Yet, despite mounting research and real-world validation, empathy faces persistent resistance. Critics argue it softens accountability, hinders performance, or clashes with demanding work cultures. These concerns aren’t trivial; they highlight the persistent tension between traditional leadership paradigms and the evolving needs of the modern workforce.

Here, we confront the most common critiques head-on, presenting the data, case studies, and reframing needed to demonstrate why empathy isn’t a liability, it’s a decisive leadership advantage.

1. Myth: “Empathy Slows Down Decision-Making”

The Concern: Leaders must act quickly, especially in crises. Some believe empathy introduces hesitation, clouding judgment with emotion.

The Reality: Empathy doesn’t delay decisions; it contextualizes them for better execution.

A 2020 study in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that empathetic leaders gained significantly more team buy-in during high-stress restructurings. How? By fostering psychological safety, which encouraged open dialogue and identified potential roadblocks early. As a result, implementation was faster and smoother, not slower.

Empathetic leaders understand that trust is an accelerant. When teams feel heard and respected, resistance diminishes, and alignment accelerates—even around tough calls.

Takeaway: Empathy doesn’t compromise speed; it reduces friction. It’s the catalyst for sustainable action.

2. Myth: “Empathy Can’t Be Measured”

The Concern: Business runs on metrics. If empathy isn’t quantifiable like KPIs or financials, it’s often dismissed as inactionable “fluff.”

The Reality: Empathy’s impact is increasingly quantifiable, reflected in core business metrics. Tools like validated emotional intelligence (EQ) assessments, comprehensive 360-degree feedback (asking specific behavioral questions), and targeted employee engagement surveys provide reliable data.

Microsoft, for instance, integrated questions like “Does your manager genuinely care about your well-being?” into internal reviews. Over time, teams reporting higher scores on these empathetic leadership indicators consistently demonstrated improved retention rates and higher performance metrics, tangible business outcomes directly linked to perceived empathy.

Takeaway: Empathy may not be a single line item, but its positive impact resonates across key performance indicators, from talent retention to team innovation.

3. Myth: “Empathy Erodes Accountability”

The Concern: In high-performance cultures, excessive understanding might be seen as encouraging excuses or lowering standards.

The Reality: Authentic empathy doesn’t dilute accountability; it fuels it. It’s not about avoiding difficult conversations but about approaching them with fairness, context, and a focus on growth.

Research highlighted in Harvard Business Review indicates that teams led by empathetic managers report higher levels of personal accountability. Why? Because employees felt safe enough to admit mistakes early, enabling faster course correction and learning, rather than hiding errors until they became critical.

When people believe leadership is invested in their development, not just judging their output, they take genuine ownership.

Takeaway: Empathy fosters deep-seated accountability and transparency, driving performance far more effectively than fear-based compliance.

4. Myth: “Empathy Doesn’t Fit in Cutthroat Cultures”

The Concern: In high-pressure fields like finance, tech, or consulting, where speed and competition are paramount, empathy can seem counterintuitive or even weak.

The Reality: These intense environments often suffer most from the consequences of empathy deficits: burnout, high attrition, and internal friction. Psychological safety, emotional resilience, and interpersonal trust aren’t luxuries; they are mission-critical for sustained high performance.

Consider a top-tier global management consulting firm that introduced targeted empathy training and mental health resources during a notoriously demanding project cycle. The results were striking: a reported 25% drop in burnout-related absences and a 30% increase in client satisfaction scores, all achieved while meeting aggressive deadlines.

Takeaway: The higher the pressure, the greater the need for emotional intelligence. In demanding cultures, empathy acts as an essential operational stabilizer and performance enhancer.

5. Myth: “Empathy Doesn’t Translate Across Cultures”

The Concern: Cultural norms vary significantly. What reads as empathetic support in one culture might be perceived as intrusive, inappropriate, or weak in another.

The Reality: Effective empathy isn’t about a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach; it’s about situational awareness and adaptability, core components of Cultural Intelligence (CQ). Empathetic leaders leverage CQ to tailor their approach, understanding different communication styles and norms while maintaining the core principle of seeking to understand and respect others’ perspectives.

