Have you ever noticed that when business pressure mounts, you end up trapped in one of two extremes: completely paralyzed and stuck, or spinning in circles of pure, unadulterated chaos? It’s an exhausting reality for so many leaders. As human beings, we are hardwired to constantly search for equilibrium—physically, mentally, and emotionally. But when your business hits a rough patch, your "stress response" hijacks that search, driving you into a reactive survival mode. In this episode of A New Direction, I sat down with @ChrisClearfield, author of The High-Altitude Entrepreneur, to break down the low-altitude doom loop and how it quietly dismantles your company's growth. When you manage your business from a place of chronic stress, a dangerous cycle takes over: Band-Aid Solutions: Because you’re reacting to a crisis, your fixes are rarely durable. They might patch the leak today, but they won't hold under pressure tomorrow. Trained Helplessness: By constantly swooping in to save the day, you inadvertently train your team to bring you every single problem and just wait for your solution. The Stuck vs. Chaos Paradox: You either freeze under pressure or create a frenzied environment. Both paths lead straight back to overwhelm, fueling the exact same stress cycle over again. High-altitude leaders don't just put out fires. They step back to look at the underlying tensions that are causing the fires in the first place. 🎧 Break the Cycle and Listen Now: 🔗 jizso.net/and383 🍏 iTunes: ANDitunes.com 🎧 Spotify:ANDspotify.com 🎵 Amazon Music: ANDamazon.com 🔊 Pandora: ANDpandora.com 📻 TuneIn: ANDtunein.com 🎙️ On the go? Just say: “Alexa, play the podcast A New Direction with Jay Izso.” 🚀 Ready to Unlock Real Solutions? If you're tired of riding the roller coaster between paralysis and chaos, it's time to shift your perspective. DM me right here or email me at jay@thecoachjay.com and let’s identify the underlying tensions holding your business back. #Leadership #Mindset #BusinessStrategy #Entrepreneurship #StressManagement #ANewDirection #Podcast #BusinessGrowth

What if the thing holding you back from greatness isn't how much you’re doing, but who you are being? We’ve all been conditioned to believe that the secret to success is simply working harder, running faster, and executing better. We push ourselves to become elite "doers"—scaling our skills, climbing the ladder, and filling our calendars. But during my recent conversation with Ryan Gottfredson about his book Becoming Better on A New Direction, he dropped a truth bomb that completely reframes how we look at human potential. According to the research, most of us are stuck in the low doing, low being quadrant. And when we do focus on self-development, we almost always move horizontally: we become high-performing doers. We become great scientists, executives, and leaders. But we completely neglect the vertical shift. We forget to develop our being. The numbers are staggering: Only 1% of adults ever reach a high level on the "being" side. Only 8% of executives crack the code to true vertical growth. It’s exactly what Jim Collins talked about in Good to Great. Thousands of companies—and millions of people—stay stuck at "good" not because they lack skill, but because they are trapped on a treadmill of endless activity, mistaking doing more for becoming more. True transformation doesn't happen when you change your schedule. It happens when you change your mindset. 🎧 Listen to the Full Episode Now: Stream the complete deep dive into vertical growth and unlocking your true potential across all major platforms: 🔗 Web: jizso.net/and382 🍏 iTunes: ANDitunes.com 🎧 Spotify: ANDspotify.com 🎵 Amazon Music: ANDamazon.com 🧡 iHeart: ANDiheart.com 🔊 Pandora: ANDpandora.com 📻 TuneIn: ANDtunein.com 🎙️ Just say: “Alexa, play the podcast A New Direction with Jay Izso.” Ready to break out of the 99%? Let's stop just doing and start truly being. If you're ready to shift from good to great and elevate your leadership mindset, drop me a DM right now or email me directly at jay@thecoachjay.com to get started. #LeadershipDevelopment #MindsetShift #PersonalGrowth #GoodToGreat #ANewDirection #ExecutiveCoaching #HumanPotential

