Michelle Risi
Through my Lens
The ideas and observations that shape how I see people, life, growth, success and self-awareness
There are a lot of things I do.
I'm a business leader. A writer. A singer-songwriter. A speaker. A mother.
On the surface, those things don't seem connected.
But to me, they've always been driven by the same curiosity:
People.
How we think.
Why we do what we do.
What changes when we begin to see ourselves—and our lives—a little more clearly.
Here's a few things I've come to learn:
01
The Visible Problem
Is Rarely the Real Problem
02
Clarity Changes Everything
03
Everything works if it works for you.
I don't believe most people need more information. We're surrounded by it. The challenge isn't access. It's clarity. I don't think most people are missing answers.
I think they're struggling to hear themselves. through years of expectations. They're trying to hear themselves through years of inherited beliefs, expectations, fear, and other people's opinions. The work isn't becoming someone new. It's clearing enough of the noise to recognize what was already true. Once you see clearly... better decisions become possible.
When someone tells me what they think their problem is, I rarely take it at face value. Usually, it isn't the real one. The visible problem is rarely where the real work begins. Finding the real one takes curiosity, instinct, and better questions—not a checklist.
There will always be someone telling you they've found the way. The best strategy. The best routine. The best leadership style. Most of it probably worked. For them.
There isn't one right way. There are principles. Then there's the person applying them.
The more clearly you know yourself, the easier it becomes to recognize what fits—and what never will.
Understanding yourself changes everything else.
04
Judgment Is Becoming More Valuable
Information is becoming abundant.
So are ideas.
Content.
Advice.
Artificial intelligence is accelerating all of it.
That doesn't make people less valuable.
It changes what becomes valuable.
Judgment.
Discernment.
Curiosity.
Self-awareness.
Taste.
The ability to ask better questions.
Knowing what matters—
and what doesn't.
Those are the ideas I'm most interested in exploring.
Whether I'm advising a team, talking with a real estate agent, writing a song, standing on a stage, or sitting across from someone over coffee—
I'm usually doing the same thing.
Helping people notice something they couldn't see before.
Not because I have the answers.
Because the right question has a way of uncovering them.
When that happens, it doesn't feel like I've convinced someone of anything.
It feels like they've recognized something they already knew.
And that's the work that continues to fascinate me.
05
Why I Do This Work
Let's Continue the Conversation
If something here resonated with you—or helped you see something in a new way—I’d love to continue the conversation.
Whether it's through a keynote, a leadership discussion, a podcast, or a creative collaboration, I'm always interested in exploring the ideas that help us understand ourselves, our work, and one another a little more clearly.