When Your Greatest Strength Becomes Your Biggest Liability | EP101

[00:00:00] I think that's what I've realized in my own personal journey is the ambition, the drive, the performer, the need to succeed, all wonderful things. What I realized for myself is that I think those were really a mask that was feeding inadequacy. I was hoping that those things, if I just get that one more thing, if I just get this one more win, then I'll be enough.

[00:00:24] I think that inner work of leadership is so important. It's like, from what place are you striving for that one percent? Because for me, I think it's almost like dirty fuel in a car. It wasn't coming from a place of exploring my potential and playfulness and see what's possible. It was coming from a place of, if I just get this, then I'll finally be valuable. And so I think that was really my deepest leadership failure, was realizing that I was running on dirty fuel.

[00:00:52] And I've been working for the past five years to switch to cleaner fuel. Hi, I'm Christy Honeycutt, your host of Inside the C-Suite, where execs get real about leadership, impact, and what truly drives high-stake decisions. Let me ask you a question.

[00:01:19] What if the very thing that made you successful is now the thing holding you back? We celebrate ambition, discipline, resilience, and high standards, but rarely talk about what happens when those strengths become liabilities. Today, I'm joined by Peter Cheesebro, founder of Uncommon Blueprint, executive coach, former NCAA Javelin athlete, and international competitor for Canada.

[00:01:45] Peter has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of leadership, human performance, and personal growth, advising executives, founders, and elite performers. And what I loved most about this interview with Peter is that he and I share a belief that leadership transformation starts on the inside, but it has to show up in how we lead others as well.

[00:02:10] This is a beautiful conversation from two executive coaches leaning in to help you lead better. Let's jump in, shall we? Peter, I am so excited to have you on the show. I met you, what was it, a couple of months at Future of Work in Dallas, and I cannot wait to do this interview with you. You wowed me then. I know you're going to wow me today, but I know my introduction did not do you justice. Would you please introduce yourself to our guest and a little bit about what you do? Absolutely.

[00:02:36] I'm Peter Cheesebro, based in Calgary, Alberta, and I have an executive development firm. So we're called Uncommon Blueprint. We live at the intersection of psychology, physiology, and human-centered leadership. So I'm a former athlete. There's probably a lot of influence with that there, but I've been an executive coach for, geez, coming on 20 years. I feel like I'm dating myself, but essentially helping others unlock their self, unlock elite performance and how to get there. So evidence-based approaches that really work. I love that. Okay, so Uncommon Blueprint.

[00:03:06] I'm in love, first of all, with your logo. Love the colors. Love the name. Where did that come from? It came from taking leadership sessions myself. And inevitably, the facilitator will say, let's list out the traits of a great leader. And we can all do that really easily. And then let's list out the traits of a horrible leader. I call that leadership. So it's kind of like leadership and leadership. And then they'll inevitably ask, like, who's had somebody that's really meaningfully impacted them?

[00:03:33] Like, made a big change in their life, transformed them where you're a different person after being in their care than you were before. And I've always been disappointed that maybe 10% of the room will raise their hand and they'll have one example from their whole career. So I found it fascinating. It's so easy to describe phenomenal leadership and horrible leadership. But to truly experience it, we might be so lucky once in a lifetime. So that's the uncommon piece.

[00:03:55] And then the blueprint piece is I've been a personal development guru, consumer my whole life is, you know, millions of books that I'm reading every day. And what always bothered me a little bit is a lot of it's tough to pin down. And so I love the stuff that's based in psychology, evidence-based approaches, because there are things that truly work. And a lot of that is hidden out there.

[00:04:19] So we like to find things that are evidence-based, that people can really get their hands on, that have been proven, been researched. And of course, you know, Christy, that leadership's an art form. So that's probably the 20%. The rest, the 80% is your own unique delivery, which is up to you. So you said something that made me question who your person was. Who my person, like, that really impacted me? Yeah, because when you were speaking about that, I thought in my head, and by the way, I can name way more than one.

