I’d love to tell you that self-leadership is just a trendy concept I’m riding on, or that it sounds good, or that it delivers a strong “corporate” message. But the truth is, it’s deeply personal for me.

Self-leadership and the CEO mindset are tools I’ve used to untether myself from toxic environments, abuse, financial struggle, lack of opportunity, and beyond.

I learned early on that I’d have to do something different if I wanted something different. I’d have to take the lead in my own life.

There were no handouts, no script, no Prince Charming, and no safety net.

Improv theatre taught me what self-leadership really is because improv is all about the next thing, not the best thing.

Yes, we work with an ensemble, but there’s no script. At any time, anyone I’m playing with can say or do anything, and my only job on stage is to keep the scene moving forward despite the disruption.

Sound familiar?

Because, let’s face it, we can’t control other people, places, or things.

Anything can happen at any time—from the economy to politics, elections to the environment. Things will go up, and things will go down, but you remain constant.

You can always control yourself: how you react, how you respond, and most importantly, what you do next—even in the most dire circumstances.

This is self-leadership.

This is freedom.

And isn’t that what we all really want?