Burning Dark Energy, Understanding Identity, and Learning to Detach – Paulo André

The work of knowing yourself is never over, and our identity, as well as what matters to us, constantly shifts and changes over the course of our lives. In this episode I talk with Paulo André, a former VP of engineering turned leadership coach, about how we can better understand our personal identity, and be aware of common pitfalls that can so often lead to burnout, like allowing our work to consume our identity to the point that we rely on burning dark energy to get by. 

This episode was like a personal therapy session for me, and we dive into many deep topics such as dealing with anxiety, learning to detach from what we cannot control, and being aware of the narratives that are driving us forwards. We also talk about Paolo’s fantastic newsletter “The Hakagure” plus the practicalities of going from a 9-5 role to starting your own business. I certainly learned a lot in this episode and I hope you will too! 

More from Paulo André

• Paulo on LinkedIn
• The Hagakure 

Resources mentioned

• Good Reasons for Bad Feelings – Randolph M. Nesse
• Conscious Business – Fred Kaufman
• One from Many: Visa and the Rise of Chaordic Organization – Dee Hock 
• The Courage to Be Disliked – Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga 
• The Upside of Stress – Kelly McGonigal
• The Science of Storytelling – Will Storr
• The Mind Architect – Peter Crone