The insight that exposed my biggest blind spot
Kreator Letter #18. The founder letter I write for our Karisma community. The raw journey and the learnings.
Last week, we brought in Alexandra Wennerholm, the leadership advisor behind Spotify, PwC, BDO and The Absolute Group, for one of our monthly Karisma Power Days.
What I didn’t expect was...
That I would need this session more than anyone.
And that it would expose the blind spot quietly pulling me toward burnout.
Because the truth is: the last few weeks, something in me felt off.
One sentence from my co-founder a few days prior hit me straight in the chest:
“You seem less excited.”
And he was right.
I wasn’t sleeping badly.
I wasn’t working insane hours.
But I was doing something far more dangerous:
I was making everyone else’s problems my own. Stepping into everything. Touching everything. Overthinking everything.
Not because I wanted to...
But because letting go still scares (more than I admit).
And during the event, it clicked:
The problem wasn’t workload. It was control.
It was the part of me that believed things only work if I push them.
Except it doesn’t.
Control kills creativity.
Control suffocates teams.
Control burns founders alive from the inside out.
And lately...
I was taking everything too seriously. Snapping at small things. Losing compassion for myself and others.
That’s not the leader I want to be.
That night, I journaled about one of my biggest takeaways:
“My biggest indicator of how good I am is my level of playfulness.
When it disappears, I know I’m on the wrong path.”
And it’s true.
The moment I lose my playfulness, everything else collapses with it. My leadership, my patience, my joy, my creativity.
So I made a commitment:
To trust.
To delegate.
To let go of control.
To protect my energy like my life depends on it (because it does).
That’s exactly what this expert helped us uncover:
How to lead from authenticity.
How to make work exciting again.
How to stay grounded while building big.
For me, it was a reset I didn’t know I needed.
And that’s why these Power Days matter.
Because they give founders something rare:
A space to see yourself clearly.
A space where one insight can change the next six months of your life.
A space where you walk out lighter, clearer, more you.
That day saved me from a path I didn’t see myself walking.
Life is good,
Marc