The ROAR! Blueprint: Think better | Lead better | Live better

No more playing small. Own your magic. Your message matters.

Welcome

April was another packed month. As if the MOAR! book launch and all the promotional work that followed was not enough, Easter arrived and it was time for my first Hyrox event.

For those who do not know Hyrox, it is an indoor fitness race: eight kilometres of running broken up by eight functional workout stations. The running was brutal and my nervous system was on high alert, but the functional stations were made easier by the fact that I had a partner in crime, my sister Elsabet. If you missed my blog where I share more about my Hyrox experience, you can read it here.

I was once again reminded of the importance of prioritising daily nutrition, rest and recovery. With all the training and a hectic work schedule, I was slowly depleting myself and I could feel the tension getting stuck in my body. The real test would come after the race. Both Elsabet and I could not understand why, two weeks after Hyrox, our bodies were still so sore. Then I read an article explaining the impact of Hyrox (any extreme event) on our nervous systems and it made complete sense, the constant fight-or-flight mode.

Once again I found myself holding up the mirror, humbled by the experience. Reflecting on how far I have come, and how hard old habits die. How easy it still is for me to push. How hard it still is to rest. My daily intention of being Present, Peaceful, and Powerful as I ROAR for MOAR is now more important than ever.

This month, we are diving deeper into my signature ROAR! Blueprint, showing you how you can live your life on purpose, in your power and with the courage to speak your truth – to ROAR for MOAR.

With much love and deep gratitude,

Marilise

Part One: The Call

Why most wellbeing initiatives fail and what actually works

What happened to me after Hyrox happens in workplaces every day. People pushing past their limits, skipping recovery, wondering why nothing feels energising anymore.

It sounds like progress. Wellbeing days. Mental health resources. Mindfulness apps. Flexible working policies. And yet something is not working.

Petra Velzeboer, one of the leading voices in workplace mental health and someone whose thinking I deeply respect, puts it plainly: most existing wellbeing initiatives feel performative. Tick-box exercises that generate activity without impact. Organisations measure absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover, metrics that belong to a world of work that no longer exists, and wonder why nothing shifts.

The pain points she names are ones I hear constantly in my own work: apathy, disengagement, budget cuts, excessive workload, disconnected and lonely work environments. None of these are solved by a wellbeing day.

Here is what Petra and I agree on completely: you cannot regulate a system that is running in chronic fight-or-flight. Nervous system dysregulation, individually and collectively, is the invisible wall that all those initiatives keep crashing into.

My recent Hyrox experience illuminated that my nervous system was already stretched from months of hitting one goal after the other. I was not resting and replenishing my mind, body and energy systems enough in between, and the event pushed me even further. The tank ran dry.

Despite being Hyrox fit, I still allowed the stress of daily life to get in the way. I was reminded once again that our mind, body and energy systems, performing optimally, are our greatest currency.

When our energy runs dry, whether from a Hyrox event, a book launch, or simply the relentless pace of modern work, nothing works. You cannot pour from an empty cup.

That is why I created the ROAR! Blueprint after my first burnout experience. I had to find a proven method for living my best life every day: on purpose, in my power and with the courage to speak my truth – to ROAR. And at its heart, it is a system for protecting and growing your most precious resource. Energy. 

Part Two: The Quest

The ROAR! Blueprint: Think better | Lead better | Live better

The Blueprint has four elements. Each one is a source of energy. Together they are your map.

Element 1: Authentic Purpose. Ignite your authentic purpose. Know who you are and what truly matters to you. Energy comes from knowing who you are and what truly matters to you. When you live on purpose, the doing and being energy flows naturally.

Element 2: Inner Game. Win your inner game by mastering your thoughts and feelings. This is the territory of the two voices in your head – the ego voice, which counsels caution and fear, and the authentic self, which knows who you are and what you are capable of. Brain and heart coherence starts here. So does your daily M.E.D.S. practice – Meditation, Exercise, Diet and Sleep – the non-negotiable daily habits that replenish your energy from the inside out.