For example, demonstrating support might involve direct, vocal encouragement in one culture, whereas in another, it might mean providing resources more discreetly or offering flexibility with deadlines.

Leading multinational organizations increasingly pair EQ training with CQ development precisely to equip leaders for these nuanced global interactions.

Takeaway: Empathy’s power lies in its universal principle (understanding) combined with its adaptable practice. Flexibility, not rigidity, makes it effective globally.

Embedding Empathy: From Personal Skill to Organizational System

True organizational impact occurs when empathy moves beyond an individual leader’s style and becomes embedded within the company’s DNA; its systems, policies, and culture.

Policy & Governance: Boards should integrate EQ and empathy metrics into leadership evaluations and succession planning. Governments can incentivize workplace mental well-being initiatives that foster empathetic environments.

Talent Development: Emotional literacy, perspective-taking, and constructive feedback skills must be core components of leadership training at all levels, starting early in career development.

Cultural Reinforcement: Performance reviews should explicitly include assessments of collaborative and supportive behaviors. Industry associations can establish empathy benchmarks or awards, signaling that emotional intelligence is a key leadership differentiator.

The Bottom Line

Critiques of empathy don’t invalidate its importance; they clarify the need for skillful application. When wielded with intention and intelligence, empathy doesn’t slow progress or lower standards. It drives smarter decisions, deeper accountability, and more resilient, high-performing teams.

The fundamental leadership challenge today isn’t whether we can afford to lead with empathy. It’s whether we are willing to evolve beyond outdated models of success that ignore the human element.

Because in the emerging meritocracy, performance isn’t just about who climbs the fastest, it’s defined by who builds the strongest, most collaborative teams along the way.

The post Why Empathy Wins: Debunking the Myths Holding Leaders Back appeared first on David Yarde.

However, there has been this nagging thought about wisdom, its origin, how it matures, and above all else, how it’s applied.

Wisdom comes only from understanding and understanding often only comes from experience.

The problem is not everyone takes away the same lessons or perspectives.

Especially when it comes to severity and possible importance or even life priority.

Some of us battle this paradox while trying to understand how we’ve made it this far without realizing how ADHD and trauma response driven we are.

Some of us including myself. 

When life is moving at a million miles an hour and your childhood bears more resemblance to adulthood. When your childhood has more rules than a schoolyard, these are things quite easy to miss.

It’s been a whirlwind of coming to acceptance with the fact that my brain works a little differently.

However, it’s not until those experiences can gain perspective and be sharpened by love and family are they truly useful to our growth and development.

Wisdom, discernment, and the practice of love through pain are quite nuanced and often overlooked in the pursuit of success.

This is the lesson from an impromptu weekend, during the midst of another wave in a pandemic that has already caused so much disruption.

Impromptu only because the precautions for everyone else were already a lifestyle for this group of boys now turned into a set of unusually empathetic men. All realizing that they are being called to lead at a time when they truly are gasping to heal. Their souls pushed to the quantum option of doing both.

They realized a few things with the most important being, family is what you create, relatives are what you’re born with.

This particular article is a brief summary of the lessons learned through a variety of experiences as well as perspectives.

Choosing wisely is key for the lessons you learn through these experiences. 

Choosing wisely can help you to be better or bitter.

Whether you’ve been hurt by family, friends, colleagues, or even people masquerading under the banner of religion, those experiences serve to deepen your understanding and potential in this world. 

At some point, you’ll have to be aware of where each road leads, especially when it comes to healing. You especially have to be aware when you’re on a path to growth while holding on to a vision of success.

The roads that lead to healing

You may be familiar with the phrase, “All roads lead to Rome”.

The reasoning behind this statement is that all methods of doing something, eventually end up with the same result. Another way to put it is, insanity.

If every generation kept perpetuating hate and selfishness, what do you think would happen?

Exactly what we have going on around the world right now —unhealed trauma in action.

When trauma goes unhealed, no matter how hard it’s suppressed, it’ll find a way to put itself on display.

No matter how much you run, you’ll find yourself in a proverbial Jonah moment, deep in the belly of your own darkness.

Take time to heal mentally, physically, and especially spiritually or they’ll make the time for you.  Take the time to discover your inner child and feed it the wisdom you wished others imparted to you. It doesn’t have to be through a grand vacation, if anything it should be something small and sustainable that you can do to feed your soul.

