How to Get What You Deserve:
An unfortunate truth in life:
Most people are not getting what they deserve.
The solution?
Negotiating what you deserve.
People who learn how to negotiate well:
↳ Gain greater respect and recognition
↳ Get higher-paid opportunities
↳ Progress faster in life
Start improving your negotiation skills today.
Steal this cheatsheet now!
Harvards 6 Guidelines to Yes:
1. Separate the people from the problem
2. Focus on Interests, not positions
3. Learn to manage emotions
4. Express appreciation
5. Put a positive spin on your message
6. Escape the action and reaction cycle
Understand which types of communication
To work on:
↳ 7% words
↳ 38% Tone and pace
↳ 55% body language
Figure out the Zone of Possible Agreement
And negotiate from there.
With 6 bonus tips to level up your negotiation!
Remember:
Closed mouths don’t get fed.
Negotiate what you truly deserve.
What’s your top tip for negotiation?
Let me know below!
Helpful vs Hurtful
Honesty isn’t the problem—
How you deliver it is:
Most people don’t mean to be hurtful.
But the wrong delivery can
turn truth into damage.
Before you speak, pause
and ask yourself one thing:
Is this helpful or is this hurtful?
Here’s the T.R.U.E. test to guide you:
🟪 Truthful
→ Honest, not harsh
🟨 Respectful
→ Care about the human, not just the point
🟦 Understanding
→ Share with empathy, not ego
🟧 Essential
→ Say only what helps, nothing extra
Here’s the part most leaders miss:
Helpful leaders make people
feel safe enough to improve.
Hurtful leaders make people afraid to try again.
The difference isn’t skill.
It’s intention, delivery, and self-control.
If you want your team to grow—your words
have to feel safe enough for them to listen.
Avoid Burnout
Burnout is not your fault.
But it’s your responsibility to fix it.
Ignoring this almost cost me my career. 🚨
I wore burnout like a badge of honor.
Until it wore me out beyond repair.
Dr. Dalton-Smith’s work offers us a way out.
↳ Rest beyond sleep
↳ Recharge your mind
↳ Refuel your purpose
Here are the 7 types of rest we need to thrive:
1/ Mental Rest: Calming Our Busy Minds
✅ Clear stress to restore focus
↳ Meditate for 10 minutes
↳ Do a brain dump on paper
↳ Set “worry time” to address concerns
↳ Practice breathing exercises (4 in, 4 out)
↳ Take a nature walk without your phone
2/ Physical Rest: Restoring Our Bodies
✅ Release physical tension
↳ Get a massage
↳ Take a relaxing bath
↳ Sleep 7-9 hours each night
↳ Release tension with gentle yoga
↳ Take a 20-minute recovery nap
3/ Sensory Rest: Reducing Sensory Overload
✅ Reset your nervous system
↳ Dim the lights
↳ Sit in a quiet space at home
↳ Turn off all notifications for the day
↳ Try a digital detox for a few hours
4/ Social Rest: Nurturing Our Relationships
✅ Choose your social circle wisely
↳ Have quality time with family
↳ Meet a friend who energizes you
↳ Set boundaries on weekend work calls
↳ Say no to draining social obligations
5/ Creative Rest: Embracing Our Imagination
✅ Find your creative joy
↳ Try a new hobby
↳ Cook a new recipe
↳ Visit an art gallery or museum
↳ Spend time in nature for fresh ideas
↳ Listen to inspiring podcasts
6/ Emotional Rest: Regulating Our Emotions
✅ Process and release emotional stress
↳ Journal your thoughts
↳ Set healthy boundaries with others
↳ Share your feelings with someone you trust
↳ Let go of work stress through action
7/ Spiritual Rest: Finding Our Purpose
✅ Refresh your ‘why’ and values
↳ Help someone in need
↳ Reflect on your values and purpose
↳ Write down 3 things you’re grateful for
↳ Connect with a community that shares your belief
By the way,
Burnout is contagious.
Fix it before it causes any more serious damage.
Scaling the Leadership Mountain
Leadership isn’t about reaching the top…
It’s about surviving the climb.
Each level has challenges and rewards.
But, each is required to get to the next level
Here’s your guide to mastering each stage: 👇
🚀 Entry-Level Management: Building the Foundations
↳ Effective Communication: Develop clear, concise messaging to establish trust
↳ Time Management: Balance project timelines and team needs
↳ Problem-Solving: Take initiative to tackle challenges and obstacles
✅ Impact: Strong foundational skills at this stage build team confidence and set a collaborative, transparent culture from the start.
🔥 Middle Management: Bridging Strategy with Execution
↳ Strategic Thinking: Align team goals with broader company objectives
↳ Team Development: Identify strengths and invest in growth
↳ Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Break down silos to drive cross-functional projects
✅ Impact: These skills create a culture of growth and purpose, boosting team motivation and aligning daily efforts with broader goals.
