Just because you look aligned on stage,doesn’t mean you’re aligned at home.

Last episode we talked about private victories. The quiet disciplines that build your real foundation.Today, Shawn shines a light on what happens when that foundation and your public persona drift apart.

Through the story of giving a powerful talk in 2016 for “I Am Worth”, then spending seven years shrinking from the very message he preached, he exposes a truth most leaders avoid:the integrity gap doesn’t erupt, it erodes.One compromise at a time.One boundary violated in silence.One value taught publicly but ignored privately.

This episode invites leaders to stop justifying the split and start closing it.Because the gap between who you are and who you present isn’t strategy.It’s slow self-betrayal. And it costs you more than you think.

In This Episode

* How integrity erodes one small compromise at a time

* Why leaders justify gaps between their public message and private behavior

* The moment Shawn realized he’d been shrinking for seven years

* The real cost of being two different people on stage and at home

* Why consistency, not perfection, is the true foundation of leadership

* How closing the integrity gap restores energy, clarity, and credibility

✦ Reflection Prompts

* Where am I teaching something I’m not fully living?

* What boundary do I break privately even though I preach it publicly?Which version of me feels truer: the one on stage or the one at home?

* What gap am I pretending is “temporary” that’s actually becoming a pattern?

✦ The Boost (Action Step)

Run the Integrity Gap Audit.

Write down three things you teach, preach, or post about publicly.Then ask yourself:“Am I actually living this… or just performing it?”

Find the gap. Name it.Because you can’t close a gap you won’t acknowledge.

If you’re ready to stop performing alignment and start living it, book your No-Cost Identity Clarity Call. We’ll look at where your identity drifted, where your integrity is leaking energy, and how to rebuild a leadership presence that’s whole; not just polished.

✦ On the Next Episode

The Identity Audit: Checking If You’re Still Leading From Your Core

Because integrity doesn’t only slip in behavior. It slips in identity.And every six months, leaders must ask the hardest question:Am I still me?

✦ If Today’s Episode Sparked Something…

* Share it with a leader who feels stretched between who they are and who they present.

* Subscribe to Daily Power Boost for rhythm-based identity resets.

* Join the R.E.A.L. Mastery™ Hub → realmasteryhub.com

* Apply for Beyond the Boost live coaching.

✦ Engage With Me Online

* Instagram: @coachshawnmichael

* TikTok: @coachshawnmichael

* YouTube: @coachshawnmichael

* LinkedIn: @coachinguatemala

✦ References & Influences

* Parker Palmer – Let Your Life Speak on divided life vs. integrated life

* Brené Brown – Dare to Lead on values-aligned living

* Stephen Covey – Private victory precedes public victory

* Joe Hudson – The Art of Accomplishment on self-honesty

* Carl Jung – The shadow and the cost of unexamined gaps

With strength & heart,

❤️🔥 Shawn Michael

Get full access to True North: Your guide to an intentional life at trunorth.substack.com/subscribe