetic download is only as powerful as the space you give yourself to digest and embody it. Depending on where you are on your path, integration may look and feel very different. In the beginning, the body often needs more time to integrate and adjust the information that has been received, while at more advanced stages, shifts can happen more quickly and with less effort. At its core, integration is what allows us to truly transform. It is the bridge between receiving and becoming. What is an upgrade? When new information enters your system, your DNA and energetic body reorganize themselves to hold a higher vibration. This process of installment is what we call an upgrade. An upgrade is when your whole being shifts consciousness, moving from a belief or truth you once held into a new perspective that feels neutral. What once carried charge or weight becomes simple information, like words on a page. Beginner stages of integration At the earlier stages of the journey, integration is often very physical and emotional. You may notice: Shaking or trembling in the body. This is one of the most common and healthy signs that energy is moving. Tingling or bubbling sensations under the skin (like carbonated water). These signal that blockages and stagnant energy are being released. Resurfacing memories you had long forgotten or even blacked out. Colors, shapes, or symbols appearing in your mind’s eye. They may not make sense at first, but trust they will reveal themselves in time. Integration tool. Keep a journal. Write down sensations, dreams, visions, and realizations. It’s easy to forget how far you’ve come, but journaling reveals the milestones and leaps that would otherwise be invisible. Advanced stages of integration As you progress, integration often becomes more subtle and efficient: Shaking and tingling may still occur, but in a gentler, shorter-lived way. Direct downloads of words, phrases, or clear knowing arrive without the same physical intensity. You begin to see the why behind each process, gaining deeper clarity on its purpose. You start using your body as a vessel of choice, consciously welcoming integrations because you trust they bring deeper self-knowledge and strengthen your relationship with yourself. You also strengthen your ability to discern what to welcome into your life and what not. Practical tools for smooth integration Whether beginner or advanced, the following practices support your system as it reorganizes: Hydration: Drink plenty of clean water. It helps your cells recalibrate. Grounding in nature: Walk barefoot, sit under a tree, or connect with the earth to stabilize your field. Gentle movement: Stretching, yoga, or mindful walks move energy without overwhelming the system. Salt baths: A simple way to clear residual energy and soothe the nervous system. Breathwork and stillness: Alternate between conscious breathing practices and pure rest. Both allow new frequencies to settle. How long does integration take? Integration is unique to everyone, but some general timeframes are: Beginners: A few days to a couple of weeks for a major shift to fully land. Intermediate: Usually one to three days, with symptoms resolving more quickly. Advanced: Sometimes only hours, as the system adapts rapidly. Trust that your pace is perfect. Just as muscles need different recovery times after training, your energetic system will teach you its rhythm. Common mistakes during integration Rushing ahead: Scheduling more treatments or activations before the last one has fully integrated. Resisting symptoms: Trying to push away shaking, fatigue, or memories instead of allowing them to release. Overthinking: Wanting to mentally understand everything right away instead of letting the process unfold naturally. Remember, integration is not about control, it’s about trust. Closing words: The gift of stillness Integration is not passive. It is the deep, quiet work of embodying your transformation. Just as an athlete needs recovery after competition, you need stillness and patience to allow your shifts to land. Integration is the pause between movements, the silence between notes, the breath between inhales and exhales. It asks for the most loving part of yourself, patience. Affirmation for integration, “I trust my body. I trust the process. I welcome integration with patience and love.” Follow me on Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Maria Akela Maria Akela, Intuitive Holistic Practitioner & Coach Maria Akela, with over two decades of experience, is a transformative healer, connector, and catalyst that assists in both physical, mental & spiritual trauma release. Her mission is rooted in seeing past the illusion of expectations and instead going into the deeper wisdom of what you are really meant to do. With an international community and track record of transformative treatments, Maria Akela wants to inspire you to regain your own natural flow and listen to your own inner wisdom.

Written by Ewa J. Kleczyk, PhD, Bestseller Author Dr. Ewa J. Kleczyk is a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare research executive, author of Empowered Leadership: Breaking Barriers, Building Impact, and Leaving a Legacy, and Editor-in-Chief of UJWEL. She is a frequent speaker, board leader, and advocate for healthcare innovation and community empowerment. In today’s fast-changing world, the idea of a “linear career path” feels almost nostalgic, a relic of a time when stability meant sameness. But the truth is, success now belongs to those who plan boldly, take smart risks, and pivot with purpose. Drawing from Empowered Leadership: Breaking Barriers, Building Impact, and Leaving a Legacy, I’ve learned that the most successful careers are not built in boxes, they’re built in motion. What does it mean to build a career without a box? For decades, career success followed a predictable rhythm, graduate, specialize, climb the ladder, retire. But today’s leaders live in a world shaped by innovation, automation, and global transformation. The old map simply doesn’t fit the new terrain. Building a career “without a box” means designing a professional life that grows with you, not one that confines you. It’s about embracing an adaptable, multidimensional path aligned with your purpose and values. Leaders who think this way don’t fear change, they anticipate it. They understand that evolution isn’t evidence of failure, it’s the foundation of growth. Why risk-taking is the new stability For many, risk still feels like the opposite of security. But in reality, avoiding risk can be the greatest gamble of all. Taking strategic risks, whether that means leading a new initiative, stepping into an unfamiliar industry, or launching a passion project, often leads to the breakthroughs that define a career. When guided by purpose, not fear, risk becomes a leadership tool. Each risk you take adds to your skill set, broadens your network, and builds resilience. “Growth lives at the edge of uncertainty, and so does true leadership.” – Dr. Ewa J. Kleczyk The leaders who thrive in unpredictable environments are those who view uncertainty as an invitation to evolve, not as a threat to avoid. The power of the pivot Pivoting isn’t giving up, it’s leveling up. Every pivot represents a conscious decision to grow beyond your current boundaries. Some of the most impactful leaders of our time built their success through continuous reinvention. They didn’t wait for the world to change around them, they moved with it. A successful pivot doesn’t always require a dramatic shift. Sometimes it begins with curiosity, a new project, or a conversation that opens a door you hadn’t noticed before. Tips for a successful pivot Reassess your “why.” Understand what drives you at this stage of your journey. Map transferable skills. Strategy, communication, and leadership translate across any field. Seek mentors beyond your comfort zone. Fresh perspectives often reveal hidden paths. Start small. Test your pivot through collaborations or side projects before making a full leap. Reflect and document. Each pivot teaches lessons that become part of your leadership DNA. Empowered leadership and the art of reinvention In Empowered Leadership, I share lessons from my own journey navigating male-dominated industries, leading diverse teams, and evolving from data analytics to healthcare leadership and social impact. The message is simple but powerful, empowered leadership begins when you give yourself permission to grow beyond expectations. True career planning is no longer about finding one perfect path. It’s about creating systems for lifelong reinvention. Success today is rooted not just in milestones, but in mobility, mindset, and meaning. The data behind the movement The numbers confirm what many professionals already feel intuitively. According to a 2024 McKinsey report, 70% of high-performing professionals cite continuous learning and flexibility as essential to long-term success. Likewise, LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends study shows that career pivots have increased by 30% since 2020, proving that adaptability isn’t the exception anymore, it’s the expectation. These findings reinforce what Empowered Leadership teaches, risk, curiosity, and adaptability aren’t detours, they’re the roadmap to sustainable growth. How to start building a career without boundaries If you’re ready to step outside the box, start with reflection: What part of my work still excites me, and what no longer fits? Where can my strengths make a greater impact? Am I saying “no” to opportunities because of fear, or because they’re not aligned with my purpose? Building an empowered career means moving from reaction to intention. You stop waiting for permission to evolve, and start creating your next chapter—one pivot, one risk, and one bold decision at a time. Final thoughts Your career is not a ladder, it’s a landscape. The most empowered leaders are explorers, not climbers. They plan with vision, not rigidity. They risk with wisdom, not recklessness. And they pivot, not to escape the past, but to embrace the future. Call to action If you’re ready to build a career that reflects who you are and who you’re becoming, start your journey with Empowered Leadership: Breaking Barriers, Building Impact, and Leaving a Legacy by Dr. Ewa J. Kleczyk. Get your copy on Amazon and begin designing the career you were meant to lead, not just the one you were told to follow. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ewa J. Kleczyk, PhD Ewa J. Kleczyk, PhD, Bestseller Author Dr. Ewa J. Kleczyk is a leader in healthcare research, leadership, and community impact. With over two decades of experience, she has transformed healthcare innovation and data-driven strategies while championing education and equity. She has dedicated her career to empowering leaders, advancing women in healthcare, and helping organizations create lasting impact. She is the author of Empowered Leadership: Breaking Barriers, Building Impact, and Leaving a Legacy and Editor-in-Chief of UJWEL. Her mission, break barriers, build impact, leave a legacy.

