Inner Growth

I was with my kids this weekend at this kid-friendly place called Lalandia with lots of activities and things to do with kids, from a big waterpark to bowling to climbing walls and so on. We had a great time and everything was good - until they wanted to play with the slot machines.

Inside of Lalandia is a place called "Little Vegas". Inside of that area are all manner of machines that will take your money. You can get or win teddy bears, you can win tickets that can be exchanged for cheap plas…

I was talking with a good friend the other night, and we got talking about what he was going to do next and when. He'd clearly been thinking a lot about this, and had a lot of good arguments and reasons, but still was non the wiser. I felt the urge to go along with him into headspace, searching for just the right strategy that would solve his problem. But I resisted.

I know that place very well from myself. I used to have post-it easel pads plastered all over the walls of my house, and engage a…

During Wyatt Webb's "It's Not About the Horse" workshop last week, I got to a point on the third day where I felt like I wasn't getting much out of the workshop. I thought the things people were saying were uninsightful, I thought Wyatt was doing a poor job facilitating the workshop, I thought about how I would run the workshop differently myself. It was all bullshit, of course, but such is the mind.

But then Phoebe raised her hand and brought something up that she wanted to work on. Wyatt hand…

For as long as I can remember, I've been so filled with shame that I don't "have my shit together", that I don't know what I want, and can't get their in a straight line. That I'm not more successful than I am. I have a broken family and managed to put myself in a situation where I live on a different continent from my children. It's certainly not the way I would have liked to design my life.

But something happened last week that make me wake up a little bit. I met someone who was incredibly ar…

One among many things that I learnt from Wyatt Webb, was his simple rule for how to do anything:

1. Do what you know or think that'll work
2. If that doesn't work, try something else
3. If that still doesn't work, ask for help

I love it. So simple and clear. Above all, if something isn't working, don't try the same thing again. Try something different. And don't be afraid to ask for help.

What if they say no when you ask for help? Ask someone else. And keep asking until you get the help that you…

If you've been following me for a while, you probably know that I don't care much for step-by-step how-to type teaching. How to be successful in seven easy steps. Five steps to launching your info-product. I think chunking a process down to some simple steps can be a really useful tool, a part of the process, but the act of teaching is something way deeper and more profound. And today, I have words to describe how.

I've just been at a 3-day intensive workshop with Wyatt Webb and his horses. Wit…

One of the hardest lessons for me to learn has been to live in my body and my real feelings rather than my head.

Right now, I'm in Vegas for a tech conference (Collision), and I haven't brought any toothpaste. It's entirely my own fault. We were down to only one tube, and it was either me or Phoebe. And I decided that I couldn't leave her without toothpaste. I'd have to get some myself either at the airport or from the hotel. And of course I forgot to ask when I checked in, and by the time I go…

When I was in high school, I went to see the movie Dances with Wolves with my mom, my brother, and my aunt. It touched me deeply. After watching it I felt like crying. In fact, I desperately wanted to cry. It felt like there were tears right there beneath the surface, but I couldn't get them to come out. I hadn't cried for as long as I could remember.

When we got home, I went for a walk, alone, with our dog. It was night. Quiet. Nobody on the streets. I tried again to see if I could cry. It was…

Today, I'm attending the 99u conference in New York. If you're not familiar, it's an annual conference (6th year) for creatives. The tag line is that it's not about idea generation, it's all about idea execution. 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.

I wanted to talk about creativity, and specifically what you use that creativity for.

When I signed up for this conference, something within me compelled me to sign up for the VIP option, which gave access to the speaker's lounge. I figured if just on…