The quiet work always shows up eventually.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

December 30, 2025   |   Read Online Private Victories Build Public Power The quiet work always shows up eventually. People see the outcomes: The achievements, the presence, the reputation… What they don't see are the invisible disciplines that make it all possible. Every person you admire has a private world of quiet victories. The choices made when no one is watching. The moments of resistance overcome in silence. The standards kept when it would have been easier not to. That's where strength is built. Not on stages, but in solitude. The public results are just reflections of the private code. It's easy to underestimate this truth in an age obsessed with performance and visibility. We think progress must be shared to be real, that validation is what makes effort meaningful. But the opposite is true. The more your validation comes from within, the more powerful your external presence becomes. Because integrity is cumulative. Each time you honor your private standards (keeping a promise, finishing the work, holding a boundary) you stack unseen bricks of self-trust. And that trust changes how you move through the world. You stand taller. You speak more deliberately. You stop asking for permission…because you know you've earned your place. That's what people feel when they sense authority in someone. It isn't arrogance. It's the confidence born from a long record of private victories. You don't need to announce your discipline. You just need to live it. Eventually, your presence does the announcing for you. The man or woman who wins in public has already won hundreds of invisible battles in private…against laziness, distraction, doubt, and fear. Those who lose those battles rarely recover through charm or talent alone. If you want to change what the world sees, start by changing what you do when the world isn't watching. Keep your promises when it's inconvenient. Do the work when there's no applause. Honor your word when it costs you something. That's where your power accumulates…quietly, steadily, invisibly. And one day, when people wonder how you command the room without saying a word, you'll know the answer: It's because you built something no one else could see. Your coach, -James Michael Sama P.S.: If you're looking for a private advisor to help you develop these qualities, let's talk.   Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2025 Your secret weapon. 228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United States Powered by beehiiv Terms of Service

	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Sparks of a New Renaissance in Painting Emerge from China Rising Tide Foundation Dec 30   READ IN APP   By Matthew Ehret It is rare to see new artistic movements arise. It is even rarer that such artistic revolutions manage to respect the best traditions of the past while at the same time infuse something new and improved into society. The fatal error made by many innovators attempting to break with the often stultifying force of custom and tradition, is found in a fetish for novelty, and a tendency to skip steps. How often have we seen the abstract impressionist paint splatterings, post-modernist chicken scratch or atonal randomized sounds performed by artistic reformers whom we are told by “authorities” are brilliant. On closer inspection, we often discover that those novel reformers either deconstructed their former technical skills to randomized incoherence, or who never even bothered to learn the basic skills of their art which they desired to destroy. This pandemic of novelty has created generations of young artists who aspire to ascend new mountains never before climbed without first having mastered walking up a hill. In recent years, fresh artistic currents have arisen in China which have avoided the disastrous cult of novelty by synthesizing the best of many traditions from both eastern and western sensibilities and techniques in order to create new wholes that are inarguably more than the sum of the parts. One absolutely inspiring example of this creative process now underway is Song Di, a Beijing-based painter born in Mouping County (Shangdong Province) in 1945 who has brilliantly taken Chinese aesthetics into a fresh domain breaking with the typically monochromatic, and simple ink brush styles that characterized the traditional rice paper landscape paintings for eons. Song Di’s style has innovated intricately detailed, multicoloured landscapes while still expressing a simplicity and soul emblematic in Chinese painting. At the heart of his power to shape a new style has been his emersion into western artistic techniques with a focus on impressionist landscapes: “The techniques I absorbed from western art are imbued with traditional Chinese spirit and artistic verve.” Click on the image in the original article for an enlarged version which can be found here. Breaking with those who think that painting must either be bound to the literal copying of “objective nature”, or the purely “subjective” inner expression of the self without regard for nature’s outward truth, Song Di states: “Mother nature has been so generous that she has given everything to humans, therefore I devote my keen observations to study nature. For example, when you look at a pine tree, it appears to be very tall, straight and forceful and is often hit by wind and thunder. The whole appearance of it really takes on a person, who probably has some kung fu skills.” Striving to imbue the spirit of the new multipolar paradigm ushered in by the renewal of the ancient silk road uniting diverse cultures together in a new common web of interconnectedness and sharing, Song Di is quick to remind artists that they have responsibilities to humanity, saying: “Artists of our time shoulder a new responsibility, which is to create artistic works to answer the call of the era.” Does the speaker thus mean that the artist must cater to the popular tastes of the era regardless of the level of mediocrity prevalent in popular culture? Does he mean that Chinese artists must only focus on China’s culture? Not at all. For Song Di, the challenge is to uplift all of humanity to resonate with the entire universe while still holding onto one’s own particular heritage localized in space and time: “They should not only be received and welcomed by the people of China but also affect the aesthetics of people from all over the world… What I am doing now is updating the thousand-year old Chinese landscape painting tradition to express the multicoloured boundless universe.” A sample gallery of some of Song Di’s most popular works Click on the image in the original article for an enlarged version which can be found here. The Rising Tide Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Montreal, Canada, focused on facilitating greater bridges between east and west while also providing a service that includes geopolitical analysis, research in the arts, philosophy, sciences and history. Consider supporting our work by subscribing to our substack page and Telegram channel at t.me/RisingTideFoundation. Rising Tide Foundation Dedicated to the enhancement of cross-cultural understanding and dialogue between east and west. You're currently a free subscriber to Rising Tide Foundation. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Restack   © 2025 Rising Tide Foundation PO Box 3, Ste Martine, Quebec, J0S 1V0 Unsubscribe