[00:04:47] But I guess I've just been really blessed, but I have a bunch. I have a handful at least. So is there one that kind of points back for you? Yeah, I've got a handful as well. I used to be a javelin thrower. So I have my high school football coach. And then my actual javelin coach for Canada was one of those people. I was so lucky that when I started after my athletic career and worked a corporate job, I didn't know what to expect. And I had a once-in-a-lifetime leader. Like, a lot of the executives that we work with couldn't hold a candle to her. She was phenomenal.

[00:05:16] And when I look back at all of those people in my life, what correlates them is essentially they cared about me as a person. So there was what I was doing and how I was doing it, which is you have to care about that when you're leading others. A masterful leadership is based on caring about the who, the person. And that was her for me. All of those three people that come to mind for me just saw potential in me that I didn't see in myself. And they were able to call me forth towards that potential. And that's a difficult thing, right?

[00:05:45] It's like parenting. You're not somebody's best friend when you're doing that. You might make them a little uncomfortable. You might push them out of what's tried and true for them. But you do it from a place of love. And so I was really lucky to leave an athletics career and then stumble into the first leader that I ever had being phenomenal. And of course, I went on and worked at lots of other companies and had lots of leadership experiences. But I was so blessed that she was my first. I love that as you're describing those individuals for you.

[00:06:15] Same for me. It was my cheer coach. It was one of my first managers when I was transitioning into a new skill set. And they were all very hard but soft. They said the hard thing softly. But I felt the intention and the love. And I think that's what really resonated with me is that it's having that person that you can trust enough to tell you the hard things softly. That's what I heard from you. That's what it was for me. But that's really beautiful. Yeah. So, look, you spent much of your life in environments where performance defines success.

[00:06:43] When did you first recognize that drive making you successful might also be holding you back? Embarrassingly, probably more recently than in the distant past for me. So, being an athlete and competing at a high level, I was always immersed in growth and looking for the one and how to get more capacity and how to forge forward. And up until probably five or six years ago, I thought that that was wall to wall, a complete strength.

[00:07:08] What I've realized in more recent years is that most leadership failures don't come from a place of living in a weakness. It's really a strength that's being overused or used in a context that isn't helpful. And I think that's what I've realized in my own personal journey is the ambition, the drive, the performer, the need to succeed. All wonderful things.

[00:07:32] What I realized for myself is that I think those were really a mask that was feeding inadequacy. So, I was hoping that those things, if I just get that one more thing, if I just get this one more win, then I'll be enough. So, by no means, I still work in performance. I still work with executives and leaders in there, as you know, type A, and they're looking for that one. But I think that inner work of leadership is so important. It's like, from what place are you striving for that one percent?

[00:07:59] Because for me, I think it's almost like dirty fuel in a car. It wasn't coming from a place of exploring my potential and playfulness and see what's possible. It was coming from a place of, if I just get this, then I'll finally be valuable. And so, I think that was really my deepest leadership failure, was realizing that I was running on dirty fuel and have been working for the past five years to switch to cleaner fuel. The way that you can tell a story is so incredible.

[00:08:25] And I have to share, and we talked a little bit about this, but you said the inner work, which just made me remind me of my book, the inner work. I'm leading a broken system. It's real. It's about to go out to one of the contributors today. That's what you made me think of. I know as coaches, it's interesting how people ask this question a lot. Well, you're a coach. Do you have a coach? And what are your challenges? And how do you work through them? And I had someone tell me, because I am a collector of skill sets.

[00:08:54] Like, I love to go learn Reiki or yoga or meditation, but not just learn it. Get the certification. Like, I want to be able to teach other people. And I had someone, it was a CEO. She goes, why are we like that? Because she does the same thing. And she goes, why can't we just go enjoy gardening? Why do we have to go take a horticulture class to get the certification? And it woke something up in me going, well, I don't have to be great at everything. I don't have to get the certification for everything. I don't have to get the A plus for everything.

[00:09:19] But I do get to enjoy the things and be curious about the things and determine where it begins and ends. So I really love your transparency in answering that question. So I know that we both work with a lot of leaders on a strength-based lens. And one thing that I've seen, and I'm just curious if you've seen this too, and you just talked about this, our greatest strength can actually become our biggest weakness. Like, for me, strategy is my number one. I can get really frustrated with people if they haven't caught up to where I am.

