Most people think that being economically independent and financially responsible is about earning more money. Actually it’s about freeing up your time and prioritising your purpose and destiny call above money and ambition. It’s the most exhilarating thing to live from. Living unbound to the pressures of the rat race of a job, career, credit card and property debts, living beyond your means and having anxiety attacks every time you try to find peace. It’s transcending all the daily grind during the week just to find a breathing spot on the weekend and start all over again. That is not a picture of living and yet it’s somehow become the expected norm. Time to make a serious intentional change. Economic independence is the ability to transcend all that without letting go of the responsibility of it. But it takes sacrifice to get there. Not sacrifice of blood, sweat and tears but of a mind shift and change. Let this year be that shift. Start with a dream for life without the pressures associated to it but instead the pleasures that come from fulfilling your purpose and destiny call. Next, create a vision road map for how you can shift your thoughts to “how can I achieve this”, rather than “I cannot make this happen - it’s too hard”. Finally, surround yourself with a tribe and get a mentor for accountability, create an action plan and put it into gear. Course correct regularly by checking in with your tribe, accountability partners and mentor. Give yourself some time to shift into a new lifestyle of living from purpose rather than from goal setting. Live from your destiny call. Enjoy the moments each step of the way. See it as a journey of peace, joy and contentment rather than a race to the end of some gold pot in the sky. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead. - Rueben S January 2026

Inner Circle Founders and Builders - we have our first meeting on ZOOM for the year tomorrow (28th Jan 2026) at 8pm AEDT (Melb Timezone). The link is in the calendar. See you tomorrow.

It's easy to rush through life and change the goalpost every time you achieve a goal. It's human nature to keep aiming higher. But have you slowed down and truly reflected on your progress? How far have you come? All the things you've overcome, that once felt impossible and tough? You owe it to yourself to celebrate your wins. Clap for yourself, praise yourself - So you don’t fall victim to their attention and need for validation. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT7QyoNACDQ/?igsh=bzY5dXZpOWx1Y3c=

Most companies think motivation comes from hope. From giving speeches. From painting big dreams. From saying “we’ll get there together.” It doesn’t. Hope is cheap. Clarity is expensive. I learned this the hard way. Back in 2020, our revenue had dropped to $11M from $44M. Morale was shaky. People were nervous. And I remember walking into a Zoom call with my team… One of them asked, “So… what’s the plan for bonuses this year?” I gave a safe answer. “We’ll see how Q4 goes.” It wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t leadership either. I thought I was buying time. But what I really bought was doubt. Because that answer didn’t motivate. It confused. I’ve seen this play out again and again. Talented people running hard… Taking on more… Overdelivering quietly… Only to be told, “Let’s review this again next quarter.” Or worse...to be told nothing at all. Not because they’re lazy. But because the goalposts kept moving. That’s not motivation. That’s quiet exhaustion. Unclear rewards don’t create loyalty. They create anxiety. People start guessing what matters. They start “performing” instead of building. Optimising for praise instead of impact. And eventually, they stop trusting the game entirely. They check out. Or they leave. That’s on us. Strong leaders don’t dangle carrots. They draw maps. They say: ✅ Here’s what good looks like ✅ Here’s how we measure it ✅ Here’s when we review it ✅ Here’s what growth leads to No politics. No fuzzy KPIs. Just a clear path with real steps. Not promises. Processes. Because clarity doesn’t just motivate. It respects. And I’ll be honest: the year we rebuilt Truegenics back to profitability, the biggest shift wasn’t in our marketing. It was in our expectations. We were clear on our expectations. We made rewards visible. We showed the ladder and let people climb it. And the team? They didn’t need pep talks. They needed direction. Here's the big question...Are your people running because they’re truly motivated…or because they’re chasing a carrot that never stops moving?