Written by Alexa Starks, Workplace Culture Innovator & Leadership Strategist Alexa Starks is an award-winning workplace culture innovator and founder of Executive Moms. She partners with organizations to deliver parent-forward reentry workshops and coaches working moms with tools and systems to thrive in their first year back. When I walk into a room full of senior leaders and ask, “Which of you leads with compassion?” the silence is often deafening. Yet ask them whether they believe compassion matters, and almost every hand goes up. In fact, in a global survey of more than 1,000 business leaders, 91% said compassion is very important, and 80% said they wish they had stronger compassion skills. That gap between belief and implementation is where many workplaces falter. Compassion is not fluff. It’s a strategic lever, and one that transforms culture, retention, performance, and human potential. Let me show you why and how. The case for compassion in leadership Better performance, less burnout: Highly compassionate leaders report 66% less stress and an astonishing 200% lower intention to quit compared to leaders less aligned with compassion. In environments where compassion is active, employees show higher psychological safety and reduced risk of burnout. One empirical study in South Korea found that compassion positively influences job performance, mediated by employees’ positive work identity and psychological capital (resilience, confidence, and hope). Stronger engagement, deeper loyalty: Compassionate leadership strengthens trust and cooperation, two foundations of high-functioning teams. Research also shows that when leaders show empathy, employees are more likely to feel included and engaged. Seventy-six percent of workers under empathetic leadership said they felt more engaged compared to 32% under less empathetic ones. Aligning compassion with returns: The belief in compassion is strong, but translating it into action yields real ROI. In one survey , 84% of respondents said a compassionate workplace leads to greater productivity through cooperation, yet 68% of workers believe their workplaces are more competitive than cooperative. That discrepancy signals an opportunity. Why compassion especially matters in parent-forward cultures As someone who coaches leaders to build environments where parents can show up fully, I see three critical touchpoints where compassion becomes the competitive edge: Reentry after parental leave: Many mothers and fathers returning to work feel invisible or penalized. Compassionate reentry plans, such as ramped workloads, mentoring, and flexibility, signal value, not limitation. Flexible outcomes over rigid hours: Compassion isn’t about avoiding accountability, it’s about removing unnecessary barriers so parents can deliver. Bias awareness and training: Compassion includes calling out the “motherhood penalty” and creating feedback processes that guard against it. In my workshops, I help leaders craft scripts and structural checks so compassion doesn’t become performative but consistent. As I often say in my sessions: “Compassion doesn’t lower the bar. It removes the unnecessary barriers so people can rise higher.” Navigating the paradoxes of compassion in the workplace Compassion isn’t entirely frictionless. A recent study highlighted six paradoxes leaders and employees face when compassion is in play, including navigating hierarchy, balancing fairness, and maintaining boundaries. That’s why compassion must be paired with wisdom, knowing when to stretch, when to push, and when to hold space. Harvard Business Review similarly emphasizes that compassion alone isn’t enough, it must be combined with sound judgment and leadership competence. Your next move: Move from intent to impact Let’s make compassion strategic, not sporadic. Here’s a mini blueprint you can start with: Audit touchpoints in your employee experience (reentry, manager check-ins, performance reviews) and ask, “Where is compassion absent?” Train managers not just in empathy but in compassionate leadership, including how to hold hard conversations with humanity. Design structures such as phased reentry after parental leave, outcome-based metrics, and support policies that make compassion repeatable and institutional. Measure impact: track turnover, burnout, and engagement before and after. If you’re ready to transform your workplace culture, I’d love to bring a compassion-centered leadership workshop, keynote, or parent-forward design session to your organization. Reach out here , or visit my website , and let’s strategize a path to a workplace where compassion is not a nice-to-have but the backbone of performance.   Follow me on Instagram , and LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from Alexa Starks Alexa Starks, Workplace Culture Innovator & Leadership Strategist Alexa Starks is an award-winning workplace culture innovator, leadership strategist, and founder of Executive Moms. After a decade in corporate operations, she witnessed how outdated systems force working parents, especially moms, out of leadership pipelines. Today, she partners with organizations through her acclaimed workshops, creating parent-forward cultures that retain top talent and foster equity. As a mom of two, Alexa blends lived experience with corporate expertise, making her a leading voice on reentry, resilience, and the future of work. Her work has been recognized nationally, earning her the title of Best Workplace Culture Innovator in the U.S. in 2025.

Written by Tamara Makar, Holistic High Performance Coach Mind and muscle aligned. Pro bodybuilder Tamara Makar guides athletes and high achievers to their best. Holistic wellness for ultimate performance. Discover your edge. Level up your mind and body. We’ve all seen the moments that define careers. The penalty kick that can win a World Cup. The game-winning free throw with seconds on the clock. The final sprint when every muscle is screaming to stop. For decades, we believed these moments were won purely on physical skill. But science and a new wave of athletic training reveal a different truth, the real battle is neurological, and the most powerful weapon is one we already possess, our breath. Under crushing pressure, the mind becomes the athlete’s greatest adversary. The heart hammers, vision narrows, and the "inner critic" unleashes a torrent of doubt. This is the fight-or-flight response in full swing, a primal system that, while useful for survival, is disastrous for precision and poise. But what if you could hack this system? What if you could dial down the noise and dial up your clarity on demand? This is the unseen advantage that functional breathwork provides. It’s not just about lung capacity, it’s about using the breath as a remote control for your brain under stress. Quieting the inner critic and finding flow The link between breath and brain state is direct and physiological. When you consciously control your respiration, you send signals to your brainstem, which means shifting from a state of frantic, anxious arousal to one of calm, focused alertness. This is the sweet spot where the inner critic goes silent, and access to the coveted "flow state" becomes possible. In this state, time seems to slow down. Decision-making becomes intuitive, and movements feel effortless. The athlete is no longer thinking about the action, they are simply executing it. This is cognitive function at its peak, and it’s achievable not by chance, but through a specific breathing protocol. Your in-game anchor: The box breathing protocol While there are many advanced techniques, one method stands out for its simplicity and profound effectiveness, especially in high-pressure situations. It’s called Box Breathing, and it’s your anchor in the storm. Here’s how to practice it, even in the middle of a game: Inhale gently through your nose for a count of 4. Hold your breath, with your lungs full, for a count of 4. Exhale smoothly through your nose for a count of 4. Hold your breath, with your lungs empty, for a count of 4. Repeat this cycle for just 60-90 seconds. Why does this work? The structured, equal parts of the "box" act as a cognitive distraction, giving your busy mind a single, simple task to focus on. This alone is enough to quiet mental chatter. More importantly, the extended exhalations and breath retention actively stimulate the vagus nerve, triggering your body’s built-in relaxation response and lowering your heart rate. The result is a rapid shift from panic to presence. The nose knows: A simple switch for focus The method of breathing is just as important as the pattern. Notice that Box Breathing specifies nasal breathing. This is not an arbitrary detail. Breathing through your nose, as opposed to mouth breathing, is a fundamental pillar of managing stress. Nasal breathing: Increases nitric oxide production, a molecule that improves blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain. Promotes diaphragmatic breathing, which naturally calms the nervous system. Filters and humidifies air, creating a more efficient respiratory process. In contrast, mouth breathing is often shallow and is directly linked to the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) nervous system. It’s a signal of stress and inefficiency. By making a conscious effort to breathe through your nose during rest and recovery moments in competition, you maintain a physiological state of calm, focused readiness. Rewiring your reaction time The benefits extend beyond mere calmness. This state of focused alertness, achieved through controlled breathing, is known to increase cortical arousal. This is essentially your brain’s readiness to receive and process information. With higher cortical arousal, your reaction times sharpen. An opponent's opening is seen a split-second sooner. That final burst of speed is initiated the moment the opportunity arises. The next time you watch an elite athlete in a moment of supreme pressure, watch closely. You’ll likely see them turn away from the noise, their focus turning inward. They aren't just "taking a deep breath." They are engaging a trained, strategic protocol to master their physiology, quiet their mind, and ensure their body can execute what it has been trained to do. They are using the unseen advantage. And now, so can you. The techniques we've explored, like Box Breathing, are just the foundation. True mastery comes from a personalized practice that addresses your unique physiology and performance goals. If you're ready to move beyond theory and systematically train this unseen advantage, I invite you to join me. I offer dedicated functional breathwork coaching, both online and in-person in Dubai, to help you build the mental resilience and cognitive clarity that wins championships. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tamara Makar Tamara Makar, Holistic High Performance Coach Imagine a world where sculpted strength meets serene inner peace. Meet Tamara, a professional bodybuilder and holistic performance coach, who doesn't just build bodies but also forges minds. Tamara empowers athletes, entrepreneurs, and driven individuals to shatter limitations, weaving together the raw power of strength training with the subtle art of mindfulness, meditation, and breathwork in order to find their balance, sharpen their focus, and achieve sustainable success. Curious how she unlocks peak performance from the inside out? Dive into Tamara's journey and discover the transformative secrets for yourself.

