1-2-3 Inner Game

A 5-minute weekly reset for founders and leaders

Listen to the audio format of this issue

Was this newsletter forwarded to you?

I spent last week with my mom and dad in the Philippines.

I cleared my calendar as much as I could. 

Not completely. 

I'm not going to pretend I was perfect about it. 

But I was intentional. I wanted to be present.

Not productive. Not efficient.

Present.

We talked about everything. Life. Grandchildren. Old stories I'd heard a hundred times, but somehow still laughed at. 

News stories. Business. Plans. Memories.

Everything except politics. Because some relationships are worth protecting.

We ate together. We sat in the kind of silence that only happens with people who've known you your whole life.

It was ordinary. And that's exactly what made it matter.

On my way back, a friend sent me an article. Tim Urban's "The Tail End."

If you haven't read it, the premise is simple. 

Urban visualized his entire life in different units. 

Not years. 

Not decades. 

But in units that actually mean something. 

Books he'll read. 

Summers left. 

Times he'll see the people he loves.

And then he did the math on his parents.

By the time he left home at 18, he'd already used up 93% of his in-person parent time. 

Ninety-three percent. 

Not halfway. 

Not most of it. 

Almost all of it.

What's left? Maybe seeing them five times a year. 

Maybe two days each visit. 

That's roughly 10 days a year. If he's lucky enough to have them for another 30 years, that's 300 days. Total.

Less time than a single year of childhood.

I read that on the plane. And I just sat there.

Because I'd just had a week of exactly those days. 

The ones that are running out. 

The ones I'll never get more of. 

And I almost didn't take the trip.

Not because I didn't want to. 

Because the calendar was full. 

Because there were calls to take. 

Because there's always something that feels urgent.

And that's the trap, isn't it?

We treat time with the people who matter most as if it's infinite. 

As if there will always be another visit, another dinner, another chance to say the thing

we've been meaning to say.

But the math doesn't lie.

The tail end is shorter than you think. And you're already in it.

I'm not writing this to make you feel guilty. I'm writing this because it changed how I think about this week. 

And the next one. And the one after that.

Clearing that calendar wasn't a sacrifice. It was the most important decision I made all month.

So let me ask you something.

Who are you in the tail end with?

And what are you going to do about it this week?

Sources:

The Tail End — Wait But Why

If you’re an entrepreneur, or know one who would benefit from creating clarity, aligning their team, building momentum, and growing their business with the Bloom Growth system, I’d love to connect.

🧠 1 Insight

Trust doesn’t break in big moments.

It weakens in small ones.

A commitment that slips without acknowledgment. A conversation that gets avoided. A message that gets ignored longer than it should.

Individually, each one feels minor. Easy to justify. Easy to move past.

But people notice patterns.

They start adjusting how much they rely on you. How much they share. How much they commit back.

Nothing dramatic happens.

The relationship just carries less weight.

And by the time it feels like a problem, it’s already been building for a while.

🪞 2 Reflections

1. Where might trust be weakening slightly in my relationships or team?

2. What have I not followed through on or addressed clearly?

🧭 3 Moves to Practice This Week

1. Close one open loop. Follow up on something you left hanging. Even a short message resets trust.
   

2. Acknowledge a miss directly. Say it plainly. No explanation. No justification.
   

3. Do what you said you would. Reliability builds trust faster than words.

Trust is built in consistency.

​Click to tweet

📡 Bonus

Starting is what makes things make sense.

Until next week:

Follow through. Stay consistent. Keep trust intact.

— Dhiren