Iza Montalvo 🧲

You can be great at your job
but if people don’t like working with you, it gets harder to grow.

Talent can open doors.
Kindness keeps them open.

We’ve all seen it.
Someone who’s smart and skilled.
But the team feels tense around them.

Meetings are quiet.
Projects slow down.

Here are the 6 traits that separate the indispensable
from the impressive:

1/Be clear.
Say what you mean.
Make it easy to understand.

2/Be respectful.
Listen to others.
You don’t have to agree, just care.

3/Be reliable.
Do what you said you’d do.
People need to know they can count on you.

4/Be flexible.
When things change, stay calm and find a new way.

5/Be kind.
It costs nothing.
It means everything.

6/Be open.
Take feedback as help, not hurt.
Talent helps people notice you.
Character helps people trust you.
And trust builds success.

PS: What’s one thing that makes you easy to work with?

♻️ Share this if you’ve ever had a teammate who made work feel lighter.
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I recovered from burnout when I discovered
the magic of tiny habits.

Because let's be honest...

Burnout doesn’t happen overnight.
It happens break by break... 👇
the ones you never take.

We glorify overworking like it’s a trophy:

→ “I’ll rest when I’m done.”
→ “I just need to push a little more.”
→ “Breaks slow me down.”

But science (and real life) says the opposite.
💡 Your brain isn’t built for 6-hour marathons.
It’s built for rhythm: focus, recover, repeat.

Here’s a simple reframe:
Work or study for 1 hour.

Then do something that fills you back up
for 5 minutes:

Then do it again every hour.

🎵 Listen to one song.
📞 Call a friend.
🚶‍♀️ Step outside.
😄 Talk to your kid.

Because the goal isn’t to squeeze more in.
It’s to make the hours you do spend count.

High performers don’t grind nonstop.
They recover on purpose.

Your next breakthrough might come
after your next break.

PS: What’s your favorite 5-minute reset?
Mine’s a quick walk with my dog Max, no phone.

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Bryan Sperry was 89 when he laced up his cleats again.
A University of Kansas player from the 1940s.

One more spring game.
One last run toward the dream that never left.

Wearing his iconic blue KU jersey,
he caught the handoff and started down the field.
Younger alumni ran beside him, clearing a lane.

Eighty-nine years old and still chasing the end zone.

🏈He crossed the line.
🏈Touchdown.
🏈No scoreboard needed.

The crowd stood quiet for a moment before they cheered.
Everyone knew they’d just watched something more than a game.

Here’s what stays with me:

💫 Dreams wait for you. Even when your body can’t keep pace, they don’t leave.
💫 We need each other. Those players didn’t just block, they carried him home.
💫 Do it, don’t describe it. He showed what legacy looks like by running, not talking.
💫 Time moves. You move with it, or you watch it go.

Bryan’s touchdown wasn’t nostalgia.
He made history.
If the dream still lives in you, it’s not finished with you yet.

🏈 Dreams don’t retire.
🎥 Video credit: SM

PS: What dream have you been waiting to lace up for again?

♻️ Share this story if you believe age is just a number
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"Two things define us: Our patience when we have nothing
and our attitude when we have everything."

We've all been on both sides.

The grind when you have nothing:

↳ Months between jobs, still networking with a smile
↳ Pitching ideas that keep getting rejected
↳ Building something nobody understands yet
↳ Watching others get opportunities you want

That's when patience becomes your superpower.

Not just waiting.
But how you wait.

Stay curious instead of bitter.
Help others even when you need help yourself.
Keep learning when doors keep closing.

Then success comes.
And that's the test.

The promotion arrives.
The big client says yes.
Your idea finally takes off.

💫 Do you remember the rejections that shaped you?
💫 Do you still take calls from people climbing the ladder?
💫 Do you celebrate others' wins or just your own?

❤️‍🔥 Success can make us forget.
❤️‍🔥 Struggle can make us bitter.

But here's what I've noticed:
The people worth working with master both moments.

They stay patient in the valley.
They stay humble on the mountain.

PS: Which moment has revealed more about who you really are?

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Can't sleep because your mind won't turn off?
If your thoughts are racing in circles, read this 👇

I've been there.
That's why I started studying Japanese philosophy.
Here are 4 techniques that help me:

1/ IKIGAI
It means to have a purpose in life.

4 Rules of IKIGAI:
💖 Do what you love.
💖 Do what you are good at.
💖 Do what the world needs.
💖 Do what you can be paid for..