Written by James Marlin, Investigator, Journalist & Keynote Speaker James Marlin is a professional questioner, storyteller, dad, and husband with a passion for investigating. He works to distill complex findings into actionable and relatable information through his written articles and keynote talks. Having battled and overcome addiction, James firmly believes in the power of change. Texas spent more than $221 million busing migrants to northern cities, then sent its soldiers to “restore order” in the very places it destabilized. This isn’t law and order. It’s political theater, paid for by taxpayers. I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised on red clay and Southern manners. I’ve lived in Huntsville, Alabama, Tampa, Florida, and Austin, Texas. I know what it means to grow up in the South with all its warmth, pride, and contradictions. I loved my time there. Then I married, and my wife said the words that terrified me: "Let’s move to New York City." I’d never been there, but I’d heard the stories. Crime. Chaos. Danger. I was intimidated. But I’ve lived here three and a half years now, and any self-respecting New Yorker can tell within three seconds that, “I ain’t from ‘round here.” And still, this city and the people in it accepted me. My job takes me into every borough, every kind of neighborhood. I’ve walked the polished blocks of Manhattan and the cracked sidewalks of the Bronx. I’ve seen kindness in bodegas and quiet generosity on subway platforms. And springtime in New York, with the trees bursting through the concrete, and the city returning to life after winter, is one of the most joyful things I’ve ever been around. I’ve seen both the beauty and the hardship. Just as I saw in every southern city I’ve called home. In all that time, I have never been assaulted, never robbed, never afraid. My wife and teenage son walk the same streets. We go to the parks, ride the trains and buses, and eat out when we can afford it. So when I read that federal troops might be deployed here, for our “protection,” I felt fear for the first time. Not from my neighbors, but from my government. If soldiers in camouflage were patrolling the corners I walk past every day, then I would be afraid because there is no war here. No insurrection. Only people living their lives. The peculiar thing is that the most frightening experiences I’ve ever had, the break-ins, the thefts, the violence, happened back home in Tennessee and Alabama, not in New York. Nashville’s East Trinity Lane in the 1990s wasn’t exactly Disneyland. Yet nobody ever called for troops there. Nor did I ever think they needed to. Every city has good and bad neighborhoods. The bigger the city, the more of both. But labeling an entire place “unsafe” because of its politics isn’t the truth, it’s propaganda. A manufactured crisis Let’s start with the truth. Texas spent over $221 million  to bus migrants  from its southern border to cities like New York, Denver, Philadelphia, and Chicago, where more than 35,000 migrants have arrived from Texas alone. The average cost? $1,841 per person. Who pays for this? Texas taxpayers. Less than one percent came from private donations . The rest is money pulled from public safety, health, infrastructure, and human services accounts, as well as the state’s emergency management and Operation Lone Star budgets. In short, Texas’s deployment is not a free ride . It is paid for by state taxpayers. Then, in October 2025, Governor Greg Abbott sent 400 National Guard soldiers to Chicago. Another multimillion-dollar operation. A militarized encore to the humanitarian crisis he himself initiated. Texas paid to create the emergency, then paid again to pretend to fix it. All to project power into another state. The irony is almost too heavy to bear. Chicago is now straining  to house and care for tens of thousands of new arrivals who were, quite literally, sent there by Texas. And when that strain predictably surfaced in headlines, Abbott cited it as evidence of Democratic failure and used it as justification  to send soldiers north. It’s a feedback loop engineered for outrage, not outcomes. The theater of fear of war This is the playbook now. Export chaos, fabricate the need for control, then perform control. It’s cheaper than solutions and louder than facts. Abbott’s migrant buses were never about logistics. They were about optics. They were about headlines, outrage, and the illusion of strength. But when the cameras moved on, it was Chicago, New York, and Denver left footing the real bills, scrambling to house and feed tens of thousands of bewildered people who’d been treated like political pawns. The cycle feeds itself, creates the problem, cites the chaos, and sends the troops. It’s not governance. It’s a theater. I don’t oppose the idea that states should respond to overwhelming migratory flows or crises at the border. But these deployments, obscure in cost, heavy in symbolism, and weak in evidence, demand honest accountability. The blue city myth The soldiers were sent under the pretense of rising crime. A claim with evidence supporting the opposite. Decades of research from Harvard  and George Washington University  prove there’s no   connection  between a city’s political party and its crime rate. Violence tracks poverty, inequality, policing practices, and population density, not the color on a voting map. And the numbers? Chicago’s homicides are down 30 percent since 2022. Shootings, down 40 percent. Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., are at multi-decade lows. Yet eight of the ten cities with the highest murder rates  are in red states. So this isn’t about crime. It’s about narrative. It’s about power generating fear. The law, bent for show Federal judges  have already ruled that similar deployments in Los Angeles and Portland violated the Posse Comitatus Act , which bars the use of the military for civilian policing . The National Guard can serve at a governor’s request within that state or, in rare cases, under the Insurrection Act  when law and order collapses. Militarized deployments tend to have near-term effects in the visibility of deterrence or intimidation, but they rarely shift the long-term  outcomes of public safety. Meanwhile, they are expensive  (millions per week of deployment) and divert resources from local agencies that are far better positioned to act. And still, there’s no insurrection in Chicago. There’s no war in New York. There’s only the theater. Expensive, dangerous theater. We cannot solve shared problems with partisan performance art. We cannot militarize our way out of moral failure. What I’ve seen I grew up in places that taught me to love America, the South, with all its sweetness and struggle. New York, for all its size and noise, has never made me feel unsafe. It’s not decayed or derelict. It’s alive, imperfect, human, hopeful. When I read that federal troops might patrol this city, for a danger that doesn’t exist, I felt a chill I’ve never felt walking down any street here. I wasn’t afraid of crime. I was afraid of what it means when the government points soldiers at its own citizens. The real catastrophe The real crisis isn’t migration. It isn’t urban crime. It’s leadership that treats states like rival teams and citizens like props in the name of division. President Trump was elected to serve the United States, not just the red ones, not against the blue ones, and certainly not against the ones he’s convinced himself are enemy territory. The United States is not enemy territory. There’s no war here. But there could be one if our leaders keep creating enemies out of Americans. If we truly care about safety, the answer isn’t busing migrants or deploying soldiers. It’s building systems that work, humane immigration policy, smart policing, strong communities, and leaders who still believe that unity is worth the effort. It’s everyday citizens with the courage to stop perpetuating fear and division and start acknowledging and fixing what that fear distracts us from. Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from James Marlin James Marlin, Investigator, Journalist & Keynote Speaker James Marlin is a professional questioner, storyteller, dad, and husband with a passion for investigating. He works to distill complex findings into actionable and relatable information through his written articles and keynote talks. Having battled and overcome addiction, James firmly believes in the power of change. In the last five years, James has dedicated himself to investigating our beliefs, emotions, the conscious and subconscious minds, addiction, ADHD, mental illness, and the impact of technology on society. James is enrolled in a modern journalism course with NYU in partnership with Rolling Stone Magazine. Alongside his studies, he works as an investigator in the City of New York.

