A WEEKLY NOTE, FIVE MINUTES

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1-2-3 Inner Game. Practical work on the inner game, for founders and leaders who want a high-performing life and a healthy one. Five minutes a week.

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THE ARCHIVE

Recent issues

10 Oct What's Your Side Odyssey? Ask a founder what they do for fun and watch the pause. It's usually long enough to be uncomfortable for both of you. Eventually you get the gym, or golf with a client, or "I read a lot." I always ask what they read, and it's business books, so it's still work, they've just moved […] Read → 4 Oct My HRV Went From the Mid-30s to the 60s I’ve been staring at a number on my phone for longer than I’d like to admit. For a long time, it was in the mid-30s. I told myself it didn’t matter. I’m fit, I train, I coach people on energy for a living. The number was probably wrong, or the device was off, or I […] Read → 29 Sep Your Most Important Job Every morning, I check my HRV. I know my sleep score. My resting heart rate. My training load. But there's one question I can't answer. Read → 19 Sep Start With Wow, Not How A magic trick lands. The room goes quiet for exactly one second, then someone asks how it's done. Read → 16 Sep Fine and Connected Are Not the Same Thing Which rung do you actually live on with the person closest to you, not which one you think you live on. Read → 6 Sep You've Been Doing Energy Backwards What are you waiting to feel before you start, and how long have you been waiting for it? Read → 31 Aug Here's my 10x Cheat Code Who gets whatever time is left at the end of your week, and when did you decide that was acceptable? Read → 26 Aug You've Already Used 93% Of It Pick a person, work out how many times you will actually see them again, and decide whether that number is acceptable. Read → 16 Aug Nobody Has It All What are you still hoping you won't have to give up? Read → 9 Aug You Already Know Who are you keeping for their sake, and who are you keeping for yours? Read → 3 Aug Signal or Sedation If your business ran for two weeks without you, would you be proud of what it did, or afraid to look? Read → 21 Jul You can't hand them certainty Show them the ground, trust them to find theirs, and step before you feel sure. Read → 11 Jul The campus changes. The lessons don't. Who are you still trying to fix, when they never asked you to? Read → 4 Jul The most confident person in the room How many people in your circle are driving you forward? Read → 28 Jun The Second Arrow Where am I calling it "processing" this week when I'm really just firing the second arrow? Read → 21 Jun The Room Reads You First Where am I performing "fine" this week that the room has already stopped believing? Read → 13 Jun The Busy Alibi What are the three things I said mattered this year, and when did I last actually touch one? Read → 7 Jun The Cleared Desk What am I calling urgent that's really just familiar? Read → 1 Jun You're Being Pulled Where am I performing motion to avoid the discomfort of choosing one bet? Read → 25 May The Rodman Problem Where am I taking longest to return to center after being knocked off? Read → 19 May I'm Proud of You What task have I been carrying around without a clear next step? Read → 11 May Same Game, Different Height What has been sitting unresolved in the background for too long? Read → 2 May The Slip Playbook Where am I assuming alignment instead of confirming it? Read → 27 Apr The Tail End Where might trust be weakening slightly in my relationships or team? Read → 22 Apr Every Decision Has a Trade-off What have I said yes to recently that might be taking attention away from something more important? Read → 17 Apr Survive. Recover. Grow. Where has something important in my work or life become less clear over time? Read → 8 Apr The Art of Identifying the Limiting Factor Where have I made something more complicated than it needs to be? Read → 29 Mar The Frog in the Kettle When was the last time I reacted instead of responding? Read → 23 Mar The Quiet Test of Leadership Where am I currently choosing comfort over conviction? Read → 16 Mar Leading Through the Noise Where am I forcing speed when patience would create better outcomes? Read → 9 Mar The UAE is being tested right now What opportunity am I holding onto that is quietly pulling focus away from what matters most? Read → 4 Mar Staying Steady When the World Isn't Where am I currently explaining instead of owning? Read → 25 Feb People Rise to What's Allowed What behavior am I currently tolerating that doesn’t match my stated standards? Read → 16 Feb The Long Game Is Personal What kind of leader am I becoming at my current pace? Read → 9 Feb Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions What decision am I currently making from pressure instead of clarity? Read → 2 Feb Presence Changes Everything Where am I physically present but mentally elsewhere? Read → 24 Jan The Leadership Metric You're Not Tracking How often do I confuse adrenaline with real energy? Read → 16 Jan Behavior Is Data. Read It Early. Where am I ignoring early signals because the opportunity looks good on paper? Read → 11 Jan Don't Rush This Where in my work or leadership