adam lafferty
@adamlafferty.bsky.social
Good is expected. Greatest good is chosen.
🔗 More at www.adamlafferty.com
🔗 More at www.adamlafferty.com
I wrote about the shift from Playing Role → Living Whole.
It includes a 30-second dojo you can run three times today. No weekend retreat. Just noticing.
Because you don't rewrite the rules in your head. You sense them in your chest.
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
It includes a 30-second dojo you can run three times today. No weekend retreat. Just noticing.
Because you don't rewrite the rules in your head. You sense them in your chest.
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
You Said 'Great' But Your Chest Said 'Tired'
Field Shift: Playing Role → Living Whole
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:07 AM
I wrote about the shift from Playing Role → Living Whole.
It includes a 30-second dojo you can run three times today. No weekend retreat. Just noticing.
Because you don't rewrite the rules in your head. You sense them in your chest.
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
It includes a 30-second dojo you can run three times today. No weekend retreat. Just noticing.
Because you don't rewrite the rules in your head. You sense them in your chest.
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
There's a different frame available:
Not better performance → different participation.
Not optimizing the mask → living as a whole person.
Not being convincing → being congruent.
Roles as expressions of you. Not substitutes for you.
Not better performance → different participation.
Not optimizing the mask → living as a whole person.
Not being convincing → being congruent.
Roles as expressions of you. Not substitutes for you.
November 9, 2025 at 11:07 AM
There's a different frame available:
Not better performance → different participation.
Not optimizing the mask → living as a whole person.
Not being convincing → being congruent.
Roles as expressions of you. Not substitutes for you.
Not better performance → different participation.
Not optimizing the mask → living as a whole person.
Not being convincing → being congruent.
Roles as expressions of you. Not substitutes for you.
You're in the elevator alone. Hotel lobby at dawn. Conference bathroom.
No audience.
And yet—you're still watching yourself perform
No audience.
And yet—you're still watching yourself perform
November 9, 2025 at 11:07 AM
You're in the elevator alone. Hotel lobby at dawn. Conference bathroom.
No audience.
And yet—you're still watching yourself perform
No audience.
And yet—you're still watching yourself perform
55% of CEOs reported mental health struggles last year—higher than their employees.
Dustin Moskovitz called being CEO "exhausting" and stepped back.
Tennis stars ended their seasons at "breaking point."
The mask still fits. It just costs more than it pays.
Dustin Moskovitz called being CEO "exhausting" and stepped back.
Tennis stars ended their seasons at "breaking point."
The mask still fits. It just costs more than it pays.
November 9, 2025 at 11:07 AM
55% of CEOs reported mental health struggles last year—higher than their employees.
Dustin Moskovitz called being CEO "exhausting" and stepped back.
Tennis stars ended their seasons at "breaking point."
The mask still fits. It just costs more than it pays.
Dustin Moskovitz called being CEO "exhausting" and stepped back.
Tennis stars ended their seasons at "breaking point."
The mask still fits. It just costs more than it pays.
New Field Notes: Stop Running Hot. Start Running Right
Inside:
- 3-minute practice to feel the shift in your system
- 2-minute reset you can run between meetings
- Why tempo (not effort) is the lever
- October's research + 2,500 years of pattern recognition
adamlafferty.substack.com/p/stop-runni...
Inside:
- 3-minute practice to feel the shift in your system
- 2-minute reset you can run between meetings
- Why tempo (not effort) is the lever
- October's research + 2,500 years of pattern recognition
adamlafferty.substack.com/p/stop-runni...
Stop Running Hot. Start Running Right.
Field Shift: Urgency Addict → Rhythm Keeper
adamlafferty.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:50 PM
New Field Notes: Stop Running Hot. Start Running Right
Inside:
- 3-minute practice to feel the shift in your system
- 2-minute reset you can run between meetings
- Why tempo (not effort) is the lever
- October's research + 2,500 years of pattern recognition
adamlafferty.substack.com/p/stop-runni...
Inside:
- 3-minute practice to feel the shift in your system
- 2-minute reset you can run between meetings
- Why tempo (not effort) is the lever
- October's research + 2,500 years of pattern recognition
adamlafferty.substack.com/p/stop-runni...
Stefanos Tsitsipas (world #25) ended his season early.
His statement: "My focus now is on recovery and healing."
Elite performer choosing rhythm over grind.
Publicly. Without apology.
The counter-movement is here.
His statement: "My focus now is on recovery and healing."
Elite performer choosing rhythm over grind.
Publicly. Without apology.
The counter-movement is here.
November 2, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Stefanos Tsitsipas (world #25) ended his season early.
His statement: "My focus now is on recovery and healing."
Elite performer choosing rhythm over grind.
Publicly. Without apology.
The counter-movement is here.
His statement: "My focus now is on recovery and healing."
