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Kate Vanness-Kandoth is the creator of Sorted State. This home-and-life organization platform blends professional productivity tools with real-world family life to help overwhelmed parents reclaim their time and energy. Drawing on a background in scientific and analytical work, she translates workplace methods like LEAN and 5S into practical, compassionate systems that make homes easier to run and daily routines less stressful.
Through her Substack publication, podcast, and video content, Kate offers step-by-step action plans, mindset shifts, and simple experiments that support sustainable organization without perfectionism.
Scarcity Mindset - Let’s Get Real
The Zero-Sum Game. You know what drives me crazy? After 38 years in the Army Corps, I’ve watched too many leaders act like there’s only one promotion, one win, one piece of pie left. They genuinely believe that if someone else succeeds, they lose. It’s like watching grown adults fight over the last MRE when there’s literally a supply truck pulling up behind them.
Fear-Based Decision Making: These folks hoard everything: information, opportunities, and credit. They won’t teach their people anything useful because God forbid someone might actually get good at their job. I’ve seen entire units rot from the inside because the commander couldn’t stomach anyone else getting a pat on the back.
The Bunker Mentality. They’re constantly playing defense. Every conversation is about protecting their little kingdom. Have you ever been in a meeting where everyone’s just protecting their turf instead of solving the actual problem? It’s like being stuck on guard duty forever with no relief, exhausting and pointless.
Abundant Mindset - Now We’re Talking
Rising Tides Lift All Boats. Here’s the thing: when you lead engineers through impossible projects, you figure out fast that everyone winning means you win bigger. Share what you know. Build your people up. Celebrate when they nail it. Your success doesn’t shrink because theirs grows.
Strategic Resource Deployment: Think of it this way, you’re not giving stuff away, you’re investing. Every person you help, every opportunity you create, you’re building something bigger, like infrastructure projects; the whole community benefits, including you.
Energy Leadership in Action. This connects directly to that energy work I talk about. When you operate from abundance, you can literally feel the shift in the room. People lean in. They engage. They bring their best. And before someone rolls their eyes - this isn’t touchy-feely nonsense. You can measure it in performance metrics, retention rates, and project success.
The Practical Shift Here’s your homework: Stop asking “What’s in it for me?” Start asking “How do we all win?” That’s not being soft - that’s the thinking that wins wars, builds bridges, and creates leaders people actually want to follow.
The Essentials Books
Clear, J. (2022). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones (Updated ed.). Avery. The updated edition digs deeper into identity-based habits. Abundance thinking is a habit, not a one-time decision. Clear shows you how to wire it into your operating system.
Holiday, R. (2023). Right thing, right now: Good values. Good character. Good deeds. Portfolio. Holiday brings Stoic principles to modern leadership - and abundance thinking is all about doing right by others. This isn’t soft - it’s strategic character building.
Grant, A. (2023). Hidden potential: The science of achieving greater things. Viking. Grant destroys the scarcity myth that talent is fixed. Shows how anyone can grow - if you stop hoarding opportunities and start creating them. Perfect for leaders stuck in “there’s not enough talent” thinking.
For the Energy Leadership Angle
Dispenza, J. (2022). Becoming supernatural: How common people are doing the uncommon (2nd ed.). Hay House. Updated with new research on energy and consciousness. Bridges the gap between woo-woo and science in a way my engineer brain can handle.
McKeown, G. (2024). Effortless: Make it easier to do what matters most (Expanded ed.). Currency. McKeown’s follow-up work shows abundance isn’t about doing more - it’s about the right things flowing naturally. Less force, more flow.
Military Minds Will Appreciate
McChrystal, S. (2024). Team of teams: New rules of engagement for a complex world (10th Anniversary ed.). Portfolio. Updated with post-pandemic insights. Shows how sharing information and power (abundance) beats hoarding it (scarcity) in complex operations.
Sinek, S. (2023). The infinite game: How great businesses achieve long-lasting success (Revised ed.). Portfolio. Military strategy meets abundance mindset. Finite games are scarcity-based (win/lose). Infinite games are abundance-based (keep playing). Game-changer for strategic thinking.
The Deep Dive
Kethledge, R. M., & Erwin, M. S. (2024). Lead yourself first: Inspiring leadership through solitude (Updated ed.). Bloomsbury. Former Army officer and federal judge on finding clarity. Abundance comes from inner resources, not external validation. Critical for senior leaders.
Business & Performance
Hormozi, A. (2023). $100M leads: How to get strangers to want to buy your stuff. Acquisition.com. Don’t let the title fool you - this is pure abundance thinking applied to business. Give value first, receive second. No scarcity tactics.
Sharma, R. (2023). The wealth money can’t buy: The 8 hidden habits to live your richest life. HarperOne. Sharma reframes wealth as abundance in all areas - not just money. Practical framework for leaders who want success without sacrificing everything else.
The Research-Based Approach
Duckworth, A. (2023). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance (Updated Research ed.). Scribner. New research on how grit multiplies when shared (abundance) versus hoarded (scarcity). Data-driven proof that lifting others lifts you.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” - John Quincy Adams
Call to Action: Tell me what shifted when you moved from scarcity to abundance. What surprised you? What scared you? What opened up? Real leaders share real stories, not the polished BS, but the messy truth of changing how we lead.
References
Clear, J. (2022). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones (Updated ed.). Avery.
Dispenza, J. (2022). Becoming supernatural: How common people are doing the uncommon (2nd ed.). Hay House.
Duckworth, A. (2023). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance (Updated Research ed.). Scribner.
Grant, A. (2023). Hidden potential: The science of achieving greater things. Viking.
Holiday, R. (2023). Right thing, right now: Good values. Good character. Good deeds. Portfolio.
Hormozi, A. (2023). $100M leads: How to get strangers to want to buy your stuff. Acquisition.com.
Kethledge, R. M., & Erwin, M. S. (2024). Lead yourself first: Inspiring leadership through solitude (Updated ed.). Bloomsbury.
McChrystal, S. (2024). Team of teams: New rules of engagement for a complex world (10th Anniversary ed.). Portfolio.
McKeown, G. (2024). Effortless: Make it easier to do what matters most (Expanded ed.). Currency.
Sharma, R. (2023). The wealth money can’t buy: The 8 hidden habits to live your richest life. HarperOne.
Sinek, S. (2023). The infinite game: How great businesses achieve long-lasting success (Revised ed.). Portfolio.
