At Pixel Dreams, we hit the ground running each week. We kick things off with our Monday Morning Meeting (MMM), where we catch up with our team, declare our goals for the week, and report on last week’s progress.
One of the features of our weekly MMM is the Captain’s Log. This is our CEO Khalid aka Dreams’ weekly opportunity to share a short lecture, a prompt for reflection, or a practical meditation. Some weeks, the talks are planned. Others, they’re off the cuff. And sometimes, another leadership member takes the reins.
No matter who speaks, it’s a treasured moment for our team to get inspired for the week ahead.
Week 02: On Change
Jan 6, 2025
We’re all here to change and be better. People sign up for change, but often don’t consider that growth comes with a cost. Most of the time, it’s mental (emotional and psychological). Kal reminds us that environment and association (who you’re around) are the two ingredients that reliably move the needle. Willpower alone is weak.
Main takeaway: Shape your environment and your people so the change you want becomes inevitable.
Week 03: Start With Yourself
Jan 13, 2025
Big, meaningful changes begin with small commitments to personal development. Those tiny, persistent gestures compound outward. The idea of “raising I+A” is about starting with ourselves, so the ripple effects show up everywhere else.
Main takeaway: Invest in the inward work and let it scale.
Week 04: On Sacrifice
Jan 20, 2025
Important results require tradeoffs — from the gym to parenthood to teamwork. Sacrifice isn’t loss; it’s the channel to access the unique benefits that follow.
Main takeaway: You are going to have to give something up to get the thing you want.
Week 05: On Growth
Jan 27, 2025
What’s your growth like?
Growth is a trajectory, not an event. Motivation to grow must come from inside. While people say we all grow at our own pace, growth only matters in comparison to the goal we set. Remember escape velocity: shoot above the target and accelerate your development so you don’t fall behind peers or market demands.
Main takeaway: As a leader, it’s your job to ignite that passion for growth in others and model faster growth. And if you have a leader you look up to, it’s your responsibility to say, “I’m going to catch up and surpass you.”
Week 06: On Challenging Times
Feb 3, 2025
Real-world shocks (trade policy, tariffs) remind us that external forces can rearrange everything quickly. The practical response is frugality, clarity, and steadiness. In this case, protect the team and be cost-aware.
Main takeaway: Let’s lead with love and courage. Conserve where possible. We have a responsibility to make something great during our time together.
Week 07: Failing Fantastically (By Lannie)
Feb 10, 2025
The theme of 2025 is “Failing Fantastically.” There’s a difference between failing miserably and failing fantastically. Both instances involve a lot of effort, but the latter follows from aiming higher and pushing past comfort. The remedy is simple, but hard. Set a loftier aim and internalize the push so you don’t always need an external shove.
Main takeaway: As creatives we tend to experience imposter syndrome. Don’t let it deter you. Aim higher and push your own limits so if you fail, you do so fantastically.
Week 09: What Is a Leader?
Feb 24, 2025
What’s a leader? Manager? Mentor? Coach? Teacher? Advisor?
We have vague ideas about these roles in our lives, but most of the time, we use them interchangeably. How do you know which ones you need? Coaches give structure and practice, and they stand by your side. Mentors ask the bigger questions. Leadership is about influence, not so much authority. The healthiest teams have many coaches and mentors, not just one boss.
Main takeaway: Know which role you’re playing and who you need in your corner.
Week 10: Guardrails and Amplifiers
Mar 3, 2025
We all have strengths and weaknesses. Strengths become superpowers when amplified; weaknesses become super weaknesses if left unchecked. It’s important to identify these if you can. The antidote is deliberate guardrails. These can be people, processes, and start/stop/continue rituals.
Main takeaway: Ask 2–3 trusted people for Start/Stop/Continue feedback this week, and see where it takes you.
Week 13: Making Decisions
Mar 24, 2025
When you’re at a crossroads, decisions should be grounded in domain expertise and believability. Who is actually most credible on this topic? Let believability guide the way.
Main takeaway: Let track record and domain judgment steer the difficult decisions.
Week 14: The PD Rite of Passage
Mar 31, 2025
Breakdowns are often the unofficial rite of passage at PD. They test us emotionally and leave us stronger if we survive them.