Written by John Michael O'Shea, Seasoned Business Professional John Michael O'Shea is the founder and head coach for One Purpose Wellness, a Dallas, Texas-based wellness solutions company that helps purpose-driven organizations enhance employee productivity and performance through high-engagement 100% virtual corporate wellness challenges and performance development coaching. Too often, meetings are scheduled for longer than needed. Short, focused meetings take skill to develop, and by practising this important habit, you will eliminate wasted time. A well-run 30-minute meeting forces clarity, prioritisation, and faster decisions. Here is how to make those half-hour sessions productive and respectful of everyone’s time. 1. Define a clear objective in a meeting State the meeting’s purpose in one sentence (e.g., “Decide the Q4 marketing launch date”). Share it in the invite and reiterate it in the subject line. If you cannot state a clear objective, there does not need to be a meeting. Make the objective outcome-oriented to set expectations for decision or action. Key phrases in your objective should include verbs like decide, approve, or prioritise. Include a desired decision or deliverable in the invite (e.g., “By the end of the meeting, define the launch date and identify key stakeholders to ensure this launch is successful”). Provide bullet-pointed context about the objective by using terms such as current status and non-negotiables. This contributes to having the right mindset for the meeting. If multiple outcomes are needed, rank them and state which must be achieved in 30 minutes and which are secondary. Example: The objective is to approve the final communication sequence for the 'product X' launch. If approval is not achieved, identify items to finalise and assign owners with firm deadlines. 2. Prepare and share an agenda with time allocations List 3-5 agenda items and assign strict time limits (e.g., 5-minute updates, 15-minute decision discussion, 5-minute action assignment ). Send any background materials ahead so attendees arrive ready to act. Structure the agenda around the objective. Start with a three-minute status recap, move to the core decision discussion, and end with action assignment and next steps. Use a visible timed agenda (in a slide or shared document) so everyone sees remaining time and priorities. Attach or link concise pre-reads limited to one page each, and include an executive summary at the top for fast scanning. Indicate who will lead each agenda item and what outcome is expected for that segment (e.g., “Jane presents options (3 min), vote on preferred option (5 min)”). 3. Limit attendees to essential contributors Invite only those who must be there to provide input or make decisions. Others can read notes afterward. Fewer voices mean clearer and faster outcomes. For recurring 30-minute meetings, maintain a stable core attendee list and rotate observers or contributors as needed. If stakeholder alignment is required but not necessary for the decision, bring them into the follow-up communication instead of the live meeting. Consider a two-tier approach. Core decision-makers attend the 30-minute meeting, and a 10-minute follow-up sync or summary is sent to broader stakeholders. Example: For a sales development meeting, include the marketing manager, account manager, and sales representative rather than the full business development team. 4. Use a timekeeper, keep it moving forward Assign someone to watch the clock and cut offside discussions. Focus the conversation on options and trade-offs, not rehashing background. If a topic needs deeper work, park it into a follow-up task or smaller working session. Choose a neutral timekeeper or rotate the role. The timekeeper’s job is to call time warnings, enforce limits, and signal when to move to the next item. Set rules for interruptions, such as limiting side conversations or using a virtual hand-raise feature. Encourage concise contributions. Ask for a one-sentence position to reduce long monologues. Communicate this ahead of time. Use a follow-up document (shared live) to capture issues that require longer discussion, and assign owners and deadlines for those follow-ups. Example script: “We have two minutes left. If we need deeper analysis, we’ll set it aside and assign a working group to deliver by Friday.” 5. End with clear next steps, owners, and deadlines Spend the final 3-5 minutes summarizing decisions, assigning owners, and stating deadlines. Publish concise meeting notes within 24 hours so everyone knows what is expected. Use a simple template. Decisions made, actions (owner + deadline), open items (follow-up), next meeting, or follow-up deliverable. Verbally confirm that each assigned owner accepts the task and understands the due date to avoid silent assumptions. Where applicable, convert actions into calendar tasks or tickets (e.g., in your project management tool) before closing the meeting. Set communication expectations for progress updates (e.g., “Owner X will send a one-paragraph status update by Friday at 10 AM”). Example closing: “Decision: Launch week set for Oct 23. Owner: Marketing Ops (Jane), creative assets due Sept 28. Follow-up: Jane will upload assets and confirm by Sept 29.” This important habit of developing high-impact 30-minute meetings will also lead to how you manage other segments of your day. You will develop higher focus and urgency. These short windows will encourage concise updates and decisive discussions. Meetings will be more productive, approvals and progress will be accelerated, and the attention span will be much greater.  Now, wrap up your next task and let's get back to work! Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from John Michael O'Shea John Michael O'Shea, Seasoned Business Professional John Michael O’Shea is a seasoned business professional with extensive experience leading and developing talent. Through his own struggles as he advanced in his career, he realized he needed to change his daily habits if he was going to achieve the vision he had for himself and his family. He dedicated himself to learning about the pillars of a healthy lifestyle, returning to school to earn a Master of Science in Lifestyle Health Science & Coaching from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Additionally, John Michael is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) and a Wellcoaches-certified Health and Well-Being Coach. He is the founder and head coach for One Purpose Wellness, a Dallas, Texas-based wellness solutions company that helps purpose-driven organizations enhance employee productivity and performance through high-engagement 100% virtual corporate wellness challenges and performance development coaching.

Written by Tiffany Julie, High Performance Coach Tiffany Julie is a Performance Coach, 7-figure entrepreneur, and Founder of the Success On Purpose Podcast. Through her transformative coaching programs, she helps clients unlock their potential and achieve extraordinary success. She's been featured in Forbes, Yahoo, and The London Times as a Top Business and Performance Coach to follow. After coaching and mentoring hundreds of high performers across more than eighty industries and building multiple seven-figure companies of my own, I’ve seen a clear pattern emerge among those who reach and sustain extraordinary levels of success. It isn’t luck, timing, or sheer force of hustle that puts someone in the top one percent. The real difference lies in how they think, who they are being, and how often they realign with their highest standards. The world’s most successful entrepreneurs don’t simply work harder, they operate from a completely different level of awareness, precision, and intentionality. I discovered this truth while scaling my own companies. There came a point where working harder stopped working, and the only way forward was to change the way I led, made decisions, and thought about success. That internal shift became the foundation for everything I now teach my clients. Over the years, I’ve watched entrepreneurs close the gap between where they are and where they want to be not weekly or monthly, but daily, sometimes even hourly. They reflect often, make decisions grounded in both data and intuition, and surround themselves with people who challenge them to rise higher. In this article, I’m sharing the biggest lessons I’ve learned from coaching seven-figure entrepreneurs and walking that path myself. These are the mindset shifts, habits , and leadership principles that truly separate the top one percent, and they are available to anyone willing to grow into the person capable of extraordinary success. Clarity: The non-negotiable foundation Every seven-figure entrepreneur I’ve ever worked with operates from a deep sense of clarity. They know exactly who they are, what they want, and where they’re going. There’s no guessing, no scattered effort, and no wasting energy on things that don’t move them forward. Clarity creates speed, and confusion slows everything down. When I was building my first business, I often confused motion with progress. I was working long hours, chasing every opportunity, and saying yes to everything that looked like growth. But the truth was, I wasn’t focused. I had drive but no direction. The moment I slowed down enough to define exactly what success looked like for me, everything shifted. My actions finally matched my goals, and my results reflected that alignment. Clarity turns effort into impact. It’s not about doing more, it’s about knowing precisely where your energy matters most. If clarity feels missing, try this quick framework to reset your focus and get back in alignment: Define what success means right now. Not a year from now, but this month. What outcome would make you feel fulfilled and proud? Identify your top three priorities. Anything that doesn’t support them becomes a distraction. Create a clarity filter. Before saying yes to anything, ask: “Does this move me closer to my vision?” Check alignment weekly. Your goals and priorities evolve as you grow. Revisit and refine often. When you operate from clarity, you stop reacting and start leading. Every decision becomes intentional, every action moves you forward, and every result compounds toward your bigger vision. Performance prompt: What would change if you made decisions only from clarity instead of pressure or confusion? Reflection: Realignment is their superpower The top one percent don’t wait for the end of the week or quarter to reflect. They check in with themselves constantly, noticing when their energy dips, when their focus drifts, and when their actions start