Guiding People Leaders from Guesswork to Clarity 🌎 Location Independent Founder 🌞 Holistic Wellbeing Through Experiments ⛺ Founding Member at The Remote-First Institute

From innovation consulting and organizational design to holistic wellbeing, my journey has taken me to where I am now = helping individuals, teams and organizations expand through experiments.

Maaria Tiensivu

I'm the kind of person who gets things done (whether I want to, or not). I used to be proud of this quality, but lately that's been changing. 👇


Over the holidays I decided to give the four languages scan an update, and funnily enough as I was testing it out, the results stopped me in my tracks. 

I was reflecting on life, and on the body as the language I tend to neglect the most. 

What I didn't see coming was that I was deeply mistaken about the manner of my neglect. I had this idea that I need to "stop being lazy".

However, as I've trained the scan with much more insight and wisdom than I can personally live up to 😅, it shared the following insight with me:

"You might think what you need is more discipline—finally stick to a practice, force yourself to work out, manage your body better. But that's more masculine energy, and it's exactly what's been failing you.

What you actually need is the opposite: to stop doing, stop pushing, stop managing. To let your body be something you receive pleasure from, not something you control or fix.

For someone who's been living in masculine overdrive, more discipline will just deepen the disconnection. What you need is permission to feel, to be soft, to let your body have desires and sensations that aren't about productivity."

Now that hit home, and hard. 🫠🫠🫠

Here I was, shoving MORE demands on myself and my body when the whole issue was that I was already doing too much. 😅

So hello 2026, a year of...

🌱 Less pushing
🌱 More "No's" 
🌱 Dedicated time for the "un-productive" parts of life.

I have seen many share similar reflections on my feed, and I can't wait to see us all living up to this intention in 2026. 

Maybe together we can hold each other accountable *not for pushing for results*, but for saying no. For taking a break even when it feels like you don't have the time. For giving space for softness and flow. 

I know many who are way ahead of me in this and look forward to learning more. 

Who should I connect with for inspiration? Share your fave people below ✨😍 

Some of the people that inspire me on this journey are Flaminia Buda, Kristin Vierra and a bunch of people who are definitely *not* on Linkedin. 😅

And if you're in the journey yourself, send me a DM. Let's make sure we don't let the grind win this year. ✨💫

#reflections #personalgrowth #feminine

✨ AI for Wellbeing 👉 Purpose Driven AI 🌎 Location Independent Founder of The Four Languages & Purpose Driven AI.

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Each place serves a purpose (if you let it). 🌱👇 


The image below is from 3 years ago, and taken in the very same place I now call home. It's no coincidence that being here aligns with a *long prepared for* change in focus, as all places offer their own unique paths to take on.

Leaving here three years ago truly broke my heart, but I didn't return until now. Many people have asked me why I didn't come back earlier, even though in theory I could have.

The reason was related to the path I knew was supposed to walk here. 

For the past years, it wasn't the right time to focus on this part of the journey. It was time to learn, create and hustle in the space of AI. To slowly build foundations for today. 🌱

Had I come back earlier, I would've been forcing an energy of "hustle" to a place that was always one best suited to nurturing my soul. Whereas now, I am able to utilize AI in a space I deeply care about: wellbeing and growth.

I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that the Four Languages is 3 years old! 😱 For three years I have been fortunate enough to work with a *practice* that nurtures wellbeing and unimaginable growth in people.

And this year it's finally time to give this beautiful universe the time it deserves. 

If you're curious to learn more, the journey will mostly unfold on Instagram. Give @thefourlanguages a follow over there to join me on the journey.

This post wouldn't quite be full without the most deeply felt gratitude for Maren Böffel, Kristin Vierra, Flaminia Buda, Bradley Waters, Renee La Tour and countless others who aren't on Linkedin who have been a part of the journey so far.

The most profound and deeply felt thanks for all of you who've joined for the journey, and prepare for much more wellbeing content in the future. 👀

📸: 3 years ago in Cachoeira da Solidão, Florianopolis 🇧🇷

This year is about building what I love ✨ in public✨, which is why I decided to share my real journey of building the Four Languages app with Claude Code on our newsletter.👇


Week one is out (link in comments), and week #2 is already shaking off any sense of "ease" I might have felt last week.... 😅

The project I'll be sharing includes learning and implementing across:

- App dev with Claude Code
- Service Design for Claude Code Systems
- UI & UX with Claude Code
- Databases and back-end systems
- Privacy, security and other compliance questions that come with AI

Here's what I learned building my AI app with Claude Code during week #1:

→ Step-by-step beats all-in at once vibe-coding every time
→ Knowing WHAT the AI is building matters more than speed
→ You don't need perfect conditions. You need a clear scope and phases.