In the pursuit of each higher level, never forget to breathe in the gratitude of being able to achieve the level you’re on now. The pursuit of excellence requires a deep appreciation for every step of the way.

An easy way to visualize and put these things in life into perspective is to keep a gratitude list of your accomplishments. Find a road to healing that works for you and be patient with yourself in the process. The damage and trauma didn’t happen overnight, so don’t expect to magically heal instantly. 

Solidify the Foundation

Fixing anything that’s broken requires a deep assessment of where it broke and what may have contributed to the destruction.

A problem within a support beam or even within the foundation can be a massive problem with collateral damage, both in buildings and people.

This is why it’s key to not take shortcuts when building the things that matter. Building anything comes at a cost and in some cases, sacrifice. 

The key is to remove the unnecessary things, not the ones important to the sustainability and growth of an individual or even brand.

The sum of the willingness to sacrifice the ego, set aside instant gratification, and embrace a ton of hard, painful life experiences that lead to lessons.

It’s important to look at the resources you use to build your foundation.The habits and routines that influence your mindset from the moment you wake up until the moment you give in to the call of rest.

Wisdom that possesses great strength and value only comes from the fountain positioned in a strong foundation. 

If the well has been poisoned, then it’s time to halt pouring out to others and evaluate a few things.

Once the source has been traced and restorative measures are in place and things are deemed safe, then feel free to open to gates once more.

Ultimately, you only have as strong of a building as what it’s built on.

The pain from the past, no matter how dark or confusing it may be at times, is there to facilitate your powers of discernment and activate the gems of wisdom you need in order to put your best self forward.

With a solid foundation, you can more confidently aim upward. This brings up the question of “what does aiming upward mean?” 

Aiming upward isn’t about the glory moments, it’s about being equipped to push through the darkness.

Essentially not kicking others down in the process.

Aiming upward goes deep into not just where you’ve come from but where you truly want to be.

To truly be great, you have to seek the empathy that drives the wisdom and understanding.

This is where creativity, empathy, and a sprinkle of humility comes in. 

Subscribe below for the next part of the series.

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I was apologizing for not sending over some information based on a tweet she made and battling the creeping imposter syndrome feeling of not being good enough.

Next thing I know, she asks me, “Why are you apologizing?!”

My response was literally, “Honestly, I don’t know and now you’ve made me realize I’ve probably been apologizing for existing.”

Truth is that subconsciously I was feeling sorry for existing and frankly wasn’t sure why.

But then she adds that there are far worse things happening in this world and it wasn’t so much about the deliverables but the conversation.

In one small moment, I saw a rare glimpse of humanity that I wish existed in more areas of life.

If you’ve ever been late to work, a meeting, or a special event because life had other plans, this one’s for you.

Take a moment to breathe and remember that you’re human, with responsibilities and emotions.

That baggage you’ve been carrying that makes you feel as if you need to apologise for your existence, it’s time to let it go.

If you know you’ve been doing the things to move the needle forward, it’s ok to acknowledge that.

Sure I still felt bad about things but I also felt human.

Surrender to the core inside that seeks to make a difference, the core that pushes beyond feeling jaded and into feeling victorious.

Why?

Because you’ve carried the dream this far, why would you turn back now?

Get real with your humanity and embrace your mortality.

The fear shouldn’t be of failure or even death but it should be of not living fully.

If anything, the only apologies you should be giving are to yourself for not being more forgiving and empathetic to yourself as well as to others.

Life is too short to be living afraid of your own shadow.

You’re way better than that.

In fact, your important in the grand story of moving humanity forward.

So change that thinking process.

Tweaking The Thinking

Stop saying “if” when talking about your goals and dreams.

Speak from a place of faith and say “when” instead.

For instance, instead of saying “if I can get this organized”, imagine if you said, “when I get this organized”?

Watch the change this makes in how you execute.

With just one simple word change, you’ve moved yourself from a place of wishing, to a place of intentional action.

Thinking from a stance of “if” leaves things open ended while a stance of thinking that involves “when” forces you to determine exactly when will be.

