Codie SanchezFounder @ Contrarian Thinking

I had an employee who was struggling…

6 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief monologue, Codie Sanchez recounts a recent encounter with a struggling employee who had lost confidence in her abilities. She shares a line she once heard—"Until death, all defeat is psychological"—and uses it to challenge the employee to reconsider her mindset. Sanchez emphasizes the CEO's responsibility to bolster employee self‑belief, describing how she positioned herself as the employee's champion, reminding her that she was selected from thousands because of her capability. She delivers a blunt, profanity‑laden pep talk, urging the employee not to give up and to recognize that a powerful, supportive leader is cheering her on. The core message is that defeat is a mental construct, and effective leadership involves actively reinforcing confidence and perseverance.

Chapters

What do you tell someone when they want to give up? Actually, I had an employee recently who was really struggling, had lost all faith in her ability. And I heard this line once that I reshared, which is, "Until death, all defeat is psychological." And I just like told her to sit on that for a second. She was having a really hard time. And so your job as a CEO is you got to push your employees to believe in themselves more than they do. So I needed to be her confidence when she didn't have any, to remind her that you actually have someone who has your back, me, and that I chose you out of a sea of thousands because you're so fucking capable. And that's what I told her, like, keep going. You got this. I wouldn't have picked you if you didn't. This is in your head until you give up and you say it out of your mouth. So just don't give up and know that you got a really capable motherfucker cheering you on. That is the job of a CEO.