A letter from Zaheer: What is love? (And why your answer is your secret to clarity)
Published about 2 months ago • 3 min read
A Letter from Zaheer
What is love? (And why your answer is your secret to clarity)
↓
“What is love? Baby, don’t hurt me, Don’t hurt me, no more.”
- Haddaway
This track teleports me to 1993. There, 16-yr old me is dancing away in my room oblivious to everything but the music. But, the lyrics from Haddaway's iconic 90s hit are more than just a catchy hook. They pose a question as old as time itself.
The artist himself once said, "'What is love' needs to be defined by everyone by his own definition. It's unique and individual."
This isn't philosophical curiosity. It's about your inner compass.
Click to listen... you know you want to! 😉
Pause and reflect for a minute...
What does Love mean to you?
Not the rom-com version. Not the “hustle with passion” platitude.
I'm talking about the silent, invisible force that you only pick up when you slow down long enough to hear its signal. The kind of love that transforms friction into flow, effort into elegance, and cacophony into clarity.
Love means the courage to pause writing this letter right now and ask: “Does this honour who I am and what is true?” It’s the discipline to treat my attention like sacred ground, not a battlefield. To treat yours with equal reverence.
Recently, I interviewed a CEO who’d scaled his company to a big exit... and hated every minute of it.
“I’m drowning in success,” they said.
To someone else, that might be the pinnacle of a dream. For them, it was another nail in the coffin.
Haddaway got it right: “It’s unique and individual.” You can’t borrow someone else’s definition. Just like you can’t outsource your inner game.
Years ago, I was walked out from my corporate role, not because I sucked at my work, but because I’d lost my way. My worth was tied to my achievements, my lifestyle, my outputs and my toys.
It forced me to dig deep to understand what had happened and how I'd got there... to try and figure out what to do next.
Most of us are experts (or striving to be) at doing. But few of us have mastered the art of simplybeing. The “Love To Be” is the vital life force that powers the whole universe. Every living being strives to protect its "beingness". We all love to be. But, we pay little attention to the act of simply being.
As I found space to go deeper, I realized I had been living life backwards. I had my order of operations wrong. I was chasing success and financial freedom so I could finally do what I loved. I was wrong.
Clarity wasn't found in the chase. I reclaimed it in the pause. Slow down and tune your inner GPS; don't speed up to cover more distance on the map. It may be too late when you find yourself hurtling over a cliff, like I did.
But, why does it feel so unnatural to slow down?
Because our culture sells us three lies:
Speed = Worth (Spoiler: It’s a trap. Rushing creates more noise.)
Certainty = Safety (But love thrives in curiosity, not control.)
External Validation = Fuel (It’s diesel in a Tesla engine. Destructive.)
The result? We mute our inner signal to match the world’s frequency.
Here’s what actually works: Micro-shifts toward attention.
Not another app or hack. But simple acts I teach my clients daily:
Pause Before You Pounce Next time urgency strikes, ask: “Is this fear… or love?”
Protect Your Attention Like a Parent You wouldn’t let strangers scream at your kids. Why let the world scream into your mind?
Let the Muddy Moments Be The shower. The walk. The stare at the wall. This is where clarity breeds.
A client (a founder who nearly burned out) shared this after our work:
“I thought I needed a new strategy. Turns out, I just needed to fall back in love with why I started.”
When you anchor in the love to be you don’t just reduce burnout. You unlock decisions and passions that feel effortless because they align with your deepest truth.
Your invitation this week: Define your “Love To Be” in simple words that mean something to you.
Whatever the words, Carry them around like a talisman. Let them steady you when the world shouts for attention.
And if you’re thinking, “But Zaheer, I don’t have time…”, that’s your signal to start.
Always in your corner, Zaheer
P.S. If this speaks to you and you want to talk about tuning your inner compass, send me a reply. My love language is helping people. P.P.S. If you missed my letter from last week, read it here: What's your earliest memory of You?
