Leadership and Beyond

Big news! Breaking Through.   T he podcast that helps you simplify decisions, cut through doubt, and take control of your future. I s now available on Spotify! Go to the Breaking Through Spotify Channel. Click Here and Follow What You’ll Get from Breaking Through: Proven decision-making frameworks for success Strategies to overcome self-doubt & analysis paralysis Insights on leadership, financial habits, and productivity Real talk on how to break through obstacles & level up Listen Now on Spotify! Start with These Episodes Why Great Decisions Start with Thinking Time.  The power of slowing down before taking action. DEFCON 1! How Leaders Overcomplicate Decisions.   Why complexity kills progress and how to simplify. Money and You: Breaking Free from Unhealthy Financial Habits.   Shift your money mindset and take control of your finances. Finding Success: Embracing Time and Failure as the Ultimate Teachers.   Why patience and failure fuel real success. T...

Do you have a burning question about decision-making, leadership, personal finance, or business strategy? Now’s your chance to get it answered—on our podcast! We are launching a new "Featured Question" series, where we take real questions from our listeners and provide in-depth answers with actionable insights. If selected, your question will be discussed in an upcoming episode on our YouTube channel. How to Submit Your Question It is simple! Just email us at https://www.simploria.com/contact with your question. OR you can place your question in the comments section of this blog. Your submission could be about: Leadership challenges : How to lead a team effectively? Decision-making dilemmas : Struggling with a big choice? We will break it down. Personal finance : Questions about budgeting and how to use The Daily Bucket Productivity & career growth : How to maximize your time and build a better future? Why Participate? Get expert advice on topics that ma...

  As a leader, how often do you take the time to sit quietly and think? Not just about immediate tasks, but about long-term goals, past choices, and fresh ideas for the future. Decision-making isn’t just about reacting or responding, it’s about reflecting. Why Thinking Time Matters Many leaders spend most of their day solving problems as they arise. While quick decisions are sometimes necessary, setting aside time to think is a powerful practice.    It allows you to recognize patterns and see connections between past and present situations. It helps you come up with new ideas as creativity thrives in quiet moments, not in constant action. One of the pillars of the Paint It Red philosophy is Minimalism. Not just in physical spaces, but in mental clutter as well. The more distractions you allow into your mind, the harder it becomes to think clearly and make strong decisions. Minimalism in decision-making means the following: Eliminating unnecessary noise: When you...

  Have you ever thought about the version of you five, ten, or twenty years from now? Not just in a vague “I hope things get better” way, but in a real, detailed sense. What kind of life are they living? Are they financially stable, confident, and free? Or are they stressed, struggling, and stuck? The Daily Bucket Website The truth is, who we become is shaped by the choices we make today. Every financial decision; big or small, either builds a stronger foundation for our future self or makes life harder down the road. For years, I lived paycheck to paycheck, thinking I’d “figure it out later.” I assumed that somehow, future me would magically solve all the financial problems I was avoiding. But later always turned into more stress, more debt, and more regret. I wasn’t planning for my future self, I was avoiding them. That changed when I created the Daily Bucket, which helped me focus on what I could control today while building toward the future I actually wanted. It wasn’t abo...

  Writing and publishing books is a journey, and I’m thrilled to share an update on where things stand with Paint It Red, The Daily Bucket, and Breaking Through. Each project has taken a life of its own, and after months of hard work, revisions, and research, I’m excited about the progress being made. Paint It Red is officially in its final revision stage! The manuscript is complete, and I’m working through peer reviews to refine the content before submitting it for consideration in three months. The Daily Bucket is also nearing completion, with revisions in full swing and a major addition: financial surveys.  These surveys cover key areas like Money Relationship, Unplanned Expenses, Myths About Investing, and Financial Goals, with 3,000 respondents helping to shape the book’s insights. Meanwhile, the audiobook Breaking Through is currently in production, and I’m offering a free chapter download for those who want a sneak peek. Grab it here: https://payhip.com/b/oXNZ7 ...

