Fear is winning as record numbers of people worldwide believe the future will only be worse than today. Economic uncertainty, global instability, AI disruption and rapid change everywhere we turn is leaving people feeling scared, powerless and lost. Unaddressed, it can’t help but stall our personal progress and business growth. And while moving away from those fears and toward growth might seem like a linear path leading to similar outcomes, they actually diverge towards fundamentally different places.

In a world that relentlessly pushes the narrative of goal-setting, vision crafting, and benchmarking as the ultimate roadmap to success, there's an essential, yet often overlooked, component that distinguishes the truly successful from those perpetually chasing their tails. Yes, having goals and objectives is crucial—they give us direction and make our aspirations tangible. However, there’s a nuanced layer beneath the surface that can significantly influence our ability to build and achieve these goals and sustain high levels of performance over time.

There are magical rubber duckies. You heard me right – they’re little yellow rubber duckies that have continued to magically show up – in the hundreds in every shape and size you could imagine – around my nieces. Big yellow ones, small pink ones, halloween ducks, and New Year ducks, ducks with mohawks and ducks dressed as other animals…