I have this guy. I see him once a week.
He fixes my body. I like calling him my health mechanic.
This week, when I described my knee pain, thinking it came from running, he explained it was probably from a client, not from exercising.
All week, I kept thinking about how I feel when certain clients call or make requests.
I found the root cause.
My guy took care of the pain.
Now I need to take care of the root cause.
In today’s Storyletter:
Words are free
Building in Public - My weekly lesson
Some fun, weekend vibes
THOUGHTS
Words are free. Actions are everything.
We love saying things that sound important.
We talk about who we are and what we stand for.
We have core values. Or we say we don’t have an ego.
Of course we listen. Of course we always have our employees’ backs.
Relationships are everything.
But actions speak louder than words.
Most people run long meetings that say nothing, but they love hearing their own voice.
Action: go short. Talk less. Run it like a sports play. Set a clear goal. Get closer to it. Debrief what can be done better in less time.
Websites are full of buzzwords. God forbid you didn’t say AI or strategy.
Action: review your messaging. Your website. Your internal and external communication. Simplify everything.
Most employees can’t recall the core values, let alone live by them.
Action: every quarter, lead with one core value. Measure it. Implement it.
When people need us the most, we forget about them. We leave them hanging.
Action: make sure they know you have their back, no matter what. Want to be mad? Not in front of the client. Help them grow, learn, and improve.
Words matter. They lead the way.
So where is your word list?
Your emotional brand?
How are you helping your team help your clients?
Someone just spent $236,000,000 on a painting. Here’s why it matters for your wallet.
The WSJ just reported the highest price ever paid for modern art at auction.
While equities, gold, bitcoin hover near highs, the art market is showing signs of early recovery after one of the longest downturns since the 1990s.
Here’s where it gets interesting→
Each investing environment is unique, but after the dot com crash, contemporary and post-war art grew ~24% a year for a decade, and after 2008, it grew ~11% annually for 12 years.*
Overall, the segment has outpaced the S&P by 15 percent with near-zero correlation from 1995 to 2025.
Now, Masterworks lets you invest in shares of artworks featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso. Since 2019, investors have deployed $1.25 billion across 500+ artworks.
Masterworks has sold 25 works with net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.
Shares can sell quickly, but my subscribers skip the waitlist:
*Per Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd
You are either helping me build the way, or standing in my way of building.
Building in Public
What a lesson I learned this week.
I thought it was about contracts.
I thought it was about keeping your word.
I thought it was about relationships.
What I found out blew my mind.
It’s about how I choose my clients.
More than that, it’s about how I interview them.
Turns out I was taking on potential instead of building winning partnerships.
I’m now reworking my entire onboarding process and turning it into an interview.
What do you want to achieve, and in what timeframe?
Who on your team will own the work and make sure the method is implemented?
Is the budget already approved, or is it still a discussion?
How are decisions made when things get uncomfortable or unclear?
How much freedom will your team and I have to actually win?
I know what I bring to the table.
Now I need to know you can bring the rest.
Other stuff
Happy to share that I signed with a speaker agency in Israel.
Interestingly, the agency’s landing page about me ranked #2 on Google in less than 24 hours.
That tells me there isn’t enough relevant information about me, my work, or my experience in Hebrew. I suggest you check how you rank on Google and start building your brand as well. I’ll be writing guest blogs and adding more content about my work across different platforms.
This week, together with Tel Aviv City and Team8, a leading VC in Israel, I had the pleasure of doing mentor hours at CyberTech, one of the biggest cyber conferences in the world.
In less than two hours, six founders walked away with new messaging and marketing concepts. For me, it was a great reminder of my strengths and passion. One founder, a behavioral scientist, said that in ten minutes I gave more value than months of work with other consultants. Sometimes, we just need that good feeling.
My main struggle this week was writing. While I create a lot of content, lack of focus is holding back my book progress. I thought about flying somewhere to write, then realized it was just another excuse to avoid sitting down and writing.
My office and home desk are great. I just need to sit and write.
What about you?
How is your week going?
What is the one thing you’ll focus on this week?
For me, it’s getting my Israel speaking work fully up and running.
Just For Fun
Every week, I collect things I enjoy online. This is my curated top three: playlists to work with, trailers, videos, or just fun stuff.
🎧 Music
This week’s Storyletter was written while listening to Bella Backe
👉 🎧 Listen
🎬 Lord of the Flies
A new BBC adaptation of the classic story
👉 🎬 View
🍿 Blades of the Guardians
Martial arts, swords, and action. This looks epic.
👉 🍿 View