EP 318 - Be the Man in Someone’s Corner
Paper Napkin Wisdom
There are times in life when wisdom doesn’t show up quietly. It doesn’t whisper. It doesn’t tap you gently on the shoulder. Sometimes it arrives like a jolt — like your heart recognizing something before your brain can process it. That’s how this episode began. If you’ve been following along, you know it’s been a hard season in our home. Stacey’s father — my father-in-law — has been moving through the final stages of his cancer journey. And while there is an entire conversation to be had about the health, the living, and the complexity of that experience… this...
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EP 317 - Noah Ellis — Do The Thing
Paper Napkin Wisdom
There’s a moment in every entrepreneur’s life when the universe stops whispering and starts shouting. A moment where the next level isn’t waiting behind brilliance or luck or timing — it’s sitting directly behind the one thing we don’t want to do. For Noah Ellis, founder of Ofland and a hospitality leader who’s spent his life building concepts, teams, and experiences, that moment became a clarity-inducing mantra so important that he didn’t just write it down… he tattooed on his body: Do the thing. Noah’s wisdom is the kind that doesn’t land with...
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EP 316 - I Like Me — An Identity-Level Lesson from John Candy
Paper Napkin Wisdom
Every so often, a line in a movie sneaks past your defenses and lands directly in the center of your chest. Not because it’s poetic. Not because it’s profound. But because it is absolutely, undeniably true. That’s exactly what happened the first time I heard John Candy say three simple words in Planes, Trains and Automobiles: “I like me.” If you know the scene, you can probably feel it already. Steve Martin’s character lashes out, attacks Candy’s character—Del Griffith—on every level: his personality, his quirks, his energy, the way he moves through the...
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EP 315 - Brandon Bagley: WE ME — Stronger Together
Paper Napkin Wisdom
Entrepreneurs often try to win alone. We push, grind, and carry the weight of the business on our shoulders. But every once in a while, someone shows up with a piece of wisdom that reframes the entire game. In Episode 315 of Paper Napkin Wisdom, Brandon Bagley brings that shift in the simplest and most powerful way possible: a blue-ink message on a napkin that reads “WE > ME — Stronger Together.” Brandon is a leader who has built people-centered cultures for years, especially through his work with AlphaGraphics Chandler, where collaboration is not a slogan — it’s a...
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EP 314 - Believing Is Seeing (Edge of the Napkin Series #12)
Paper Napkin Wisdom
There’s a phrase we’ve all inherited without ever asking whether it serves us: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” It sounds reasonable. It sounds mature. It sounds like the responsible stance of someone who has been around long enough to be cautious. But anyone who has ever built something meaningful — a business, a team, a movement, or even a new version of themselves — knows the truth beneath that old saying: “Seeing” has never created belief. Belief is what creates the ability to see. That’s the heart of today’s napkin thought:...
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EP 313 - Listening & Learning with Shivani Dhamija
Paper Napkin Wisdom
In this episode of Paper Napkin Wisdom, Govindh Jayaraman sits down with Shivani Dhamija, founder of Shivani’s Kitchen — a culinary brand rooted in authentic Indian flavors and fueled by a passion for empowering others through food. From her humble beginnings selling spice blends and sauces at local markets in Nova Scotia to building a thriving food-manufacturing business, Shivani’s journey is as flavorful as her recipes. At the heart of her success lies a simple napkin message: “Listening & learning.” Two small words that capture a massive truth about...
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EP 312 - Build for Value — Not for the Hype: How some AI Companies are Winning, and others aren't (Edge of the Napkin #11)
Paper Napkin Wisdom
Edge of the Napkin #11 There’s a feeling that sweeps through every era of innovation — that electrifying sense of this is it. The next big wave. The one that’s going to change everything. In this episode of Edge of the Napkin, Govindh Jayaraman dives into what happens when high-expectation innovation collides with reality — when the future we bet on becomes today’s proving ground. The AI boom, once the unstoppable tide lifting every boat in sight, is now pulling back. Markets are correcting. The water is getting choppy. And what’s being revealed isn’t failure — it’s truth....
