The tightrope walker’s step

Alexander Lyadov
2 min readApr 2, 2022
Isabel Sophia

Of course, it is prudent to choose only those battles in which you have a high chance of winning. But sometimes life doesn’t ask you what you’re ready for and what you want. It grabs you hard by the neck and throws you into the raging ocean.

Faced with a new and unfamiliar situation, it’s easy to fall into a stupor. There is a significant gap between the level of difficulty of the task and your skill level. Riding a giant wave, there is a risk of not holding on, falling off, hitting the reefs and drowning. The proximity of disaster and not knowing what to do — no wonder you feel insecure at such a moment. It would be strange if it were otherwise.

In such cases I am reminded of the tightrope walker. When he is over the precipice, he has no time to tremble or reflect. There is no time to doubt himself. And there’s no point in plotting the perfect route. The tightrope walker is totally absorbed in the work. All of his attention is focused on how to take that one next step.

It seems like a small step, but without a full commitment, nothing will work. The stakes are too high. Death is looking into his eyes. The slightest distraction, hesitation, asynchrony — and the daredevil will fly down with a scream. That is why his whole life is concentrated at the point of contact of the foot and the rope.

Fortunately, the rope walker doesn’t need a map or a navigator. Even fog and night will not lead him astray. The rope itself has laid out the route, and it is the only one and the best one. You just have to trust it.

It is necessary to dissolve in the problem entirely. Forget everything else. Raise your vigilance and caution. Take one leap of faith after another. As you do this, you’ll be surprised how quickly time flies by, and you’ll be relieved to be stepping on solid ground.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

Kyiv, 02.04.2022

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russia here.

As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

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Alexander Lyadov

As a business therapist, I help tech founders increase the value of their business by unlocking the potential of their personality.