Category Archives for presence
You can’t retire from yourself
Something still has you by the collar, despite everything you’ve built.Say you could retire tomorrow. Obvious to say but you’d take yourself with you.That’s the part nobody mentions when we talk about freedom. We spend decades building towards it; the finances, the flexibility, the ability to step back. And sure, those things genuinely matter.But I’ve […]
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Are you about to spend six months interviewing for a feeling?
The feeling won’t come from the job. I’ve worked with a number of senior leaders who made exactly this move looking to feel differently about life right now. New company, new title, new start. Sure for a while, it genuinely works. The novelty does something. The sense of possibility stirs again. But six or eight […]
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Why smart people get stuck at midlife
The smartest people I work with are often the worst at figuring out what’s next.They’ve spent decades getting brilliant at solving problems. Analysing, deciding, executing. It’s what got them to VP, CTO, MD. Sure, it’s what earned them scope and respect and a seat at the top table.But now, somewhere in their late forties, something […]
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Wanting more doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful
You probably don’t say it out loud. But I imagine you feel it: you want more. Not more things. More meaning.And the moment that thought surfaces, something else arrives right behind it. Another inner voice that says, who are you to want more? Look at what you have. You should be grateful. So you probably push […]
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When success stops feeling like success
The wins keep coming but…The feeling you expected from them has dried up. Most people don’t notice it at first. You got the promotion and the celebration was real. But the afterglow was briefer than expected. The huge deal closed and yet the satisfaction faded fast. You get the recognition. It feels good for a day, maybe two at best. Then […]
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The work you can’t yet see
You know something is changing beneath the surface. You just can’t see it yet. And that’s the work. We live in a world that rewards the visible. The launch, the result, the announcement. What gets far less attention is the long, patient work that makes any of that possible. I think about the surfer. Before […]
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The version of you at 25 wasn’t wrong
The version of you at 25 wasn’t wrong. You just got very busy becoming someone else.I find myself asking this question with clients: cast your mind back to who you thought you’d be. I don’t mean the specific job title or salary. More, the kind of person and the kind of life. Most describe something […]
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The hidden cost of always being responsible
Responsible for 25 years. But postponing your aliveness. Most senior leaders I speak with are extraordinary at doing what needs to be done. They’re sorted on the deliverables, the obligations, the expectations of others. They know how to execute. They show up. They hold the line when they need.But what is often absent in all […]
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Who are you when nobody’s watching?
The gap between your LinkedIn bio and your Sunday evening is worth studying. One tells the story of impact, influence and momentum in your life. The other tells you something quieter and more subtle. It says something about who you actually are when the performance stops.Many senior leaders I meet are extraordinary at the public […]
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The breakthrough you didn’t see coming
For months. Sometimes years.It feels like swimming against the tide of what you actually want.The effort is real. The resistance is real. And the gap between where you are and where you sense you should be feels like it’s getting wider, not narrower.Then something shifts.It’s rarely a single moment. More often it’s a change in […]
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