Most leaders aren’t actually leading. They’re just thinking about leading, which is why they’re mediocre.
Leadership isn’t about thinking. It’s about awareness. And awareness is insanely powerful.
Most of us are drowning in overthinking. Great leadership doesn’t need more thinking. It needs clarity.
And clarity doesn’t come from your busy mind—it emerges from the space beyond it.
This is the secret to what people call a “reality distortion field” made famous by Steve Jobs. It isn’t manipulation.
It’s unfiltered awareness—a direct connection to what’s real before the voice in your head create stories about why something can’t be done or has to be done a certain way.
What Awareness Actually Means
We are never taught what awareness is, so most people do not know what it is. Awareness is that state where you don’t know anything—not even your name, because your name is a thought.
Yet you’re completely there, conscious and present, without any voice in your mind.
That’s awareness. And that’s where real leadership happens.
The Mediocrity of Mental Chatter
Most of us spend our days trapped in our heads, solving imaginary problems in imaginary futures. We mistake mental chatter for intelligence.
We think therefore we are… mediocre.
The breakthrough comes when you stop identifying with your thoughts. Revolutionary products and ideas aren’t conceived through strategic planning sessions.
They come from a space of pure awareness—seeing a need that exists in reality rather than analyzing data points.
From Thinking to Seeing
Leadership happens in the present moment. Not in your head, not in your spreadsheets, not in your carefully worded emails.
All that thinking machinery you’re so proud of? It’s what’s blocking you from seeing what’s actually in front of you.
When your mind is quiet, you’ll see what needs to be done. You’ll see connections others miss.
You’ll see the unnecessary complexity that needs to be eliminated. And you’ll have the courage to act on it, because you’re not paralyzed by mental predictions of failure.
Most leaders will never understand this. They’ll keep mistaking thought for reality.
They’ll keep adding complexity because their minds keep adding complexity. They’ll keep playing it safe because their minds keep inventing dangers.
Be different. Be simple. Be present. Everything else is just noise.
The people who are crazy enough to think they can solve the tremendous challenges we face today will be those who stop thinking and start seeing.
This is what my colleagues and I will be exploring in Awakening the Inner Leader, a live session on February 25. If this resonates, you’re invited. Join the conversation → here.
Enjoy your next breath ～
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