My advice is instead of looking down your nose and denigrating members of the generations that follow you, lend a hand. Use your gifts to mentor, lift up, and inspire those who are less experienced than you are.

Working with Intention: Self-reflection and the use of the five whys requires an open mind and a strong ego in order to challenge potential unconscious bias and consider answers that may not be popular or fit neatly into existing narratives. Hence, it's seldom the case that meaningful results come solely from self-reflection exercises. To make more progress, we will need the help of our coaches and mentors.

The sources of insecurity abound. Jealousy, unresolved failure, challenging relationships, lack of skill/education, poor planning, bullying, institutionalized bias, and the absence of a sense of belonging are but a few. To punch the point regarding the fluid nature of insecurity, just spend a little time with the preceding list and explore how easy it is to find examples where these issues apply both at home and at the office.

As time passes, the business matures, growth slows, and entropy sets in. Leaders and team members pull their heads up and take a look around at the state of their business. The common refrain goes something like this: “Wow, how did our culture deviate so far from our original intention? We need to get back to growth mode, but we also need a culture that will facilitate further growth, not impede it!”

I propose that when we teach and coach the human skill of integrity, we must also add the words empathy, compassion, and understanding. As a result, the definition of integrity can be simplified to: Integrity: Compassionately doing the right thing.

The consistent truth to the creative process is that the only way “there” is “through.” To cut straight to the point today is that the skill of patience is woefully underrated and under-appreciated. Knowing when to push forward and when to let a project or idea sit is an incredibly important skill—for content creators and business leaders. Patience is key. Sometimes, some things, just need to sit.