Curtis Scaplen’s Mom spent seven years not knowing when her last day would come.

Something changed in her. No ego. No masks. No wasted moments. Just presence.

It made me ask myself a question I haven't been able to shake since:

Why do we wait for the wake-up call before we start becoming who we already know we're meant to be?

Leadership gets romanticized.

Targets. Strategy. Vision.

But at some point, it becomes quieter than that.

It becomes the moment you look in the mirror and ask:
What am I responsible for in this?

This week’s Leadership In Focus newsletter explores ownership, vulnerability, and why real growth starts internally.

When Michael Jordan was asked what he loved most about basketball, he didn’t say winning. He said practice.

Because practice was pure: no pressure, no show, just the game.

What if our workplaces were the same? Where people didn’t gear up to impress leadership, but showed up as their best selves every day.