The last six months of my CEO role were the most stressful of my life. We were growing fast. And with growth came problems – some big, some small. Some within my control, others totally out of it. But they all landed at once. We hit supply chain issues. Team morale dropped. New departments struggled to collaborate. I was trying to stay stoic, but inside, I felt like I was unraveling – letting down my team, my board, and myself. I’ve always prided myself on my composure and being able to stay cool under pressure, but my normal strategies weren’t working anymore. I’d lost the mental calm and clarity I’d valued so much. Even with top-tier CEO coaches just a call away, giving me great practical advice, the stress wasn’t lifting. I was solving problems on paper, but the mental tension stuck around. Long walks didn’t help. Evenings weren’t restful. My thoughts kept looping. I couldn’t let go, even of problems that were already solved. And I had no idea why this was happening, and honestly, what was even happening. The answers only came recently, over a year after leaving my last position. If you told me a year ago, I’d finally process my experience and hone in on the real issue I’d faced at a meditation retreat, I wouldn’t have believed you. But on day five of meditating for six hours a day, it hit me: I wasn’t burnt out because of work, I was burnt out from years of suppressing tension and emotion. I thought I was being stoic. Turns out, I was just storing stress in my body and mind with no way to release it. What changed everything was a simple technique. With minimal instruction, I learned how to face my emotions and mental tensions and productively engage with them instead of resisting them. And when I did, something shifted. The stress loosened and made way to an incredible feeling of centeredness and peace. A deep calm took its place. Insights I'd never accessed before came flooding in. After the retreat, I thought: If I’d had these tools as a CEO, everything would have been SO different. So I’ve been building what I wish I’d had: meditation-inspired executive coaching for high-performing leaders under pressure. Over the past couple of months, I’ve coached six founders. The results have blown us away. One was on the verge of a panic attack before a round of pitches—after one session, he walked into them clear and confident. And he crushed it. Now, I’m opening up a few more coaching spots. If you’re a founder or exec in a high-stress role, and your usual tools aren’t working anymore, this might be exactly what you need. I believe this approach sits at the bleeding edge of leadership development—where mindfulness meets performance. And I’m so excited to share it. DM me to book a free intro session or grab a time here: https://calendly.com/ahmad-bani/intro-coaching-call #execcoaching #founder #ceo #buildinpublic #leadership