#407 Frames. A billboard face.

A plain frame can change how you see your day. We take that ordinary object and use it to explore focus, boundaries, and the quiet signals your face sends before you say a word. When listeners called to say frames are borders, we went deeper: borders don’t just limit; they clarify. Edges help you protect attention, make priorities visible, and respond with intention instead of reacting on autopilot.

Then comes a twist from a caller named Liz: your hair frames your face. Simple, but potent. What does your frame highlight right now? If your expression were on a billboard, would you stand by that moment? Not to fake a smile, but to notice alignment. A soft gaze, loose jaw, and easy breath can shift a hard conversation more than perfect phrasing. This is practical emotional regulation hiding in plain sight.

We lean into humility—choosing to be the “dumbest person in the room” by letting everyday objects teach us how to live better. The practice is small and repeatable: set a clear boundary around what matters today, check your expression before key moments, and deliberately reframe problems from “threat” to “signal.” These frames are not clichés; they’re tools for calmer leadership, cleaner decisions, and steady, real growth.

If you’re ready to experiment, try the billboard test and a two-minute framing reset. Then tell us what changed. Subscribe for more simple, repeatable prompts that spark reflection, share this with someone who needs a calmer frame, and leave a review so we can keep bringing you thoughtful, practical growth cues.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Today’s Focus
• 0:08 Frames as Metaphor for Growth
• 0:37 Humility and Learning from Anything
• 0:55 Frames as Borders
• 1:02 Hair Framing the Face
• 1:17 The Billboard Test for Your Expression
• 1:53 The Deeper Question: Are You Happy?
• 2:02 Using Frames for Daily Reflection
• 2:35 Listener Prompts and How to Respond

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Growth Insigator Hotline. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. This is Message 407. This week is all about frames, F-R-A-M-E-S. An everyday normal object that we can assign deeper meaning to, something that can grab our attention and represents something beyond. What are some leadership lessons or lessons, life lessons, we can glean from frames? The idea of pausing on an item and letting it become a new device that can teach us something is silly. It takes being creative, it takes pausing, it takes patience, it takes admitting that truth can be found anywhere if we just admit we don't know it all and we can learn something. You know, it's the whole be the dumbest person in the room kind of thing. Ten or so people left messages yesterday saying frames represent borders. And yes, isn't that true? I love the twist that Liz from the Northwest left. She said, your hair frames your face. Aha, let's look at that just a bit. If your hair is framing your face, what is it highlighting? The expressions you have on your face right now, this moment, would you want it to be put on a billboard? Now, I have no doubt that every one of you are beautiful people, and your you being on a billboard would be a gift to humanity. I'm asking, is your face calm, smiling, at ease, happy, centered, content, soft, encouraging, and so on? Or is your face sour and rough, concerned, worried, mad, unhappy? And of course, we need to be true to our emotions, and all of these emotions could be any one of us at any time. The bigger question is, are you a happy person? Happy with who you are and happy with how you are living? I sure hope so. I hope that frames from this point forward can cause you to pause for a second and do just a little deep work and ask if you're living the life you want to live. Your hair frames your face. That is a truth teller of a deeper you. So I'm sending good vibes your way today. Why? Because we can all use calmer and less tense faces. It's crazy how when we pause and slow down just a bit, something as simple as frames can evoke such deep reflection and truth in our lives. That, my friends, is how a common everyday object can instigate growth. I want to hear some more of your observations. What growth lessons can you apply to frames? For those of you calling the Growth Instigator Hotline, I'd love to hear your thoughts after the beep. For those of you listening in on podcast, visit growth instigators.com and send me your thoughts. Let's never see frames the same.