Knowing the feedback isn't enough. You have to embody it.

Twenty years ago, Cameron was a professional mixed martial artist. In this episode, he shares the lesson he learned the moment the cage door shut: Intellectual knowledge dissolves under pressure. True leadership requires integrating feedback into your body through repetition, so you are ready when you step into your own arena.

Resources:

• Caged: Memoirs of a Cage-Fighting Poet
• Subscribe to the 3-Minute Reframe Newsletter

In a world of "Fast Averageness," dare to choose Slow Excellence.

Jiro Ono is considered the world's greatest sushi chef. His secret? A relentless, decades-long curiosity about the same craft. Today, we look at how resisting the urge to "hack" your way to the top can lead to a deeper, more sustainable form of mastery.

Resources:

• Watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi on Netflix
• Subscribe to the 3-Minute Reframe Newsletter

"My most painful experiences have been my greatest teachers."

Inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, this episode explores the necessity of "mud" in our lives. We discuss how to reframe suffering not as a defect, but as the fertilizer required for the lotus to bloom—provided we have the psychological safety to process it.

Resources:

• Read Cameron's article in Lion’s Roar Magazine
• Subscribe to the 3-Minute Reframe Newsletter

Straight lines aren't always the fastest way to get where we want to go.

In physics, the Brachistochrone curve proves that the fastest path between two points is actually a curve, not a straight line. In this episode, we explore how this law of physics applies to Steph Curry’s jump shot, workplace feedback, and nonlinear career paths.

Sometimes, we have to be willing to get worse to get better.

Resources:

• Subscribe to the 3-Minute Reframe Newsletter

Perhaps nothing brings more joy and suffering to our lives than change.

In this episode, Cameron explores Kurt Lewin’s 3-Stage Model of Change: Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze. While often used in organizational strategy, this model can offer a profound reframe for personal growth.

Cameron shares a personal story about navigating social anxiety as a professor—moving away from the "sledgehammer" approach of forcing change, and toward the gentler, more effective process of "thawing" our fears piece by piece.

The Resource:
For a deep dive into Lewin’s model and other change management frameworks, check out Cameron’s guide: Change Management: The Complete Resource.

The Inquiry:
Where in your life do you feel frozen? Instead of trying to take a sledgehammer to that block of ice to force a radical change, ask yourself: What is one small, practical way you can apply heat today to begin thawing one small part of it?

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Every Thursday, host Cameron Conaway shares a lens that has helped him live with more clarity and courage. No hacks. Just thoughts from a business school professor, former MMA fighter, and investigative journalist trying to wring every last drop out of this wild and precious life.

On October 19, 2025, my wife gave birth to our precious daughter Audrey Jo.

AJ, as we call her, had died in utero a few days prior. Due to complications including sepsis and blood clots, my wife nearly died as well.

In this special, raw episode of 3-Minute Reframe, I share a letter I wrote to AJ on what would have been our induction day. It is an attempt to move through, rather than bypass, my grief.

Note: This episode deviates from our standard format. There is no resource link or inquiry this week—just a father's letter to his daughter.

May you and those you love find value in it.

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Every Thursday, host Cameron Conaway shares a lens that has helped him live with more clarity and courage. No hacks. Just thoughts from a business school professor, former MMA fighter, and investigative journalist trying to wring every last drop out of this wild and precious life.

The poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote a line that reframes suffering: “Let this darkness be a bell tower and you the bell. As you ring, what batters you becomes your strength.”

In this personal episode, Cameron shares how this line helped him move from trying to physically fight his past trauma (as an MMA fighter) to breathing through it. We explore the idea that darkness isn't a comprehensive cage, but a context—a structure where you can build resiliency and "ring your bell."

The Resource:
Read the full poem, Let This Darkness be a Bell Tower, translated by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows, here: On Being with Krista Tippett

The Inquiry:
Bring attention to 2 or 3 of your life’s “bell towers”—the past struggles that felt defining. Have you found ways to ring your bell inside them? And is the resiliency you built a core part of the story you now tell yourself?

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Every Thursday, host Cameron Conaway shares a lens that has helped him live with more clarity and courage. No hacks. Just thoughts from a business school professor, former MMA fighter, and investigative journalist trying to wring every last drop out of this wild and precious life.

We’ve all heard the corporate mantra: "Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions." While the intention is to avoid complaining, this mindset is actually one of the most efficient ways to inhibit a healthy feedback culture.

In this episode, we dismantle the "solutions-only" mandate. Identifying problems can be a solo sport, but finding solutions rarely is. We discuss why leaders should swap those seven words for an eight-word alternative that completely reframes accountability: Bring me problems, and we will seek solutions.

The Resource:
Read the full blog post here: Don't Just Come to Me with a Problem: A Feedback Inhibitor

The Inquiry:
Where in your work or life have you been hesitant to raise a legitimate concern because you felt you needed the "perfect solution?" What would change if you simply adopted the mantra: Bring me problems, and we will seek solutions?

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Every Thursday, host Cameron Conaway shares a lens that has helped him live with more clarity and courage. No hacks. Just thoughts from a business school professor, former MMA fighter, and investigative journalist trying to wring every last drop out of this wild and precious life.