Hi friend,

Eating breakfast and talking about self-reflection and journaling doesn't happen that often. But last week I had the real pleasure of sitting down with a mentor of mine. Someone deeply self-reflective, who shared his secret with me.

On top of that, I once again had the opportunity to stand in a room full of managers and senior managers getting ready for their next step as leaders. Sharp, ambitious, all looking for the one tool that would get them there.

I've worked with a lot of leaders over the years. But the best ones I've known had one thing in common. They knew themselves. Their triggers, their blind spots, the story running in their head at 2 in the morning.

Inspired by my mentor, I started taking journaling more seriously myself. From today until the end of the year, I'm writing. Every day. I bought a pen and a journal for it. (Photo below. Yes, I'm the guy who needed a new pen and a leather notebook to feel serious about it.)

I'm a structured guy, but I don't like to have structure in everything. When I journaled in the past, I did it too rigidly. Which lead to the situation that I didn´t do it reguarly enough. So this time I decided to do it in a different way:

They don't need to read it now. But one day, maybe years from now, when one of my kids is standing in front of their "own cold lake" aka facing a challenge, they can open it and see how their father thought his way across his.

Self-reflection is a small thing. A couple of minutes a day. What it builds is huge. Self-awareness reaches into everything. The goal you're chasing. The way you lead. The way you are at home.

Someone once called feedback the breakfast of leaders. I'd add a line to it.

Most people want to fine-tune the details. The real work is the foundation beneath them, and it's knowing yourself.

A word on where to start.

If you're not yet clear on your values, or where you're headed, build the foundation first. That's exactly why I made the free 12-week journal a few weeks back. It was hard work. It was also the thing that finally helped me understand myself, and a lot of people have reached out to tell me how helpful it was for them.

Start there: 12-week-journal or if needed German version​

If you already know your values, your vision, your mission, you're ready for the next step. Open a blank page and reflect, the way I'm doing now.

Now out of the water, into your week.

You see the difference at work every day.

The leader who never reflects reacts. They run the meeting and call it leading. They force the hire, chase the wrong number, slam into the same wall next quarter, and blame everything but themselves. The one who sits with the day for ten honest minutes catches the pattern while it's still small. Same person. Ten minutes of difference.

This week's experiment: start journaling.

Seven days, starting today. If you're building the foundation, use the free 12-week journal, six minutes a day. If your foundation is solid, open a journal of your own and write whatever the day brings.

The only goal is seven days in a row.

Then do me a favor. Reply and tell me how you reflect. A journal, a walk, a voice note to yourself in the car. I'm building my own practice right now, and I want to learn from yours.

You can't always choose the water. You can always choose the next stroke. Some days the next stroke is picking up the pen.

All the best

Bernhard

P.S. The people I coach have usually done the outer work already. The career, the business, the title. The last 5% is almost always about seeing themselves clearly: what they actually want, and what keeps getting in the way. That work begins with self-awareness. If that's you, reply and tell me what you keep circling. That's how we start.

If this helped, forward it to one person stepping into a bigger leadership role. And if this was forwarded to you, get your own copy here: newsletter​