🏆 Senior Leadership: Shaping Culture and Driving Transformation
↳ Visionary Leadership: Inspire teams with a clear vision and roadmap for long-term goals.
↳ Change Management: Lead teams through transformations smoothly
↳ Advanced Decision-Making: Make high-stakes decisions that balance risk with opportunity.
✅ Impact: Senior leadership skills instill a sense of purpose and security, inspiring teams to innovate while feeling supported through change.
🚀 Executive Leadership: Leading with Legacy in Mind
↳ Strategic Foresight: Anticipate market shifts and adjust strategies
↳ Influence and Negotiation: Drive alignment among stakeholders and gain buy-in at the highest levels.
↳ Organizational Stewardship: Focus on sustainability, ethics, and the long-term impact of leadership decisions.
✅ Impact: Executive skills ensure that every team operates under a shared mission, creating a resilient culture that thrives even in complex, uncertain times.
Climbing the leadership mountain isn’t easy, but the view from the top is priceless.
What stage are you in❓
Be Water in the Hard Places
You know that feeling when life backs you into a corner?
When every option feels like it costs you something.
When you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, and you can almost hear the pressure in your own head.
That’s the moment this line hits different:
“When I’m caught between a rock and a hard place, let me be water.”
Because if we’re honest, most of us don’t want to be water in that moment.
We want to be steel.
We want to be loud.
We want to be right.
We want to force the outcome.
We want to push the rock. Break the wall. Win the argument. Fix the situation instantly.
We want the problem to move.
But some problems don’t move.
Some situations don’t respond to force.
They respond to patience. To wisdom. To flexibility. To time.
And that’s where water becomes such a powerful image.
Water doesn’t panic when it meets resistance.
It doesn’t slam itself into the rock screaming, “Why won’t you change?”
It doesn’t throw a tantrum because the path is blocked.
Water simply adjusts.
It flows around.
It slips through.
It finds the crack you didn’t even notice.
It reshapes itself without losing what it is.
That’s not weakness. That’s strength with self-control.
Because being water doesn’t mean you’re avoiding the problem.
It means you’re refusing to let the problem harden you.
That’s the real danger of hard places, isn’t it?
Not the stress. Not the deadlines. Not the conflict.
It’s what pressure does to our personality.
Pressure can make you sharp.
Pressure can make you rigid.
Pressure can make you defensive.
You start speaking in absolutes.
You start reacting instead of responding.
You start carrying yourself like every conversation is a fight you have to win.
And slowly, without realizing it, you become the rock.
Unmovable.
Cold.
Hard to reach.
But water stays reachable.
Water stays alive.
Water can be calm even when everything around it is chaotic.
Water can be gentle without being fragile.
Water can take shape without losing identity.
And that’s why the phrase repeats:
“Let me be water. Let me be water. Let me be water.”
Because it’s not a one-time decision.
It’s a prayer you have to keep making.
Especially when you don’t feel like it.
Especially when you feel misunderstood.
Especially when you feel trapped.
Especially when you feel like the world is demanding an answer from you right now.
Being water means you don’t rush to prove yourself.
You don’t rush to punish.
You don’t rush to burn bridges just to feel powerful for five minutes.
You stay fluid.
You stay open.
You stay willing to learn something new, even when you’re uncomfortable.
Sometimes being water looks like taking a breath before you reply.
Sometimes it looks like walking away for an hour instead of saying the thing you’ll regret for a year.
Sometimes it looks like admitting you don’t know what to do yet, but you’re not going to make it worse by forcing a decision.
And yes, sometimes being water means you cry.
Because water is honest.
It doesn’t pretend it isn’t affected.
It moves with the truth of what it’s carrying.
But here’s the part people forget: water is not just soft.
Water can be powerful.
It can carve through stone over time.
It can wear down what seems impossible.
It can reshape entire landscapes without shouting about it.
That’s what consistency does.
That’s what quiet resilience does.
That’s what faith does too, if you think about it.
Faith isn’t always thunder and miracles and dramatic breakthroughs.
Sometimes faith is staying steady in the waiting.
Faith is saying, “I don’t know how this is going to work out… but I’m not going to become bitter while I figure it out.”
Faith is refusing to let hardship turn you into someone you don’t recognize.
Because the truth is, the rock and the hard place might not move today.
But you still get to choose who you are inside that space.
You can choose to become sharper and harder and more reactive.
Or you can choose to become wiser, calmer, and more adaptable.
You can choose to be water.
To flow instead of fight everything.
To bend instead of break.
To stay grounded instead of getting stuck.
And maybe that’s the whole point.
Not that life won’t trap you sometimes…
But that even when it does, you don’t have to lose yourself in the pressure.