[00:09:47] And I need to slow down to help them understand and get caught up where I am. So it's a very good strength for me, but it is an extreme weakness as well if I don't have patience. Do you see that a lot when you're assessing these leaders, athletes, and organizations? 100%. Yeah. I think of the cheesy Spider-Man quote, with great power comes great responsibility. And I think that's the essence of leadership that's in art form is when I'll assess individuals that I work with,

[00:10:14] which is usually like an in-depth interview process with everybody that's ever met them, so to speak. Not probably that bad, but what tends to happen when somebody gets feedback is they'll say, Christy is fantastic in all of these areas, and they'll list off these amazing, powerful traits. And then they get to the questions on what are the blind spots, and where does she need to pay a little bit more attention, and what qualities can get her into trouble at some time. And they'll always have that weird look on their face that they'll say like, you know all that great stuff that I said about her?

[00:10:41] Well, sometimes, in a different context, that can be a weakness. And I've truly learned and believe that all of our leadership strengths have shadow sides. And so, I love what you described of your strategy, your ability to move quickly, to make decisions. And it's like that powerful independence that you have can turn your leadership into levership, right? Where you're leaving people behind, and leadership's about taking others along with you. So, there's a deep, and that's why I love the title of your book, Inner Work.

[00:11:10] You have to begin within, because if you don't really understand yourself, good, bad, and ugly, you're just going to victimize those that you leave with your own baggage, whether that's adaptations from the past, or just strengths that are being overused or misused in contexts where they're not serving. It's a funny little, I'm putting all my dirt out there today, but my son, his number one is context on CliftonStrengths. I'm a big CliftonStrengths girly, but his number one was context. My number one was strategy.

[00:11:39] My number 34 was context. His number 34 was strategy. We could not be more different. And when I realized that, and I looked at him, I apologized to him. I said, I owe you the biggest apology because I'm mom, and do it because I said so clearly never worked out well for you, and I'm so sorry that you needed context. But as adults, like, we have the best relationship. He actually just asked me to officiate his wedding in December.

[00:12:04] So we've come such a long way just from our personal relationship, from me doing this work, and from getting deeper aligned with myself and coaching. Do you find that you have a positive impact from the work that you do internally as well with your wife, and your kids, and your community? A hundred percent. I often think that I have the greatest scheme ever created in being a coach because you get to work with these unbelievably intelligent,

[00:12:30] powerful people and watch them struggle and find their way through life's ups and downs and lefts and rights and twists and turns. And you 100% apply that to yourself. So I absolutely benefit almost every coaching session. I almost need two journals where it's like my notes for the client and then my notes of how that applies to my life. So it's such a great gift. I love what you said about your son because I used to think that opposites attract and compliments attract.

[00:12:58] It's like you guys are such great compliments, right? So now that you have that awareness, man, what a powerful team you can be with those differentiated skills. He has taught me so much. And we're in such a unique workforce. And we've talked about this, right? Like all the different generations that are in the workforce presently and how each of them communicate is vastly different from the other. And their experiences are incredibly different as well, depending on when they were born, what was going on in the world and what they had to overcome.

[00:13:25] So we know Gen Z, 14 to 29-year-olds, that they were coming up during COVID, graduating during COVID, having their first job be remote onboarding, all of those things. So are you seeing anything around the generations that organizations are looking at right now with coaching? Because I know they're merging communication gaps, but they also are dealing with our friend AI. Yeah, absolutely. I have like mixed feelings about like the generational research because I think the research actually shows that people aren't largely different.

[00:13:54] It's just different operating systems, right? So it's like I think of the person that's my age or a little bit older in an organization that's irritated by the younger person with their AirPods in all day. And they're like, they don't communicate. And then the younger person is sending them Slack messages or whatever it is, sending them text messages and looking at the older person going, they don't communicate. And we're having these very similar experiences.