Chances are with such a change in mindset, especially when practiced daily, will make you feel better too.

Take some time to make a list of the things you tell yourself.

How many of them are actually positive? Are they mostly negative?

What you think versus the reality may shock you.

Besides, if you don’t know the details of what you’re dealing with, you can’t effectively come up with a plan to improve.

Accepting You

Do you accept you for who you are?

When you accept your origin story, you’ll begin to notice that there were many areas in life that you weren’t accepting of yourself in.

Meaning, imposter syndrome may have told you that you don’t belong for one reason or another, leaving you to wish for greener pastures and happier days.

Yet upon further inspection, you find that your list of accomplishments, experiences, skills and even the community around you say otherwise.

The aspirational side of things is generally fed by your insecurities and often because the “glory days” of the past have been put on a pedestal.

So here we are with the pressing question of, “Do you accept you for who you are?”

Because if you do, then no one else’s success comes at your expense and the only competition that you have in life is you.

Starve The Excuses

I’m not good enough.

I don’t have a large following.

I don’t have enough money.

I don’t have the time.

Often, these are the excuses we feed ourselves when the reality is that the goal or task at hand isn’t truly a priority.

It’s time to starve those excuses and doubts.

You’re capable of so much more than to live a life you’re constantly feeling sorry over.

If today was the last day of your life, would you still be sitting around waiting on opportunity?

You are able to be the person that breaks the cycle of excuses in your world.

Let the naysayers and doubters sit outside.

Your mindset, energy and future depends on it.

If they bring excuses, you bring the solutions.

Live Deeply

Your story isn’t about anyone else except you.

There is only one of you, even if you’re a twin.

You can’t stand out while also trying to fit in.

Do you and do you deeply.

So what’s the story you want to share? Is it one that shows a victim or victor?

That’s what it all comes down to, especially when we’re looking down the road at your legacy.

Ultimately the choices made along the way of your journey are all on you.

Show up for your dreams, your choice.

Don’t show up for what you believe in, also your choice.

It doesn’t matter what you have or don’t, what matters is what you choose to do with what you do have.

So if you happen to have the gift of life, experience and the intention to create good, why are you apologizing?

Better yet, what’s stopping you from living like those are things you actually have?

The post Why Are You Apologizing For Existing? appeared first on David Yarde.

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What you think of yourself and your abilities showcases itself in how you act and approach your purpose.

Devotion breeds excellence.

What kind of excellence that ends up being is on you and no one else.

The reality is that the more you aim to uplift is the more you’ll be uplifted.

But it starts in your mind.

What you feed it with will either strengthen you or leave you feeble.

Creativity can’t exist in a bubble.

It needs diversity, respect, and a devotion to something more than just ourselves.

The reality that exists is simply based on you create.

So why not create more good?

The post Mind Your Reality appeared first on David Yarde.

It doesn’t matter how old you are or what status in life you may have either.

To know and not know is one of the greatest and scariest tight ropes to have to walk in life.

Each level of life unlocks bits of knowledge and awareness that may have been too cloudy to see previously.

Then they are the plot twists.

The events that can either motivate or paralyze even the best amongst us.

It’s during the plot twists that your focus tends to shift to what’s before you.

After awhile this replaces the bigger picture and goals that you have been striving for.

This is why it’s key to document the process and review your progress daily.

Additionally it’s even more important to feed your mind and space with quality over quantity.

During the times when the plot twists threaten to detail you from achieving the bigger picture, who you roll with matters.

Meaning, those that you surround yourself with will either help you get back on track or shove you even father from it.

Above all, to respect yourself on all the levels.

Each twist and turn on the journey of life is essentially a test and lesson combined.

It’s up to you and I to navigate them to the best of our ability while helping others to do the same.

Because as quickly as you rise is as quickly you can fall.

The post Plot Twists and Staying Focused appeared first on David Yarde.

Let’s get really real.

The journey isn’t for those with weak work ethic.

It’s for those not willing to give up.

Those that refuse to stay down no matter how many times life knocks them down.

If you aren’t willing to keep pushing against the winds you’ll never take off.

You’ll never get the momentum you need to achieve those goals.

The resistance fears the good you can bring to the world.

