Book Giveaway!!

20 copies available!!

Leave a comment on this guest post by Jobert E. Abueva to become eligible for one of 20 complimentary copies of his new book, The Janus Plan: A No-Resolutions Path to Begin Your Year with Intention.

Deadline for eligibility is 09/24/2026. International winners will receive electronic version0

We celebrate the leader who pushes through. We promote the one who outworks everyone. We tell stories about the executive who never quits.

We rarely talk about what that costs.

I was that leader. I ran one of the world’s most recognizable beauty brands across four continents. I was the one who stayed late, took the early call, never said no. From the outside, I looked like exactly what leadership is supposed to look like. Then I couldn’t get out of bed once I burned out.

Momentum is not the same as meaning.

Most leaders confuse the two. They move fast. They produce results. They carry last year’s unresolved tensions into next year’s planning session and wonder why the same problems keep appearing.

The missing practice is neither resilience nor a better morning routine. It is about being honest about where you have actually been before you commit to where you are going.

Three things high-performing leaders quietly avoid:

1. Look at what the year actually revealed. Not the results. The patterns.

What did this year show you about yourself as a leader that you have not yet named?

2. Release what no longer belongs. Most leaders carry commitments that made sense eighteen months ago. They keep them out of identity, not intention.

Ask yourself: Would I choose this again today?

3. Slow down before the next sprint. The leader who never stops never knows if the direction still makes sense.

The leader who cannot stop is not strong. They are afraid of what stillness might show them. That fear is worth examining. What it reveals is usually the most important leadership work that you have not yet done.

What has this year been trying to show you that you have been too busy to see?

Jobert E. Abueva is a global marketing and philanthropy executive, TEDx speaker, L&D keynote and workshop facilitator, and author of The Janus Plan: A No-Resolutions Path to Begin Your Year with Intention (Weaving Influence Press, September 2026). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Fortune, and Entrepreneur. joberteabueva.com.