2/ KAIZEN:
Focus on small improvements every day,
aiming to become 1% better daily instead
of waiting for big changes.

3/ SHOSHIN:
Approach things with a beginner's mindset.
“If your mind is empty, it opens to everything!”

4/ HARA HACHI BU:
Stop eating when you're 80% full.
Eating until full will make you tired and lead to brain fog, causing procrastination…

Note: Some of these concepts have been adapted for Western
audiences.

Found this helpful?
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I stopped pushing harder when my business hit a wall.
Instead, I changed the angle.

For years, I thought progress meant force:

🌿 More effort
🌿 More hours
🌿 More hustle

But when things stopped moving,
I realized it wasn't about my work ethic.
It was my perspective.

Ever watched a photographer at work?
When the shot isn't right...

✅ They move around.
✅ Adjust settings.
✅ Wait for better light.

Turns out, we can run our businesses the same way.
Change the frame, change your results.

Here are 6 things I learned after changing mine:

1/ See it from a different lens
When you're stuck, don't just push harder, step back.
Ask "what if?" instead of "why not?"

2/ Know what you want.
Decisions get easier when you're clear on your goal.
Fuzzy targets waste energy.
Pick your priority: watch everything else falls into place.

3/ Keep trying new things.
The best photographers take hundreds of shots.
Same goes for us in business.
Try, shift, rethink, repeat.
Your breakthrough is hiding behind one more small test.

4/ Trust the journey.
Great results take time
Every "mistake" teaches you something.

5/ Get curious, not defensive.
Stop trying to be right all the time, start seeing things as they are.
Questions move you forward faster than certainties.

6/ Invite other perspectives.
Fresh eyes spot what you've become blind to.
Bringing others in isn't a distraction, it's how we see the complete picture.

PS: What angle have you changed lately?
🎥 Video credit: photographynobl

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Anyone can lead in good times.
Few can lead now.

Everyone’s working twice as hard with half the help.
Let's look at the numbers: 👇

4,000+ companies worldwide have cut staff or frozen hiring this year.
Nearly 950,000 jobs were eliminated in the U.S. through September,
the most since 2020.
Government leads with 299,000 cuts, followed by technology (107,000+) and financial services.

The goals didn’t shrink.
The deadlines didn’t move.
The resources did.

That’s why leadership looks different now.

It’s not tested when things go well.
It’s measured when things break,
when people are tired,
when you don’t have the answer
but they still trust you enough to follow.

Good leaders manage outcomes.
Great leaders shape who people become.
Real leaders don’t grow companies.
They grow people.

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The most dangerous weapon in the world isn’t nuclear.
It’s verbal.

💥 One sentence can ruin a reputation.
💥 One story can spark a revolution.
💥 One speech can rewrite what millions believe.

I’ve been preparing for an international talk
studying some of the most powerful communicators on the planet.

🎤 And then I watched Mohammed Qahtani.
A Saudi engineer.
Walks on stage, lights a cigarette, tells a story so convincing you’d bet it was true.

Then he drops the twist: it was a lie.
That “lie” won him the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking.

The winning message:

☑️ Words can destroy.
☑️ Words can heal.
☑️ Words can change the world.

And he proved it using the power of his voice.

You don’t need more words.
You need the right ones.

🎥 video credit: social media

💬 What’s one speech that changed how you see the world?
Drop it below let’s build a library of world-shifting words.

♻️ Repost if you believe communication is a superpower.
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Your emotions aren’t obstacles.
They’re messages.

You don’t need to suppress them
you need to study them.

We’re trained to label feelings as professional or personal,
useful or inconvenient.

But emotions aren’t orders.
They’re data.

When I feel my thoughts racing, I move.
Not to escape the feeling, to translate it.

💫 A short walk.
💫 A quick stretch.
💫 A minute of stillness between meetings.

A 2025 study in BMC Psychology found that people who reframed what they felt, a process called cognitive reappraisal,
reported lower anxiety and higher emotional regulation.

Your body is the interpreter your mind can’t always be.
When you move, the noise turns into language.

PS: The body doesn’t overthink. It translates.

➕ Share if you’ve been overthinking lately.
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You can tell a lot about a leader
by how they treat the people they underestimate.