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EP 311 - Dr. Jenny Hoffmann: Open Up! Lead with Curiosity, Empathy, and Connection
Paper Napkin Wisdom
Today on Paper Napkin Wisdom, we welcome Dr. Jenny Hoffmann, a leader in health-tech innovation who currently serves as Executive Director at the New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC). With a rich background in healthcare strategy and technology deployment, Jenny has spent her career bridging clinical insight with entrepreneurial energy, helping organizations turn innovative ideas into meaningful patient-outcomes. In this episode, we dive deep into how leaders can lean into vulnerability, curiosity, empathy and connection — the key themes captured on her paper...
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EP 310 - Make Believe: The Stories Entrepreneurs Tell Themselves (Edge of the Napkin #10)
Paper Napkin Wisdom
Make Believe: The Stories Entrepreneurs Tell Themselves (Edge of the Napkin #10) Every entrepreneur lives inside a story — the question is, who’s writing yours? If you’ve ever had a morning where nothing goes right — you stub your toe, drop your keys, spill coffee on your white shirt before 8 a.m. — you know the script that starts to play in your mind: “It’s gonna be one of those days.” And somehow, it is. Everything that follows seems to prove the story true. But the opposite happens too. You walk out the door feeling light, ...
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EP 309 - Jon Rosemberg — Survival Is Instinct, Thriving Is a Choice
Paper Napkin Wisdom
When you meet Jon Rosemberg, you immediately sense two things — depth and discipline. He’s a behavioral scientist, author, and executive coach who has spent years exploring how we, as humans, can move beyond mere survival into a state of thriving. His work combines neuroscience, psychology, and lived experience, and it’s reflected powerfully in his new book, A Guide to Thriving: The Science Behind Breaking Old Patterns, Reclaiming Your Agency, and Finding Meaning. On his paper napkin, Jon wrote just seven words: “Survival is instinct, thriving is a choice.” At...
info_outlineThere are times in life when wisdom doesn’t show up quietly. It doesn’t whisper. It doesn’t tap you gently on the shoulder. Sometimes it arrives like a jolt — like your heart recognizing something before your brain can process it. That’s how this episode began.
If you’ve been following along, you know it’s been a hard season in our home. Stacey’s father — my father-in-law — has been moving through the final stages of his cancer journey. And while there is an entire conversation to be had about the health, the living, and the complexity of that experience… this message isn’t about that part.
This one is about emotion.
The kind that sits heavy and deep.
The kind that reshapes you quietly.
It started with a simple clip of Steve Harvey telling a story about his dad. In it, he said something that froze me in place:
“Your father is the only man who truly wants you to be better than him. The only one who can say ‘I’m proud of you’ without competition.”
And as he said it, he broke — emotionally — because when his father died, he knew he’d never hear those words again.
That landed in me with a weight I wasn’t expecting. Not because of loss. Not because of fear.
But because of truth.
Over the last few months, I’ve been having deep conversations about masculinity — real masculinity. Not the loud, performative kind. Not the kind wrapped in bravado or posturing. I’m talking about the lived kind. The grounded kind. The kind that holds space for vulnerability, accountability, tenderness, and strength all at once.
And I’ve been doing this in community with other men — real, honest conversations where ego takes a back seat and presence takes the lead.
So when I heard Harvey’s words… they sparked something.
Because I’m lucky.
I have a father who calls me to remind me of who I can be.
A father who tells me he’s proud.
A father who truly wants me to be better than he was.
That is a rare gift. One I don’t take lightly.
And then it hit me — I feel the exact same way about my children.
I want my sons to be better than me.
I want my daughter to be better than me.
Not in the way the world measures “better,” but in depth of character, in presence, in courage, in self-trust.
And it goes further still:
I realized I want this for my friends too.
Not just that they succeed…
but that they surpass their own expectations.
That they rise higher.
That they win.
