Dear Amilia Emberhart, Please. Stick with me today—we are diving into a complex idea, but I know you are up for the challenge. Yes. We are again talking about The Second Mountain by David Brooks. There is a kind of person our society quietly celebrates. They are driven, disciplined, and accomplished. They collect achievements the […]
From Achievement to Meaning: Climbing the Second Mountain of Life Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I hope you are doing good today. I am thrilled to be back because this letter is the Season 3 premiere. We are starting this season with a deep dive into habits, beginning with a look back at a true classic, Atomic Habits by James Clear. There is a quiet force shaping
The Hidden Psychology of Atomic Habit Change: Making Good Habits Easy Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, Every once in a while, you meet someone who seems to radiate joy. There is something different about them. They glow with a quiet inner light. They are kind, attentive, and genuinely delighted by small pleasures. They feel grateful for the larger ones. They are not perfect. They become tired, stressed, and
Beyond Success: Climbing the David Brooks’ Second Mountain Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, Habits often feel mysterious. Reflecting on Atomic Habits. Why do some behaviors become automatic while others fade away? Why do certain routines feel effortless while others require constant willpower? The answer lies in understanding how habits are formed. At its core, a habit is simply a behavior that has been repeated enough
The Atomic Habit Loop: How Small Triggers Shape Big Behaviors Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, Parenting can sometimes feel like navigating a maze of big emotions, confusing behaviors, and moments that test every ounce of patience. When a child is rude, whining, lying, anxious, shy, frustrated, or overwhelmed, the instinct is often to correct the behavior as quickly as possible. Yet what if those behaviors are not
Good Inside: Parenting Through Connection, Not Control Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, There is something deceptively powerful about small things. The word atomic means an extremely small amount of something, the single irreducible unit of a larger system. Yet from the smallest particles comes immense energy and power. A habit, on the other hand, is a routine performed regularly, an automatic response to a
Atomic Habits by James Clear: The Quiet Power of Becoming One Percent Better Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I have been reading Good Inside, and some of the ideas shifted how I think about parenting. Not in a dramatic “throw everything out” way, but in a quieter realization: maybe behavior is rarely the real story. The book proposes something simple but powerful — behavior is a window into a bigger
When Behavior Is Only the Surface: Reflections from Good Inside by Becky Kennedy Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I have been sitting with ideas from The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, and they keep circling back to one truth that feels both simple and radical: understanding ourselves matters, but loving ourselves matters more. Because we cannot give our children, or anyone we care about, what we do not have.
On Wholehearted Living: Choosing Imperfection Over Shame Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, Lately I have been thinking deeply about what it means to guide a child without first trying to fix behavior. One idea has stayed with me: before changing what a child does, we try to understand who the child is in that moment and what she is trying to make us understand.
Learning to See the Good Inside: Understanding Before Correcting Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I have been reflecting on several ideas from Daring Greatly by Brené Brown that feel both unsettling and clarifying—especially around disruptive engagement and wholehearted parenting. What stands out most is how often fear quietly organizes our lives and systems. People cling to what they already do well because putting themselves out there
How to Dare Greatly Through Disruptive Engagement and Wholehearted Parenting Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, There is something I want to tell you about armor. Not the kind you can see, but the kind we carry—quietly, habitually—so close to our skin that we forget it was ever a choice. In her book, Daring Greatly, Brené Brown calls it the vulnerability armory: the shields we reach for when
Laying Down the Armor: On Vulnerability, Joy, and the Courage to Be Seen Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I have been sitting with shame lately—not running from it, not dressing it up, just letting it speak. Or rather, letting myself speak it. Because shame, as Brené Brown writes in Daring Greatly, derives its power from being unspeakable. The moment we give it language, it begins to wither. And still, it
Speaking Shame: Daring Greatly Into the Dark Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I have been sitting with Daring Greatly lately, letting its ideas seep in slowly rather than rushing to extract conclusions. Brené Brown opens her work by invoking Theodore Roosevelt’s “Citizenship in a Republic” speech—the one we now simply call “The Man in the Arena.” It is not the critic who counts.Not the
On Daring Greatly, Vulnerability, and the Quiet Power of Small Doors Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, There is a quiet question that follows people more faithfully than happiness or success: What is life waiting from me now? Viktor Frankl spent his life answering that question under the most inhuman conditions imaginable, and his answer remains unsettlingly simple. Meaning is not something we invent to feel better. Meaning is
Victor Frankl & Ben Whittaker on the Art of Meaningful Living Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I attended Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within in September. In this letter, I will cover the main takeaways from Day Four of the four-day event. This brings all the ideas from our earlier conversations together. So, here we go. Those words still echo in my head… “Remember, it is always me.
The Time I Remembered Who I Was: Day Four of Joseph McClendon’s Unleash the Power Within Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I attended Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within in September. In this letter, I will cover the main takeaways from Day Three of the four-day event. As in our conversations on Day One and Day Two, some ideas might feel a bit out of context for now, but the bigger picture is
The Power of Standards: Day Three of Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I attended Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within in September. In this letter, I will share my main takeaways from Day Two of the four-day experience. Just as with Day One, some ideas may seem a bit out of place for now, but once we have walked through all four days together,
The Ultimate Success Formula: Day Two of Joseph McClendon’s Unleash the Power Within Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I attended Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within in September, and I would love to share some of the key insights with you. In this letter, I will cover the main takeaways from Day One of the four-day event. Some ideas might feel a bit out of context for now, but once
Beautiful State: Lessons from Day One of Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, I am reflecting on the lessons from the Nordic Business Forum 2025. The event was a whirlwind of ideas, conversations, and provocations. But rather than overwhelm you with every note taken, I wanted to share the essence—the handful of insights that truly struck me. Not all the speakers made my list, only
The Messy Heart of Leadership: Reflections from Nordic Business Forum 2025 Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, Are you feeling grounded during this fall season? There are moments in life when something shifts drastically. This is the “agency moment” David Brooks gestures toward in The Road to Character: the instant a person stops being blown about by the voids of others and begins to live according to her own
The Birth of Agency: Reflections from The Road to Character Read More »
Dear Amilia Emberhart, How is everything today? I have been reflecting on The Road to Character by David Brooks, and the tension he describes between Adam I and Adam II. Remember the talk we had a few weeks ago? Adam I is the outward, ambitious self—the one who builds résumés, chases recognition, and seeks to
Beyond Achievement: Building Character in the Age of Adam I Read More »
