We celebrate high standards — but what happens when they start running your life?
This is about breaking free from the habit of never feeling enough.
He stepped off the TEDx stage. Still holding the mic.
And already started listing everything he could’ve done better.
I’ve been coaching him for a while now.
He’s built six businesses.
Across three countries.
Holds deep expertise in four different fields.
A machine, honestly.
Sharp. Driven. Restless. Always learning. Always moving.
On paper — he’s the guy you want to become.
And yet… I’ve never met someone who struggles so much to receive.
Even after that TEDx talk, which honestly, was brilliant —
He barely let himself breathe.
“They laughed too late at the second story.”
“My pacing was off.”
“I should’ve opened better.”
He gave himself seven seconds. Seven.
And then — Back to scanning for flaws.
That’s the lens he’s lived with for most of his life.
Find the gap.
Fix the gap.
Repeat.
It’s made him successful. But it’s also made him tired. Disconnected.
He has two amazing kids — both in university.
But even in his relationship with them, he told me, “It’s like I’m always telling them what to do better.
And I miss just… being with them.”
That hit me. He once told me once that real connection feels hard for him.
And I get it.
When you’ve trained your mind to constantly search for what’s missing, it’s hard to let the good things land.
