Own My Growth

Helping folks with practical tips to manage themselves better

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Tag: mental model

Hard Does Not Mean Wrong

hard does not mean wrong

We often make a strange mistake in life. When something feels hard, we assume we are not good at it. But lifting a heavy weight is supposed to feel difficult. The difficulty is not evidence that you are bad at Read more…


The Cover Matters

cover matters

We like to believe quality speaks for itself. It does not. Unfortunately, people judge the book by its cover. Always have. You can have the best product, the finest work, the most useful idea. But present it carelessly, and it Read more…


Weekend Story- The Returned Gift

Returned Gift

A man once came to a teacher who was sitting quietly in meditation. The man was angry. He stood before the teacher and began shouting. He accused him. Insulted him. Mocked him. The teacher did not answer. He simply sat Read more…


The Mistake Inside The Failure

Mistake inside failure

My son called recently, upset about a collaborative engineering project that had not gone well. He felt he had done everything right, but something else, unanticipated, had caused it to fall apart. We ended up in a bit of an Read more…


You Are The Example

you are the example

Before I became a technology entrepreneur, I spent many years in a large financial institution. The instinct there was always to avoid anything new, because it must not fail. And thanks to that fear of failing, we would not attempt Read more…


The Urgency Trap

urgency

I used to wear urgency like a badge. Always on. Always responding. Always moving. I told myself this was leadership. But I had unconsciously trained everyone around me to believe that everything was a fire. And once you do that, Read more…


Weekend Story-Hole In The Boat

Hole in the boat

A man once asked a painter to paint his small boat red. The painter arrived early in the morning with his brushes, sandpaper, and paint. The boat was old, but well-loved. It had carried the family across the lake for Read more…


The Company Our Mind Keeps

The company our mind keeps

Everything we create begins as a thought. A business. A decision. A relationship. A change in direction. Long before it becomes visible, it first takes shape in the mind. Which makes me think about something else. Where do our thoughts Read more…


Assume Misunderstanding

Assume Misunderstanding

Someone does not respond the way you expected. A colleague leaves you out. A customer goes quiet. A friend says something that feels dismissive. Our mind is quick to build a story around it. They do not respect me. They Read more…


Faster, Higher, Narrower

faster

The more I think about personal growth, the more I feel it comes down to three things. Go faster. Hold higher standards. Narrow your focus. Take speed. Most of us move slower than we need to. We let things sit. Read more…