Week #1 is live, read more in the newsletter (link in comments).

What would YOU build with 8 weeks and a trained AI co-pilot? 🤔

#AI #artificialintelligence #buildsprint #claudecode

I'm building the *NO-BRO* AI system on Claude Code. It's system that holds me accountable to my energy and purpose instead of fears or "hustle" mentality. 👇👇👇


It helps me optimize my energy, and build toward my long term goals without burning out on a daily basis.

It guides my days and weeks based on my energy levels, cycle and purpose as much as helps me "achieve" my business goals.

As an example, instead of telling me to push harder, yesterday it helped me pinpoint tasks that matched my actual energy. It helped me do what I needed to do anyway, but at a time when my energy matched the effort.

Because as much as I would like to be a machine, I am not. My days aren't the same. Some days and weeks are for creation and pushing, while others are for reflection and maintenance.

Both are needed in business, and in life.

It helps me pinpoint tasks from our plans to make sure that instead hitting my head against the wall all week, I'm doing what I'm best equipped to do at that moment.

And it holds me accountable for not going AGAINST my body, my energy or my purpose. It holds me accountable for long term wellbeing, and direction.

It helps me build a life of intention, not reactivity. 

Who else is building with AI for increased wellbeing and purpose? Share below 🥰

#AI #wellbeing #personaldevelopment #claudecode

The problems with AI (or tech) arise when we *stay* in the universe co-created with the technology. 👇


👉 When we co-create emotions and connections with AI, that stay online. 
👉 When we co-create a reality that we don't want to leave.
👉 When we consent to our emotions being accessed, stored and used by companies, with the cost of it being used to trap us with addictive features.

There's a fundamental pillar I've lived by since I started building tech products: All interactions should aim at a REAL WORLD manifestation.

This pillar guides both my human coaching and AI product work. The goal is always to stimulate action in the real world. 

Because whether we're mulling in our head alone, or with another person, change only happens in taking action in our lives in the real world.

I can't wait to integrate these pillars in the four languages application I'm building, as well as in my client projects. 

AI can empower us to live a better life, OR it can trap us in illusion. It all depends how we design it. ✨

What is your favorite (tech) product that connects you with the outside world? 

PS, Read more in my week #2 newsletter. Link in comments 👇

📸: Starbucks coworking-session in Tapachula, Mexico in 2024.

#AI #artificialintelligence #reflection #buildinginpublic

If you want to get closer to meaning in 2026, answer these two questions. 👇


I've used a version of these questions as a guiding light ever since social media complicated our lives.

"What would I do if I could never share it with anyone?"
Not on social media, not with friends or family. Just you and you alone.

If you lived just for the experience itself.

👉 Where would you invest your time and energy?
👉 What would you not spend any resources on ever again?
👉 What would you remove from your life today?

If you lived for yourself solely, would you...

1. Go crazy and live without responsibility or worry about tomorrow?
2. Go deep and become the person you know you are within but that doesn't look cool on social media, or in your social context?
3. Or something completely different?

The more years have passed, the less I share about my life online. 

And yes, I know it's bad for my "personal brand" and business as an entrepreneur, but at the end of the day I'd rather know I lived a life that I would be grateful to have lived if it was my time to go today.

This year will take me even further from what I have "known" but also much closed to why I am here in the first place.

What can you do to make your life that much more yours?

#friday #reflection #question #thefourlanguages

Before you buy those subscriptions, first make sure you know what you're trying to achieve... 🤑


Step #1 of any intentional AI project: Idea validation.

Now this is not only important for the product delivery, but for you in deciding which tools and platforms to pay for (or not).

There are endless AI solutions out there these days, and not everything that works for someone else, will work for your use case.

So before you input those digits 💸, take a look at the "why" behind your build.

In today's newsletter we run through five simple but concrete steps for helping you define what *you* need for your AI build. 

Subscribe here: blog.purposedriven.ai

(Ps, next week 👉  we'll cover what to "feed" your AI.  Your AI will only be as good as the 🥒 it's eaten, so make sure you're feeding it the right goodies.)

#AI #artificialintelligence #intentionaldesign #servicedesign

They say lessons (or choices) keep coming until you learn them... 😅 Well, getting into actual *build* mode has been asking my attention for over a decade, and I finally said yes. 👇


The time has come to get the four languages app from MVP webapp to native mobile application (with the real value embedded).

As I was facing a familiar choice whether to....

1. Hire someone to build it for me
2. Learn to do it myself

...I finally decided to say yes for number 2.

Goodbye Replit and Hello Claude Code meets + all the *actual dev* tools I've been successfully avoiding forever. 😅

In the next 8 weeks I'll be building the app, and sharing my learnings along the way. 