So it feeds you little pieces of doubt, procrastination, and fear of leaving the comfort zone.

Before you know it, you’re binge watching motivational videos in pursuit of inspiration to get started.

When the reality is, you already have all that you need to get started.

You don’t need to get fancy and try to do everything everyone else is doing.

Focus on you.

Find the areas that you can provide value in and do so.

Seeking external validation is like filling a premium car with regular unleaded gas.

Your tank deserves better.

Your goals deserve better.

So do those around you that have been supporting you during the journey.

Pair your passion with dedication and determination and watch the results start to roll in.

People aren’t going to be motivated by what you desire or dream of being.

It’s when you show them that they begin to feel more inclined to help and engage.

Seek to prove the voice of the resistance wrong.

Show it that you have more than what’s necessary to win.

Replace obsolete or redundant thinking, attitudes and priorities with positive, progress driven ones instead.

If you avoid change you are keeping your life in stagnation.

Nothing good ever comes from that.

When we work to inspire, contribute, uplift, and make a difference in the lives of others we become relevant.

Things like resistance, ego, expectations, and fear live inside of you in the form of thoughts.

Thoughts eventually manifest themselves into actions.

You aren’t responsible for anything but you and your work.

It’s time to stare resistance down and let it know who is truly in charge.

It’s time to create the good the world needs to feel.

As entrepreneurs and creatives we tend to have a unique perspective on the world as something that can be shaped and changed for the better.

The extent of that change is only limited by the amount of potential we choose to develop.

What will you choose?

The post Push Against The Resistance appeared first on David Yarde.

One of the things I love about branding and creative strategy is the ability to take a look at the micro and macro levels of a brand, spot the problems and provide a solution.

No two days or clients are ever alike but I love it.

What most don’t realize is that personal branding is all about relationships. It’s a dance between a newly formed connection or interest that grows into something bigger or dies based on the delivery and experience of what was promised. This connection is even more fickle when it comes to our personal brand and the interpersonal relationships within this space.

But it’s the days when you feel drained that get you. When it seems as if common sense only exists as a mirage in this increasingly weird world.

With everything going on, it can be an often difficult task in finding that perfect moment. The moment when time slows down, when resources are on hand, when there are no interruptions to come our way. So instead of buckling down and working on our goals, we find ourselves procrastinating with the hope of “finding inspiration”.

We hand out excuses like, “I don’t have enough time”, or “I don’t have enough resources”, and my personal favorite, “It’s not ready yet”. Pushing ourselves further away from achieving something worthwhile. Before we know it, we’re asking ourselves why haven’t we done more with our existence? What is stopping me from being all that I can truly be?

How can one create more good when it seems completely pointless? This is the question I love answering the most. Or rather the process I love the most. The process of uncovering ones why and how to leverage it by being curious.

What is Your Why?

We’re at a point in the story of mankind where we have more distractions than ever before.

In the age of abundance of resources, we have little idea what to do with it. So instead of using our time in a constructive manner, we waste it with soaking up the lives of others.

Before you can tap into your flow state consistently, before your able to optimize your schedule or even create a to-do list, you have to understand why you’re doing any of these things. When you have a clear sense of purpose, you’re enabling yourself to focus on what matters the most.

So when obstacles present themselves, you’re more likely to push forward regardless. Life isn’t a sprint but a marathon to be endured, we aren’t racing against each other in this race, but against time itself.

What we choose to occupy our time with matters.

The power of choice

An often overlooked gift is the power of choice. It gives us a vast amount of leverage on the journey onward and upward.

Each day we choose whether we’ll love or if we’ll hate. We choose between being helpful or advancing or selfish intentions. Nothing rarely happens by accident. Whether it was a choice made recently or years ago, the universe has a unique way of bringing things together.

We can run from the voice of curiosity that calls us to be greater or we can embrace the waves of our own lives and move forward. Again, it comes down to the choices we make. In order to move forward and just be, we have to first forgive ourselves on a daily basis. Without this key step everything else is pointless because you can’t make progress carrying dead weight.

This is why it’s important to stay curious. Whether you want to be a better writer, photographer, brand strategist, or just simply a better friend, being curious plays a huge role in how relevant you are in the context of your interpersonal relationships.