We see it everywhere:

→ The 22-year-old whose ideas get labeled "too green"
→ The 55-year-old written off as "behind the times"
→ The accented speaker assumed to be "less analytical"
→ The soft-spoken person dismissed as "not executive material"

Here's what these shortcuts cost:

You miss the brilliant strategy.
You overlook the fresh perspective.
You lose the cultural insight.
You waste the hidden talent.

You know stereotypes are driving your decisions when:

✗ You're shocked when someone "defies" expectations
✗ You find yourself saying "surprisingly articulate" or "actually quite smart"
✗ You notice what fits your assumptions, ignore what doesn't
✗ You feel the need to explain away their success

But curiosity changes our biases:

✓ You find strengths you never looked for
✓ You build trust instead of walls
✓ You make decisions based on reality, not assumptions

64% of employees say bias at work hurts their performance.

That's not just a fairness problem.
That's a business problem.

The person you're underestimating today might be the solution you need tomorrow.

Stop categorizing.
Start connecting.

PS: What's the biggest assumption you've seen proven wrong at work?
🎥 Video credit: SM

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You wouldn’t leave a company to run itself.
Don’t leave your life to chance either 🤚🏼

✋🏼 Everyone around you adds or takes away.
✋🏼 Every habit pays or costs.
✋🏼 Every thought moves you forward or slows you down.

Growth without review isn’t growth.
It’s drift.

I’ve been in your shoes.

Here’s how I gained back control:


1/ Set the terms
Know what earns your time.

2/ Review the results
If it’s not working, it’s gone.

3/ Hire peace
It protects your focus.

4/ Fire drama
It burns time and reputation.

5/ Promote joy
It keeps good people close and work sustainable.

Your name is the business.
Run it accordingly.

PS: What are you promoting today?

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No matter your age, you’ll always wish
you started younger.
But today is the youngest you’ll ever be.

Ambition doesn’t come with a deadline.
At 40, I started the life I thought I’d missed.

✅ Marriage.
✅ Motherhood.
✅ First business.

The whispers followed me everywhere:
"Shouldn't you have done this sooner?"
"Don't you feel behind?"

Behind who exactly? 🧐

I used to think turning 40 meant catching up.
Now I know it means arriving.

With the confidence I never had at 20.
With patience I was still learning at 30.
With wisdom that only comes from rebuilding what fell apart.

Every "late" milestone became proof:
There's no such thing as the right time.
Only YOUR time.

I'm not racing against some invisible clock.
And you shouldn't either.

Your dreams didn't expire when you turned 30.
Or 40.
Or 50.

🔥 You're getting stronger and better.
🔥 More refined.
🔥 More you.

The person who convinced you it was too late?
They gave up too early on their own story.
Don't let their surrender become your timeline.

PS: What would you pursue today if age wasn't even in the conversation?

Quote attributed to Dan Martell

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You’re one post away from your next chapter.
Stop waiting for the “right” time.

My clients don’t wait for the perfect moment.
They don’t wait for January 1st.
They act while others plan.

That's why they're winning.

Here’s what kills your potential 👇

❌ Winging it without strategy
❌ Letting AI write everything
❌ Posting content with no real expertise

Your reputation isn’t a side project.

It’s infrastructure that needs proper engineering.
Don’t treat your personal brand like weekend DIY
and wonder why it breaks under pressure.

My clients work with structure:

✅ Build expertise before audience
✅ Strategy before content
✅ Voice over tricks

The results:

→ Magazine feature in 30 days
→ National interview in 2 weeks
→ Paid stage in 3

Even Max, my Chief of Staff and furry baby, knows the rule:
(pic in comments)

There’s writing on LinkedIn.
And there’s leveraging LinkedIn.

One earns attention.
The other builds opportunity.

PS: What are you building now?
Let me know in the comments!
📸 Vibe Haus, Brooklyn NY

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"It's not hard.
It's just new.
You'll laugh at this part later."

We call things “hard” when they are not familiar.

😅 New job? Hard.
😅 New business? Hard.
😅 New version of yourself? Brutal.

And new messes with your sense of control.
I’ve lived that gap where everything feels heavier than it should.

Where your confidence hasn’t caught up to your ambition yet.
It’s not that you’re doing it wrong.
It’s that you’re losing the comfort of competence.

When you go from expert to beginner again,
your ego fights back.
But that’s the price of evolution.

And when you sit in that space long enough,
something shifts.

🔥 You stop fighting it.
🔥 You start getting it.
🔥 That’s where leverage begins.