What if I told you there’s an 80% chance you are lying to yourself right now? 😳 It sounds harsh, but the data doesn’t lie. In this powerful segment from my show A New Direction, author Ryan Gottfredson and I unpack a staggering statistic from researcher Tasha Eurich: 95% of people believe they are highly self-aware, but only 10% to 15% actually are. That means the vast majority of us are operating under a total illusion of self-awareness. But why is the gap so massive? Ryan breaks it down perfectly: The "Doing" Side vs. The "Being" Side Most of us think we’re self-aware simply because we know our doing side—our tasks, our actions, and our daily execution. But true self-awareness demands that we understand our being side—the underlying quality, sophistication, and truth of our internal character. If you really want to heal, improve, and elevate your leadership, you have to stop looking just at what you do and start awakening to who you are. Are you ready to face the truth and unlock the next level of your growth? 🎙️ Tune In to the Full Conversation: 🔗 Listen Now: jizso.net/and382 🍏 iTunes: ANDitunes.com 🎧 Spotify: ANDspotify.com 🎵 Amazon Music: ANDamazon.com 🧡 iHeart: ANDiheart.com 🔊 Pandora: ANDpandora.com 📻 TuneIn: ANDtunein.com 🎙️ On the go? Just say: “Alexa, play the podcast A New Direction with Jay Izso.” 🚀 Ready to Uncover Your "Being" Side? If you're ready to break past the surface level and build radical, effective self-awareness that transforms your life and leadership, let's map out your path. 👉 DM me right here or email me at jay@thecoachjay.com and let’s connect! #SelfAwareness #PersonalGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #MindsetShift #BecomingBetter #ANewDirection #EmotionalIntelligence #ExecutiveCoaching

What if the one thing holding your team back isn't your strategy, your marketing, or your budget... but who you are as a leader? When I sat down with Ryan Gottfredson on A New Direction to discuss his book, Becoming Better, we hit on a truth that a lot of leaders find incredibly uncomfortable to swallow. The data shows that the companies that successfully make the leap from good to great have one major thing in common: a leader with the deep humility to admit, "I don't know everything." The "Being Side" of Greatness As leaders, we love to focus on our skills, our accolades, and our strategic plans. But what truly separates the best from the rest isn't what you do—it's who you are. It takes massive courage to: Welcome criticism and view it as genuinely constructive. Check your ego at the door and execute brilliant ideas suggested by your team. Pivot from managing operations to mastering your own mindset. When I coach CEOs and executives, this is often where the real friction happens. At first, when I tell them the breakthrough they need is about them, not their business plan, they think I’ve got it all wrong. But the ones who lean into that vulnerability? Their entire world changes. They start thinking differently, listening differently, and driving their organizations to heights they never thought possible. Are you ready to look in the mirror and work on your "being side"? Listen to the Full Episode Now: 🔗 Watch/Listen: jizso.net/and382 🍏 iTunes: ANDitunes.com 🎧 Spotify: Spotify Link 🎵 Amazon Music: ANDamazon.com 🧡 iHeart: ANDiheart.com 🔊 Pandora: ANDpandora.com 📻 TuneIn: ANDtunein.com 🎙️ On the go? Just say: “Alexa, play the podcast A New Direction with Jay Izso.” Ready to bridge the gap from good to great? Let's talk about what's really standing in your way. DM me directly or drop me an email at jay@thecoachjay.com to start your leadership evolution today. #Leadership #MindsetShift #GoodToGreat #ExecutiveCoaching #HumilityInLeadership #ANewDirection #PersonalGrowth

Are your goals actually within your control, or are you setting yourself up for self-sabotage? On the latest episode of A New Direction, best-selling author and business development leader @DavidAckert (author of The Short List) completely redefines how we look at SMART goals—specifically the "A" (Actionable) and "R" (Realistic). Here is what most people get wrong: ❌ Actionable doesn't mean saying, "I'm going to double my business." Why? Because you cannot control if a customer buys from you! David explains that actionable goals must focus strictly on the actions you take, not the reactions of others. ❌ Realistic is entirely subjective. David uses the "50% believability" rule. If you set a goal and your brain thinks there is less than a 50% chance of making it happen, your own cynicism and self-sabotage will undermine your efforts before you even get started. You have to bake your own actions and self-awareness into your goals if you want the universe to meet you halfway! 🤝 🎧 Listen to the full episode and transform your goal-setting here: jizso.net/and374 iTunes: ANDitunes.com Spotify: ANDspotify.com Amazon Music: ANDamazon.com iHeart: ANDiheart.com Pandora: ANDpandora.com TuneIn: ANDtunein.com 🎙️ On the go? Just say: “Alexa, play the podcast A New Direction with Jay Izso.” 👉 Please share these links with your network so we can help more professionals set truly actionable and realistic goals this year! Ready to stop self-sabotaging and start executing? Let's get to work! Reach out to me at jay@thecoachjay.com or shoot me a DM today. #SMARTGoals #GoalSetting #BusinessDevelopment #Leadership #DavidAckert #ANewDirection #JayIzso #Podcast #PersonalGrowth #SuccessStrategies #Motivation