Forgiving yourself

Forgiving yourself allows you to come to terms with all the things you may blame yourself for both consciously and unconsciously. What you think of yourself tends to manifest in the level of effort you put out in your work and appears in how we go about treating others.

Just as it is important to feed your body wholesome food, it’s equally important to feed your mind and soul wholesome things as well. As the popular saying goes, “Garbage in, Garbage out”. Forgiveness requires us to think differently and deploy grace not only to ourselves but also to others. Everyone has their own set of dreams, problems and preferences. When we think differently and forgive ourselves, we treat others differently as well.

Forgiveness also allows us to be humble. Without humility and true understanding of who we are. Things will get messy. You’ll lose support you thought you had and most likely will be avoided as if there is a stink about your brand.

Forgive yourself for the past and don’t let it get in the way of who you can be.

Upward!

The journey upwards isn’t easy. And frankly, it shouldn’t be. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Think about anything that you received without much effort. How quickly did it take you to forget? Chances are you can’t even remember half of the things that fit in this category.

The things that challenge our creativity and critical thinking are the things that allow us to grow. The things that grant us the wisdom and understanding needed to truly be great.

Be curious. Be humble. And never stop aiming always upward.

The post Be Curious. Be Humble. appeared first on David Yarde.

One of the things I wanted to do more of this year was release more content. Yet, with the demands of my day to day even posting on Instagram felt like an accomplishment. No amount of content planning or scheduling could help. At some moments it felt as if I’d be better off resorting to being a hermit or a groundhog.

For awhile, I allowed the opinions of others to affect my own possibilities. External doubt turned to internal doubt. After awhile, creating things for myself felt less and less important.

My creativity, went from a source of fulfillment and joy to a set of skills to pay the bills. It was as if I went on autopilot.  What I didn’t realize was that I was starving myself of a creative outlet. My ability to be of value became clouded by the failures of the past. A lack of confidence in my experience, and the natural human nature of not wanting to risk anything else.

Unfortunately, there were things that I allowed myself to believe, people I allowed myself to give a benefit of a doubt towards that in hindsight should have been avoided.

I wasn’t taking my own medicine.

Long story short, I hit a creative wall. I was suffocating on a creative level and something needed to change. The choice came down to continue to suffocate and give up or make a change for the sake of the survival of my emotional health.

I decided to choose the latter, even though it was the option that was the most terrifying. So, I kept things simple with three total words. I needed it to be something easy to remember and didn’t want to recreate the wheel.

Refocus. Where my energy was going?
Rebuild. What was/is working and what needs to be better?
Renew. How to move forward with the best foot forward?

These were the three things I decided to focus on. Everything else, put into a backlog unless it was important to my life functions on a whole. Yet, this wasn’t and couldn’t be enough. Having three words as a mantra or motto wouldn’t do much. Neither does making a list of what’s immediately important vs what isn’t. This all falls into the category of whining.

And that isn’t me.

So, on a personal level, I made a hard pivot. I made a vow with myself. Whether it was lines of code, designs translated to pixels or print. Whether it was words on a screen/page, I was going to keep on writing.

What sense would it make to put in all this work to be a creative over the span over 16+ years to give up now? Did I come this far to only come this far?

Refocus. Where my energy was going?

This was the first question I needed to answer if this pivot was going to be successful. I needed to know where every single minute of my time was going. Who it was being spent on, but more importantly what it was being spent on. Without this key piece of information, everything else would be busywork.

Being stretched thin is something that sneaks up on you, then buries you under the weight of it all.

Unlike money, time is something we can never get back once that moment has passed. The unique set of emotions and circumstances within that moment can’t be replicated, no matter how hard we try.

This is why we try to capture the moments we deem precious. Whether it’s through pictures, video, or physical keepsakes; we go through life adding on to our shoulders an unnecessary weight.

Without realizing it we’ve become a society of digital hoarders.

You aren’t obligated to like every picture in your social feed. You aren’t obligated to click here; to buy this product, or that course. You aren’t obligated to; listen to that webinar or to take that phone call.

You aren’t obligated to be anything other than yourself.