misaligning with their goals. This habit of frequent reflection allows them to course-correct in real time instead of getting lost in momentum that leads nowhere. When I began scaling my own businesses, I realized that reflection wasn’t something I could save for the end of the month. Growth required awareness in the moment. The more I paused to evaluate my energy, mindset , and focus, the faster I moved forward. Reflection became my real-time feedback loop for success. Reflection is how high performers collapse time. They move differently because they think differently, always aware of who they are being in each moment. To build this habit, start with a micro-reflection routine you can do several times a day: Pause intentionally. Take 30 seconds between meetings or tasks to breathe and get present. Ask a power question. Try, “Am I operating like the person who already has the result I want?” Realign quickly. If the answer is no, adjust your focus, energy, or intention on the spot. Track what you notice. At the end of the day, jot down where you stayed aligned and where you drifted. It takes less than five minutes but creates powerful awareness. Over time, this becomes second nature, and you’ll find yourself self-correcting before you lose momentum. Realignment isn’t about perfection, it’s about presence. The top performers I coach aren’t afraid to admit when they’ve drifted off course because they’ve trained themselves to return to focus faster than everyone else. Performance prompt: What moments in your day could you use as natural checkpoints for reflection and realignment? Data-driven decisions: Grounded intuition The top one percent balance their intuition with data. They make decisions based on facts, not feelings. They trust their instincts but validate them with evidence, allowing emotion and logic to work together instead of against each other. This combination of intuition and insight is what keeps their results consistent, predictable, and scalable. Early in my journey, I relied heavily on instinct. I had a great sense for people, opportunities, and timing, which worked for a while. But as I started scaling, the complexity grew, and gut decisions alone were no longer enough. Once I began tracking key metrics like lead flow, conversion rates, and time spent in my zone of genius, my clarity and confidence skyrocketed. The data told a story that instinct alone couldn’t. Intuition sparks direction, but data builds precision. The top performers don’t guess, they measure, adjust, and move with informed confidence. To start thinking like a data-driven high performer, use this simple process: Decide what matters most. Identify three key numbers that truly define your growth right now. It could be revenue, new leads, or hours spent on high-impact work. Track consistently. Numbers only have meaning when tracked over time. Create a simple dashboard or journal to review weekly. Review without judgment. Data is feedback, not failure. Ask, “What is this telling me?” instead of “What did I do wrong?” Refine with intention. Use insights to make one focused change each week. Small, informed adjustments compound faster than big reactive ones. When you start running your business with equal parts intuition and data, you remove emotional volatility from decision-making. You no longer wonder if something is working, you know it is, because you have proof. That’s where calm confidence and sustainable success begin. Performance prompt: What are the three most important metrics that define progress for you right now, and how consistently are you tracking them? Identity: The CEO shift that changes everything Every entrepreneur eventually reaches a point where more effort doesn’t equal more growth. It’s not about what they’re doing anymore, but who they’re being. The most successful entrepreneurs don’t identify as the worker in their business, they embody the role of visionary leader. They make decisions from their future identity, not their current circumstances. When I was scaling my second company, I realized I was still operating as the “doer.” I was managing every detail, saying yes to too much, and measuring my worth by how busy I was. It worked until it didn’t. Growth required me to step into a new version of myself, the woman who trusted her team, delegated powerfully, and led from strategy, not survival. Once I made that internal shift, everything changed. My leadership expanded, my decisions became simpler, and the business grew with less resistance. Your business can never outperform the identity of the person leading it. If you want different results, you must start making decisions as the version of you who already has them. Here’s a simple way to begin shifting into your next-level identity: Define your future self. Write down five qualities of the version of you who has already achieved the success you want. How does this person think, decide, and lead? Act “as if” daily. Before every decision, ask, “What would that version of me choose right now?” Then follow through. Notice resistance. When something feels uncomfortable, it’s a sign of growth. Journal on what your current self believes that your future self no longer accepts. Anchor the new identity. Each night, celebrate one action you took from your next-level self. Repetition turns identity into reality. Identity work is the most important inner shift you can make as a high performer. Strategy will always matter, but who you’re being while executing that strategy determines the outcome. Performance prompt: What would change if you made every decision this week as the version of yourself who already leads the business you’re building? Energy & focus: The hidden currency of high performers Every high performer eventually learns that energy, not time, is their most valuable resource. The top one percent don’t just manage their schedule, they manage their state. They understand that peak performance comes from protecting their energy, focusing on what matters, and recovering as intentionally as they work. When I was scaling my businesses, I believed that long hours were a sign of commitment. I thought pushing harder would create faster results. Instead, I burned out. My creativity dropped, my focus wavered, and my decisions became reactive. It wasn’t until I shifted from managing my time to managing my energy that everything began to change. Once I learned to align my daily rhythm with my natural energy cycles, I could accomplish more in four focused hours than I used to in twelve. Energy is the currency of performance. When you learn to protect it, you multiply your capacity, creativity, and clarity. Here’s a simple energy and focus framework to help you perform at your highest level: Track your peak hours. Notice when you feel the most focused and creative during the day, and protect those hours for your most strategic work. Create energy anchors. Begin your day with something that elevates your state, movement, gratitude, hydration, or silence. These rituals set the tone for focus. Set recovery boundaries. Block out recovery time just as you would a meeting. High performers don’t wait for burnout, they prevent it through consistent rest and renewal. Audit your environment. Remove distractions, digital clutter, and anything that drains energy. Every environment either expands or contracts your potential. When your energy and focus are aligned, you don’t need to chase productivity, it happens naturally. You’ll notice decisions come easier, creativity flows more freely, and results compound with less effort. Performance prompt: What drains your energy the fastest during the day, and what one boundary could you set this week to protect your focus? Emotional mastery: Redefining failure Every successful entrepreneur eventually realizes that failure isn’t the opposite of success, it’s part of it. The top one percent move fast because they’re not afraid to get it wrong. They understand that failure isn’t a verdict on their worth, but feedback that refines their next move. In the early stages of my business journey, I used to take failure personally. A launch that didn’t go as planned would leave me questioning my abilities. I equated results with identity, and that mindset kept me stuck. The moment I began seeing every setback as data instead of drama, everything changed. My confidence grew, my emotional resilience deepened, and progress became a natural outcome of consistent experimentation. The fastest way to grow is to fail more often with intention. The top performers aren’t avoiding failure, they’re learning from it faster than everyone else. To start building emotional mastery around failure, practice this quick reframing method: Name the fact, not the feeling. When something doesn’t go as planned, write down exactly what happened without adding emotion or judgment. Extract the lesson. Ask, “What is this showing me about what to improve next time?” Every experience has data to refine your approach. Redirect your focus. Shift attention from what went wrong to what’s next. Momentum rebuilds faster when your energy is forward-focused. Celebrate your courage. Most people never risk failing at all. Recognize that failure means you’re playing at a higher level than before. Over time, this practice rewires your brain to associate failure with growth instead of fear. You stop avoiding challenges and start embracing them as proof that you’re evolving. Emotional mastery isn’t about feeling positive all the time. It’s about staying centered when things don’t go as expected and trusting that growth is happening behind the scenes. Performance prompt: Think about a recent setback that still feels heavy. What lesson or skill did it give you that will make your next success inevitable? Systems thinking: Scaling without losing freedom At a certain point in every entrepreneur’s journey, hard work stops creating more freedom. It begins creating more chaos. The top one percent know that scaling doesn’t come from doing more, it comes from designing better systems that allow them to step out of daily operations and into strategic leadership. When I hit my first seven figures, I thought I could maintain growth by simply working smarter. But what I really needed were systems that could scale without relying on my constant presence. Until I built structure around my marketing, team communication, and client experience, I was still the bottleneck. Once those systems were in place, the business ran with consistency whether I was online or not. That’s when I finally understood what real freedom felt like. Structure isn’t a restriction. It’s what creates the space for creativity, leadership, and