🎥 Sunday Reset | 24 Aug 2025
What Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton Know That Most Leaders Forget
It’s not their skill. It’s not their resources.
It’s this: They sharpen before they swing.

Simon Sinek tells a story I can’t get out of my head.
Two lumberjacks.
One swings his axe non-stop, all day.
The other? He takes breaks. Pauses. Sharpens his axe.

Guess who cuts more wood?
The one who stepped back.

That’s today’s reset.
Because in leadership, and in life, the pause isn’t wasted time.
It’s an investment.

And if you don’t know by know, during the week, I work with boards and leaders on some of the toughest challenges around AI, governance, and transformation.
But right now? I’m by the coast with my boy Rocky - we just spent 8am to 11am walking and running by the coast. Now we have brunch and write this as wait for our delicious meal.

See, all of this isn’t theory for me. This reset matters.
It clears my head. Resets my energy. And reminds me of a truth most leaders forget:

When you step back, you come back sharper.

And while we’re here, let’s talk about the ONE principle every champion say from Serena Williams to Lewis Hamilton -shares:

Self-belief.

Not hype. Not blind optimism.
The quiet conviction that:
✅ I can figure this out.
✅ I deserve this win.
✅ I am the kind of person who makes it happen.

“Victory begins in the mind long before the battle is seen.” -Stoic Principle

As Maya Raichoora puts it, self-belief rests on three traits:
1. Self-efficacy: Believing you can do it. Or you’ll figure it out.
2. Self-worth: Knowing you deserve the good stuff: success, joy, big wins.
3. Self-identity: Not hoping, but knowing you’re built for this.

Without it? You stall. You sabotage.
With it? You lead with calm confidence, even when the stakes are high.

So here’s your challenge this week:
Take 10 minutes. Or two hours.
Pause. Breathe.
Sharpen your axe.
Then ask yourself:
“What would it look like if I believed I was built for this?”

Because chances are, you are!

Ease isn’t weakness.
It’s power.
And it might just be the edge that gets you 10x results in the boardroom, the exec session, or that tense project meeting.

So this week: sharpen your axe, trust your alignment, and move forward with clarity.

🎥 I break it all down in this week’s Sunday Reset video. Watch it. Take it in. Share it with someone who needs the reminder (because I was reminded..)

I’m Steven.
Keep growing. Keep leading.
Until next Sunday
Let’s get it!!

🎥 Sunday Reset with Steven | 17 Aug 2025

⚡ The 5-Second Rule and the 2-Word Reset

The best leaders I know don’t wait for courage They count down to it.
And when frustration rises? They don’t fight harder. They simply let them.

As you by now know I advise boards and senior leaders navigating AI, governance, and transformation. And a reminder:
That on Sundays, I share these resets - grounded, personal, and human. Use it in life and workplace.

In this week’s Sunday Reset video, I break down two tiny but powerful tools from Mel Robbins that I’ve been testing myself:

➡️ The 5-Second Rule: When hesitation strikes, count down 5-4-3-2-1 and move.

➡️ The “Let Them” Theory: When others don’t act how you want, release the grip. Let them. And reclaim your peace.

They sound almost too simple. Yet they’ve shifted how I lead, how I work, and even how I handle tough personal moments.

Here’s why they are not theory. They’re lived.

🟦 This week, I was staring at a draft email.
Tough message. High stakes (it was to the chair of board, giving not good news, although written well).
My brain? Doing what it does best: spiralling with “what ifs.”

Instead of sinking into that mind mode, I counted back: 5-4-3-2-1… send.

The world didn’t end. In fact, the decision opened a door I’d been hesitating on for weeks.

🟦 Another moment: in a personal relationship.
Someone dear to me chose a path I didn’t agree with.

Every instinct in me wanted to jump in, explain, persuade, fix.

But then I caught myself: let them.

Let them reveal their truth. Let them walk their road.

And the weight I was carrying? Gone in seconds.

That’s the point:
➡️ The 5-4-3-2-1 countdown gets you moving when fear freezes you.
➡️ The two words “let them” release you when control grips you.

One propels action.
The other protects peace.

Together, they create a balance most leaders. And most humans, well they are desperate for: momentum without burnout, clarity without control.

So here is the challenge I leave you with this week:

Where do you need a countdown to courage?
Where do you need a release into freedom?

Sometimes, the reset you need is just 5 seconds.
Or 2 words.

Keep growing. Keep leading.
Until next Sunday.
Let’s get it.

Steven PAUL, CDir FIoD - Reshaping boards and CEOs to lead decisively: Your boardroom compass for bold, trusted AI decisions and governance.
📳 Let me show you how. I invite you to connect with me
♻️ Share forward, follow for more
Powered by GovernanceAI.

🎥 Sunday Reset with Steven | 10Aug 2025

The Storm You Didn’t See Coming

Oprah once said:

“True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’”

Richard Branson swears by calling first when tensions rise-because a voice reveals what words on a screen hide.

And one of my favourite CEOs once told me:

“Nine times out of ten, the thing you’re angry about isn’t actually what’s happening.”

A CEO I know lived this perfectly.

She was mid-draft on a blistering email to a partner who’d just missed a huge deadline. Every line sharpened with frustration.

Then she stopped.
Picked up the phone.

On the other end?
A full systems meltdown. Two days offline. No malice. No negligence. Just a storm they hadn’t seen coming.

Email deleted. Frustration gone. Partnership saved.

“The Unsent Email Mindset”

Before you assume intent, check the facts.
Before you hit send, make the call.

It’s not about being soft-it’s about being smart.
It preserves trust. It keeps decisions clean. And it frees your head from carrying unnecessary battles.

This weekend, I was in Birmingham with Dr Karl George,MBE. We were working on GovernAI for Boards. It’s a innovative and ultimate compass to help boards lead AI with clarity and confidence before the technology leads them. Look out for the launch in a few weeks. (I will share further in due course)

That work reminded me of another concept: Locus of Control-first defined by Julian Rotter in 1954.

▫️External locus: “This is happening to me.”
▫️Internal locus: “This is my move to make.”

The best leaders I know-CEOs, athletes, creators-default to internal.
When the market slows, they ask, What’s our play?
When a plan stalls, they ask, Where’s the pivot?

The moment you outsource responsibility for your outcomes, you hand away the power to change them.

Your reset for this week: