Core Value #4 Clarity: From Deadlines to Death

Are you feeling stuck or searching for clarity in your life? In this article, I'll share 10 profound questions to help you find personal clarity, 8 professional frameworks to get you unstuck, and 12 powerful books to guide you toward success.

My goal is to help someone find clarity in their life both personally and professionally! But first, there's something crucial you need to understand about real clarity...

Clarity Hurts Like Hell.

One day you're drowning in deadlines, endless to-do lists, and convinced that every task is crucial. The next, reality strikes, and suddenly those urgent emails mean nothing. True clarity - both in boardrooms and bedrooms isn't found in busy schedules or comfortable lies. It’s uncovered through raw, honest reflection, and fearlessness.

??Fun Fact: clarity is rarely comfortable.

Finding Clarity in Life: A Guide to Personal and Professional Growth

Why Is Clarity Hard?

Clarity is hard because it makes you face truths you’d rather ignore. It requires you to stop lying to yourself about your priorities and ask: Are the things you’re chasing aligned with what you really value? Are you spending time on things that add meaning to your life—or are you just running on autopilot?

It’s tempting to stay busy, to fill your days with tasks and distractions. But clarity doesn’t live in the hustle. Instead, it lives in the moments where you pause and really analyze yourself, like when you are laying in bed hours on end because you can't seem to turn off your brain.

To get clarity, you have to ask the hard questions. You have to admit when your priorities are out of alignment. You have to face the fear of what you might find when you really examine your life under a microscope.

Clarity Through Pain & Coping With Grief

I Was Forced to Face What Truly Matters...

Content Warning: The following section discusses personal loss and grief.

For me, clarity became painfully clear when I lost my fiancée in October 2024. (last month at the time of writing this) Briget Faille passed away unexpectedly from a pulmonary embolism—on the day of my bachelor party, three weeks before our wedding.

On that Saturday, I came home to find her body lying lifeless on our living room floor. Just 24 hours earlier, I’d been venting to her that I was overwhelmed and stressed about all the things I "had" to do. My priorities felt immovable like the world would somehow fall apart if I didn’t complete everything by Sunday.

But then, everything changed. She was gone. Sunday came, and all the things I thought mattered so much the day before didn’t even cross my mind. Nothing I had stressed over got done, and it didn’t matter. None of it truly mattered.

When you experience loss on this scale, clarity is no longer optional. It forces you to reevaluate everything. It makes you ask the questions you’ve been avoiding: What actually matters? Why do you give so much energy to things that don’t? Why do you let minor stresses steal your peace?

Life is fragile. It’s heartbreakingly short. Far too often, we waste it obsessing over things that won’t mean anything in the end.

Finding Clarity in Life: 10 Questions to Get Unstuck

Discover how to find clarity in life and boost personal and professional growth with 10 transformative questions.

In the raw aftermath of losing Briget, breathing itself felt like an impossible task. Each morning brought the crushing weight of her absence. But even in that darkness, something unexpected emerged – a fierce clarity about what truly matters. My core values became my compass when the world stopped making sense.

These questions aren't comfortable. They're the ones I wish I'd asked before life forced me to face them. Whether you're navigating loss, standing at a crossroads, or simply feeling that gentle tug toward something more authentic – I hope these ten questions help you uncover clarity in your journey:

1. What would your 10-year-old self say if they saw your morning routine now? (Would they high-five you or ask, "What happened?")
2. If your friends had to list your top 3 flaws, what would they be? (Would you agree with them?)
3. Do you trust your friends to challenge and stand up to you when you’re wrong?
4. How would you feel if your closest friend suddenly died? (What would you regret not saying or doing together?)
5. Can you recall a time when your beliefs were truly tested? (Why was that your response?)
6. Is there a traumatic event that you rarely talk about? (Why don't you?)
7. Can you list your top 3 values without hesitating?
8. If your values were visible to everyone around you, would they align with how you currently live your life?
9. If someone crossed your nonnegotiable line, would you have the strength to walk away, or would you justify staying?
10. What’s one key lesson life taught you that you still carry with you today?

Achieve Professional Clarity

Rocket To Clarity With Project Management!

The need for clarity is what sparked my interest in project management about 8 years ago. I worked most of my career in corporate America and early on I experienced firsthand what it takes to drive a vision through to execution. In my experience, I quickly figured out the single, most profound truth that every professional in this field understands: Projects are hard!

Not only are they hard, but no two projects are the same and expectations do not tend to match with reality!

I’ve built my career on creating clarity in chaos. It’s what drove me to develop a deep understanding of frameworks and strategies that align teams and deliver results. In project management, ambiguity isn’t just inconvenient—it’s toxic. If you don’t have clarity about what you’re building, why you’re building it, and who it’s for, you’re destined to miss the mark.

For me, clarity in the professional world comes down to three principles:

1. Empathy: Understand the user or client deeply—what they need, what their pain points are, and why your work matters to them.
2. Focus on Value: Prioritize what delivers the most impact and let go of what doesn’t.
3. Continuous Improvement: Learn from failures, adapt, and always strive to do better.

These principles are tools that keep me aligned and clear about my purpose, both professionally and personally.

8 Essential Professional Frameworks to Overcome Challenges and Boost Productivity

Confused? There's a framework for that...