If for any reason you think waking up in the morning with anxiety is ok, then it’s time to rethink where you’re headed and what you’re doing. Yes, life is short but do you want to be filling it with busywork? Or do you want to be filling your time with meaningful work?

Once I had the answers in hand, it was time to move on to the next step.

Rebuild. What was/is working and what needs to be better?

In short, what needed to go. What was I hoarding both mentally and emotionally? What was being a hinderance where there should progress?

In 1666, a fire so great destroyed the city of London. Shortly after the Rebuilding of London Act was passed to rebuild. An effort that gave way to a new form of Architectural expression. As well as a foundation for the British Empire at that time.

The point is this. No matter what point in history you jump back to, there is always a point in which there is a need to rebuild.

The comfort zone will kill more of your dreams than any other outside force will. It isn’t a matter of it it will, its a matter of when.

The comfort zone will kill more of your dreams than any other outside force will.

— David Yarde (@dsmy) September 3, 2017

Unfortunately, we’re always so focused on what’s gone. What we had. Who we were back in the day. Walking eulogies lacking the awareness to the possibilities gained by letting go.

Now isn’t the time to be acting daft towards what you can do to be better. That’s how people stagnate as individuals. Keep improving, aim to be better than yesterday, this morning, or even an hour ago. Don’t blame your passion as to why you failed. Passion drives you to be better and unleash your creativity.

When you realize that not everything is about you, you’ll find more room to improve.

Renew. How to move forward with the best foot forward?

You have to be true to yourself, before you can be true to anyone else. It’s that simple.

We’re all broken in one way or another. We’ve been led to believe that this is a defect instead of an attribute. It’s because of our ‘missing’ pieces that we’re able to connect with others. But first, we have to learn how to love ourselves before we can express that to others.

It’s impossible to hate yourself and say you love others. That hate gets in the way of your creative good and the possibilities that are on the other side of the door.

Now, loving yourself isn’t about being selfish. If anything, it’s the complete opposite. To show yourself love, is to fall head over heels towards who you are as an individual. Working daily to improve, to forgive, and to heal.

It’s about appreciating both the good and the bad about who you are. It’s also about being aware of the areas that need improvement. Then and only then, can we treat others as we would like to be treated.

Despite the pain there is a purpose. Finding that purpose has a lot less to do with others than it has to do with you. It requires a commitment to yourself and focusing on how you can be better than yesterday.

Growth isn’t easy but it’s necessary if you want to achieve those great dreams and hopes you have. There will be people who will doubt, discourage, and try to hinder you. Rise above them, aim above them.

Because at the end of the day, they’ll still be the ones stuck on the level of selfishness and unhappiness. Meanwhile, you’ll be out winning.

It all comes down to choice. We choose to either love or hate. We choose whether to uplift or tear down. Consciously and unconsciously. Whatever we feed our souls with, will manifest itself in our thoughts and then actions.

Respect starts with you. It doesn’t matter what your past may be. It’s what you’re doing now that matters. Are you improving or trying to remain comfortable? It’s easy to hide behind excuses, but not one great person has ever achieved a worthwhile legacy with that approach.

Adulting is about being able to have difficult conversations with yourself and others. It’s also about implementing the knowledge that may be discovered along the way. Knowledge that helps improve the quality of life vs hindering it. But again, only if we choose to follow the path and make the choices that will take us always upward.

So despite the fact that this article took nearly 4 months to write, I’m not going to beat myself up about it at all. Instead, I’m just going to keep pushing onward and upward and I hope you’ll choose to do the same.

The post Refocus. Rebuild. Renew. appeared first on David Yarde.

Surprisingly, we all have the same amount of time in our days. It’s actually we choose to focus on that makes the difference. So how do we go about accomplishing more? Simple, by focusing on less. That’s the short answer, let’s dive into it a little further:

Pick a goal to accomplish

This should be self-explanatory but let’s break it down. Do you ever notice that when you pick a goal, it seems as if tons of other possible things appear? This is often due to lack of focus and being mesmerized by the shiny new thing syndrome.

When it comes to accomplishing things focus is absolutely necessary. Things will appear all the time to distract us but when it comes down to it, what we remain focused on wins.