peace of mind. To begin thinking like a systems-minded CEO, start with this approach: Document everything you repeat. Write down tasks you find yourself doing more than twice a week. These are the first things to automate or delegate. Simplify before you scale. Don’t build complex systems for broken processes. Streamline what you already have, then layer structure on top. Empower your team. Create clear roles, SOPs, and decision-making guidelines so your business doesn’t depend on you to move forward. Automate intentionally. Use tools that save time on repetitive tasks while keeping the human touch in client-facing areas. Systems give your business predictability, but they also give you emotional bandwidth. They free you from the mental clutter of constant decision-making and allow you to focus on innovation, leadership, and growth. As highlighted in Entrepreneur magazine , process-driven leaders consistently outperform because structured systems create space for creativity, vision, and sustainable scale. High performers don’t see structure as control, they see it as liberation. It’s what allows them to take time off, think bigger, and build something that lasts. Performance prompt: What area of your business would grow the fastest if it could run smoothly without your daily involvement? Support & accountability: Success is a team effort The top one percent make it almost impossible to fail because they never try to do it alone. Behind every high performer is a network of coaches, mentors, peers, and accountability partners who keep them aligned, supported, and challenged to keep evolving. Success is not built in isolation, it’s sustained through intentional collaboration. When I was building my first seven-figure business, I carried everything on my own shoulders. I thought independence meant strength. What I eventually learned is that self-sufficiency without support is a ceiling. The moment I invested in mentorship and surrounded myself with people who held me to my highest standard, everything shifted. The growth became easier, faster, and more fulfilling because I wasn’t doing it in a vacuum anymore. Accountability doesn’t restrict your freedom, it expands your capacity. It holds you to the level of excellence you already know you’re capable of. Here ’s how to start building your own support ecosystem like the top one percent: Find your truth tellers. Identify people who will be honest, not just kind. Seek out mentors or peers who challenge you with both belief and accountability. Join a community of growth. Masterminds, coaching programs, and networks create proximity to excellence. Who you’re surrounded by determines what becomes normal for you. Create accountability rituals. Schedule regular check-ins to review progress, wins, and next steps. Consistency compounds results. Invest in mentorship. Coaching provides perspective, structure, and feedback loops that make growth measurable and inevitable. Support systems create stability through change. They give you perspective when challenges arise and help you stretch beyond your own limitations. Every top performer I’ve worked with, myself included, has thrived not because of what they did alone, but because of the powerful circle that helped them stay aligned and resilient. Performance prompt: Who in your life consistently challenges you to expand your vision, and where might you need to build more intentional accountability? Conclusion: Becoming the top one percent version of you The truth is, what separates the top one percent isn’t talent, luck, or timing. It’s awareness. The world’s highest performers think, decide, and act from a higher level of clarity, identity, and discipline. They reflect constantly, lead intentionally, and surround themselves with support that keeps them growing. After building multiple seven-figure businesses and coaching countless entrepreneurs to do the same, I’ve learned that high performance isn’t about becoming someone new, it’s about returning to who you were always meant to be. The more you lead from clarity, the more power you unlock. The more you reflect, the faster you grow. The more you align your mindset and energy with your future self, the sooner that future becomes reality. The top one percent don’t wait for success to change who they are. They change who they are to create success. Start small. Choose one principle from this article and embody it today. Whether it’s reflecting more often, tracking data, setting boundaries around your energy, or making decisions as your future self, every moment of awareness closes the gap between where you are and where you’re going. Because ultimately, high performance isn’t a title or an achievement. It’s a way of being. And when you learn to operate from that level of alignment, success stops feeling like something you chase, it becomes who you are. If you’re ready to step into your next level of clarity, confidence, and leadership, I’d love to help you get there. Book a consultation call with me to explore how high-performance coaching can help you become the top one percent version of yourself. Follow me on  Facebook , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tiffany Julie Tiffany Julie, High Performance Coach Tiffany Julie is a leading high-performance coach, 7+ figure entrepreneur, and creator of the Results Mastery Formula. Through this proven framework, she helps ambitious leaders reprogram their minds, master performance habits, and amplify their magnetism to create extraordinary success. Her expertise has been featured in Forbes and Yahoo Finance, and she has been recognized as a top business and performance coach by The London Times, LA Weekly, and the Coach Foundation.

When Wade Lyons stepped into the top job at the Austin Police Training Academy in 2022, the department was at a crossroads. The city had paused cadet classes. Community trust in law enforcement was fractured. And across the country, police departments were being asked the same question, "Can you train officers to serve, not just enforce?" Lyons didn’t wait for a roadmap. “I knew if we wanted a different outcome, we had to start at the beginning, how we train, who we recruit, and what kind of leadership we value,” he said. Why police training had to change in Austin Austin’s police academy had faced criticism over outdated training tactics, a lack of community engagement, and recruiting practices that weren’t bringing in a wide enough range of perspectives. The city responded by hitting pause, and appointing Lyons to lead the reset. With more than 15 years already under his belt in public safety, including work in investigations, crisis response, and community engagement, Lyons brought both frontline credibility and big-picture thinking. “This wasn’t just about improving a curriculum,” he said. “It was about changing culture, inside and out.” The community connect program: Training with purpose One of Lyons’ first moves was launching the Community Connect Program , a structured track to help cadets build meaningful relationships with the communities they would one day serve. Cadets were placed in direct engagement with diverse neighborhoods, meeting with local leaders, attending events, and learning the historical context of trust gaps between police and citizens. “It’s one thing to say ‘serve and protect,’” Lyons explained. “It’s another to understand what protection means to someone who’s been ignored, mistreated, or misrepresented.” The program didn’t just teach communication. It rewired how cadets viewed their role, from authority figure to public partner. Building the most diverse cadet class in city history Recruiting also changed under Lyons’ leadership. During his tenure, the academy brought in the most diverse cadet class in Austin’s history. Female representation reached 20%, with a goal of 30% by 2030. Minority representation grew, too, not by lowering standards, but by removing unnecessary barriers and broadening outreach. “We redesigned the process from the ground up,” Lyons said. “That included revamping background checks, changing interview methods, and building relationships with communities that had never seen policing as a career option.” He credits this shift to transparency, updated digital systems, and a major overhaul of the department’s marketing and hiring practices, including social media campaigns, billboard designs, and public forums. Managing a training machine at scale Behind the scenes, Lyons also ran the academy like a high-performing business unit. He oversaw a $10 million operational budget, nine units, and over 100 personnel. His team delivered over a dozen major training projects each year. He managed grants, led audits, ensured OSHA compliance, and drove policy updates aligned with national reform recommendations. Every change was documented, measured, and optimized for results. “This wasn’t guesswork,” he said. “We tracked performance, measured outcomes, and stayed honest about where we could improve.” He also coordinated more than 60 community events and 40 stakeholder meetings per year, building feedback loops between the department and the public. Crisis response and real-time leadership Lyons’ leadership wasn’t limited to planning and operations. He served as the department’s primary point of contact for high-severity incidents, providing real-time decision-making during officer-involved shootings, protests, and emergencies. He brought the same calm, systems-based approach to these situations that he applied in the academy. “You lead how you train,” he said. “If your team sees clarity and integrity in pressure moments, they bring that same energy into the field.” Lessons from a reform-minded leader Lyons left the academy in 2024 to launch his own investigative firm, but his time there left a lasting legacy. He proved that police training could be rigorous and  relationship-driven. That diversity and quality are not trade-offs. And that trust, once broken, can begin to rebuild, one cadet at a time. “I wanted every cadet to walk out of that academy prepared not just to enforce laws, but to build trust,” he said. Why Wade Lyons’ academy reforms still matter At a time when many departments were struggling to adapt, Lyons turned Austin’s academy into a case study in public safety reform that works. Not because it was perfect, but because it was willing to change. “It wasn’t about being the loudest voice in the room,” he said. “It was about being the most consistent.” For those looking to understand how law enforcement can evolve, Wade Lyons offers a clear example. Start with training, lead with purpose, and build systems that reflect the communities they serve.

