Travel brings observation and the reflection that comes with observation, and the learning that comes with those observations, all juiced under in the variety of place and movement, and novelty and conversations. And so travel is an amphitheater of things to write about, in this drip, drip, drip of the mind as vapors cool into colorful liquid drops of flowing ideas. The last few weeks of career pause blended more Donegal time with Dad with a first visit to Hawaii, touching down in Lihue on the island of Kauai. Paired with reading some 19th century military history - on the infamous massacre that was the Charge of The Light Brigade - and the shock of waking up on 7 October…

Starting a running list of excellent resources I’ve stumbled on regarding interviewing.

I just bumped into a wonderful local friend of the coffee shop. The words ‘dear old friend’ are on the tip of my tongue, but sound trite. Avoid trite, I always say to myself and others, avoid trite. Lindsay and I are 6.30am friends of Peet’s on Chestnut Street, and the last time we bumped into each other was in my very first week of 'Project Blank Canvas'. I described the grand arc of these last 117 days: trips (Oaxaca, Colorado) and learning (freediving, AI, nutrition) that have been on a list for too long; a lot of visitors to San Francisco, and relaxed time with old friends (including phone calls half-filling many days); domestic spring cleaning (the giant book…

I’ve been such a believer over the years, in simply writing to people that you would love to work for. Directly asking them for the chance to talk, or to answer a few written questions (the more specific these are the higher the chance of response). So, I thought to share a few pieces that have helped me build confidence in this approach to life and work over the years. How To Build A World Class Network in Record Time, by Tim Ferriss, both podcast and blog post. Ferriss was an early ‘lifestyle’ blogger, whose insistence in avoiding a conventional career led him to write his way into his portfolio career across writing, investing and media. Ferriss’ career superpower –…

A running list of favorite TED talks... The Hidden Power of Siblings David Blaine's "How I held my breath for 17 minutes" What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness. On the Harvard Study of Adult Development.

Minutes after Pete was in the door, unpacking his stuff in my spare room, a memory randomly launched to the front of my mind. I threw on the Dire Straits’ 1985 Brothers in Arms. Lil’ bro recognized those opening aching chords in an instant… “these mist covered mountains” Mark Knopfler whispers. And both of us were whooshed back to memories of Polesden View in Bookham, Surrey, our L-shaped home with Pete’s room above the corner of the L (direct view in from Mum and Dad’s and downstairs) and mine over the garage down one end of the L. After moving in around the age of 11, I had quickly started to put up posters and magazine picture cuttings on different…

This week marked 100 days of my Project Blank Canvas indulgence. I wrote a whole slew of words on this enjoyable era, to mark the occasion, but the editor - swine! - cut it for being ‘overly inwardly gazing ramble babble’. I promised to never show up with such copy again on this page, and so it sits scattered over the cutting room floor. Perhaps we’ll come back to that, perhaps not! Though, I have to share that flicking through a notebook, it was fun to see a quote from the English-Irish poet David Whyte from the early days of career pause. Mid-way walking home along the waterfront, from the dentist, on the first Friday after leaving work, I had…

There are a few columnists and podcast shows where you have this slither of looking-forward-to-that-day, the day of the week when a new column/episode will drop. Janan Ganesh in the FT is in that category, and too Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway in the weekly (tech-centric) news podcast Pivot (Tuesdays and Fridays). Janan Ganesh writes societal and political commentary that is insightful, seasoned with delicious turns of phrase, and with shrewd cultural observations, I find. Janan loves to point out glaring truths that few would say, with an observational intelligence rather than the tone of a rant or preacher on a soap box. Last week's The Truth About Emotional Intelligence resonated. Living in California, we’re swimming in a culture of…

Rumspringa featured a first meaty decision, these last ten days. After first mention of a fortuitous opportunity to move - and one that is helpful for a period of no income - I wanted to make a decision. Whether to 'Stick or twist' with the wonderful home I've lived in since March 2011, 3044 Webster Street, with the good fortune and financial 'safety' I have of rent control. Or, to move, and say yes to a timely opportunity that has come up through a great friend locally. The San Francisco Rent Control regulation means that for apartment buildings built before June 1979, the rent increase is limited and regulated (determined by the San Francisco Rent Control Board using an inflation…

Years ago, via some of the early bloggers, I first observed the revival trend in ‘Stoic’ philosophy. It was back in London days that I first bought a copy of Marcus Aurelius Meditations, and then soon into my San Francisco days, I bought (and did not fully read, once again) a copy of Seneca’s Letters. In the book clearing process of Rumschpringe, my hand pulled out of the pile a modern compilation of the writings of the first Stoic philosopher Epictetus, ‘The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness’, put together by a Northern Californian author and musician, Sharon Lebell. Now if I say ‘Stoic’, you might think ‘stiff upper lip’ or ‘thick skinned’. With the…