Picking out a goal can be a very stressful process for some and if you’re like me it can also be a time consuming process. Over the years I’ve learned a few things on picking the right idea. Much of it comes down to timing. Some ideas may be great but poorly timed when released, others may be absolutely horribly no matter when released.

If you haven’t already put together a list of all the ideas you’d love to work on, take a moment to do that now. Spend 15-30 minutes to write down all the ideas you may have, no matter how ridiculous and once your time limit is up, save your document or put your writing instrument down.

Next, on a scale of 1 to 5, rank each goal based on how much it resonates to you. Now take each goal that you’ve given a 5 and put this in your short list. From here things may get easier or a little tougher depending on your perspective. With your shortlist, utilizing the same scale rank each idea based on how feasible it is to accomplish at this moment or over the next month.

At this point, the goal that ranks the highest as most feasible is the one you go with.

Give it proper resources

You can’t expect a goal to succeed if you give it a half-hearted attempt. Put your all into it so that at the end when asked if you gave it your best, you can answer without hesitation, YES!

Much like a plant, you can’t just stick it in the dirt and never water or feed it. Your goal needs water and food too. You feed your goals by how much time you dedicate to working on it, or how much you choose to spend on it in terms of capital. Whatever you choose to do, give your goal what it needs to succeed. That way when it’s all said and done, regardless of failure or success you’ll know that you gave it your all.

If necessary, schedule time to work on your goals and don’t try to do everything at once. Spend less time with those tv shows in the afternoon, spend less time spreading gossip, spend less time hating on others and spend more time doing you.

Life is more than simply going through the motions and somehow ending up lucky. Intentional action is the only way one moves the needle from mediocre and average to great.

Dedicate yourself to seeing it through  

A great piece of advice I heard from a comedian, is “always finish your set”, this was something my mom would hammer into me by way of the saying “If a task was once begun, never leave it till it’s done…be your labour great or small…do it well, or not at all.”

It’s easy to want to quit a task, especially if things don’t seem to be working out in the way you want it to, however in the end you are doing more damage to your personal development than most realize.

Not every task you work on will be pleasant. Some things that are necessary for a business or brand to grow are downright mundane tasks. This doesn’t mean that you can’t make them fun. Instead of viewing them as boring or bland tasks, view them as things that unlock the freedom to do the things you truly enjoy.

Preparation is key

One of my favorite hobbies is baking, mostly sugary goodness type delectables. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that you can’t just jump into baking. You need to have certain things ready, especially when it comes to baking bread. Things like yeast, water, salt and sugar all go into making the perfect loaf.

When it comes to accomplishing goals the same process applies.

Meaning the environment we create in affects how the process unfolds. Without proper planning you can quickly run into a situation and not be able to handle the things thrown at you, simply because you didn’t take the time to make sure there were resources available.

Take the time to write down the things you’ll need in order to make a goal a reality.

Celebrate the achievement 

This doesn’t mean go all out and blow your bank account. Celebrating your goals could be something simple and fitting of the accomplishment. For example, one of my daily goals is to write, each day that I do, I celebrate by a simple yay, getting my favorite drink from Starbucks and move on to the next one. However, each day that I don’t, I try to avoid the mindset of being negative towards myself and simply pick up from where I left off.

Your celebration doesn’t have to be something grand, it simply just has to be meaningful.

As creatives and entrepreneurs, we often fail to celebrate the little wins that make up the bigger ones. Because we’re so close to what we’ve been working on when it leaves our safe space and enters the world, we often fail to realize the true significance of what we’ve been able to accomplish.

To create is to feel. Feel the win of what you’ve been able to accomplish, learn from it and allow the experience to not go by wasted. Above all remain humble.

Repeat

Consistency in achieving small goals is how one builds to achieving greater goals. It’s easy to get stuck in the celebration phase because it’s one that feels good. But guess what? Time keeps moving and so should you.

The only way you can reach where you need to be is by continuously tackling the obstacles before you. The more you do, the more it becomes second nature. The more your confidence will build around the subject matter and the more you’ll be able to contribute to those around you.

While the steps above may be simple, they do require a bit of effort on your part to truly be successful. Remember, at the end of the day it comes down to the choices you make.

So what will you choose today?

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