Sunday Thinking ― 7.13.25

"The bridge is you—between who you are and who you want to be. There is no map, only your breath, your grit, and your choice to continue. The bridge is you."

July 13, 2025

The weekly Sunday Thinking newsletter is quick-hit content that aims to provide a booster shot to your thought process as you end and start your week.

"I hope you believe that you can still make a beautiful life for yourself even if you lost many years of it to grief, or darkness, or a wound that wouldn't close. I understand what it is like to have this world introduce you to your own shadow, to let the ache follow you around long after you have healed, convincing you that you aren't worthy or capable of holding peace within yourself. Remember ― your past does not prohibit you from the goodness that is trying to reach you. It does not make you ineligible, or undeserving of love, or connection, or the things you desire. You have the capacity to experience beauty, to nurture it within yourself, and when you are ready to move towards it, know that it will meet you where you are. Know that you have every right to hold it."

― Bianca Sparacino, A Gentle Reminder

…

I. The Artist Comes First

The artist comes first for a reason. Without it, everything else falls apart. 

  • Sport can be art. Business can be art. Romance can be art. Suffering can be art. 

  • Anything done with risk and style falls into art. 

  • Your art is what can't be replaced. Can't be taught. Can't be competed with. 

It's the result of every day, every lesson, every experience you've ever had. Once you do find that voice, that way of being, and share it with the world, everything changes. You become a one of one. But without the art―you never see who you truly are. And neither does anyone else.

Source: Zach Pogrob

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II. Leadership Begins Where Perfection Ends

Brené Brown said, "You either walk inside your story and own it, or you stand outside of it and hustle for your worthiness."

And that’s the tension so many leaders feel. We step into leadership to serve—to make an impact. 

  • But somewhere along the way, many of us start performing. We polish the narrative. We hide the messy parts. We lead for approval, not alignment.

  • The more we disconnect from our truth, the harder it becomes to feel worthy of the responsibility we carry. 

  • But owning our story—that’s where transformational leadership begins.

Because people don’t follow perfection. They follow honesty. They trust the ones courageous enough to be real.

This is the sacred work of leadership. Not just inspiring others—but leading from a place of wholeness and truth.

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III. A Softer Way Forward

May these intentions carry us into the days ahead—with less rushing, less proving, more feeling, more truth:

  • Letting go of the timelines.

  • Choosing softness over survival mode.

  • Trusting the timing. Not chasing. Not forcing.

  • Saying yes only when you mean it.

  • Unsubscribing from the pressure to prove.

  • Living for how it feels, not how it looks.

Source: Her Thirties

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IV. Question

What part of your story have you believed disqualified you from joy — and what would it look like to reclaim it as part of your growth?

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V. This Week, I Will

  • Stay grounded while staying open.

  • Stop avoiding what I know I need to do.

  • Pace my life not by pressure, but by wonder.

  • Resist the pressure to have the right words—and instead offer presence, a hug, a hand.

  • Live accordingly—knowing life is fleeting. I’ll honor laughter, stillness, and astonishment as sacred.

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The Last Words…

"Sometimes, your greatest teacher is your own experience. The heartbreaks that cracked you open. The failures that taught you humility. Getting up after falling down. There is wisdom in your wounds. Lessons in every detour. The days you thought broke you were also the days you found your strength. Pain may not have been invited, but it came bearing insight. The most honest truths often come from discomfort, and the most lasting changes from moments you never wanted to face. There's no certification for inner growth. No medal for how far you've come... but you know. That's the result of experience not perfection but earned. You feel it in the way you no longer chase validation. In how you forgive yourself. In your courage to keep going in the wild ride that is life. Here is to honoring you."

― Phi Dang, The Great Unlearning

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