values
curated concepts that resonate deeply
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At first glance, the concept of values seems pretty obvious. Be a good person. Show up authentically. Stand up for yourself. But when we’re not regularly in touch with our values, in conversation about them, using them as often as we use ChatGPT, they go unexercised—like muscles that atrophy. We can end up living so far away from our values that we don’t even know what they are anymore.
This might look like taking a job that sounds impressive to everyone else, but that we know deep down isn’t aligned. Or feeling proud about something your boss doesn’t *get*. Or maybe you just have a feeling that something is off. Sometimes we’ve unconsciously absorbed someone else’s values—or their absence of values altogether—in exchange for a paycheck, even if it means suppressing what actually matters to us.
Values are curated (either consciously or unconsciously) concepts that resonate deeply enough to be continually relevant. They function as beliefs that drive your boundaries, help you define success and failure, and help guide you toward alignment. They tend to show up consistently, whether or not we choose to pay attention. They also tap into a connection with our higher self and our purpose, aiming only to support our highest good.
It’s not until we take the time to name them using actual words instead of experiencing fleeting feelings—that we can begin to understand what they mean for us, and how they can support us in our everyday lives. You might have a sense of what matters most to you, but if you’ve never sat with those ideas intentionally, you could be working with placeholders—or confusing values you inherited with ones that actually reflect your truth.
As early as kindergarten, most of us are introduced to basic “good person” values like sharing and kindness. But over time, as our lived experiences accumulate, our personal values sharpen. They evolve. They often reflect things we couldn’t have named as kids, like transparency, depth, or magic.
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When founding a company, it’s easy to blur the line between a founder’s values and the company’s. Sometimes they’re identical. Sometimes they only partially overlap. More often, we're seeing purpose-led companies emerge: those whose founder's values are equated with their company's, or where there is little distinction. Those values then tend to infuse everything: team dynamics, product features, and community guidelines, which can either be a powerful force for alignment or misalignment depending on how values are defined and practiced.
Whether you’re one person or building something with others, clarifying your core values can take days, weeks, or months. It depends on how long you need to sit with each word and observe how it plays out in your work, your relationships, and your dreams. One day you might gravitate toward “ambition,” and the next, realize you’re craving “integrity” instead. Once you’ve landed on 3 or 4 values that feel true, even after experimentation, use them as often as possible inside the world you’re helping shape.