Good enough can be great. Here’s why I let go of perfect...

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THE ART & SCIENCE OF LEADING SELF
The Power of Mindset Shifts

My friend, today marks a milestone that fills me with both pride and gratitude: 52 consecutive weekly issues of this newsletter, each one sent at 10am EST like clockwork. (If you received it hours or days later, that was a deliverability issue, not a send issue. DMARC issues are real, folks! 😂)

One full year of showing up consistently. One full year of exploring ideas that matter. One full year of connecting with you about leadership. 🎉

This journey has taught me valuable lessons about mindset that extend far beyond newsletter publishing. Let me share the 2 critical shifts that made this milestone possible.

Mindset Shift #1: From Scarcity to Abundance 🌾

When I first contemplated a weekly newsletter, a disempowering belief immediately surfaced: "I don't have enough to say." This thought paralyzed me. It kept me stuck in planning mode, endlessly outlining without ever hitting send.

The breakthrough came when I shifted to: "I have valuable contributions, so let's see how much I have to say." This simple reframe changed everything. The first belief closed doors. The second kicked them wide open.

This is how beliefs work. They're not just thoughts. They're filters that either expand or contract your vision of what's possible. The moment I changed my filter, action became not just possible but natural.

Mindset Shift #2: From Perfect to Purposeful 🎯

Anyone who knows me knows I love excellence. I mean, I named my company Excellence Unbounded. But there's a dangerous line where pursuit of excellence becomes perfectionism. Producing a weekly newsletter while running and growing a business demanded that I confront this head-on.

What helped me relax my obsession with the elusive pursuit of perfection? A simple realization: you would see the value in the ideas I'm sharing whether or not every sentence was flawless.

When I focused on my ultimate purpose—positively impacting your leadership—I could embrace good (and sometimes good enough) rather than waiting for perfect. This shift wasn't about lowering standards. It was about aligning them with what truly matters.

Looking Forward: Deeper, Not Just Broader 🧭

The next 52 weeks are about going deeper. Deeper into key concepts through insightful case studies so that you connect critical dots that will not only strengthen your self-leadership but transform how you think about leading your organization.

I often lament how leadership is undervalued. I mean, let’s be candid. It shows in the insufficient investment in leadership development at all levels. It appears when organizations promote technical experts without leadership training. And it reveals itself when leadership is treated as an afterthought rather than a strategic advantage.

Yet, my experience has shown that how I lead myself shapes everything about how I experience this world and its challenges. This mindset doesn't negate life's complex realities. It transforms how I relate to them. It shifts how I approach complexity and increases my capacity for nuance.

Now that we've laid a solid foundation together, I want to keep building and teasing out important elements to help you develop greater capacity in Mindset, Courage, Resilience, and Innovation. I'm confident this is exactly what's needed to meet the increasing uncertainty and complexity of this moment and all that is yet to come.

I'd love to hear from you. What topics would you like to see covered in the coming year? Reply to this email with your suggestions, and I promise I'll do my best to address them.

FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION
Putting It Into Practice

2 Questions for Reflection:

What inner narrative is blocking your progress?

What shift in perspective might open the door to aligned action?

DEEPENING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Resources for You

🙏 Want to shift from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance? (Link)

🧐 Take a look at how curiosity fosters an abundance mindset in the workplace. (Link)

🎨 Explore how color can help you shift from a scarcity to abundance mindset. (Link)

📋 Check out this comprehensive set of modules designed to help you understand and manage perfectionism. (Link)

🚀 Learn to overcome internal barriers and embrace your full potential. (Link)

EXCELLENCE UNBOUNDED
How I Can Help You

High-performing executive teams don’t happen by chance. They happen by design.

If you’re leading an executive team right now and feeling even a hint of misalignment, don’t ignore it. You have the power to realign.

High-performing executive teams are not built on strategy alone. They are built on clarity, trust, and aligned decision-making.

That's the work I do inside The Executive Alignment Playbook.

It's a high-impact, evidence-based experience that helps leadership teams reestablish trust, sharpen focus, and accelerate execution — all by returning to alignment.

Book a call to learn more about The Executive Alignment Playbook 🚀, an immersive, experiential leadership program.

Realign your leadership team. Accelerate execution. Drive measurable results.

🎤 Speaking Engagements: My mom can attest to the fact that I LOVE to talk. 😂 Now, I put that talent to work delivering talks on Mindset, Courage, Resilience, & Innovation.

A few past clients include KraftHeinz, Amazon Women @ Payments, PAHEi, & the Panamá Chapter of the International Coaching Federation (I delivered this talk in Spanish).

If you are interested in having me speak at your event, please fill out this form.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD 📢

Until next Sunday,

Shawnette