[00:14:16] I just kind of look at it as like you said, with the events in our lives and the culture and the ecosystem that they came from, that we came from or were born or forged in. It just gives us different operating systems. And I think a lot of leadership bridges that gap as if we can be nonjudgmental and listen openly and be curious and look for the good in each other.

[00:14:39] All of those variants between our operating systems just become little hurdles that we can easily overcome if we're willing to do the work to see each other for who we really are. So, Peter, do you know who Mr. Rogers is? Do you remember that old children show? Of course I do. I grew up on that. My mom always tells a story. My dad used to watch it with me and go, I can't stand this because he was so kind of hokey. I love Mr. Rogers. I felt that way about Barney. My son was just so addicted to Barney.

[00:15:08] But that's what it made me think of when you were talking about kind of feeling that way is Mr. Rogers. You were able to put operating systems in such a peaceful place where everybody else is walking around like static and just irritated at all of this communication. But you're right. It's just operating systems. It's just taking a beat and like leaning in with kindness. I think organizations and leaders today have a really, really hard job because they're navigating the cultural complexities, whether they realize it or not. Hopefully they have a Peter in their corner.

[00:15:38] You're going to be able to train it to make it a little bit more palatable. You're an amazing coach. You've got a great background. What advice do you have right now for organizations and leaders that are leading through AI generational work gaps? The trust gap is bigger than it's ever been from recruiting to getting somebody reaching out for recruiting. I don't want to give a resume or phone number. I don't know if I can trust it. Candidates can't trust applications. They're not sure if they're being told different things because they're about to lay off everybody.

[00:16:06] Like there's just this ambiguity that's everywhere. What guidance do you have for those leaders right now that are facing these changes? Either they're thinking about it or they're undergoing these changes. It's a great question. You know, it comes to mind for me in the conference that we met at. Like I had this awareness because it was everything was AI and how to lead through AI. And you're almost kind of on edge and feel a little bit nervous and agitated of like, OK, do I not know anything about leadership? And then you see all these presentations.

[00:16:34] And I caught myself thinking like, we've been saying this since the 1950s. It's the exact same thing is treat people with respect, make sure that their expectations are clear and really support them. And so I think there's an element of like, and what I talked about at the conference was training the human system below all of these amazing tools that we have at our fingertips. I think every generation has always had that looming fear of what's coming over the horizon.

[00:16:58] And I can remember being 15 years old, thinking about driving a car and going, I wonder if I'm going to be in a flying car by the time I'm 20. And I'm not in a flying car yet, but having all of these kind of unbelievable stories about what's coming. And I think really what's important, what really lasts is training the human system underneath all of that. So understanding how you manage fear, how you manage your state, the willingness to hold your attention when our attention is pulled in a million different directions,

[00:17:28] the ability to focus when our focus is eroding faster than we can keep track of. So my advice is stay calm, stay regulated and stay in moments a little bit longer. I think it's like the world is running downhill almost on the brink of being out of control. And I think what we need from leaders is the ability to stand up a little bit taller, to slow down, to allow. I call it the art of allowing.

[00:17:55] Not every little news feed, everything that shows on your ticker, every headline is actually going to be the end of the world. And sometimes when you just allow for a minute or two, we notice that everything's impermanent that's going to pass by. But I think relentless training on your own inner work, your human system, so you can be the person that others can lean on when they're feeling frenetic, when they're feeling like they're in choppy waters. I really love what you said about that. There's so much going on right now.

[00:18:23] And if you can just have the ability to take a breath, not say the dumb thing, not say the loud wrong thing, just take a minute. We were just at the past two weeks for me. We had a book launch birthday party, had 136 wonderful leaders in the room for that. Went immediately from that into HR tech, all the amazing, wonderful things, people, people, people, people. Immediately from that into the World Barefoot Tournament to watch somebody that we've been mentoring who took gold. And I was sharing this with you because my team keeps saying, share your life.

[00:18:53] But I've been in the moment of my life, so I haven't really shared all of this great stuff out. So I love that's very tactical and tangible advice that you can give leaders. If you're a high performer, someone that would actually acquire coaching, because what I've found is the first level usually doesn't get the coaching. And now we're talking about replacing them with AI. It's usually your executives or somebody that's like a hyper person, someone that's an athlete that they've got their finger on, like a high potential. Those are the people that get coaching.