So if you’re in that stage right now
where work feels too big and you feel too small
don’t call it hard.

Call it new.

Because once it clicks,
you’ll realize you were never underqualified.
You were just early.

And early always looks harder than it is.

PS: 68% of employees say the biggest challenge in upskilling
is staying consistent long enough to feel confident (LinkedIn)

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They can copy your tactics.
They'll never replicate your story.

They can study your content.
Mirror your messaging.
But they can't replicate you.

Don't get this wrong:
“Visibility equals influence.”

It doesn't.

The goal isn't being seen everywhere.
It's being the first name that comes to mind 
when someone needs what you offer.

That's when you know you've built something with weight.
Trust beats attention.

And trust happens on two levels:

✨ Inspiration: They see what’s possible in your success
✨ Relatability: They see themselves in your struggles

When you hit both, you create emotional bridges.

People don't just consume your content.
They connect with your story.

Standout personal brands share:

→ The wins and the losses
→ The breakthroughs and the setbacks  
→ The confident moments and the uncertain ones

Perfect isn't memorable.
Authentic is.

When someone sees themselves in your journey,
they can't help but root for you.
That's the difference between followers and advocates.

Your competitors can analyze your tactics.
But they can't manufacture your trust.

PS: What part of your journey makes your brand uniquely yours?

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I used to think people joined companies.
Now I know they join leaders.

Last month, I met a CEO who hadn’t posted
or done a podcast in years.

👍 Brilliant operator.
👍 Great culture.
👍 Strong margins.

But when investors searched his name
his competitor showed up first.

He thought public exposure wasn’t necessary.
That the work would speak for itself.
That traditional networking is enough.

But in this economy, silence is expensive.

If no one hears from you online,
someone else owns your story.

Every CEO says, “People are our biggest asset.”
Then they disappear behind their logo.
And that’s where opportunity leaks.

Here’s what the numbers say:

🧠 80% of B2B leads start from a personal profile, not a company page.
💸 Founders with visible brands raise funding 5× faster and close 30% higher valuations.
📈 CEOs who post consistently cut hiring costs by up to 50%.

Those who win online:

✅ Build credibility before the meeting.
✅ Shorten sales cycles.
✅ Attract top talent before they advertise.

If you’re leading a company but staying quiet, start here 👇

1️⃣ Audit your digital footprint.
Google yourself like an investor would.
If the first page doesn’t prove authority, you’re leaking trust.

2️⃣ Publish proof, not polish.
Deals don’t come from slogans.
They come from showing how you think, who you attract,
and what you’ve built.

3️⃣ Systemize your brand
Block 2 hours a month to approve content that sounds like you.
The ROI means faster closes, better hires, and inbound credibility.

💡Sources: Oktopost, Linkedselling, Emeral Insight, Wiley Online Library

PS: The less you talk, the more you pay to be understood.
💅 The best of my advice is here: izamontalvo.com/joinnow

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I met my 20-something self today at the train station.
She got there early at 8 am, so did I.

She was wearing a leather jacket and boots.
First job as a breaking news reporter,
chasing police scanners through NYC streets.

🍎 Proud of her press badge.
🍎 Cheap coffee in hand.
🍎 Too much ambition, not enough sleep.

No AI back then.
No “creator economy.”
Just deadlines and the hope to make front page.

Years later, sitting in committee hearings on Capitol Hill.
Watching politicians deliver their messages.
Different desk.
Same adrenaline.
Same pressure to get the words right.

Somewhere between police radios and press conferences,
I learned something no one teaches you, how to be seen.

We spend years building credibility
but almost no time learning how to show it.

Back then, I was chasing headlines.
Now, I help people write their own.

If you’re finding your voice online, start here 👇
→ Speak to one person
You don’t have to sound polished, just sound like yourself.
Instead of “optimize your positioning strategy,”
say “make it easy for people to understand you.”

→ Show your credibility, don’t hide it
Sharing results isn’t arrogance, it’s evidence.
It’s teaching what’s possible for others.

→ Create moments where people can see you
A glimpse of what you’ve lived,
what you’ve earned,
what you’ve overcome.

🤝 Don’t talk about yourself.
🤝 Talk from yourself.
🤝 That shift is your unfair advantage.

One post can change your career.
You don’t need a new year or a new plan.
You just need one honest post, written like you mean it.

PS: What truth are you brave enough to tell next?

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