Elite performer choosing rhythm over grind.
Publicly. Without apology.
The counter-movement is here.
UK's 4-day week trial:
- £400K saved annually
- 41% lower turnover
- 123% more applicants
- 21 of 24 metrics maintained or better
Government response: "deep disappointment"
The data says one thing.
The institutions say another.
You're in that gap.
- £400K saved annually
- 41% lower turnover
- 123% more applicants
- 21 of 24 metrics maintained or better
Government response: "deep disappointment"
The data says one thing.
The institutions say another.
You're in that gap.
November 2, 2025 at 12:50 PM
UK's 4-day week trial:
- £400K saved annually
- 41% lower turnover
- 123% more applicants
- 21 of 24 metrics maintained or better
Government response: "deep disappointment"
The data says one thing.
The institutions say another.
You're in that gap.
- £400K saved annually
- 41% lower turnover
- 123% more applicants
- 21 of 24 metrics maintained or better
Government response: "deep disappointment"
The data says one thing.
The institutions say another.
You're in that gap.
You didn't fail. Speed did.
You got exceptional at moving faster than the problem.
The problem learned to move like you.
October showed the counter-pattern:
While burnout hit 7-year highs…
The teams rejecting urgency quietly outperformed.
You got exceptional at moving faster than the problem.
The problem learned to move like you.
October showed the counter-pattern:
While burnout hit 7-year highs…
The teams rejecting urgency quietly outperformed.
November 2, 2025 at 12:50 PM
You didn't fail. Speed did.
You got exceptional at moving faster than the problem.
The problem learned to move like you.
October showed the counter-pattern:
While burnout hit 7-year highs…
The teams rejecting urgency quietly outperformed.
You got exceptional at moving faster than the problem.
The problem learned to move like you.
October showed the counter-pattern:
While burnout hit 7-year highs…
The teams rejecting urgency quietly outperformed.
Your body says it first.
The rules you're using don't produce meaning anymore.
Sunday night. Week ahead loading in.
Calendar 72% booked. Nothing lands.
The meeting that needs three breaths before you unmute.
The decision from last month—reopening.
The win that felt hollow.
You know this pattern.
The rules you're using don't produce meaning anymore.
Sunday night. Week ahead loading in.
Calendar 72% booked. Nothing lands.
The meeting that needs three breaths before you unmute.
The decision from last month—reopening.
The win that felt hollow.
You know this pattern.
November 2, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Your body says it first.
The rules you're using don't produce meaning anymore.
Sunday night. Week ahead loading in.
Calendar 72% booked. Nothing lands.
The meeting that needs three breaths before you unmute.
The decision from last month—reopening.
The win that felt hollow.
You know this pattern.
The rules you're using don't produce meaning anymore.
Sunday night. Week ahead loading in.
Calendar 72% booked. Nothing lands.
The meeting that needs three breaths before you unmute.
The decision from last month—reopening.
The win that felt hollow.
You know this pattern.
8/ Read it here → Substack: open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
Why Excellent Execution Feels Increasingly Pointless (And Why It Doesn't Have To)
Here's why—and what shifts when you stop optimizing problems and start rewriting conditions. Problem-Solver → Possibility Architect.
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:31 AM
8/ Read it here → Substack: open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
7/ I wrote about this (with the dojo drill + a 1‑pager).
It’s the move from Problem‑Solver → Possibility Architect.
It’s the move from Problem‑Solver → Possibility Architect.
October 26, 2025 at 9:31 AM
7/ I wrote about this (with the dojo drill + a 1‑pager).
It’s the move from Problem‑Solver → Possibility Architect.
It’s the move from Problem‑Solver → Possibility Architect.
6/ If Round 2 expands you, you just found your rule to rewrite.
October 26, 2025 at 9:31 AM
6/ If Round 2 expands you, you just found your rule to rewrite.
5/ Try this 3‑minute test today:
Round 1: “What’s broken?”
Round 2: “What conditions are producing this?”
Feel the difference in your body.
Round 1: “What’s broken?”
Round 2: “What conditions are producing this?”
Feel the difference in your body.
October 26, 2025 at 9:31 AM
5/ Try this 3‑minute test today:
Round 1: “What’s broken?”
Round 2: “What conditions are producing this?”
Feel the difference in your body.
Round 1: “What’s broken?”
Round 2: “What conditions are producing this?”
Feel the difference in your body.
4/ Business has a working example:
MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving.
She didn’t tweak grantmaking.
She changed control.
New work became possible.
MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving.
She didn’t tweak grantmaking.
She changed control.
New work became possible.
October 26, 2025 at 9:31 AM
4/ Business has a working example:
MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving.
She didn’t tweak grantmaking.
She changed control.
New work became possible.
MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving.
She didn’t tweak grantmaking.