[00:19:23] And I think that they need coaching. But my question is, for the ones that aren't getting those optics, they're not getting those opportunities. What would you recommend that they do? Besides look you up or watch the show here, what can they do to take their path in their own hands? Because we are living in a time when employees are not trusting the organizations or the leaders that they work for. But there is this resurgence of I want more. So how would you empower an individual to take their life design in their own hands? I think you nailed it. Take it into your own hands.

[00:19:53] That first leader that I had that was so phenomenal. I remember her telling me in my first week that your development is up to you. And she said, if I see some gap, something that you're missing and we have a course or I have a resource that I can give you that will help you close that gap. Of course, I'm going to do that. But your development is yours to own. So you need to decide where you want to go, what lights you up and come prepared to tell me about that. So then I can be a facilitator for your growth.

[00:20:18] And I think that's the beauty of the world that we live in is information at our fingertips. So no longer do you need to wait for your organization to bring you flowers, so to speak. You can plant your own garden, whether it's podcasts like these, books like you've written or hundreds in number on my wall. It's go out there and be a learner yourself and leverage your growth mindset, right? It's we've all met people with all the answers. And that's unfortunately the people that a lot of the time executive coaches end up working with.

[00:20:47] A lot of the time we're working with old ways of thinking and ego to get them to kind of see the light. You work with a person that's on their way up, that's a high performer. They're hungry. They know what got me here isn't going to get me there. And they're just looking to sponge everything in. And if you just take that same energy into your own development, you're going to blast ahead of 95% of the people with a $5,000 an hour executive coach that you can't afford.

[00:21:15] So I think betting on yourself, beginning within and really doing the work to learn and push yourself, seek mentorship. And the greatest mentors that I have are often the authors of the books that I read. They're not people that I know in real life. So having reflective practices, things like that are going to really, really benefit you. I really like what you just said there too, because I often talk to heavily in HR just because of my background.

[00:21:39] But if you think about the CTO or the CPO or the CHRO, there's usually just one of them in the organization. And their peers aren't going to understand what their stream of work is or what they actually need to get to where they need to go. However, their peer at another organization that sits in their seat might if they don't have a coach. And I really think that's I've seen organizations frown on that because they don't want the people talking to each other, trade secrets. They're afraid of whatever might get out. But I actually think it's a good thing.

[00:22:08] Like you and I got to know each other and I adore you and I've learned so much from you. You've been way farther down the path on the executive coaching than I have. So you're somebody that I would look to as someone that I think is doing it well and that I would like to align myself with in the future state. So I would encourage people to find the Peters or the Christies or whoever is sitting in their seat and just tap them and say, hey, I want to learn from you what's working for you or how can we collaborate? And try to get some of that education or coaching that you might not have access to.

[00:22:38] Yeah, absolutely. And the best learning is always informal, right? So doing that in an informal way, so powerful. It is always. So I know that you have a lot that drives you. And one of the things that really just attracted me to your vibe is when you spoke at Future of Work, you were on stage talking about your coaching practice and this beautiful image pops up of you and your family. It was just the cutest, funniest thing ever. So I know that you have got to have some sort of like all in methodology.

[00:23:06] There are some things that you do that light you up. Obviously, you were an athlete with the javelin, which is very interesting. You've competed internationally. But aren't you a bit of a music fan? Don't you play the guitar? Did I see that over in the corner? I do. Yes. I've got amplifiers and guitars on my walls. Oh, he's got two. I'm surrounded by them. Yes. And see, look how you just lit up like a firecracker when we talked about music and your guitars. So tell us a little bit about that because I feel like that brings you some of your mojo. It does for sure. Yeah. Well, I've been playing for a long time.

[00:23:35] My dad's an immigrant from Liverpool. He actually played the same nights as the Beatles before they were famous at the Cavern and did the same loops as them in Hamburg. So I was always kind of in awe of my dad, as a lot of young boys are, and wanted to learn how to play the guitar. And I can remember he said, if you learn three songs, then I'll get you a guitar. So it's kind of that, again, great leadership, right? A little bit of a challenge. It's like, I'm not going to just get you something. You have to show me that you're investing. There's guitars all over the house.