When D&G declared a housing emergency in June 2024, the SNP cut the affordable housing budget by £64.2 m. Now they're spending £2m on a 'More Homes Scotland' Quango which won't be operable until 2027. @ScottishLabour will build more houses now not next year #ANewDirection🌹

An superb evening at @DGLabour Burns Supper with Anas Sarwar providing an inspiring Immortal Memory. Always great to catch up withb @CMochan and @emdg13 former long serving MSP for Dumfriesshire. #ANewDirection #VoteScotLab26🌹 #LabourWomenHoldEachOtherUp💪

Ambition from @AnasSarwar is what this country so badly needs. Inertia, decline and stagnation under the SNP is what it has. Scotland deserves better. #ANewDirection #VoteScotLab26🌹

Did you know that as a leader, you are never truly "off the clock?" According to @noellmassie, Former VP of @ups U.S. Operations, there is no such thing as a "casual moment" in leadership. From the second you arrive on Day 1, your team is evaluating everything: where you park, who you talk to, and how you behave—even when you’re just a face in the crowd at a concert. In leadership, there is no neutrality. When you raise your hand and say "pick me," you are accepting a life of constant evaluation. Are you ready to stand the test? Listen to the full episode of A New Direction to learn how to navigate the relentless spotlight of leadership and turn it into your greatest asset. Catch the full conversation here: 🌐 Main Link: jizso.net/and369 🎧 iTunes: ANDitunes.com 🎧 Spotify: ANDspotify.com 🎧 Amazon: ANDamazon.com 🎧 Pandora: ANDpandora.com 🗣️ Or just say: “Alexa, play the podcast A New Direction with Jay Izso.” Leadership can feel like living in a fishbowl, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. If you’re ready to sharpen your leadership presence and build a culture of excellence that stands up to any evaluation, I want to hear from you. Email me at jay@thecoachjay.com to schedule a discovery call and let’s take your leadership to the next level. #ANewDirection #CoachJayIzso #Leadership #NoelMassie #UPS #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth #NoCasualMoments #ManagementTips #PodcastRecommendation

A warm welcome today in Eastriggs, a villlage famous for contributing to the economy of Dumfriesshire & Scotland. But after 19 yrs of the SNP it's been hollowed out; no local police, no GP & fewer amenities. Eastriggs needs #ANewDirection #VoteScotLab26 🌹

3 months to choose change for Dumfriesshire and Scotland with @ScottishLabour #ANewDirection🌹

Thank you @jackiebmsp for hightlighting that SNP's continued underfund of social care in Scotland. £500m is less than the curernt funding gap and far less than the COSLA ask of £750m. More of the same from the SNP means far less care for those who need it most. #ANewDirection

This election is about Scotland .... we are up for it #ANewDirection 🌹

While Reform bark out empty slogans and the SNP, predictably, rely on the diversionary trope that is "Independence" only Labour have the vision and policies to benefit working people over the long term. #ANewDirection🌹

Envious SNP? You should be. After 17mths @UKLabour are making the NHS in England more accessible, as promised. Meanwhile in D&G and across Scotland waiting lists for scans continue to rise. After 19yrs the SNP have broken our NHS. #WheresTheMoneyGoneJohn #ANewDirection 🌹

Proud of my Leader @AnasSarwar tonight, pealing back their carefully honed veneer and revealing the true face of Reform. #ANewDirection

A @UKLabour budget that works for Scotland and Dumfriesshire. Providing an increase in the National Minimum and National Living Wage in a region that has the lowest mean wage in Scotland. Helping people to help themselves and making work pay. #ANewDirection 🌹

The SNP have broken our NHS and despite launching 4 new recovery plans in the past 5 years, they can't fix it. But you know what they say about doing the same thing over again and hoping for a different result. #ANewDirection 🌹

That's over £10.3bn of additional funding for Scotland under a UK Labour Govt. Where's the money gone John ??? #ANewDirection 🌹

Great to meet up with @DGLabour members at the D&G RLP today then out on the doors talking &, as importantly, listening to voters in Loreburn, Dumfries. They recognise that after almost 20yrs of managed decline under the SNP, Scotland needs #ANewDirection 🌹