am I rushing, and paying for it later? Read → 22 Dec The Cost of a Bad Start Are you reacting to your life, or responding to it? Read → 11 Dec Your Inner Game Has a Score — It's Called HRV Are you growing stronger — or simply growing tired? Read → 4 Dec Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast Are you making decisions from clarity, or from convenience? Read → 17 Nov Relationship by Design Are you building a legacy — or just a résumé? Read → 6 Nov Come and Take It Are you managing your business — or maintaining your comfort zone? Read → 31 Oct You Don't Need More Time, You Need More Presence Are you designing your days — or just reacting to everyone else’s? Read → 9 Oct One Meal a Day Are you chasing scale — or depth? Read → 25 Sep Going Far, Together Are you chasing growth — or designing endurance? Read → 15 Sep When the Student Beats the Teacher Are you building a business that sets you free — or one that chains you tighter? Read → 1 Sep Lessons from a Mumbai Cab Ride Are you actually building a life… or just building a busier calendar? Read → 20 Aug Clarity Creates Momentum If you stripped away titles, metrics, and LinkedIn headlines — what would prove you’re a leader? Read → 16 Aug Beyond KPIs: The Human Side of Growth Is your calendar aligned with your priorities—or just your obligations? Read → 8 Aug Silicon Valley's Café Diplomacy Are you making decisions from fear or from possibility? Read → 28 Jul Laughter, Lattes, and Late Nights If you had to 10x your impact without working more hours, where would you start? Read → 18 Jul Inside the Mindset of Elite Founders What’s one thing you need to unlearn to grow your business? Read → 8 Jul Want 10x? You'll Have to Drop 80% What’s your personal non-negotiable that keeps you grounded? Read → 27 Jun From My Journal to Your Inbox How do you know you're playing too small? Read → 20 Jun Speed Without Systems Is Just Chaos What's the mindset shift that changed everything for you? Read → 13 Jun Great Teams Run On Honesty Where in your life are you exceeding the healthy dose and turning something good into too much? Read → 2 Jun Real Talk, Real Growth, Real Malaysia What do you do when you're triggered? Read → 23 May Not Everything Worthwhile Needs a Heads-Up What’s one assumption about your business that you’ve never challenged—but if you did, could completely change the game? Read → 16 May Slow Is a Superpower What’s the one decision you’re avoiding that, if tackled, could unlock massive growth for your business or life? Read → 9 May Where Master Coaches Go to Level Up Where are you overdosing on? Read → 1 May Lessons from the Top of the World (Sort Of) What’s the one story you keep telling yourself that, if you finally ditched it, would unlock everything you’ve been chasing? Read → 23 Apr Be the Light in the Room—Even When It's Hard What’s the one excuse you’ve been holding onto that, if you let it go, could completely change the trajectory of your life? Read → 15 Apr The Echo Chamber in Elite Education What’s the one area in your business where you’re pushing too hard—or not hard enough? Read → 8 Apr The New Californian Ideology What are the biggest wastes of time for novices in your field? Read → 31 Mar Another Year Older, Another Year Lighter Are you surrounded with people with the same mindset as you? Read → 25 Mar Showing Up for What Matters Are you showing them clearly enough? Read → 17 Mar The Athlete Mindset: No Negotiations, Just Action If you could only work on ONE business idea for the next 5 years—no pivots, no distractions—what would it be? Read → 11 Mar The Trick That Got My Kids to Love Reading Again If you had to make $10 million in the next 12 months or die, what’s the first thing you’d stop wasting time on? Read → 3 Mar How a Snack and a Nap Can Save Your Relationships How do you stop overthinking? Read → 24 Feb The 10x Paradox, Inner-Game Hacks & Why Resolutions Suck What’s the one area in your business where you’re pushing too hard—or not hard enough? Read → 17 Feb Getting Rid of Bad Blood and How I Built the Innergame Blueprint What’s the one area in your business where you’re pushing too hard—or not hard enough? Read → 3 Feb Getting back your energy and breaking the cycle Where are you overdosing on? Read → 27 Jan The Power to Pause, and Going All In What’s one assumption about your business that you’ve never challenged—but if you did, could completely change the game? Read → 20 Jan The Hidden Cost of Saying Yes & Playing to Win What’s the one story you keep telling yourself that, if you finally ditched it, would unlock everything you’ve been chasing? Read → 14 Jan Getting Back your Rhythm, Final Frontier of Free Speech, and the Search for Gold What’s the one excuse you’ve been holding onto that, if you let it go, could completely change the trajectory of your life? Read → 31 Dec Let's Scale Your Business! This time of year always has me reflecting on the wins, the lessons, and most importantly, the people who made it all worthwhile. Read → 19 Dec Best of 1-2-3 Inner Game – 2024 Revisiting the best insights from 1-2-3 Inner Game for 2024 Read → 12 Dec When You Feel Let Down What’s the one excuse you’ve been holding onto that, if you let it go, could completely change