Business strategist and Forbes contributor Glenn Llopis is expanding his work on leadership and personal identity to address what he describes as a growing conviction crisis affecting both corporate executives and teenagers in the age of artificial intelligence.
After two decades helping Fortune 500 executives reconnect with their identities beneath professional expectations and performed confidence, Llopis says he recognized similar patterns among adolescents. That realization inspired two connected initiatives: the Conviction Institute, designed to help leaders reclaim their sense of self, and Teens UnEdited, which aims to help young people develop a stronger identity while providing resources for parents.
Both initiatives build on the framework introduced in Llopis’ book, Earning Conviction: The Practice That Redirects Leaders from Exhausted to Unshakable, released July 7 by GLLG Press.
“The wound I spent 20 years finding in the corner office is already forming in a 15-year-old, and AI is getting there first,” Llopis said.
Llopis uses the term “conviction crisis” to describe the erosion of personal identity that can occur when people prioritize external expectations over their own values and beliefs. He argues that artificial intelligence could intensify the challenge as people increasingly navigate technology-driven environments that influence how they communicate, work and present themselves.
In Earning Conviction, Llopis draws on decades of working with accomplished executives who, despite professional success, struggle with exhaustion and a diminished connection to their authentic identities. The book offers 101 practical redirects intended to help readers develop greater self-awareness, make intentional choices and build confidence rooted in personal values.
The book’s foreword was written by Jeff Blue, the multi-platinum A&R executive producer associated with Linkin Park’s debut album, Hybrid Theory.
“One force separates legends from the forgotten. It’s a force you can’t fake, manufacture or buy,” Blue wrote. “That force is conviction.”
The initiatives extend Llopis’ framework beyond the workplace. The Conviction Institute focuses on helping adults strengthen their leadership and reconnect with their identities, while Teens UnEdited emphasizes prevention by encouraging adolescents to establish a stronger sense of self before outside pressures become defining influences.
A free Conviction Diagnostic serves as a shared starting point for both programs.
“Conviction is earned. Through self-awareness, through the choices you make when no one is watching, through the willingness to keep becoming rather than just maintaining,” Llopis said.
Through the book and its accompanying initiatives, Llopis hopes to help individuals strengthen their identities and improve their relationships, leadership and decision-making.
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, his work raises questions about how people can preserve their individuality while adapting to rapidly changing technology.
Earning Conviction is available through Amazon, while additional information about the initiatives can be found at ConvictionInstitute.com and TeensUnEdited.com.