So when you feel cornered, overwhelmed, or unsure…
When the path isn’t clear and the options aren’t great…
When you’re caught between a rock and a hard place…
Let yourself be water.
Not because you’re giving up.
But because you’re choosing to keep moving forward—
with grace, with patience, and with strength that doesn’t need to prove itself.
Let you be water.
Let you be water.
Let you be water.
Why Introverts Make Powerful Leaders
The leadership myth nobody talks about:
Most people assume all great leaders are extroverts.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Quiet leaders aren’t just effective.
They’re often exceptional.
Yet their potential is still clouded by persistent myths that I’ve witnessed throughout my career.
Here are three myths that need to be shattered:
❌ 1. “Introverts can’t lead.”
✅ Truth: Many of history’s most influential leaders were introverts.
Oprah, Buffett, and Kamprad changed industries by being calm and grounded, not loud.
❌ 2: “Introverts lack social skills.”
✅ Truth: Introversion and shyness are completely different traits.
Introverts often excel at deep listening and one-on-one connections, the foundation of authentic leadership.
❌ 3. “Introverts are indecisive.”
✅ Truth: Thoughtfulness isn’t indecision.
Introverted leaders process thoroughly before acting, often making more calculated decisions.
Here’s what sets exceptional introverted leaders apart:
↳ Empathy: They listen more than they speak
↳ Calm: They provide stability in times of chaos
↳ Stillness: They create space for others’ ideas to shine
Great leadership comes in many forms.
And often, the most powerful one is less noisy.
Introverted leaders may speak softly.
But their impact echoes loudly.
Conflict Playbook
Conflict isn’t the problem—
Avoiding it is:
Most people fear conflict
because they think it breaks trust.
But handled right, it builds it…
1️⃣ Prevent it before it starts
• Pause before hard talks.
• Ask, “Is this a good time?”
• Write what you need to say in one clear sentence.
2️⃣ Speak clearly, not sharply
• Use: “When this happens, I feel ___ because ___.”
• Ask before sharing your view.
• Repeat what you heard.
3️⃣ Watch emotions early
• Name what you feel (1–5 scale).
• If tension rises, pause.
• Look for signs — fast talk, silence, or eye rolls.
4️⃣ Fix the real issue
• Ask, “Is this about the person or the problem?”
• Then, “What’s the real issue here?”
• Pick one next step and who owns it.
5️⃣ Make it right
• Recap what was agreed.
• Thank them for honesty.
• If you messed up — say it and fix it fast.
🔸Weekly habits that help:
• Review how conflict went.
• Pick one way to do it better.
• End with gratitude.
🔸Monthly reset:
• Note what’s working.
• Drop what’s not.
• Thank someone who handled it well.
🔸Try this today:
• Write your point in one line.
• Use “I feel…” not blame.
• End with one clear next step.
Conflict isn’t a setback—
It’s feedback.
When you address it with clarity and care,
you don’t just fix the issue—
You strengthen the culture that
makes your team unstoppable.
The Truth About Emotions
You’re not “too emotional”—
You’re carrying two realities at once:
Most people try to control what they feel.
But emotions were never meant to be caged.
They’re not flaws to fix—
They’re data.
They’re how your body and brain
speak truth before words do.
Look closer and you’ll find your most
powerful traits aren’t pure—
they’re layered.
For example:
🟠 Joy + Sadness = Bittersweet
🟡 Anger + Compassion = Assertiveness
🟡 Hope + Doubt = Determination
🟠 Confidence + Vulnerability = Courage
🟡 Peace + Uncertainty = Resilience
This mix? That’s not a malfunction.
That’s your wisdom forming in real time.
It’s how you learn what matters—
what hurts, what heals, what’s next.
And once you can name it,
you can work with it.
Self-awareness starts where judgment ends.
Feel first. Then listen.
That’s how emotion turns into wisdom.
The Score Isn’t the Story
I love this reminder because it clears up something we all mix up at some point: losing and failing are not the same thing.
They can look similar from the outside, sure. Both can come with disappointment. Both can sting. Both can make you question yourself for a minute. But deep down, they’re completely different experiences.
Losing reflects the score.
It’s the outcome. The result. The final number on the board. The “you didn’t get it this time” moment.
But failing reflects our attitude.
It’s what happens inside us when the score doesn’t go our way.
And that’s where everything changes.
Because losing is sometimes unavoidable. You can prepare, practice, show up early, give it your best… and still lose. Someone else may simply be better that day. The timing might not work out. The conditions might not be in your favor. Life might just life.
That’s not failure. That’s reality.
Failure is what happens when we let a loss take something bigger from us.
When losing turns into bitterness.
When it turns into blame.
When it turns into excuses.
When it turns into “I’m done.”
