RAISE Mindset and Performance

07/23/2025

“The people who win are not always the ones who know what they are doing” 👍🏻

To anyone out there at a crossroads, you need to read this 👇🏾

Nischa Shah said no to a bonus that would’ve changed most people’s year and lives.

And said yes to a life that might change her forever.

Here’s what people miss:
It’s not that she didn’t value the money.
It’s that the cost of staying had become too high.

Too many people are holding onto a job that looks great…while slowly letting go of themselves.

I dropped out of university after one lecture when I was a broke student to venture into starting a business without any conventional means wasn't the risk.

Staying in university, in an environment that I didn't want to be in, which I knew it wasn't right for me WAS the risk.

I was risking my happiness, future and potential.

And for what?

To not upset my parents? To graduate at a university that I wasn't bothered about? To get a job working for someone else?

I knew in my gut that that path wasn’t for me, and that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.

I wasn’t willing to risk my North star because it was the conventional way to do things.

So if you’re at that fork in the road right now, and the numbers aren’t making sense…

Ask yourself a better question: What’s it costing you to stay where you are?

The people who win aren’t always the ones who know what they’re doing.

They’re the ones who refuse to keep doing what they know is wrong.

✅ Passion with purpose = obsession.
🔨 Obsession over time = skill.
🚀 And skill + patience = your own definition of success.

Let this story remind you: you don’t have to wait until it makes sense to everyone else to start doing what makes sense to you.

07/01/2025

“Impressions aren’t the metric. Impact is.” - Steve Bartlett - Spot on! 👆🏻🙏🏻

THIS WAS NOT WRITTEN BY CHATGPT....chasing LinkedIn impressions is probably about to ruin your personal brand & brand marketing

I spend a lot of time thinking about the next big content/marketing shift

It’s the most important question in marketing - always

Being early brings real rewards.

In 2015, I started creating social content as a CEO (back when it was weird).

It turned out to be early and well-timed.

✅ The first principles that inspired this:

📱 Smartphones gave us a film crew in our pocket

🤳🏾 Social media gave us a TV channel

💁🏽‍♂️ People will always buy from people

In 2017, I launched a podcast - fairly early, good timing.

✅ Inspired by:

🎧 Tech made audio easy - earbuds, Spotify podcasts, YouTube, smart speakers, CarPlay, cheap data

⏱️ Behaviour shifted - people chose long-form audio, ad $$$ followed, creators responded with more & better content

🧠 Everyone chased short & viral - which created a gap for deeper, human storytelling

✅ So what’s next?

🤖 AI is eating the production process - content is now faster, cheaper, easier.

That makes it dangerously tempting to churn out generic, shallow content for easy “impressions” - and we’re all a bit lazy by nature.

BUT... chasing impressions will mess you up long term

It's an addictive drug that will lead you astray

It pulls you from your message into cliché, fluff, and forgettable

I have been guilty of this

I used to make 2-min Facebook viral videos that did tens of millions of views

They were pretty embarrassing if I'm honest

I delivered more impact when I started reading my diary for an hour to 1,000 podcast listeners

That’s when I learned: Impressions aren’t the metric. Impact is

The problem is platforms can’t measure that

So it takes first-principle thinking, a long-term view and faith.

🧠 People are lonelier than ever. They don’t want more content - they want more connection.

In a world drowning in clips and bots, the rarest thing is realness - a voice that feels like it’s speaking TO you, WITH you, not AT you.

My feed actually feels lonelier because I don’t feel like I’m talking to humans anymore.

☠️ The “Follower” is dead. Algorithms have copied TikTok, they now care about watch time and engagement, not followers.

If you can’t reach your audience directly (email, SMS, post) - they’re not really your audience.

📈 There are now 30+ platforms with 100M+ users. Audiences are splintered.

So my 2025 strategy is simple: Long, Live, IRL and Owned.

✅ LONG: Share real life. Depth > polish. 2x more time in the comments connecting.

✅ LIVE: Go live more often (Twitter Spaces, LinkedIn Live, IG Live, Twitch, YouTube Live)

✅ IRL: Meet people (events, coffee chats, run clubs etc)

✅ OWNED: Build your email list (ConvertKit, Substack). Create private digital spaces (Discord, Circle, Slack etc)

This is the time to stop broadcasting and to start connecting!

What have I missed? let me know what you're thinking / feeling and if there's anything you agree with here

06/24/2025

🎙️ NEW EPISODE OUT NOW

From Mask to Miracles: Wrestling with Identity, Faith & the Weight of Duty with Navy veteran and author .duelley

What happens when the mask of success starts to crack?

Ben shares the story behind his book God Was Always Speaking, I Just Wasn’t Listening — and the personal unraveling that led him to finally confront what he’d spent years pushing down.

📍 This isn’t about belief — it’s about awareness.
📍 It’s not about answers — it’s about asking better questions.

🎧 Listen now:
🔹 Website: www.raisemindset.org
🔹 Podbean: https://raisemindset.podbean.com/e/from-mask-to-miracles-wrestling-with-identity-faith-and-the-weight-of-duty-with-ben-duelley/
🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/71hrN3wPqvLaVzrO2iVduZ?si=9_es-xDQRsaJzETBxAFa6Q
🔹 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-mask-to-miracles-wrestling-with-identity-faith/id1720988178?i=1000714339596

06/23/2025

🚨 TRAILER DROP — Final Episode of Season 3
Releases Tuesday 6/24

From the cockpit to the crash.
From holding it all together… to finally letting it fall apart.
Ben Duelley’s story isn’t about answers — it’s about the courage to ask better questions.

💭 What happens when the armor cracks?
💭 Who sees you before you see yourself?
💭 And what if your next chapter starts when you stop pretending you’re fine?

🎙️ Embracing the Journey: Living Beyond Limits
Finale lands this Tuesday available on Apple, Spotify and Podcast and via raisemindset.org

Listen. Reflect. Share.

06/17/2025

🎙 New Episode Out Now
The Weight We Carry: Doubts, Hopes, and Dreams with

From being a 12-year-old patient to becoming a pediatric physician on the path to neonatal perinatal medicine, Alissa Puzo’s story is about more than just medicine.

It’s about curiosity.
It’s about emotional presence.
It’s about learning to lead — by listening.

This episode is a conversation about growth, compassion, and the unseen moments that shape who we become. Whether you're in healthcare, education, or just trying to show up better in your own life — this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or via www.raisemindset.org

06/16/2025

🎧 New Episode Drops Tomorrow

From a 12-year-old navigating an unexpected diagnosis… To learning to lead with empathy, curiosity, and presence.

In our latest episode, Alissa Puzo shares her journey — not just into medicine, but into the kind of human she’s becoming. We talk about emotional regulation, asking better questions, leading from within, and what it means to truly see and support the people around you. Most significantly presence over perfection. 🔥

This one’s not just about her story — it’s about all of us learning how to show up better.

🎙Available on at raisemindset.org tomorrow, June 17.

06/13/2025

🌍 “How amazing is it that someone can make you excited about how physics works… or why things fall from the sky?”

Alissa Puzo’s love for learning didn’t just shape her career — it shaped her way of seeing the world.

In the next episode of Embracing the Journey, we explore how curiosity, wonder, and the people who take the time to teach us can ignite a lifelong purpose.

🎙 The Weight We Carry
Releasing Tuesday, June 17