Emilie Kormienko

When we know, deep in our bones, that we are enough exactly as we are, and that we’ll be okay no matter what the world throws at us, we lay the strongest foundation possible for the journey ahead.

During work, they sometimes have “deep work” or dark mode, where they snooze all notifications from the rest of the team and turn on a sunglasses emoji (😎) on all of their internal communications systems to tell the rest of the team not to disturb them.

Even after an idea becomes sufficiently popular to survive in the world without a host, it’s still difficult for creators to escape them, because ideas bond to their hosts in the form of reputation, like a virus that lives in one’s body forever. Reputation is the aggregation of ideas that have swarmed your body. Reputation is a list of your chronic... See more

Lastly, as you execute on your strategy, in the back of your mind, always be thinking about how you can refine and strengthen the strategy. What would make it better, stronger, and clearer? A good strategy is never static. 

Exhaustion is the central symptom of burnout. It comprises profound physical, cognitive, and emotional fatigue that undermines people’s ability to work effectively and feel positive about what they’re doing.

Any creator who tries to move society forward will experience failure. Too often, we respond to these failures by calling a cab and getting on another bus line. Maybe the ride will be smoother over there. Instead, we should stay on the bus and commit to the hard work of revisiting, rethinking, and revising our ideas.

The best antidote to burnout, particularly when it’s driven by cynicism and inefficacy, is seeking out rich interpersonal interactions and continual personal and professional development. Find coaches and mentors who can help you identify and activate positive relationships and learning opportunities. Volunteering to advise others is another... See more

The most effective form of motivation is progress. When we get a signal that we are moving forward, we become more motivated to continue down that path. In this way, habit tracking can have an addictive effect on motivation. Each small win feeds your desire.

Make sure to keep up physical exercise: Every Friday before work, Reitano and Roman’s third co-founder Rob Schutz go for a lap swim.