That they become the absolute best versions of themselves.
It’s strange to say this out loud, because men aren’t really taught to cheer for each other that way.
We’re taught competition, comparison, stoicism, silence.
But silence has been doing a lot of damage.
So a few weeks ago, I made a small — but life-shifting — decision:
I would no longer be the silent man in the corner.
I would be the active one.
The one who sends the message.
The one who checks in.
The one who says the thing out loud instead of assuming they know.
The one who tells his friends he’s proud of them.
The one who reminds them they matter.
Every week now, I’ve been sending short notes to the men in my life. Notes like:
“I believe in you.”
“I’m proud of you.”
“You’re doing better than you think.”
“You matter to me.”
And the responses reveal something profound:
Men don’t hear this often.
Sometimes not at all.
In a world full of noise, what’s missing is something incredibly simple — active encouragement.
Not advice. Not fixing. Not lecturing.
Encouragement.
And in the middle of all this reflection — the emotional weight of watching my father-in-law’s final chapter, the Steve Harvey moment, the conversations with other men — a parable emerged.
THE CORNERMAN — A PARABLE
There was once a young fighter named Sam. Talented. Strong. Smart. But he couldn’t win.
Not once.
Every fight ended the same way. He’d enter the ring hopeful… and leave defeated.
After one especially tough loss, Sam sat in the change room, crushed. A retired fighter — an older man sweeping the hallway — wandered in and said, “Rough night.”
Sam nodded.
“You’ve got talent,” the man said, “but that’s not your problem.”
Sam looked up.
“Kid… you’re losing because you don’t have a corner.”
Sam frowned. His coach was right there.
But the old man shook his head.
“I didn’t say a coach. I said a corner.
A corner is the place you go when you’re hurt.
The place where someone wipes the blood from your face.
Where no one judges you.
Where someone speaks truth into you, not doubt.
A fighter without a corner doesn’t lose because he’s weak…
He loses because he’s alone.”
That one idea changed Sam’s entire career — and his life.
He didn’t just learn how to fight.
He learned what it means to be supported.
And eventually, he became that man for others.
Because we all need someone in our corner.
And we all have the ability — and responsibility — to be a corner for someone else.
5 KEY TAKEAWAYS (For Entrepreneurs & Leaders)
1. Encouragement Is a Leadership Skill
Most leaders underestimate the power of saying, “I’m proud of you.”
Encouragement is not soft — it is strategic.
Take Action:
This week, tell one person on your team something specific you’re proud of. Name it. Say it.
2. Don’t Wait for People to Ask
Most people won’t ask for support.
Initiation is what separates real leadership from passive friendship.
Take Action:
Send one check-in message today without being prompted.
3. Men Need Active Support, Not Silent Approval
Silence leaves too much room for doubt.
Active encouragement builds identity and confidence.
Take Action:
Choose one man in your life and tell him something you admire about him.
4. Strength Isn’t Stoicism — It’s Presence
Real masculinity isn’t about withholding emotion; it’s about holding space.
Take Action:
Practice one moment of emotional presence today — with your partner, a friend, or your child.
5. Become the Corner You Needed
We all needed someone at some point.
Leadership is becoming that person for the next generation.
Take Action:
Make encouraging one person per week a non-negotiable ritual.
THE NAPKIN IDEA
If everything in this message could fit on one napkin, it would say:
“Be the man in someone’s corner.”
(Say it out loud.)
Because no one wins alone.
And the man who shows up for others becomes a man others trust, follow, and grow because of.
CALL TO ACTION
I want you to take this idea and make it real.
Write down the name of one person — just one — who needs to hear something today.
Then write your message on a paper napkin (yes, literally).
Take a photo.
Post it.
Tag it with #PaperNapkinWisdom.
Let’s normalize active encouragement.
Let’s show the world what leadership looks like in real life.
🌐 Website
www.papernapkinwisdom.com
▶️ YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@papernapkinwisdom
🎧 Podcast Links
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paper-napkin-wisdom/id735345903