Building Cardinal, we attempted, like any good tool, to serve a simple, singular purpose.

A hammer hits nails, a saw cuts through wood, and Cardinal reveals the answers you already carry within.

Opposed to the AI engines you are used to, such as Chat GPT, Claude, etc, where you share a problem hoping to get an answer, Cardinal does the opposite.

It questions your answers.

This is not to say it is better, not at all... But it is different.

Here's how it works:

You share a goal/doubt/indecision. Cardinal questions it.

It asks the questions you've been avoiding, the uncomfortable ones about why this matters, what you're willing to sacrifice, and whether this direction is actually right for you.

A simple example:

You: "I don't know what I should focus on right now."

Cardinal: "What are you currently avoiding that keeps showing up in your thoughts?"

You might think this is evasive but it's essential.

Because before you can decide what to focus on, there's a question most of us skip:

Why am I avoiding what I'm avoiding?

The discomfort of that question is usually the answer itself.

The initial excitement can overcome the lack of an answer, but not for long.

Here's what we've learned:

Great goals, if they are to be achieved, demand that the individual has full clarity around the purpose behind them.

In other words, without being certain that the problem you are about to solve is, in fact, the correct one, you will either never overcome it or, perhaps even worse, move toward a direction that is not right for you.

Clarity, in our belief, must be prioritized.

We believe it must be done so in three layers:

First, purpose. Why does this goal exist? What does achieving it actually give you? Why does this matter?

Second, the vehicle. What is the path that best serves the fulfillment of this goal?

Third, approach. Given the above, what's the highest-leverage action you can take?

With those in place, every drop of time and effort compounds toward a life that's right for you.

So let us be clear:

Cardinal cannot walk the path for you, nor does it attempt to, after all, this only you can do. Its sole purpose is to help you find the right problems for you to solve. To give you clarity around the answers you already have within.

A facilitator for your intuition. The part of you that already knows the answer but hasn't been given permission to speak.

It won't write your business plan. It won't generate your workout plan. It won't focus for you.

What it will do is stop you from building the wrong business entirely.

We built this because we needed it ourselves. We've watched too many capable people - ourselves included - charge toward goals that didn't serve them. Not because they lacked the capability, but because they lacked clarity on what they were actually pursuing.

If this resonates, try it.

We have no doubt you'll benefit from it.

-Gonçalo and Tiago

Paths of Meaning