[00:24:02] So I learned three that I can still remember two of them, Delilah by Tom Jones, which is hilarious, and Eight Days a Week by the Beatles. These really old songs, but I learned how to play them and play them for him. And he ended up getting me a guitar. And I remember when he gave me the guitar, he said, a guitar is such a wonderful thing that he said, you'll never be alone again. Even if you're a single guy and you're on your own, you'll never be bored. You've always got a friend in your guitar. And when I was a single guy and moved out to Calgary, I used to sleep with my guitar.

[00:24:29] It was like I'd be playing it, lying in bed, watching TV, and then I would sleep on the pillow beside me. So it's always been in my life. And I'm a complete right-brained person, even though I work with 90% probably left-brainers. But love music and love the way art makes you feel. And there's nothing that's a better antidote in the day and age that we live in to anxiety and a dread to creating. And if that's just playing around, being playful, I think we age when we stop playing.

[00:24:59] And so I've never stopped playing. And as you can see, I hang them in the wall of my office. So when I have 10 minutes between calls, I'm playing, right? It keeps you young. Well, and I love that. So I really, really liked what you said because when your dad said you'll never be lonely again, I find that when leaders are a little bit at a burnout mode, that they stop doing things they're interested in. They no longer have time for the playoff tickets and the seats. And you start to see this withdrawal. Do you see that as well when you're leaders that you're coaching?

[00:25:27] Do you see the warning signals that they need to lean in differently? A hundred percent. And I think that's what I was expressing as well with myself in the last five years. We're a big hockey country in Canada. We call it skating with your head down, right? So I was creating this unbelievable life and having all of these experiences. And my business was going well. And I got married. And I had a son. And everything was just on paper fantastic.

[00:25:51] And what I realized was I was more executing my life or building my life without really being alive and living my life. And so that's what I've been really focused on, which I'll be honest with you, it's a sideways potato chip to swallow. It hits my gag reflex, things like stillness and embodiment and things like that. It's like I'm not naturally cut from that cloth. Or maybe I was until the culture taught me that you need to perform and you need to excel and achieve.

[00:26:19] So I see that a lot in leaders that it's like, forget what the line is from Shawshank Redemption, something around like get busy living or get busy dying. And I think like a lot of them are busy dying. They're just working their tail off for the next exit or the retirement or the next million dollars or the next promotion. And you're going to wake up at some point in the blink of an eye when you're on your deathbed. And I think a lot of us are going to have a lot of regret, particularly I think our generation around these phones. Right.

[00:26:48] And it's like when I look at screen time, you know, for myself, I'm trying to be very, very boundaried with that because I don't want to be at the end of my life going, maybe I shouldn't have had six hours a day on my phone and I should have had five. Like what a low bar. So I think really trying to embody and live life and be in the moment and enjoy. That's my big goal for 2026 was to enjoy things more, which sounds so embarrassing, but I found I wasn't enjoying.

[00:27:16] I was just getting through, executing, looking at the next thing rather than really being in the moment, being alive. Well, it's like we were talking about me traveling the past two, three weeks. Amazing, like lifetime opportunity things that I got to do. And I haven't had a moment to sit and enjoy it or to sit and high five, you know, my colleagues that were there with me. And that's when I think we are moving too fast and technology is moving a little too fast. And it's interesting when coaching for me, I find is more of being a mirror for other people.

[00:27:45] And I'm actually their activation of being still for a moment to go, oh, this is about me. How do I feel? And really kind of get that out. It's not therapy, but it's helping them get to where they need to go and be mindful to get there. And I think that you have displayed a lot of that and kind of how you approach coaching. So you've said that you don't want to become less ambitious, that you want to become more intentional about your ambition. What does that look like in practice?

