The Morning Standoff

This morning, over my first cup of coffee of the day, I watched my dog viciously kill a gopher.

I’m not being dramatic! It was the most brutal sight…one moment the gopher was there, the next it wasn’t. My dog trotted back to the patio with the gopher’s carcass hanging from her mouth and sat down with the calm, unbothered energy of someone who has never once questioned their place in the food chain.

No celebration. No drama. Just results.

And I sat there thinking: when did I last move like that?

There’s a version of yourself that’s a little more wolf than you let on. The one that doesn’t ask for the room’s approval before it walks in. That doesn’t rehearse the pitch in the mirror or wait for the calendar invite to feel ready. It just moves — clean, deliberate, certain — and the outcome follows like it was never in question.

Most of us keep that version on a leash. This week, maybe don’t.

Most of us spend a lot of time in the standoff. Circling. Sizing things up. Waiting for the moment to feel right or the path to feel clear. We’re so busy reading the room that we forget we’re also in it.

Your clients are watching how you move. So are your competitors.

So, apparently, are the gophers.

The territory doesn’t belong to whoever shows up first. It belongs to whoever’s willing to finish what they started.

Speaking of that morning coffee- let me share something I’ve been doing for over 15 years, because it might change your mornings too.

Some would call this coffeemaxxing- and honestly, they wouldn’t be wrong.

My current formula:

The result: ~28 grams of protein before I’ve even checked my email. No prep, no blender, no separate shake to wash. In the summer, I pour the whole thing over ice and suddenly it’s a luxury.

Now- I’ll be honest. I walked into a Starbucks last week and ordered an iced vanilla protein latte. Nearly $10. For something I make at home for what amounts to cents on the dollar, with better ingredients and more protein. I stood at that pickup counter with my $10 cup and had a full moment of clarity about the economy, my life choices, and the concept of convenience tax.

No regrets. It was fine. But I went home and made my version the next morning with renewed conviction.

I’ve done bulletproof coffee, the ghee-and-coconut-oil era, various powders and potions. This is the version that stuck — because simple routines compound. The 35-minute bus ride into Manhattan hits differently when you’ve already won a small battle before you left the house.

There’s a quiet analog revival happening in offices right now. After years of digital everything, people want things– objects they can hold, gifts that feel considered, swag that doesn’t end up in a drawer.

And now, offices are bringing that production in-house.

Direct-to-Object (DTO) UV Gel printing lets you put your brand on almost anything — without minimums, without vendors, without waiting three weeks for a proof.

Think: custom pickleball sets for the team offsite. Champagne flutes for the client holiday drop. Poker chips for your next sales kickoff.

Xanté’s DTO printers make this possible at the office level — not just for print shops. If your team does events, gifting, or branded experiences, this is worth a conversation.

Always be available strategically.

“Always be available” doesn’t mean answering emails at midnight. It means removing friction from the moment someone decides they want to move forward.

The deal rarely dies in the meeting. It dies in the 48-hour window after, when enthusiasm cools and no one follows up.

Be the person who’s easy to reach when it counts. A quick reply, a same-day callback, a “I was just thinking about you” email before they have to chase you — that’s what availability actually means.

Your competitors are a Google search away. Your relationship is the moat.

Español: dominio (doh-MEE-nyoh) Português: domínio (doh-MEE-nyoo) English: dominion / mastery / command

“El dominio de tu mercado empieza con el dominio de ti mismo.” “O domínio do seu mercado começa com o domínio de si mesmo.” “Mastery of your market begins with mastery of yourself.”

In Latin American professional culture, dominio carries more weight than the English word “mastery” typically does. It implies earned authority — the kind that comes from years of showing up, not from a title on a business card.

You’ll hear it in boardrooms in São Paulo, Mexico City, and Bogotá: “ella tiene dominio del tema” — she has command of the subject. It’s a compliment that means someone doesn’t just know their field, they own it. There’s no bluffing implied, no shortcut assumed. It’s the professional equivalent of my dog this morning — no announcement, no negotiation, just an undeniable presence that makes the outcome obvious before it happens.

For Latino and Brazilian professionals navigating rooms where they’re often the only one, dominio is more than a vocabulary word. It’s a posture. It’s the difference between being invited to the table and being the reason the table exists.

Know your dominio. Walk into every room like you built it.

The gopher didn’t make it.

One moment it was holding its ground. The next… it wasn’t.

Some mornings hand you the whole lesson before you’ve finished your first cup.

This week we talked about moving with intention before the other side gets comfortable.

We talked about building a morning that compounds — 28 grams of protein and zero dollars wasted at Starbucks.

We talked about branded merch that actually means something, being reachable at the right moment instead of every moment, and what it means to have dominio– not just expertise, but presence. Earned authority. The kind that makes the outcome obvious before it happens.

So here’s your CTA for the week- and yes, I’m giving you one, because that’s what people with dominio do:

Pick one thing from this issue and act on it before Friday.

Swap your morning coffee. Follow up on a deal that’s gone quiet. Brief your team on DTO printing for your next client gift. Look up the word. Say it out loud in your next meeting and mean it.

The territory doesn’t belong to whoever shows up first. It belongs to whoever’s willing to finish what they started.

See you next week.

— Jae