Welcome to the 6th Issue of our newsletter: Going Further!

I’m sharing my reflections, tips, and tools on how we can all go further. If there is anything you’d like to see more of, leave your feedback with the form below!

“Laurence-isms” 🧠 🗣️

Nostalgia Is the Best Editor

Ok, let’s get this out of the way first:

Nostalgia’s lenses are rose colored
And almost all of us enjoy the view. Nostalgia has the touch of a seasoned film editor: it can trim what’s painful, highlight what’s golden, and wrap your past in a glow that feels almost too good to be true.

And that’s the thing:
It usually is.

Nostalgia doesn’t lie. But it doesn’t tell the whole truth, either.
It remembers what we loved…and forgets what it cost.

The Past, Rewritten

I see it all the time in coaching — professionally and personally.

An executive I worked with recently was holding on to an old blueprint for how her company used to run. However, the team had evolved, the market had shifted, and her own values had changed.

Another client shared how he kept revisiting a relationship that, in his words, “wasn’t good anymore, but still felt like home.” It wasn’t the reality he was in love with. It was the memory.

And haven’t we all done this?
Held on to the highlight reel version of a season in our life. The version that leaves out the fights, the fatigue, the long stretches of feeling invisible?

One of my favorite shows of all time is Mad Men. Even if you’ve never watched the show, there’s an acclaimed scene where the main character, Don Draper pitches Kodak’s new slide projector. He doesn’t call it a machine or “the wheel” as Kodak labeled it. He calls it The Carousel.
He tells them it’s not about technology. It’s about time travel.
Not facts. Feelings.
Not innovation. Emotion.

He plays old family photos. He speaks of love. Loss. Memory. The room falls silent.

And yet, if you’ve watched the series, you know the weight behind that moment. Don’s personal life is unraveling. The nostalgia he’s selling? He’s also clinging to it. It’s brilliant. It’s heartbreaking. It’s honest.

That’s what nostalgia does. It makes us feel connected to what was, even when what was isn’t compatible with who we are now.

The Quiet Trap

Nostalgia shows up at strange times.
During a late-night scroll. A song that hits too hard. A memory that comes back out of nowhere.

It whispers:

There’s a quiet trap in chasing what used to feel right, even after it’s stopped being right for a long time.

And it’s not just romantic. It’s professional. Familial. Internal.

We stay in roles and companies too long. We chase old metrics of success. We try to revive dynamics that no longer serve us, just because they once did.

A Japanese Perspective on Nostalgia

There’s a Japanese phrase I love:
"Mono no aware" (物の哀れ): the awareness of the impermanence of things.
It’s a gentle, poetic sadness and not rooted in regret, but in recognition. The cherry blossoms fall because they’re meant to. And that’s part of what makes them beautiful.

We can love the past without needing to live in it.

We can honor what it taught us without dragging it into the present.

Reflection for You

Whether you’re leading a team, launching a brand, or rebuilding your personal life, I’ll ask you what I ask my clients:

• Are you editing your present based on an outdated story?

• Are you staying in a relationship (or role, or job, or identity) that only exists in your memory?

• What chapter are you trying to revive instead of release?

You don’t need to erase the past. Just don’t let it steer your future.

Yes, nostalgia is the best editor,
But you are the author.

Go Further 🚀 

Tips to Go Further: 1 Step To Help You Go The Extra Mile

Whether I’m showering after hitting a morning workout or before bed, I end my showers with a cold rinse. I absolutely love my hot showers, but just ending with a blast of cold water can help activate dopamine release, reduce inflammation, and relieve muscle pain and soreness. It can even help you build your immune system, as people who took just ninety-second cold rinses called out of work 29% less than those who didn’t. Especially as someone who loves to stay active, this is just a small thing I do for myself that’s baked into my daily routine that helps me feel refreshed and ready to start my day, or less tense as I wind down for the night.

Tools to Go Further:

How To Have Tough Conversations

As managers and leaders, we often must have difficult conversations. Maybe you have to correct one of your “direct reports”, or reject a proposal, give some strong, yet tough feedback, end a relationship or negotiate for a better item. As a coach, I get to have tough conversations, telling clients things they may not want to hear or pushing them in ways that might scare them. As I’ve navigated pushback from them, I’ve learned to embrace conflict as a necessary step in developing our relationships and helping them grow. Here are some of my key takeaways regarding navigating tough conversations so you can use the conflict to further your relationship instead of letting it dominate. 

Which strategy will you employ for your next difficult conversation?

If some of these above strategies resonate with you, please feel free to leave a comment, send a message or as always reach out. Thank you as always for taking the time with us and it matters a lot. We’ll see you next issue!

Go Further,

-LA