In this exclusive interview, Gemma Hunter, founder of Hunter & Co, opens up about transforming her personal experience of burnout into a mission to help others restore balance and reclaim their lives. Through empathy, strategic partnership, and a deep understanding of human resilience, she shares how true success comes not from constant hustle but from recovery, intention, and sustainable growth. Gemma Hunter, Founder of Hunter & Co. Administrative Support Who is Gemma Hunter? I am the product of everything that brought me to this moment - and the writer of what comes next. For a long time, the person I was portraying was someone who looked successful on the outside but was silently battling postnatal depression, anxiety, and the crushing cycle of burnout. The me you see today is the lesson learned, that true strength isn't pushing through, it's pausing and rebuilding. My journey through those dark times didn't just shape me, it refocused my entire purpose. I realised my greatest contribution wasn't just my professional skill, but my ability to share the blueprint for breaking free. So, who am I? I am a survivor, a rebuilder, and I am driven to lighting the way for others. My sense of identity is now rooted in a commitment to ensuring that others do not have to face that journey alone. For example, as a virtual assistant, I dedicate myself to providing timely information, answering questions, and offering support to users who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain, helping them navigate challenges and find solutions more easily. What inspired you to start your business in this field? The core inspiration came from a place of deep empathy. It hit me to the core watching ambitious people, those with incredible potential, slowly diminish because they felt they couldn't afford a break. They were meeting every demand except their own. That's why I launched Hunter & Co., I wanted to break the toxic narrative that 'busy equals success.' We exist to give leaders permission and practical tools to reclaim their time, spend it with loved ones, and invest in R&R, proving that taking care of yourself is, in fact, the most crucial investment for your business.   How would you define the core service you offer in one sentence? Our core service is proving that optimal business performance is achieved when leaders embrace recovery, breaking the burnout cycle to fully leverage their potential. What kind of clients are you best suited to help? Our ideal client isn't defined by their revenue or their industry, they're defined by their moment. They are ambitious individuals who have just reached the breaking point of burnout and now recognise that their current way of working is unsustainable. They know they need a change, but feel lost and overwhelmed. We step in at that crucial, transitional moment to help them stop the spiral, regain control, and create a sustainable system that honours both their professional vision and their personal well-being. What is the major challenge that your clients typically bring to you? One thing we see all the time with clients is stress, they are struggling to have clarity and vision and don’t know where they should turn. How do you approach solving that challenge differently from others might? Our approach to solving the burnout challenge is rooted in the Hunter & Co. ethos of Empathy, Partnership, and Sustainable Resilience . While others might offer a transactional checklist, we start by truly listening, not just to the big business problems, but to the tiny, energy-draining details others often overlook. We do this because we get it . Every member of our team has personally encountered and emerged resilient on the other side of burnout. This shared experience means we approach every client as a valued partner, not just a project. We don't just solve problems, we see the human behind the challenge, building strategies that guarantee you not only recover, but lead from a place of lasting strength. Can you share a quick example of a transformation you’ve helped a client achieve? I love sharing the story of a mindfulness coach who faced a massive transition, relocating both her life and business from Australia to the UK. Restarting from scratch while simultaneously unpacking her personal life was, quite frankly, a recipe for burnout and spiraling anxiety. We started with the crucial Discovery Call, which led to immediate Action Planning. This allowed us to quickly map out her priorities and take the overwhelming burden completely off her shoulders. We didn't just rebuild her a new website, we provided a bespoke support system that delivered the peace of mind she desperately needed. This meant she could completely bypass the typical stress of re-establishment and instead focus on adjusting to her new home. The true transformation was seeing her show up for her first UK clients feeling rested, grounded, and fully present, not depleted and running on empty. What’s one common misconception people have about your work? One of the most persistent misconceptions is that, as virtual assistants, we are simply freelancers or that our fees are too high. This viewpoint overlooks the specialised skills, professionalism, and value that our work as virtual assistants truly provides. When clients hire Hunter & Co., they aren't acquiring a task-doer, they are gaining an invested personal partner. As a fellow business owner who deeply understands the stress of burnout, I bring not only the technical solution but also the empathy and strategic foresight to anticipate and rectify problems before they spiral. We see ourselves as an indispensable extension of your team, and that depth of partnership is a non-negotiable value worth investing in. How do you decide which service is right for a client? Our approach is entirely client-led and deeply tailored because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for burnout and anxiety. The process always begins with a confidential Discovery Call, where we focus entirely on understanding the client's current pain points, past struggles, and future goals. From there, we move into a comprehensive Action Planning phase. This allows us to craft a tailor-designed plan with bespoke service recommendations, ensuring that what we deliver meets the individual's specific requirements, respects their comfort level, and fully supports their journey toward sustainable success. What is the first step someone should take if they want to work with you? The first essential step is due diligence, we want our partnership to be built on trust and alignment. We highly encourage you to explore our website, read our testimonials, and submit any initial questions you have to ensure our vision and services perfectly match your needs. Once you’ve done that, the critical next step is to visit our website and book your free, no-obligation Discovery Call. That conversation is where the real work begins, and it’s the quickest path to getting the clarity you need to move forward. How will working with you help a client regain time, calm, or growth? Our service isn't about ticking boxes, it's about providing an immediate, desperately needed pressure-release valve. We strategically remove those soul-crushing, energy-draining tasks from your day-to-day, and that creates immediate, sacred space in your life. This reclaimed capacity isn't just time, it’s calm, it’s clarity, and it’s fuel for fearless growth. It gives you back the hours you need to finally invest in your own well-being and recovery, to have uninterrupted, joyful time with your family and loved ones . Critically, it frees your mind from the noise so you can focus only on the high-level, strategic work that truly grows your business . We empower you to stop running on empty and start leading with intention. How can interested clients connect with you and begin the collaboration? We welcome all prospective clients to begin by simply reaching out. We've made the initial step incredibly easy. Just visit our website ,  and book your free, no-obligation discovery call. This confidential conversation is where we start building your tailored plan. You can also connect via email at info@hunteradmin.org or follow our journey on Instagram and LinkedIn. It’s as easy as booking that first call. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Gemma Hunter

Written by LaTricia Morris, Branding Agent LaTricia Morris is The Brand Revivalist, founder of Ox & Iron. She helps legacy-driven entrepreneurs cut through the clutter and create bold, unforgettable brands. With a focus on purposeful design and strategic messaging, LaTricia crafts brands that connect deeply with their audience and leave a lasting impact. The most powerful rebrands aren’t about becoming someone new. They’re about revealing the best version of you and your company with crystal clarity. Countless companies work really hard to build a brand with soul, something the market is happy to embrace, but maintaining that on the other side of expansion is the long-game challenge for any legacy brand. As companies expand, building out the team becomes an inevitability to prevent capping out. We know this. Yet how we go about that can make all the difference between companies that live well beyond our time and those that fizzle out like the last one-hit wonder. When you get this right, you gain an unfair advantage that competitors can’t touch. Because authenticity is the one thing they can’t copy. They can mimic your visual style, steal your messaging, and undercut your pricing, but they can’t replicate your true identity. That’s exclusively yours. The permanent vs. the adaptable Your brand’s core identity, its soul, needs to be its constant at the center of it all. Your values, your purpose, the unique way you serve customers, the principles that guide your decisions, these don’t shift with market trends or competitor moves. The critical distinction between winning rebrands and failed ones is understanding that while your identity remains constant, your expression of it must adapt relentlessly. Weak brands either refuse to adapt and become irrelevant or adapt so entirely that they become unrecognizable and therefore meaningless. Strong brands stay anchored to their identity while continuously refining how they express it. Define your non-negotiables Before you can transform how you show up, you need absolute clarity on what you stand for. Most companies stumble here. They think they know their brand’s soul when they’ve often never actually defined it. A precise definition creates freedom. I find many business owners initially cringe as I work to help them lock in on key components of their brand identity, as they think of it as being “locked in” in a way that’s rigid, not flexible, and most frightening of all, precludes them from large sectors of the market. Not true. In martial arts, we have a saying, “Precision over power. Timing over speed.” While many try to make their wins by throwing as much money into their ad spend as possible and rushing into every little trend, legacy brands know that precision and timing are key for many of their biggest wins. When you know exactly what’s non-negotiable, everything else becomes flexible. You can adapt boldly because you know exactly where the boundaries are. Those non-negotiables serve as north stars that help you navigate big and small decisions, so your company doesn’t fall prey to brand drift and lose the beautiful edge it deserves. Start with your purpose. Screw the corporate BS mission statements. What impact is your company on