1-2-3 Inner Game

Welcome to 1-2-3 Inner Game, your weekly hit of actionable strategies to achieve a high-performing, healthy, and thriving life.

Today's Highlights

• Silicon Valley’s Café Diplomacy

• 1-2-3 Inner-Game

• Growth, Profit, Freedom: You Can't Have All Three (Until You Do)

• Brain Candy

• Rundown of Cool Stuff This Week

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Been staying at my sister’s place in Palo Alto. Most days I end up in some café on University Ave, laptop open, coffee in hand. The conversations you overhear here are electric… one table is debating AI ethics, the next is talking about raising a $10M seed round, and in the corner two people are arguing about free speech and climate policy.

This isn’t just coffee chatter, this is ground zero for tech, money, and the culture wars. You feel the ambition in the air. It’s intoxicating. In some places, the future isn’t something you wait for, it’s something people are actively building over lattes.

And here’s the thing, Silicon Valley isn’t the only battlefield for America’s culture wars, but it’s one of the main ones. The companies here, Meta, Google, X, Apple, run the platforms where the cultural battles are fought. One side pushes progressive ideals, the other fights for libertarian freedom; sometimes they’re sitting at adjacent tables. Policy debates on AI safety, crypto, climate tech, DEI, and online speech don’t just happen here, they start here and then get exported to Washington, the media, and the rest of the world.

Like Hollywood in its heyday, Silicon Valley isn’t just making products, it’s shaping the stories America tells itself. When a culture war topic hits SV, it doesn’t stay local. It scales, just like everything else here.

Here's some Inner Game wisdom to chew on this week

1 question to punch your brain this week

Are you making decisions from fear or from possibility? (​Click to Tweet​)

2 questions (and answers) from me

1. How do I know if I'm making real progress—or just staying busy? Real progress feels quieter. It shows up in how you think, not just what you tick off. If your calendar is full but your clarity is low, you’re managing activity—not momentum. (​Click to Tweet​)

   
   

2. What’s the real cost of saying yes too often? It’s not time. It’s integrity. Every yes to something misaligned chips away at your ability to hear your own voice—and trust it. (​Click to Tweet​)​

3 insights for the Inner Game Junkies

1. Not everything that feels urgent is important. The real skill? Ignoring the noise long enough to make progress on the things that actually move your life forward. (​Click to Tweet​)

   
   

2. Most people quit because they mistake boredom for failure. The middle is supposed to feel dull. Progress is often invisible—until it’s undeniable. (​Click to Tweet​)

   
   

3. If your calendar is full but your heart feels empty, something’s off. You weren’t built to be productive—you were built to be purposeful. (​Click to Tweet​)

Growth, Profit, Freedom: You Can't Have All Three (Until You Do) feat. ​Ray Chou

Available now on Apple Podcasts and everywhere you get your podcasts

Brain Candy Tweets That Made Me Think, Laugh, or Go ‘Huh, Interesting!

Yeah, but here’s the plot twist — from 20 to 35, you’re supposed to be reckless. That’s your free-roll decade. You’ve got time, low responsibility, and just enough stupidity to try wild stuff.

I moved continents twice. Quit a cushy, high-paying corporate America job to start my first business. On paper, that looked insane. But that’s the point — the real risk isn’t blowing up… it’s playing it so safe you wake up at 40 wondering why you’re living a life you never bet on.culture.

Yeah, and most people are walking around furious about Wi-Fi speed and the Starbucks line. If the biggest thing that can rattle you is your coffee order, that’s about as big as you’ll ever be.

Upgrade what pisses you off, and you’ll probably upgrade your life.

Here’s a rundown of some cool stuff I’ve been diving into this week.

📖 ​Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health

I'm rooting for you to continue crushing it! 💪🏼

Dhiren