Category Archives for "presence"

This stopped me cold

I found myself wondering how many productive days I actually have left. Not years. Days.It’s an uncomfortable question. Almost intrusive, like a stranger leaning in too close.I did a rough calculation. Nothing scientific or worthy of a spreadsheet. Just an honest estimate of how many days I might still feel mentally alive enough to create something meaningful, to contribute in […]

No one warns you that midlife success comes with a free side of “What the £$%& am I doing now?”

See, there’s a moment in life where everything on the outside looks exactly as it should.Say your career is stable. You’re good with where your family is at. Your sense is that you’ve done well. Maybe even better than you once imagined.And yet, somewhere inside, there is a quiet point inside that isn’t so stable.You […]

Are you shrinking your value?

This often comes up with clients (and is a good one for me too)…Do you know the real value you’re creating in the world?Or are you caught managing and packaging how you present your value based on what you fear others might think?There’s this instinct many of us carry. It looks like managing other people’s feelings. Trying […]

Do you see how overwhelm distorts reality?

I’ve been thinking about how easily overwhelm distorts our sense of perspective. Almost like a pair of goggles we didn’t realise we were wearing. When they’re on, everything feels closer, louder, more tangled than it really is. When we’re in that state, clarity shrinks. Possibility narrows. We can’t see the wood for the trees. It […]

The jerk-reflex “no”

Have you ever noticed how quickly the word “no” rises in you… long before anyone else has a chance to weigh in?It’s subtle. Automatic.The other day, I caught myself doing exactly that. I was reflecting on a possibility – a small desire, really – and before the idea had space to breathe, something in me […]

The thing we rarely admit

Have you ever had one of those moments where you catch yourself performing? Trying to look good, sound good, appear composed… even when something inside you knows it isn’t quite true?I was reflecting on how much of my life, if I’m being brutally honest, has been shaped by the attempt to look good. Look good at work. […]

There’s a moment in every career where excellence becomes a prison

I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.It looks like this…That subtle shift when life becomes familiar, easy and predictable enough… that we stop noticing we’re no longer fully in it.This feeling sneaks in quietly. The routine adapts itself so well that the days start blending. Meetings, tasks, conversations, all perfectly normal, yet something essential slips just […]

Leaders often get stuck in their heads

They worry about choices and tough talks. Here’s a simple way to break free.Switch your focus. Think of it like changing TV channels. Find something enjoyable to think about. This quick shift can free your mind from what’s bothering you.Here’s why this works.Ruminating is draining. It keeps you from moving forward. When you’re stuck in […]

You’re not lazy. You’re just tired of what no longer fits.

I used to think exhaustion was just part of being successful.Late nights.Early starts.Back-to-back calls.There was a strange pride in how depleted I felt.But what I’ve seen again and again—In myself, and in the clients I work with—Is that this kind of fatigue isn’t about capacity.It’s about alignment.You can be wildly capable and still feel drained.Not […]

One conversation can turn a small spark into a wildfire…

I was speaking with one of my Home Straight clients this morning. He’s building a project around getting men back into reading. It’s a simple, powerful idea that already carries a spark.But he’s been struggling to articulate it cleanly for this first pilot. So we explored what was really behind the mission.And as he did so, […]