this planet to make? What is the version of “better” you bring to the world around you? If you don’t understand your company’s purpose beyond profit, you can’t expect the market to either. If they don’t get this, what else do you leave them but to relegate you into the mental heap of corporate entities vying for their wallets? What outcome are you committed to creating? What would your customers lose if you disappeared? Next, identify your immovable values. Again, I’m not going to let you get away with a lazy list of words you find appealing. “Quality, honesty, integrity.” Wait, sorry, just threw up in my mouth a little bit. I’m not trying to be a jerk. I’m just saying, these shallow, table-stakes values trigger way more eye-rolls than clicks and checkouts. What are the principles you actually operate by when it costs you something? What deals do you walk away from, or what shortcuts do you refuse to take? What standards do you maintain when no one’s watching? Get clear on your unique point of view. What do you believe about your industry, your customers, or the problems you solve that others miss or deny? This perspective shapes how you approach every challenge and why your solutions look different from everyone else’s. Finally, understand your distinctive capabilities. What can you deliver that creates real value in ways competitors can’t easily match? This isn’t about being better at everything, but about being unmatchable at the specific things that matter most to your customers. When you’ve defined these four elements with precision, you’ve identified your brand’s soul. Everything else is arguably negotiable. The equity you already have You already have brand equity in associations, perceptions, and recognition that took years and possibly millions to build. Weak rebrands throw this away. Strong rebrands multiply it. Some equity is pure gold. You may be known for innovation, reliability, or going above and beyond. These associations align with your core identity and deserve amplification. It’s important to discern these from things holding you back. Perhaps you’re seen as outdated when you’re actually progressive, or perceived as premium-priced when you offer exceptional value. Don’t change your identity to match perceptions. Clarify perceptions to match your identity. This gives you leverage. Instead of starting from zero, you’re redirecting momentum that already exists. You’re taking the awareness and recognition you’ve built and pointing it toward truth. When done right, your rebrand doesn’t feel like an identity crisis. It feels like a revelation. “Oh, now I see what they’ve been about all along.” Visual identity: Recognition meets relevance Most companies approach visual rebranding as an either/or decision, keep everything the same and look stagnant, or change everything and become unrecognizable. Both paths lose. The winning move is understanding the difference between visual equity (what triggers instant recognition) and visual expression (how you apply those elements). Your signature color, a distinctive shape, a characteristic style, these carry your essential character. They should stay protected. Everything else is fair game for refinement. This can mean your signature color stays, but your palette modernizes. Your logo’s structure remains but gets refined for digital clarity. It can change a little or even a lot but should remain congruent to the extent that people still easily recognize it as an extension or symbol of your brand. Your style persists but updates to contemporary standards. The strategic question isn’t “should we change our visuals?” It’s “which visual elements carry our soul, and which ones just carry our history?” When you answer this correctly, you look like a brand confident enough to grow without being desperate enough to reinvent yourself. That confidence is magnetic in a marketplace full of companies chasing trends. Messaging that actually lands Your core message stays constant, while the language you use to express it must meet the moment, not by chasing trends but by communicating timeless truths in ways that land with today’s audience. Corporate speak dies. Abstract language dies. Vague promises die. What rises? Clarity. Directness. Specificity. Proof. “We’re committed to excellence” is communicated through specific evidence of how you deliver excellence that customers can verify. “We’re innovative” gets shown in concrete examples of innovations that solved real problems. This gives you an advantage because competitors hide behind empty corporate language, while you speak the truth in ways people can grasp. The strongest messaging strategies understand this, people don’t buy your values. They buy what your values enable you to deliver and what doing business with you says about them. The coherence that creates dominance Every interaction someone has with your brand should express the same character. Your digital presence, in-person service, social media, packaging, and customer support should all feel unmistakably you. Most companies treat brand as what their marketing team does. You need to treat it as what your entire organization delivers. When your customer service embodies the same care as your product design, when your social media reflects the same values as your leadership, when your follow-up demonstrates the same excellence as your pitch, that’s when your brand becomes real. This coherence is rare because it requires everyone to understand not just what your brand looks like, but also what it stands for and how that translates to their specific role. In my years in branding, this has remained a beautiful byproduct of the brand development process and then bringing that back to the team. Don’t leave people to guess Too many companies assume employees, especially frontline workers, understand the brand when they’re seldom trained on it. This results in even staff with the best intentions operating on their own interpretation of what constitutes a good job, without really understanding how the brand should be represented at every touchpoint. The companies that take the time to do the deep work and train their team to become a united force behind the brand don’t just have a brand, they have an identity so strong that it shapes how they operate at every level. That identity becomes their competitive moat. When brands lose their soul (and when they protect it) The stakes of this decision, to stay true or to drift, couldn’t be higher. Lululemon founder Chip Wilson hit heavy on this in a recent ad and article he took out in The Wall Street Journal, giving his raw breakdown of the nosedive the company took, accounting for billions in less-than-stellar decisions. He argues: “Lululemon forgot its muse, the woman who inspires culture, not just follows it. By drifting toward the mainstream and trying to appease everyone, Lululemon lost 50% of its market cap earned from ‘brand power.’ It lost its edge and with it, the ability to hire the best people.” Read that again. A company lost billions in market cap by trying to appeal to everyone, by drifting toward the mainstream and forgetting its muse. Wilson’s prescription? “The world doesn’t need another bland, quarterly-driven apparel company. It needs bold vision.” And critically, “Recommit to the muse, the woman who inspires the brand.” Now contrast that with Aerie. While everyone rushes to adopt AI in advertising, Aerie just publicly rejected it. Their CMO, Stacey McCormick, announced they’re staying “100% real,” continuing their no-retouching pledge even as technology makes it easier than ever to perfect images. They friggin’ get it. This isn’t stubbornness. It’s brand integrity. Aerie built their identity on authenticity and real bodies. AI-generated or heavily manipulated images would betray everything they stand for, even if it made production faster, cheaper, or more polished. That’s the difference. Lululemon drifted from its muse and lost billions. Aerie doubled down on its core truth, strengthening its position. One company asked, “What does the market want?” The other asked, “What do we stand for?” The market continues to reward the one who stays true to their core. The truth test Here’s how you know if your transformation is real: Your longest-tenured employees should recognize your character immediately. If the people who know you best can’t see you in what you’ve become, you’ve abandoned your identity. Your loyal customers should understand the progression. You should be able to draw a clear line from who you were to who you’re becoming. If you can’t, the change is arbitrary. The transformation should feel inevitable. When you reveal your rebrand, people should think “of course,” not “what happened?” And the ultimate test, Are you moving toward truth about who you are, or toward what you think the market wants? The market senses inauthenticity instantly, but when you become more fully yourself, more clear, more confident, more focused, the right market responds. You’re not for everyone. That’s the point. You’re for the specific people who need exactly what you do best. Your rebrand should make it easier for those people to find you. Making it real A rebrand isn’t complete when you launch new visuals. It’s complete when your entire organization embodies the brand in everything they do. This requires every person to understand why the rebrand matters, what it means for their work, and how they bring it to life in their decisions. Your sales team needs to see how the clarified brand makes conversations more effective. Customer service needs to understand how it shapes interactions. Product needs to know how it influences what they build. When everyone can articulate what your brand stands for and see their connection to it, when they make decisions that naturally express your core identity, when they feel proud representing you, that’s when transformation becomes beautiful. Your permanent advantage Your competitors can copy your tactics, mimic your visuals, steal your messaging, undercut your pricing, and hire your people. But they cannot replicate your authentic identity. When you rebrand without losing your soul, when you stay anchored to your core identity while continuously refining how you express it, you create permanent differentiation. This is not because you’ve found some clever positioning angle, but because you’re being unmistakably yourself with absolute clarity. This requires courage. Resisting pressure to become what everyone else is becoming, trusting that your unique identity has enduring value, and believing that being fully yourself is more powerful than trying to appeal to everyone. This courage creates a sustainable advantage. In a marketplace full of companies trying to be everything to everyone, you become the obvious choice. The brands that dominate don’t stay frozen. They don’t abandon who they are. They grow toward the truest, clearest, most powerful expression of their identity. That’s your path, becoming undeniably, unmistakably, unapologetically you. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from LaTricia Morris LaTricia Morris, Branding Agent LaTricia Morris is The Brand Revivalist, founder of Ox & Iron. At the core of her work is the belief in seeing the greatness in others and helping them communicate their true value to the people who need it most. LaTricia specializes in creating brands that are authentic, purpose-driven, and designed to resonate deeply. By aligning identity with strategy, she empowers businesses to stand out and build lasting connections with their audience.