Good morning and welcome to the Increased Reimpaq Podcast. I'm Justin Sua, episode 1213. Today I want to talk about a mental model I've been thinking a lot about lately. And I've discussed this mental model with you on a previous episode, maybe maybe a couple of them. The principle is this. Anything time zero is zero. It's basic math. We've all learned it.

You can have all of the positives in the world, add them up, stack them high, make it as big as

you want, the number as big as you want it to be, multiply it, multiply it, but the moment you multiply it by

zero, it all disappears. Now, the principle is, and the twist is, as a leader, oftentimes when

we talk about zeros, we were thinking about people. We're thinking about people on our team.

Oh, there is zero or there is zero. But I'm not talking about if you're a leader, the people you lead.

I'm talking about you. I'm talking about me. As a coach, you can be an incredible teacher.

You can connect with players. You can win games. You can inspire people. You'd be a master at

building a strong culture. You can do all the right things. But if there's a zero in your character,

a habit you need to fix a value that you preach but you don't practice,

a corner that you cut when no one is watching, that one zero can cancel everything out.

You can't out-coach a lack of integrity. You can't out-lead poor self-awareness.

And you can't build a legacy if your character is leaking behind the scenes.

It might show up today. People might see it in plain sight, and it might not. Maybe you parade around

and people think you're outstanding, but it's going to show up eventually. And that's why I believe

that character is the ultimate multiplier. It either elevates everything and enhances everything or it empties and

caches everything out to zero. And I'm not saying that we have to be perfect. I will say that.

Please don't misunderstand me. We do not have to be perfect. Nobody is. But it is important to be

honest with ourselves. having the courage to ask

ourselves difficult questions, to invite feedback, to do inner work that nobody else sees,

because everyone will eventually feel it.

Coaching and leadership isn't just about what you say.

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