Friday Debrief for July 31, 2026

Stepping back before you break is the strongest move on the board

Saw this week that Alix Earle went dark. If you’re my age you might not know the name. Your kids would. She’s one of the most-followed people on the internet, millions hanging on her day, and this week she said a wave of negative comments triggered a panic attack, that she just broke down in tears, and she was stepping away from the phone for a while.

Honestly… that’s friggin amazing! Here’s a person whose entire living is being on, being liked, performing “thriving” for millions, and she hit a wall and had the guts to say out loud, I’m not okay, I need to step back. I spent decades around some of the hardest men on the planet, and I’ve watched most of us do the exact opposite. We’ll quietly come apart before we’ll admit the wall is even there.

Self-sufficiency is a hell of a drug (h/t Dave Chappelle as Rick James). It looks like strength but eventually you find yourself running on fumes.

She’s young enough to be my kid, and she pulled off in public what a lot of us still can’t manage in private. Tapping out before you break, on purpose, so you can come back whole.

So this is the Friday debrief. Grab 5 quiet minutes and be honest.

Where am I performing “fine” this week while the tank sits empty?

What’s the true sentence I’ve been swallowing, and who could I say it to?

What would I tell a friend this tired to put down?

And why won’t I take that advice myself?

Stepping back before you shatter is the strongest move on the board. Log off if you need to. The people who love you would rather have you back whole than watch you grind yourself into the floor.

So what do you need to step back from this weekend?

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