Main takeaway: Prepare for these moments with mental and physical hygiene so hard seasons become learning seasons.
Week 15: On Reading, Sharing, and AI
Apr 7, 2025
Read books or consume content to get to know where someone’s head is at. Lack of diversity of thought can be dangerous. Balance is essential. Sharing this knowledge keeps us all accountable.
The world is changing. AI will touch every part of our work. The risk isn’t the tech itself but people using it better than you. Learn to work with AI as an augment. Ask it better questions and use it to sharpen your craft.
Main takeaway: Augment, don’t ignore.
Week 16: Designer vs. Worker
Apr 14, 2025
Borrowing from Ray Dalio: be the designer of your machine (your life or team) instead of only the worker. Don’t see struggle as something negative. Step back, design roles to fit strengths, and observe objectively. Rearrange roles to match capabilities.
Main takeaway: Be willing to “fire yourself” from jobs you don’t perform well.
Week 17: On Values
Apr 21, 2025
Values come in four flavours: permission-to-play, accidental, aspirational, and core. Each shapes culture differently.
Permission-to-play: The values you need to adhere to to have any right to be in the organization.
Accidental values: The values that arise naturally from culture and group dynamics.
Aspirational values: The values you aim to achieve.
Core values: The ones that make a group. They must be lived and concise.
Main takeaway: PD’s core values (improve health, seek wisdom, cultivate teamwork) stack into one another.
Week 18: On Seizing Opportunity
Apr 28, 2025
Opportunities often sit next to distractions. Noticing and acting when opportunity knocks is the hard work. Khalid urges us to trade short-term comfort for discomfort that creates an outsized future payoff.
Main takeaway: “Opportunity knocks and you’re too busy watching TV to have heard it.”
Week 19: On Confidence
May 5, 2025
What is confidence? To Khalid, it’s the trust in yourself that lets you act when odds are against you.
Main takeaway: It can be difficult to admit you don’t have it because when you don’t, everything seems tougher than it is.
Week 20: Confidence & Range
May 12, 2025
Confidence unlocks many doors. To get it, you have to pay with time. Confidence is amplified by range — the ability to move across tone, speed, and persona to fit the moment. The more range you own, the more influence you have.
Main takeaway: Practice one example of range to expand influence.
Week 21: Cleaning Your Lens
May 20, 2025
Our internal narratives shape our reality. Foggy lenses create false obstacles. Try daily practices to “clean” your lens and stop narrating possibilities away. The universe is waiting for your instructions. The things we say and do instruct the universe on how to treat us, how to reward, and punish us.
Main takeaway: Be positive. Create positive action.
Week 22: Love vs. Like
May 26, 2025
Love yourself unconditionally, even when you don’t like every part of yourself. Love enables pragmatic correction without cruelty.
Action: List what you love about yourself and what you want to change. Then, pick one fixable item.
Main takeaway: Love first, then improve.
Week 24: Founder’s Fire (Lannie)
Jun 9, 2025
The early messy years fuel the long grind. The first decade builds the foundation, and the next five years can be a new growth spurt if we keep the hunger. We’re not yet close to reaching our full potential.
Main takeaway: Respect the long arc and keep the fire in your belly.
Week 27: On Seeking Approval
Jun 30, 2025
We’re wired to seek approval, but what’s important is choosing whose approval matters. Khalid shared a story that highlighted family and selective approval over crowd-chasing.
Main takeaway: Identify whose approval you’ll care about and tune signals to them.
Week 28: The Power of Nonaction
Jul 7, 2025
Leadership isn’t always doing, sometimes restraint preserves respect and lets others grow. Pause before you react and ask whether calling someone out helps or harms the situation.
Main takeaway: Good leaders know when to step in and when to leave the room.
Week 29: On Preparedness
Jul 14, 2025
“Bring your gun to the knife fight.” Prepare beyond the minimum so you can operate from advantage.
Main takeaway: You may not need the gun, but at least you have the option.