Tired of fuzzy goals, meetings, and projects that lead nowhere? You're not alone. Every business challenge has a proven path forward - if you know where to look. The difference between staying stuck and breaking through often comes down to using the right framework at the right time.

Here's a roadmap to matching common business headaches with 8 frameworks that actually work for some of the most common problems:

Problem: "My team thinks 'crushing it' is a measurable goal..."

Framework: OKR (Objectives and Key Results)

• Purpose: Goal setting and achievement
• When to use: Performance management, strategy execution
• Components: Objectives (qualitative), Key Results (quantitative)

Problem: "Why does our 'simple' product feel like an IKEA nightmare?"

Framework: Design Thinking

• Purpose: User-centered innovation
• When to use: Product development, service design
• Process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test

Problem: "How could we build the Death Star, but still stay within budget?"

Framework: Agile/Scrum

• Purpose: Iterative project delivery and focus on value delivery
• When to use: Software development, complex projects with changing requirements
• Key features: Timeboxed Outcomes, Daily Progress, Retrospectives for Improvement

Problem: "How do I get our company culture to actually match our values?"

Framework: McKinsey 7S Framework

• Purpose: Analyze internal organizational design
• When to use: Change management, organizational alignment
• Elements: Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Style, Staff, Skills

Problem: "How do I go from ‘dumpster fire’ to ‘well-oiled machine’ without losing my sanity?"

Framework: Six Sigma (DMAIC)

• Purpose: Process improvement and quality control
• When to use: Manufacturing, service delivery optimization
• Steps: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control

Problem: "Why do customers keep ghosting us?"

Framework: Value Proposition Canvas

• Purpose: Design products/services that match customer needs
• When to use: Product development, market fit analysis
• Activities: Customer jobs, Pains, Gains, Products/Services, Pain relievers, Gain Creators

Problem: "Why does it feel like we’re putting in steak energy but only serving hot dogs?"

Framework: Value Chain Analysis

• Purpose: Identify sources of competitive advantage
• When to use: Process optimization, strategic planning
• Activities: Primary (operations, logistics) and Support (HR, technology)

Problem: "My mind is blanking, where do I start?"

Framework: Mind Mapping

• Purpose: Visualize and organize information in a non-linear, brain-friendly way
• When to use: Brainstorming, planning, note-taking, problem-solving, studying
• Activities: Central theme, Primary branches (main ideas), Secondary branches (details), Visual elements (colors, symbols, images)

PMI Power Skills to Sharpen Your Professional Vision

Get Clear on Your Success!

Clarity has been a driving force in my life, and I’ve learned that building certain core skills can transform how we navigate challenges, both personally and professionally. These skills aren’t limited to project managers—they’re universal and valuable for anyone looking to grow!

I’ve highlighted key power skills from the Project Management Institute (https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/power-skills), which are critical for success and I've paired each skill with a must-read book that can help you gain clarity in these areas.

TIP: Save or share this list - you’ll want to revisit it! (not sponsored)

1. Accountability: Taking psychological ownership for what you say you will do.

Book Recommendation: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink (Author), Leif Babin (Author)

2. Adaptability: Ability to respond to unforeseen changes

Book Recommendation: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Paperback by Carol S. Dweck (Author)

3. Collaborative leadership: Ability to work with others across boundaries to make decisions

Book Recommendation: Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek (Author)

4. Communication: Effective in explanation, writing, and public speaking

Book Recommendation: Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Grenny (Author)

5. Discipline: Ability to impose structure through planning, routines, and timelines

Book Recommendation: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Author)

6. Empathy: Ability to sense others’ emotions by imagining yourself in their situation

Book Recommendation: Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown (Author)

7. For-purpose orientation: Recognize the needs of others and actively seek ways to help them

Book Recommendation: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek (Author)

8. Future-focused orientation: Ability to energize others with your vision of the future

Book Recommendation: The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen (Author)

9. Innovative mindset: Ability to generate creative ideas and act upon them to solve problems

Book Recommendation: Creative Confidence by David Kelley (Author)

10. Problem-solving: Ability to figure out what is wrong and resolve it

Book Recommendation: The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries (Author)

Bonus Recommendation! Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It Hardcover by Chris Voss (Author), Tahl Raz (Author)

11. Relationship Building: Ability to deepen personal relationships through building trust

Book Recommendation: How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Author)

12. Strategic thinking: Ability to see patterns and alternative paths rather than complexity

Book Recommendation: Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt (Author)

The Gift of Clarity - How Embracing Challenges Leads to Professional Success

Think Differently!

It can be "easy" to wake up in the morning, do your routine, go through the motions, work at your job, come home, binge watch TV, and repeat the cycle. But eventually, life is going to throw something hard your way, a difficult project, or a major life event that will shift the nature of your entire reality.

Clarity isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. It’s the foundation of a meaningful life. Clarity helps you make better decisions, prioritize what truly matters, and let go of the things that don’t.

Remember to challenge the things you're unclear on! Focus on why you feel stressed, anxious, tired, etc. Negative emotions are a data point just as much as positive ones! We are all on this planet together, remember to find out who you are and do some good in the world before we leave it.

So I’ll leave you with this: What is one action you can take today to gain clarity on what truly matters?

?? Share your thoughts on book recommendations or further tips in the comments below. If you are going through a personal loss, reach out to me - never go it alone!