[00:28:11] Because I think we kind of toyed around with it, but a lot of people are struggling with that. Yeah, for me, I think when I look at how to put that, of course, here I am with a deep personal growth topic like that. And I figured out what are the behaviors to make me really excel at that. But I try to stay longer. So if I find that I'm really enjoying something, I stay longer. And I try to soak in the moment and not immediately try to exit every situation so I can get to the next meeting,

[00:28:37] so I can get to the next song if I'm playing a guitar or the moment if I'm with my son. And the second thing that I've been really trying to look at is I'd be careful of the word should. So if I find should is popping up in my mind, that's the real SH word I think is should, right? Because it raises a red flag that it's like, is that what you truly want to do? Or do you feel like you should be doing that? You know, or you should have that goal. And I think a lot of the way we live our life isn't really ours.

[00:29:05] If we really ask ourselves, what do I want? That is a hard question to answer. I can tell you what my parents want, what society tells me that I should want. But what do I truly want is really difficult. And then the last thing is I let my body have a vote. So again, you know, maybe that athletics side of me, like the great book by Gabor Mate says, Your Body Keeps the Score. I think that was his book. I can't remember. But a lot of us are so disconnected from our bodies.

[00:29:32] There's a great author that said, most men live a short distance from their body. And I think a lot of us are like that. That's why we end up in sickness or end up in burnout. And we go, what the hell happened? Well, if you're really in tune with your body, what you're experiencing, what you can take, if you should do the next thing, or if you maybe should rest or should recover. That was beautiful. I know those are your top three things on how to thrive a situation. What's one question you ask an executive that gets beneath the polished leadership persona? Like, do you have a power question?

[00:30:01] I don't know. It's like, I've never believed in power questions. My questions usually come from what the person just said. I love the question, what is work to you? You know, and most people will quickly answer that. But I think you could reflect on that for weeks and what that could illuminate about who you are. Work is the way that I provide for my family or work is what I do for fun versus work is something that I have to do because society tells me that's what it is.

[00:30:27] And so I think just a question like that, what is work to you, can be really interesting to see how somebody answers. Very profound. Okay. So as we wind down, I've just got one or two more questions for you. If you could challenge every executive listening to examine one thing about themselves, not their strategy, not their team, but themselves, what would that question be? Man, that's a great question. One thing to examine about themselves. I hate to quote Simon Sinek, but why? Why are you doing what you're doing? Interesting.

[00:30:57] I think a lot of us, we live in this purgatory between short and long term. And it's like, long term, I don't want to be living like this. Or long term, I don't want to be treating my body like this. Or long term, I don't want my relationships to be sacrificed like this. But in the short term, I just need to make it to quarter end or I just need to improve the bottom line a little bit more. And so I think using altitude of zooming out to 50,000 feet or across the timeline of your life can be extremely powerful.

[00:31:25] So I think having a little bit more of an internal audit and internal, truly meaning internal to yourself, to make sure that what you're doing, how you're spending your time and the way that you're living your life is in integrity with not only who you want to be now, but who you want to be in the future, I think would be a powerful thing. I think that's a mic drop moment right there. That was a great answer. Even if it was borrowing from Simon, he's one of the best. Why would you not? So this time has flown by and I could talk to you for days.

[00:31:53] I just adore you and your methodology and love the story about your dad and the guitar and just all of the things. Before we drop, is there anything you didn't get a chance to share that you would like to? And lastly, how can the audience get in touch with you? I don't think there's anything that I didn't get to share that I would like to. I'm not going to play you a song before we go. I'm not going to do the Steve Carell thing from The Office. But absolutely, our website is probably the best way to get in touch or my LinkedIn or Uncommon Blueprints.

[00:32:22] Business LinkedIn would be the greatest place. We have an Instagram. It's collecting dust right now, so there's not a lot of new content on there. So LinkedIn or our website would probably be the best way to reach out. Perfect. Well, Peter, it was an honor to spend some time with you and learn a little bit more about you and your practice and your point of view. Where all this magic comes from. And guys, if you have an opportunity to see Peter speak live, I would highly recommend it because it's very motivational. And from my heart to your heart and my community to your community, thank you for everything.

[00:32:50] Guys, until next time, like, follow, subscribe, and let me know who you'd like to see in the hot seat next. Cheers.