When it turns into “I knew I wasn’t good enough anyway.”
That’s failing.
Not because the result was bad… but because our mindset collapsed under it.
And if we’re being honest, a lot of us don’t fear losing as much as we fear what losing means. We fear embarrassment. We fear being judged. We fear looking like we tried and still didn’t win. We fear feeling behind. We fear feeling like we wasted time.
But a loss doesn’t mean you’re behind. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It doesn’t mean you’re not talented. It doesn’t mean you’re not capable.
It just means you didn’t win that round.
And honestly, some rounds are designed to teach you, not reward you.
Sometimes you lose and it reveals what you need to work on. Sometimes you lose and it exposes a blind spot. Sometimes you lose and it humbles you just enough to keep you hungry. Sometimes you lose and it forces you to build resilience, patience, and grit—things that winning doesn’t always teach.
Winning feels amazing, no doubt.
But losing… losing builds depth.
And the truth is, the people we admire most aren’t the ones who never lost.
They’re the ones who lost and still stayed respectful.
Lost and stayed disciplined.
Lost and stayed committed.
Lost and stayed hungry.
Lost and stayed kind.
Lost and came back better.
That’s the difference.
You can lose a game and still be proud of yourself.
You can lose a job opportunity and still believe in your value.
You can lose momentum and still rebuild it.
You can lose your way for a while and still find your way back.
Because failing isn’t falling down.
Failing is refusing to get back up with the right spirit.
It’s choosing to carry a loss like a label instead of treating it like a lesson.
And that’s why attitude matters so much.
Attitude is what decides if a setback becomes a story of growth or a story of defeat.
Two people can experience the exact same loss.
One person says, “This is proof I’m not meant for it.”
The other says, “This is proof I need to sharpen my skills.”
One person shuts down.
The other person studies.
One person gets bitter.
The other person gets better.
Same loss. Different attitude.
And the beautiful part is this: you don’t always control the score.
But you almost always control your response.
You control whether you learn.
You control whether you keep showing up.
You control whether you stay humble.
You control whether you keep your integrity intact.
You control whether you let the moment make you smaller or stronger.
So if you’re in a season where you’ve been taking some L’s lately—quiet ones, public ones, painful ones—don’t let the scoreboard mess with your identity.
You didn’t fail.
You lost.
There’s a difference.
And as long as you keep your attitude clean, your effort honest, and your heart in it… you’re still winning in the ways that matter most.
Because the score ends the game.
But your mindset decides your future.
Master Time Management
Procrastination isn’t the enemy. Poor systems are.
18 game-changing productivity habits I learned in the ER.
As a doctor turned entrepreneur, I discovered that:
↳ Procrastination isn’t a weakness.
↳ It’s just a sign that your systems need an upgrade.
Steal my pressure-tested toolkit:
1) Follow the Domino Effect
↳ Order your tasks so that one paves way for the next.
(Just like our ER trauma protocols)
2) 1-3-5 Method
↳ Plan 1 big task, 3 medium tasks, and 5 small tasks.
3) Eisenhower Matrix
↳ Prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance.
↳ Plan: Do it now, Delay, Delegate, or Delete.
4) ABCDE
↳ Prioritize your tasks into five categories, from most important (A) to least important (E).
5) 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle)
↳ Focus on the 20% of tasks that yield 80% of the results.
(This saved countless lives in critical care)
6) Time Blocking
↳ Schedule a set block of time for each planned activity.
7) Task Batching
↳ Group similar tasks together.
8) Kanban boards
↳ Create 3 boards: ‘To Do’ > ‘In Progress’ > ‘Done’.
↳ Move tasks from one board to the next.
These aren’t just theoretical tools.
I’ve tested them in life-or-death situations.
Now I use them to run multiple businesses.
9) 3-3-3 Rule
↳ Every day, do 3 hours of deep work, 3 smaller tasks, and 3 maintenance activities.
10) 2-day rule
↳ Don’t miss 2 days in a row without taking action.
11) Pomodoro Technique
↳ Work for 25 minutes with 5-minute breaks in between.
↳ Do this 4x, then take a longer break.
12) Use Airplane and Silent modes
↳ Cut out alerts and notifications.
13) 2-minute rule
↳ If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now.
14) 5 Second Rule
↳ Count backwards from five, then start immediately.
15) Avoid Multitasking
↳ Attention residue steals your focus.
16) OHIO rule
↳ Only Handle It Once
17) Seesaw System
↳ Balance high-intensity tasks with low-stress activities
18) Shutdown Ritual
↳ Conclude your workday with a consistent routine to signal the end of work and begin rest.
P.S.
These aren’t just productivity hacks.
They’re survival tools from 18+ years in medicine and business.
What’s your favorite productivity habit?
Kenrick Vaz 