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This week’s napkin draws a hard line: Growth or Comfort … Pick One. Comfort feels safe, but it keeps us stuck. Growth stretches us, demands friction, and challenges our preferences. Leaders must notice the trap, separate values from tastes, and invite dissent. Comfort preserves the present. Growth creates the future. Where are you choosing the armchair when you should be climbing the ladder?

Every once in a while, a Paper Napkin Wisdom napkin makes you laugh, think, and stay with you. Episode 296 with Jimmy Park is one of those. Recorded in 2017 but unreleased until now, it feels fitting to share as we near our 300th milestone. Jimmy’s message is timeless, practical, and more relevant than ever.

Episode 295 of Paper Napkin Wisdom brings back a 2017 conversation with Adam Hudson, entrepreneur and founder of Unemployable. His napkin reframes entrepreneurship: business is not the goal, but the tool for freedom, impact, and alignment with personal values. Adam warns against the busyness trap, urges simplicity, and insists value creation must come first. In 2025, his timeless wisdom is a reminder—true ROI isn’t revenue, it’s freedom.

Episode 294 of Paper Napkin Wisdom with Govindh Jayaraman leans into discomfort. Centered on “RIP,” Govindh reframes it as Rest, In, and Peace — urging us to rethink how we respond to loss, controversy, and public death. It’s a call to sit with hard truths, practice inclusion, and choose optimism even in grief. Leadership isn’t just about growth — it’s about how we face the conversations most avoid.

Steven Rothberg, Founder of College Recruiter, distills decades of experience into one deceptively simple truth: “If a customer wants to give you more money, find a way of making that happen.” His wisdom isn’t just about sales—it’s about curiosity, listening, and building win-win partnerships. Growth often comes not from what we plan to sell, but from what customers are ready to buy.

Partnership isn’t just about co-founders or teammates—the most important one is with yourself. In Episode 292 of Paper Napkin Wisdom, Govindh explores the conscious–unconscious relationship and why treating your inner mind as an equal partner unlocks flow, alignment, and leadership. The napkin asks: “Who’s the best partner you ever had?” The secret: it’s you.