The Inhale Before the Wave

And a Warning for Those Standing on the Shore

I am not writing this to give you nightmares, but to maybe, just maybe, encourage you to get a bit more strategic. A risky move on a Friday night, I know.

That said…

---

For years I dreamt about tsunami waves. I remember standing, paralyzed with the inevitable, watching the wall of water approach. In these dreams, I could never move fast enough. I was trapped in that moment of horrifying recognition – seeing what was coming but unable to escape it.

There is a moment, just before a tsunami, when the sea takes a deep inhale.

The sky is blue, the birds are chirping, and the water quietly recedes. It looks like peace. But those who recognize the signs know what's coming. They don't freeze. They move. Quickly. They get to higher ground.

Most people don't see it. They keep going about their day, anchored to normalcy. The sun is still shining, after all. But by the time the wave is visible on the horizon, it's already too late.

I believe we're in that moment right now.

The Quiet Shift

There are moments in history when the ground beneath us shifts.

Sometimes, the change is slow, creeping in through the cracks, easy to ignore until one day everything feels… different. Other times, it comes like a tsunami—sudden, overwhelming, and utterly unforgiving.

Many people sense it. A quiet discomfort. A feeling of being out of step with the world, of knowing they should be doing something different—but not knowing what. A vague unease, the kind that lingers beneath the surface.

The rules of the game are changing—economically, technologically, socially, even psychologically. Yet, many of us are still playing by an old rulebook. We're operating with mindsets shaped for a world that no longer exists. And that gap—the one between the old reality and the new—is where stagnation, frustration, and existential exhaustion live.

The ways we used to learn, work, and create stability are fraying at the edges.

“The illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Alvin Toffler

The old mental models, the ones we've relied on for decades, are struggling to keep up with the pace of change. And yet, most people are still operating as if we're in 2015, or 2005, or even 1995. They're still waiting for a return to "normal."

But normal is not coming back. There will be new normal, and we don’t really know what it will look like.

This isn't a reason to panic. It's a reason to prepare.

The Question We Must Ask Ourselves

Many people I meet are in a state of prolonged hesitation—oscillating between ideas, accumulating knowledge but not acting, waiting for a moment of certainty that will never come. We all know there's something we should be doing. Something we're avoiding. Something that scares us. The problem isn't a lack of information. It's fear, discomfort, and the inability to navigate uncertainty with confidence.

Right now, you don't have the luxury of drifting, of endlessly optimizing, of waiting for perfect conditions. You need clarity filters – questions that cut through the noise and force you to confront reality:

• Are you preparing for the world as it is, or the world as it was? That's not a rhetorical question. Because when the terrain itself is changing, outdated maps are worse than useless.

• Are you watching for signs of change, or are you waiting until the wave is visible to everyone? By the time disruption becomes obvious, it's often too late to adequately prepare.

• Are you building skills for resilience, or are you optimizing for a stability that no longer exists? The future will not resemble the past.

• Are you moving to higher ground, or are you collecting shells on the exposed seabed? Don't mistake unusual opportunity for permanent advantage.

• Are you adapting to new realities, or are you waiting for things to go back to normal? Nostalgia is a luxury you cannot afford.

• Do you need to learn right now, or do you need to make money? Some moments call for investment in yourself; others demand immediate action.

It's time to start asking better questions:

• What do I actually want to create?

• What's stopping me?

• What's one experiment I can run today?

• Where's the real bottleneck? What's the one thing that, if addressed, would unlock everything else?

And most importantly:

How do I build the kind of resilience that allows me to move forward, no matter what?

Mental Agility: The Core Skill of Our Era

The ability to move slower and strike faster will determine who thrives.

The ability to pivot, to adapt, to make decisions despite incomplete information—this is what sets people apart now.

The illusion of stability has been shattered. And when things are shifting, nothing is beneath you. You do what needs to be done. You don't have time for ego.

Resilience isn't about pushing through at all costs. It's about adaptability. It's about holding paradoxes—moving slower while striking faster, staying open while staying sharp, being both deliberate and spontaneous.

Most people wait to take action until they feel ready. But readiness is a myth. You don't become ready first. You act, and through action, you become ready.

The challenge is that action requires something most of us are deeply uncomfortable with: being bad at something before we're good at it.

Everything takes longer, is harder, and gets messier than you expect. But that doesn't mean you're failing. It means you're in the real world. You're navigating uncharted waters. This is what it actually feels like.

The Creative and Entrepreneurial Mindsets—A False Dichotomy

Many of us are stuck between two ways of seeing the world: the creative mindset and the entrepreneurial mindset.

One says: Follow your inspiration. Flow. Be in the moment.

The other says: Be strategic. Build. Monetize. Scale.

But this is a false choice.

The best creatives think like entrepreneurs, and the best entrepreneurs move like creatives. The future belongs to those who can hold both mindsets at once—to those who can dream and execute, who can explore and commit, who can create and adapt.

It's not either/or. It's both/and.

High Agency: Your Greatest Asset

High-agency people don't wait for permission. They don't outsource their decisions. They don't let fear dictate their trajectory. They focus on what they can control, and they move forward.

I was raised in a pretty high-agency environment. I've seen firsthand what it looks like to take responsibility for one's life, to push forward when the path isn't clear, to find solutions instead of excuses. And I know that agency isn't a trait you're born with. It's a muscle. It can be built.

Here's what I know for certain: no one is coming to save you. But the good news? You don't need saving.

You need a system. A map. A new way of thinking. You need allies. And you need to start upgrading your mindset now—not when the wave is already crashing down.

The Hero's Journey is Real

We like to think of personal growth as a linear path, but it's not. It's a hero's journey. And every hero's journey involves:

• Facing the unknown

• Meeting allies and mentors

• Battling demons—both internal and external

• Struggling through the dark night before emerging transformed

Right now, many people are stuck at the threshold of that journey. They know they need to step forward, but they hesitate.

Why? Because the unknown is terrifying.

Because it's easier to stay in the familiar discomfort than to leap into the new discomfort.

But here's the truth: Everything you want is on the other side of that leap. But that doesn't make it less scary.

A Time for Mental Preparation

I won't pretend to know exactly what's coming. But I do know this: Those who prepare now will have options. Those who don't… won't.

Preparation isn't just about learning skills or stockpiling resources. It's about mental preparation. It's about strengthening your capacity for uncertainty. Your ability to take a hit and keep moving. Your ability to make decisions under pressure. Your ability to adapt when the first, second, and third plans fail.

This doesn't mean living in fear. It means stepping into calm, grounded agency.

It means mapping out your escape routes before the wave arrives. Not out of paranoia, but out of intelligence. Out of self-respect. Out of the simple recognition that high-agency people always have options. And you want to be one of those people.

Slow Down & Look Closely

If you've been feeling stuck, uninspired, hesitant—I hope this to be your wake-up call.

The Inhale is happening. You can either prepare for the exhale or pretend it's not coming. You can either wait for clarity or start building clarity through action. You can either resist change or become the kind of person who thrives in it.

So ask yourself: Where do you need to upgrade? What's the bottleneck holding you back? What's the small but significant action you can take today?

It won't be easy. It will take longer than you'd like. It will be messier than you expect.

But it can also be energizing. Playful. Fun.

And most importantly: It will be fucking worth it.

Because the sea is already inhaling. And the time to move is now.

What is your escape route? Do you have one? Or maybe you see it all differently?

Or just say “Hi, Anna, you utter freak!”