She changed control.
New work became possible.
3/ Origination is different work:
Reveal the rule → Rewrite the rule.
Reveal the rule → Rewrite the rule.
October 26, 2025 at 9:31 AM
3/ Origination is different work:
Reveal the rule → Rewrite the rule.
Reveal the rule → Rewrite the rule.
2/ We got elite at optimizing inside inherited conditions.
It works—until it doesn’t.
It works—until it doesn’t.
October 26, 2025 at 9:31 AM
2/ We got elite at optimizing inside inherited conditions.
It works—until it doesn’t.
It works—until it doesn’t.
Full story + the 90-second practice:
[https://open.substack.com/pub/adamlafferty/p/the-bankruptcy-headline-that-made?r=vv2xj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]
What signal are you analyzing away right now?
[https://open.substack.com/pub/adamlafferty/p/the-bankruptcy-headline-that-made?r=vv2xj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]
What signal are you analyzing away right now?
October 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Full story + the 90-second practice:
[https://open.substack.com/pub/adamlafferty/p/the-bankruptcy-headline-that-made?r=vv2xj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]
What signal are you analyzing away right now?
[https://open.substack.com/pub/adamlafferty/p/the-bankruptcy-headline-that-made?r=vv2xj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]
What signal are you analyzing away right now?
Every revelation confirmed what my gut knew in 30 seconds.
But here's what haunts me:
I almost ignored it.
"You're being paranoid. You have no evidence. What do you know?"
That's what my brain said.
My body said: Keep looking.
But here's what haunts me:
I almost ignored it.
"You're being paranoid. You have no evidence. What do you know?"
That's what my brain said.
My body said: Keep looking.
October 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Every revelation confirmed what my gut knew in 30 seconds.
But here's what haunts me:
I almost ignored it.
"You're being paranoid. You have no evidence. What do you know?"
That's what my brain said.
My body said: Keep looking.
But here's what haunts me:
I almost ignored it.
"You're being paranoid. You have no evidence. What do you know?"
That's what my brain said.
My body said: Keep looking.
Then over 3 weeks, the dominoes fell:
Week 1:
Creditor alleges $2.3B "simply vanished"
Major lender cuts half its staff
Week 2:
Jefferies discloses $715M exposure, shares drop 18%
Justice Department opens investigation
Week 3:
CEO kept camera off in creditor Zooms
CEO resigns
Week 1:
Creditor alleges $2.3B "simply vanished"
Major lender cuts half its staff
Week 2:
Jefferies discloses $715M exposure, shares drop 18%
Justice Department opens investigation
Week 3:
CEO kept camera off in creditor Zooms
CEO resigns
October 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Then over 3 weeks, the dominoes fell:
Week 1:
Creditor alleges $2.3B "simply vanished"
Major lender cuts half its staff
Week 2:
Jefferies discloses $715M exposure, shares drop 18%
Justice Department opens investigation
Week 3:
CEO kept camera off in creditor Zooms
CEO resigns
Week 1:
Creditor alleges $2.3B "simply vanished"
Major lender cuts half its staff
Week 2:
Jefferies discloses $715M exposure, shares drop 18%
Justice Department opens investigation
Week 3:
CEO kept camera off in creditor Zooms
CEO resigns
The headline:
"Auto Parts Supplier First Brands Files for Bankruptcy with $10 Billion in Debt"
I had no money in it. No connection to the deal.
But something felt wrong.
Not from what the article said.
From what it didn't say.
"Auto Parts Supplier First Brands Files for Bankruptcy with $10 Billion in Debt"
I had no money in it. No connection to the deal.
But something felt wrong.
Not from what the article said.
From what it didn't say.
October 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
The headline:
"Auto Parts Supplier First Brands Files for Bankruptcy with $10 Billion in Debt"
I had no money in it. No connection to the deal.
But something felt wrong.
Not from what the article said.
From what it didn't say.
"Auto Parts Supplier First Brands Files for Bankruptcy with $10 Billion in Debt"
I had no money in it. No connection to the deal.
But something felt wrong.
Not from what the article said.
From what it didn't say.
wrote 3000 words on grasping vs invitation
neuroscience → water balloons → voluntary necessity
the water you can't hold → [link]
where you squeezing?
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
neuroscience → water balloons → voluntary necessity
the water you can't hold → [link]
where you squeezing?
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
The Water We Can't Hold (And the Hands That Learn to Cup)
Field Shift: From Grasping Control → To Graceful Invitation
open.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 2:23 PM
wrote 3000 words on grasping vs invitation
neuroscience → water balloons → voluntary necessity
the water you can't hold → [link]
where you squeezing?
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...
neuroscience → water balloons → voluntary necessity
the water you can't hold → [link]
where you squeezing?
open.substack.com/pub/adamlaff...