Element 3: Outer Game. Win your outer game through your words and actions. This is how you show up in the world – the conversations you have or avoid, the boundaries you set or surrender, the presence you bring or withhold. Energy lives here too: in your relationships, in whether you are surrounded by people who charge or drain your batteries. M.E.D.S. supports this element as well – it is the fuel that makes showing up fully possible. We go deeper on M.E.D.S. next month.

Element 4: Authentic ROAR. Amplify your authentic voice with the four-step ROAR process: Recognise, Observe, Assert, Redirect. This is where your energy is either protected or leaked in real time. Responding mindfully rather than reacting from fight, flight, freeze or fawn – that is the work. And it is available to you in every moment that matters. If you want to see the four-step ROAR process in action, I published two pieces this month that bring it to life:

‘ROAR: a formula for choosing your response mindfully’ 

‘ROAR for cyber mindfulness’

These four elements are not sequential steps. They are an integrated system that helps you think better, lead better and live better.

Part Three: The Return 

Learning to live the ROAR! Blueprint with a mindset of progress over perfection

I talk a lot about progress over perfection. I wrote a whole book about playing to win without burning out. And still, in April, I burned a little.

Here is what I have learned, again: it is not about the destination but who we become in the process. It matters that we show up, especially when it feels messy. It is about living and breathing the ROAR! Blueprint day in and day out, recognising when you have drifted, and finding your way back.

From feeling like a fraud at my first book launch in 2019 to feeling proud launching MOAR! in 2026 with fifty of my closest people in the room, is the real progress, and what I am celebrating. I shared more of this in my recent podcast conversation with Andrea Fraser, the unfiltered version, including the moments I got it wrong.

Listen to it here: https://www.marilise-de-villiers.com/podcasts/roar-for-moar-marilise-de-villiers/episodes/2149189071

What I know now, that I did not know in 2019: the energy I bring to my work is the work. My nervous system, my recovery, my capacity to receive as well as give – these are not nice-to-haves. They are non-negotiable.

So here is my question to you: what is your version of the Hyrox story? Where are you still pushing through when your body is quietly asking you to rest?

And what would it mean to treat energy as your greatest currency?

In Other News

Spotlight: Mavusana Rooibos

What I love most about being back in South Africa is rediscovering what makes this place extraordinary. One of my favourite finds since being back in Stellenbosch is Vusi and his Mavusana Rooibos story. Stellenbosch Visio wrote an article calling it ‘Tradition in a Cup’. Born and raised in Kayamandi, Vusi Mokoena grew up making rooibos tea for his grandmother and her friends who gathered to watch The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of Our Lives, his grandmother being the only one with a television. From that kitchen to his own premium brand, rooibos became a tradition passed down through generations. A story about community, entrepreneurship and the power of starting where you are. Vusi joined us at my MOAR! book launch in February, shared his grandmother’s story with the room and gifted every guest a Mavusana tea bag. A priceless moment I will never forget.

Women in Tech Conference

I attended the Women in Tech® Global conference this past week – and what made this one particularly special is that it was happening for the first time on African soil. A powerful reminder that Africa is no longer on the sidelines of the digital revolution.

Women in Tech® Global has been empowering women and girls across six continents since 2018, with 65 country chapters and over 300,000 members. The energy in the room was electric. The conversations were honest and urgent: women not just as users of AI, but as decision makers, designers and policy shapers. As one speaker put it, ‘we are 50% of the population – and we made the other 50.’ This made me smile. 

If you are a woman in tech, or know one who should be in this community, find out more at  Home 2026 - Women in Tech® Global

Exclusive Books Promotion

Throughout June, MOAR! will be promoted across all Exclusive Books stores in South Africa. This is your chance to grab your copy at a store closest to you.

MOAR! How to Play to Win Without Burning Out is available now. 

Read Independent Reviews of ROAR! And MOAR!

• Independent Online: https://iol.co.za/entertainment/books/2026-04-26-when-silence-was-taught-to-us/

• CityLife Arts: https://citylifearts.co.za/author-marilise-de-villiers-basson-to-launch-two-books-tackling-work-place-toxicity-and-bullying/

Next Month

Your inside-out transformation becomes real. May is all about winning your Inner and Outer Game with the daily energy and productivity habits that make your best life possible.

Until then,

Marilise 💖💖