To make things more fun, I'm bundling the project with something more up my alley to make sure the coding doesn't drive me completely mad! 👀

📸 Yes, for once Claude please tell me it'll all be OK!! I need all the reassurance I can get (before hitting the land of pain and 🪲🪲🪲)

Join me for the ride? 👀

#AI #wellbeing #mobileapp #servicedesign

Do you live for the story you'll leave behind, or believe here and now is all we have? 👀


Whichever way you lean on today, there's a light and shadow to each way of life. 

Focusing on the story beyond can help, especially if the present feels unbearable or difficult. However it can also detach us from life here and now.

Focusing on the present on the other hand can limit our service and impact to those around us, and the world as a whole.

There's no right or wrong answer here, and mastery most likely lies in tapping into one after another rather than choosing one approach for life. 

Which do you spend more of your time in:
The present moment or the story you'll leave behind?

#soul #spirituality #present #future #forever

You're probably using AI daily. But do you know its environmental cost? 
Most of us don't. We're too busy trying not to fall behind... 😱


In our newest podcast turned article, Madalina Buzdugan, a sustainability strategist sheds light on this exact tension. Her conclusion? You don't have to choose between staying competitive and being responsible.

Here's what she found:

→ Most of us don't need billion-parameter models for everyday tasks. Smaller models work just fine (and use way less energy).
→ Simple tools like AI Impact Tracker let you see your actual consumption (no guesswork, just data).
→ Sometimes the best AI decision is not using AI at all. Text formatting?Calendar organization? Maybe you don't need to use AI for that.

But here's the main question:
Is AI helping me do work I care about, or just producing more fluff? 🤔

If you're building AI products, using AI in your workflow, or just trying to make better choices with your AI use, read through the post to make more informed decisions. 

The tools to choose better already exist. The question is: are you ready to use them?

Link to the post in comments 👇👇👇

#sustainableai #responsibleai #aiethics #techforgood

I am a massive advocate of co-opetition and this initiative is the perfect example of how it can be done well. 💪 We're only getting started, but I can't wait to see how we will change organizations with intentional, and responsible use of AI. 

A massive thank you and kudos for the team: Bob Gower, Hannah Keen, Joe O'Connor and Julie Clow. Let's go!

#AI #PeopleOps #organizationalchange #HR #launch

Founder @ Splendid Torch | AI Stewardship for Exec Teams | Strategy, Governance, Change

Twenty years ago I earned an MBA in Sustainable Management.

When I started the program, “sustainability” was just entering the zeitgeist. Not a sexy word—but a useful one: the ability to keep going.

Over the last two decades I’ve come to believe that “sustainable business” is less about what a company makes and more about how it operates.

I’ve seen good products and good intentions still produce harm when the operating model is misaligned—when authority, incentives, and accountability don’t match the mission.

That’s why I think AI is a leadership moment, not a tooling moment. AI has real utility—and real risk. Your company may not need to go all-in, but you can’t ignore it. It’s changing too much, too fast.

And we’ve all seen what happens when adoption is treated like a rollout: big promises, low usage, wasted spend, change fatigue and eroded trust.

Organizations do better with AI when they treat adoption as an operating capability—not a tool deployment: clear use cases, decision rights, governance, and the people-systems that sustain change.

Today, Splendid Torch — my new company — is launching our first offering: AI Stewardship Launch.

It’s a senior-led engagement to help leaders and teams move from AI interest (or fear) to a coherent, responsible ability to put it to real use—without wasting money or burning people out.

Teams typically leave with:
 • a clear snapshot of AI maturity (where you are now and what’s next), and
 • 2–3 pilots with measures that prove value and guide investment.

The brief is in the attached slides.

If you’re leading AI adoption (COO/CTO/CFO/CPO/ops/people leaders): what’s the hardest part right now—use cases, risk/governance, or change management?

If you want a quick sanity-check, DM me.

AI Stewardship Brief - Splendid Torch

Really excited to be a part of a group of really interesting thinkers and doers. 👏 . This project is only getting started, massive thanks to Bob Gower, Julie Clow, Hannah Keen, Joe O'Connor and all the contributors of this insightful report for joining forces on imagining how AI might look from a different perspective. 

Which one of the predictions is your favorite?

#AI #artificialintelligence #collective #trends2026

Amid endless AI forecasts, here’s a grounded look at what matters in 2026: the human choices shaping technology’s impact.

Ready to rethink AI beyond tools and hype?

Written by the Splendid Torch collective — including: Hannah Keen, Joe O'Connor, Julie Clow, and Sinéad Condon (full contributor tags in the article).