  We’ve all been there. Stuck in a meeting that goes in circles, buried under an avalanche of plans, processes, and strategies that seem to add more confusion than clarity. Why does this happen? More often than not, the culprit is unclear goals. How Unclear Goals Breed Confusion Overthinking Takes Over Without a clear destination, our minds spin with possibilities. We try to cover all bases, anticipate every potential roadblock, and over-engineer solutions that may not even be necessary. What could have been a simple plan turns into a bloated, overly cautious strategy full of unnecessary steps. Endless Iterations and Adjustments When goals aren’t well-defined, teams spend more time tweaking, debating, and second-guessing instead of executing. Every new opinion or idea gets added to the mix, making the process more convoluted rather than streamlined. Resources Get Wasted Time, money, and energy are all finite. When you don’t know exactly what you’re working toward, resou...

  Managing money can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The Daily Bucket is a simple yet powerful system designed to help you take control of your finances, one day at a time. In this four-part video series, we’ll break down essential money principles. 1.     The Daily Bucket: The Budgeting Tool , a practical method for managing expenses and building financial stability.   Money and You will explore how your mindset and habits shape your financial success. 3.     Self-Imposed Financial Obstacles : the hidden behaviors and beliefs that may be holding you back. 4.     Money: What You Can Control will shift your focus to the financial choices within your power, helping you stop stressing over external factors like the economy or market fluctuations.

  Every decision we make; big or small, shapes the course of our lives. But how often do we actually stop and think about how we make those choices? Breaking Through: Smarter Strategies for Everyday Decisions by Chris Ortiz Common Pitfalls in Decision Making Overthinking: Getting stuck in analysis paralysis, never taking action. Rushing: Making snap decisions without considering the long-term impact. Self-Imposed Obstacles: Avoidable Habits that Hinder Progress. That’s why I created Breaking Through: Smarter Strategies for Everyday Decisions . A straight-to-the-point audiobook designed to help you: -          Make faster, smarter decisions in life and work. -          And the best part? I’m giving away the full introduction for FREE. -           Free Introduction Download Here Book Webpage What’s Inside Breaking Through ?   It’s a pract...

  In today's fast-paced world, the foundational elements of success; time and failure, are often overlooked. We live in an era of quick fixes, shortcuts, and strategies designed to get immediate results. But true mastery, whether in business or life, cannot be rushed. It requires dedication, patience, and the willingness to embrace failure as part of the journey. Subscribe to Newsletter on LinkedIn. Click Here We are surrounded by distractions, multitasking culture, and a constant push to move on to the next "big thing." This mentality undermines the focus necessary to excel in any discipline. Success demands a singular approach, immersing yourself in one craft and dedicating yourself to getting better at it. The "10,000-hour rule," popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers: The Story of Success, serves as a reminder of this principle. While the exact number isn’t the point, the message is clear: You have to put in the time. Expertise doesn’t come from hac...

  As we continue our journey through pillar 1 of the Paint It Red Philosophy, we arrive at our third reason why we overcomplicate our decision-making process. Perception of value. One of the most traps of overcomplication is the perception of value. The mistaken belief that complexity inherently means higher quality and better results. In both personal and professional settings, people often equate intricate strategies, detailed plans, and sophisticated systems with effectiveness. The more elaborate something appears, the more valuable it must be, right? Not necessarily. This mindset doesn’t just lead to wasted effort on overengineered solutions. It also creates decision stall. Many people avoid choosing a simple path because they fear how it will be perceived. If a solution seems too straightforward, they worry it will be dismissed as lazy, uninformed, or lacking depth. This fear of judgment keeps individuals and organizations trapped in unnecessary complexity, favoring wh...

  Fear of failure is a powerful force that drives overcomplication. When we’re afraid of making mistakes, we tend to overcompensate. Crafting elaborate plans and overanalyzing every decision, in an attempt to protect ourselves from risk. Ironically, this effort to prevent failure often leads to stagnation, stress, and missed opportunities. 7 Pillars of Paint It Red. Click Here At its core, fear of failure stems from uncertainty and a desire for control. Instead of making a decision and adjusting as we go, we become fixated on eliminating all possible risks before taking action. Fear-driven complexity is especially dangerous in business. Leaders who hesitate to make decisions until every risk is accounted for can create bottlenecks, slow innovation, and erode confidence. Employees may spend excessive time refining strategies instead of executing them, leading to lost time and opportunities. On a personal level, fear of failure can make even simple tasks feel overwhelming. Overpr...