AI is coming for our jobs! Or… AI will make us wildly successful! When we don’t know, when the future is uncertain, our minds work overtime filling in the blanks. That’s human nature.
Sometimes we act on the stories we make up as though they’re facts. That’s when things get interesting. Or dangerous.
Window: Two Black Men, One Assumption, Enormous Consequences
In 2018, two young Black entrepreneurs walked into a Philadelphia Starbucks to meet a potential business partner. They sat down to wait.
The manager asked them to make a purchase or leave. They declined. She called the police.
Minutes later, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were led away in handcuffs.
They’d come for a business meeting. They left under arrest.
The incident sparked national outrage, and Starbucks closed more than 8,000 stores for racial-bias training.
We can’t know exactly what the manager was thinking. But the consequences of her judgments were enormous.
Which raises an uncomfortable question. What stories are you telling yourself that are shaping your life and other people’s lives, without you realizing it?
The Stories That Quietly Run Our Lives
Stories preserve traditions, communicate values, and connect us. Wonderful!
But our minds also invent stories to explain what others are thinking, make sense of uncertainty, and predict the future.
A colleague doesn’t respond to your greeting. You think: “She doesn’t like me.”
Your team challenges your decision. You tell yourself: “They’re undermining my authority.”
A new opportunity appears. “I’m not good enough,” you decide.
Amare Leadership Lab – New Group Starts January 2027
What old stories are holding you back from becoming the leader you want to be? Join a small, supportive group of accomplished leaders committed to growing together, challenging limiting beliefs, and creating breakthroughs in leadership and life.
Our next group begins in January.
Just 6–8 committed leaders. If this speaks to you, check this out.
Self-Awareness is Your Leadership Advantage
Self-awareness helps us notice when an old belief is turning today’s challenge into yesterday’s familiar drama. This is where the growth edge is.
For leaders, the lesson is powerful. When people lack information, they fill in the blanks. Sometimes with disaster movies starring themselves.
Leading well means acknowledging genuine uncertainty, sharing what we know, and helping people influence what comes next.
Instant Amare Thought Experiment – Notice Your Story
Think of something troubling you right now.
Notice the story you’re telling yourself about it. What does it suggest about you, someone else, or the future?
Now ask, “What do I actually know?”
For a moment, release the need to believe your interpretation.
Notice what changes.
Mirror – Questions to ask yourself
1. What outdated belief about myself am I still reinforcing?
2. Where might my assumptions be creating unnecessary suffering or conflict?
3. What possibilities open up when I stop needing my story to be true?
Door Into Action – 5 Amare Steps to Stop the Limiting Stories
1. Notice the story. Catch yourself assuming motives, predicting disasters, or replaying old beliefs.
2. Challenge your certainty. Separate facts from interpretations. Ask what else might be true.
3. Question the old script. Does this belief reflect who you are today, or who you learned to be years ago?
4. Make friends with uncertainty. Explore possibilities, prepare wisely, and focus on what you can influence. Stop suffering over imagined futures.
5. Choose love over fear. Respond with curiosity, courage, and compassion. Help others do the same.
Amare Team Talk
Ask your team to identify one story you’re collectively telling about your people, your customers, or your future. Make two columns on a flipchart. First list what you know. Then list what you’re assuming. Prioritize what assumptions to test.
You Are More Than Your Stories
You don’t have to believe everything your mind tells you. Even the stories you’ve been telling yourself for years.
You can experience difficulty without adding unnecessary suffering. You can face uncertainty without inventing certainty. And you can lead courageously without knowing exactly what happens next.
This week, notice one story that’s keeping you small, fearful, or disconnected. Question it. Then act from who you want to be, rather than who you’ve always believed you are.
You might discover that the freedom you’ve been seeking begins with letting go of something you only thought was true.
Love,
–Moshe
Today’s Amare Wave Wednesday Quote
“I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”
— Often attributed to Mark Twain
Click here and read more Amare Wave Wednesday newsletters on related topics:
Limiting Assumptions Limit Your Success: 5 Amare Steps To Better Assumptions, Strategies, Results – The Magic Leadership Triangle
How to Navigate Strong Emotions To Not Derail Your Core Commitments: A Leader’s 5 Step Guide
Impossible – Until It’s Not: How Breakthroughs Happen When You Question What Everyone Else Says Cannot Be Done
AI May Be the Excuse for Layoffs When Leadership Is the Real Reason
The Dynamic Duo of Great Leadership: Self-Awareness & The Art of Listening