A clear-eyed view of AI’s coming impact on work, leadership, and the human skills that matter most. By Splendid Torch, a collective of senior organiza

Open article: 2026 AI Reality Check by Bob Gower • 7 min read

Not delivering what you promise will cost you more than NOT using AI. 👇


I just had a consultation with a very niche coach/teacher I had been following for a long time.

We had our (paid) session, and agreed on the next steps. From my side it included booking a group session with his partner, and from his to send over documentation and further pricing information based on our conversation.

Needless to say this story doesn't end well... 😅 

I booked the follow-up session and attended, and two weeks later had still never received anything from their side.

This was the first time I really truly wished someone had brought AI in the meeting.

That this person had a system (of any sort really), that helped him not automate, but at least remind to deliver what he had promised in the session.

This was the first step of a long long long coaching relationship with very substantial financial gains coming his way. However the lack of doing what he promised means I will find another person to work with on the topic.

I know many coaches and consultants think that AI will "mess up your brand" or make you a soulless.

But when you define clearly *WHAT, WHY and HOW* you want to use AI (e.g. summarizing, drafting and sharing complex follow-ups), it will make your service better. Full stop.

Not just faster, not soulless, not "like everyone else". But more reliable and capable. You are able to serve your clients better.

Please don't lose high-quality leads that come to you because you can't make your onboarding or internal processes work.

🌱 Have you not bought from someone because the ghosted you in the process? What would have made you reconsider?

#AI #intentionalAI #purposedriven #coaching #consulting #processes

I tackle business and all tech-centric tasks. High work ethics.

Independent Consultant

deskandbed

Pioneering the creation of the world's first online marketplace dedicated to remote workers and digital nomads, providing a ecosystem of opportunities and resources to support flexible and location-independent work and lifestyles.

Co-Founder

Advania Ísland

Responsible for the ongoing software development (full lifecycle) of a core retail banking client/server software (Afgreiðslukerfi) solution servicing thousands of users for the banks Arion Banki, Landsbankinn, Íslandsbanki, Kvika banki. 

Leading role in the successful journey from project initiation to go-live of a new retail banking software solution for Arion banki. 

Leading role in the successful journey from project initiation to go-live of a new retail banking software solution for Íslandsbanki. 

Leading role in integrating successfully the retail bank software solution with the SOPRA banking software system from RB (Reiknistofa bankanna). The project involved  the banks Landsbanki, Arion Banki and Íslandsbanki.

Senior DevOps Engineer and Tech lead, Core banking | Retail banking

Responsible for the ongoing software development (full lifecycle) of a core retail banking client/server software (Afgreiðslukerfi) solution servicing thousands of users for the banks Arion Banki and Landsbankinn.

Ex-HugurAX(Merger) Senior Software Engineer, Core banking | Retail banking

Wise

Wise ehf. (former Maritech ehf.) ERP application development for public and private Icelandic organizations.

ex-Maritech Senior Software Engineer | Business Analyst 

Core | Retail Banking Solution (Afgreiðslukerfi) | Responsibilities included all stages of the systems (Full-stack) development lifecycle for two banks in Iceland Landsbankinn and Sparisjóðurinn.

Former EJS ehf. | Hugur hf. | HugurAx hf. (M&A) - Senior Software Engineer, Core banking

Successfully developed a out-of-the-box ad management software solution (AdNotes) for Íslenska auglýsingastofan (One of the biggest ad agencies in Iceland).

Former EJS ehf. | Hugur hf. | HugurAx hf. (M&A) Software Engineer

Successfully maintained and developed new features for a software solution for Íslensk Getstpá (The Icelandic Lottery System)

🚀 Passion for #people, #tech, #futureofwork,  #nature, #remotework, #innovation, #inclusion, #diversity and #sustainability

🧱 Started coding at age 12 
🧱 Founded my first company the day following my 18th birthday
🏆 Dedicated two decades of successful endeavors in the tech/banking industry as a software engineer / DevOps and Tech Lead
💼 Responsible for the software development life cycle of a large retail bank solution in use by thousands of users and by all four banks of Iceland while combining agile principles and practices from both Scrum and Kanban.
🏆 Extensive proven experience through every stage of the software development life cycle
🏆 Proficient in remote work processes 
📢 Advocate of remote-work and of a remote-first model
🚀 Pioneered the creation of the first global online marketplace for remote workers and digital nomads
🎩 Experienced in wearing many hats and dealing with failure in a fast-paced startup environment
🌍 Lived and studied in different countries 
💭 Five Languages (English, French, Icelandic, Portuguese, Spanish)
🎲 Playing around with AI & Automation

🚀 🧱💡 Continuously working on new things, learning and failing

📞 Reach out, I'll be happy to connect with you!

taplio

The Battle

Maaria Tiensivu

Paulo Cardoso

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The Battle

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Paulo Cardoso

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