Today's decisions create tomorrow's victories.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

December 28, 2025   |   Read Online ♛ Your last strategic move of 2025 ♞ Today's decisions create tomorrow's victories. Life is like chess. Yet, most people play it like checkers, assuming things can only move in a straight line. The truth is that the complexity and strategy required to come out on top isn't linear, but nuanced. It asks you to think far beyond just the next move, and how it will then position you for the ones that come after it. Despite this truth, as the year closes, most people keep doing what they've always done: They promise themselves they'll "start fresh" in January when "the timing is right," as if life will magically slow down and create space for them to work on themselves, or if the changing date on the calendar will transform them into a different person. They wait. For momentum, for clarity…for "motivation." That's not how chess (life) is played, and it's certainly not how it is won. The players who win don't rely on hope as a strategy. They position themselves intentionally. This moment, right now…the runway leading into 2026, is where this positioning happens. The next move you make will echo through the next year (and beyond). Here's the reality most people miss: • Your results in 2026 will not be determined by more effort alone. "Working harder" is no longer the answer, especially if that work is just spinning you in circles. • Real results will be determined by the quality of your decisions, counsel, and environment. • And by whether you're thinking three moves ahead, or just responding to the last one…always keeping you on the back foot. This is where I extend two invitations, depending on how you prefer to play the game: ♟Private Advisory. This is the equivalent of sitting across the board from someone who sees patterns you don't yet see. This is solo work with me as your secret weapon. We work one-on-one to: Clarify what actually matters in the next season of your life, and how to maximize it. Eliminate wasted moves, distractions, and self-sabotage. Build a strategy that aligns identity, ambition, and execution. Create the version of yourself who is capable of winning the game. Rewire your internal narrative so it propels you forward rather than keeping you stuck. Enhance understanding of psychology and relationships so you can build deeper connections in life and love. This is for those who want bespoke and discreet precision. Not a course. Not traditional "life coaching," but a custom-tailored plan to elevate your life. More intentional moves. Even better outcomes. If this is for you, schedule a consult and let's explore options together. ♟The Round Table This is positioning yourself among other strong pieces. Our private council meets weekly (virtually) to discuss mindset, philosophy, fulfillment, family, legacy, and the things that really matter. Not a random crowd. Not a group chat. Definitely not a "networking group." A carefully selected cohort where the caliber of thinking elevates your own. The Round Table is for those who've outgrown everywhere else. The truth is that who you sit beside matters. What conversations you normalize matters. What standards you hold for those around you, matters. You don't join us to learn how to move. You've already got that part down. You join us to move even more efficiently. To sharpen your blade on the wisdom of others. If this is for you, apply for a seat here. Neither path is about "doing more" next year, because "more" of something that isn't working doesn't do you any good. Both are about making the right move now, so 2026 unfolds with intention, leverage, and control. The board is already in front of you. The only question is whether you let another year play you…or whether you take your seat and take charge. Let's win together. Your coach, -James Michael Sama   Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2025 Your secret weapon. 228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United States Powered by beehiiv Terms of Service