the trajectory of your life? Read → 5 Dec Performance Enhancers What’s the one decision you’re avoiding that, if tackled, could unlock massive growth for your business or life? Read → 27 Nov From Chaos to Clarity, and the Power of Listening Are you showing them clearly enough? Read → 19 Nov Managing Your Energy, and the Great TikTok Echo Chamber How do I stop comparing myself to others and focus on my own journey? Read → 13 Nov Big news from me, and my journey from burnout to Inner Game mastery How do I handle feeling overwhelmed by too many ideas? Read → 6 Nov Dealing with discomfort, immortality, and life's simple rule How do I prioritize when everything feels urgent? Read → 30 Oct Truth Bombs, Energy Checks & What I Learned from a 'No Lies' approach How do I know when to pivot or stick with my current strategy? Read → 23 Oct Here's some Inner Game wisdom to chew on this week What's your favourite book of all time? Read → 16 Oct Here's some Inner Game wisdom to chew on this week How do you handle failure as an entrepreneur? Read → 9 Oct Here's some Inner Game wisdom to chew on this week What do you do when you're triggered? Read → 2 Oct Here's some Inner Game wisdom to chew on this week What is the most common mistake you're repeatedly making? What can you do to stop making it? Read → 25 Sep Here's some Inner Game wisdom to chew on this week Are you playing a game worth winning? Read → 18 Sep Here's some Inner Game wisdom to chew on this week If you have one year to live, what changes would you make tomorrow? Read → 12 Sep Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week What are the biggest wastes of time for novices in your field? Read → 7 Sep Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week hat are the biggest wastes of time for novices in your field? Read → 27 Aug Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week Where are you overdosing on? Read → 20 Aug Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week How many people in your circle are driving you forward? Read → 5 Aug Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week Who do you love spending time with but haven't seen recently? Read → 29 Jul Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week Where are you just settling? Read → 22 Jul Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week Is there something you're doing in your life right now because of social or environmental pressure? Read → 15 Jul Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week What opportunities are you missing out on simply because you haven't reached out? Read → 8 Jul Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week What is it that you succeeded in that people want? Read → 10 Jun Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week When was the last time you asked your spouse/partner or parents what you could do to improve? Read → 3 Jun The True Secret to a Beautiful Life and More Insights Is life about the journey, or the destination? Read → 27 May Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week How are you creating the problem you’re facing? Read → 21 May Here are the Basics to Greatness Who is your no. 1 priority, your Team, your shareholders, or your clients? Read → 15 May Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week What is something you believe that other people think is insane? Read → 6 May What's your character like? What incremental improvement can you make that can have a transformative impact? Read → 29 Apr Here are some Inner Game perspectives to consider this week If you're going for elite performance, who is holding you accountable? Read → 26 Apr Mastering Money Are you ready for it? Read → 22 Apr Have you paid your rent? Everything we strive for—great health, success, joy, financial security, harmony—none of these can be permanently owned. Read → 15 Apr I have yet to meet a loser I have yet to meet a person who wakes up at 5 am and is losing at the game of life. Read → 8 Apr BUSY is the new STUPID Have you ever wondered what holds Entrepreneurs back once they have experienced a failure? Read → 30 Mar The One Word with which Most People Fail I'd like you to please focus on making your life as amazing as you can. Read → 23 Mar Here are some perspectives to consider. In what areas would you benefit from setting clearer boundaries? Read → 17 Mar Are you a Billion Dollar Racehorse? If you owned a billion-dollar racehorse with the potential for greatness, how would you treat it? Read → 11 Mar This week's Inner Game perspectives. On a scale of 1 – 10, how much do you trust yourself? Read →

16 AUG

Nobody has it all

What are you still hoping you won’t have to give up?

9 AUG

You already know

Who are you keeping for their sake, and who are you keeping for yours?

3 AUG

Signal or sedation

When you reach for work in a quiet moment, are you moving toward something, or away from the quiet?

21 JUL

You can’t hand them certainty

You do not find your footing and then step. You step, and the ground shows up to meet you.

11 JUL

The campus changes. The lessons don’t.

Who are you still trying to fix, when they never asked you to?

4 JUL

The most confident person in the room

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