Week 30: Personalization & Legacy
Jul 21, 2025
Detach from the ego-centered story to reduce needless anger. A person didn’t cut YOU off in traffic, you just happened to have gotten cut off. Not many people document their lives. Consider living past your life. Small acts like journaling preserve a legacy.
Main takeaway: You are the only you who will experience the universe in the way that you do.
Week 36: On Change
Sept 2, 2025
Treat the fall as a second “new year.” It’s a quieter, effective time to reset goals. Pick one skill to commit to and schedule it into your routine.
Main takeaway: Small, steady commitments beat scattered intention.
Week 37: On Failure
Sept 8, 2025
Failure happens in degrees. At every level, there’s a glass ceiling holding you back from future endeavours. Diagnose which level you’re in (not knowing, knowing but not applying, applying wrong, etc.) and fix the right gap.
Main takeaway: Surround yourself with people who point out blindspots.
Week 38: On Frustration
Sept 15, 2025
Kal’s favourite definition of frustration is “expecting the universe to be different than it is.” When we don’t accept what is and are in denial of the thing in front of us, it’s a disservice to you. To be a change agent in your life, let go of frustration and accept what’s in front of you.
Main takeaway: Only with clarity can you maneuver.
Week 39: Client Focus Week
Sept 22, 2025
A tactical week. Pause non-mission-critical internal work, shorten meetings, and put all hands on client outcomes.
Main takeaway: This week, prioritize client deliverables and lend a hand where needed.
Week 40: On War
Sept 29, 2025
War is literal and metaphorical. In our day-to-day, battles are won and battles are lost. It can be declared before you know it, so it’s best to prepare and be protective. In times of war, who survives and who doesn’t? Last week was rough. The incredible dedication and teamwork were unparalleled. Every now and then, it’s good for the system to go through challenging times.
Main takeaway: Drive your engine hard, but not so much that you crash. Keep a nice, steady pace.
Week 41: On Being a Student of Life
Oct 6, 2025
It’s important to be a student of life. Be a receptive, hungry student. A good student will squeeze wisdom out of the town drunk. A bad student will be surrounded by gurus and not catch a single thing. How good a student are you?
Main takeaway: Tune your antennae for lessons and act on the buffet of signals the world offers.
Week 42: On Being Your Best Self
Oct 13, 2025
It’s challenging to change; we’re creatures of habit.
But sometimes we’re presented unique opportunities to change — like when you meet new people. New communities let you show an improved version of yourself free from old baggage. Consciously choose the version of yourself you want to be and practice that way of showing up.
Main takeaway: Drop one habit of your old self and replace it.
Week 45: On Questions
Nov 3, 2025
Better answers start with better questions. Many questions hide assumptions that close off options.
Main takeaway: Sharpen the question before you seek the answer.
Week 46: On New Cultures and Defining Ourselves
Nov 10, 2025
There are a lot of new players on the team. PD veterans have a responsibility to shine. To flex. To set standards. Joining a new culture often brings excitement, followed by despair. With time, you’ll remember why you joined in the first place. Trust the process. Be patient. How do we define ourselves? Labels matter as they change priorities and mentoring.
Main takeaway: At PD, we define ourselves as a creative agency. We just happen to earn revenue through marketing services.
Week 47: Liking vs Loving Yourself (EOY)
Nov 17, 2025
Loving yourself should be a constant. “Liking” yourself is the work of improvement. Attack change with love so it doesn’t turn toxic.
Main takeaway: The best place you can be is a place where you can look back at the version of yourself five years ago with compassion and empathy.
Week 48: On Health
Nov 24, 2025
Health is physical, mental, and spiritual. Build health before you need it. Training the physical is easy, but how do you train the mental? Taking risks, seeking wisdom, and setting yourself up for small, achievable wins.
Main takeaway: Bring your human being to your human doing.
Week 49: On Taking Feedback
Dec 1, 2025
A culture of improvement requires taste, courage, and fortitude to call each other out. Honest critique should be normalized so the team can multiply its improvement.
Main takeaway: Practice giving and receiving feedback with humility.
Conclusion
And that’s a wrap on 2025’s Captains Logs. Bring these pieces of wisdom with you into 2026 and be prepared for more opportunities for growth and learning.
