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One of my goals is to start and run my own company.

There’s not timeline mapping out when this will happen; and for good reason.

90% of companies fail.

So unless there is 1) a clear problem, 2) a huge market, and 3) I’ve got an idea that solves that problem for a sizeable chunk of that market, I’m not willing to bet the farm.

I should also mention that based on the above odds, and my pre-requisites, I’m willing to admit that this goal may not eventuate—and that’s okay, too.

Given this blog is a big part of my life, I realised it was odd to hold this goal in secret and not talk about it here.

So, here I am, sharing it.

Do you have any long term career aspirations you’ve been keeping to yourself? Perhaps there is magic in letting the someone else in on it?

When I turned to Maru after watching Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 2018 biopic, On the Basis of Sex, she had tears in her eyes.

I asked if she was crying because she was happy we’d come so far. Surprised, she looked at me and said, “No, I’m crying because even after all of her effort and hard work, we still deal with so many of the same issues half a century later.”

When I paused to think, I realised the evidence was all around me.

At one of Maru’s former companies, a senior male member of staff ridiculed the #MeToo movement. He then went on to “jokingly” tell Maru that she wasn’t allowed to get pregnant.

I’ve worked for, and seen, many companies who are proud of their zero gender pay gap, yet their leadership teams are still stacked with men.

And looking on a macro scale, a 2018 World Economic Forum report estimates it will take more than 100 years to truly close the gender inequality gap across economic, health, political, and educational dimensions.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a titan. I’m grateful I got to witness a part of her life, work, and influence, but we must continue her work.

We’re a long way from true gender equality, and it’s on all of us to make day-to-day decisions that slowly move the world to a more equitable place.

“When I’m sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I’m a fan of Australian cartoonist, Michael Leunig. He blends together philosophy, politics, humour, and broader social commentary into his disarming cartoons.

His recent hymn got me thinking, and smiling.

Think back to where you were 5 years ago.

Think of all the challenges you’ve faced, obstacles you’ve overcome, laughter you’ve shared, joys you’ve experienced, and love you’ve given.

If the version of you from 5 years ago could see you now, I’m sure they’d be proud.

Perfume may hide the smell.

It may even work for some time.

But even the strongest perfume won’t mask a bad odour for long.

I’m grateful to have always worked with honest people. Their lives, their work, and their ethics never needed perfume.

Their example has given me a roadmap for who I want to be, and how I want to work.

When we speak, we’re either 1) trying to change something, or 2) getting something off our chest.

Almost all our communication can be placed in one of these categories. We either want the world to be different, and we’re communicating what we want changed, or we want to share how we feel about a certain situation.

Even if the rule is a tad simplistic, it’s a helpful thought experiment to try and understand the motivations behind our own—and other’s—communication.

A few months ago, I came across this video from Matt Colville titled, ‘Leading a Creative Life’.

His core message is “leading a creative life” happens when you believe your ideas—your writing, music, art—may be of interest to other people.

But he also identifies the horrid feeling we get when we dare to share our work with the world: we feel a sense of “choose your word for it… arrogance, hubris, ego.”

We feel the societal pressure. We imagine others saying, “Who do they think they are?” We listen to them, we cower in a corner, and we decide to stay quiet.

However, Matt then unpacks how it doesn’t have to be this way. He shows us how to be comfortable sharing our work with the world. He gives us permission to think that others may find our ideas cool. But most of all, he encourages us to try.

I hope you find Matt’s words inspiring today.

I recently listened to an interview with a sportsperson where they were asked, “So, how did you get that stunning result?”

They replied, “Honestly, I don’t know.”

Winning is great, but knowing why is even better.

Knowing why is the difference between luck and a predictable probability.

Knowing why is the difference between a hopeful wish and a solid game plan.

Knowing why is the difference between a nervous night and a sound sleep.

Knowing why can turn a fleeting success into a repeatable venture.

Our old flat was Northwest facing. Although we didn’t get direct sun, our windows drew in enough natural light that we never complained.

In contrast, our new flat is Southeast facing. The morning sun is direct and strong. There is an abundance of natural light, and it heats our home quickly.

As we’ve uprooted ourselves, I’ve paused to be grateful for what we had, and for the new things that have come along.

Change, if we’re open to it, brings along with it the opportunity for adaptation, evolution, and gratitude.

For the past 6 months, Maru has been in Argentina with her family.

Border closures and a strict Argentine lockdown meant her return date was up in the air for most of that time.

Although the pandemic has disrupted all our lives in many ways, it has created the space and time for the most important things: the people we love. So I’m thrilled that Maru got to spend half a year with her folks.

But today, Maru arrived in London, and I’m so grateful to have her back!

Home hasn’t felt the same without her.

It’s worth spending a moment with Haruki Murakami’s powerful words on love:

“If you remember me, then I don’t care if everyone else forgets.”

From the 2002 novel, Kafka on the Shore.

I’m convinced that 90% of success comes from 1) a clear understanding of the basics, and 2) doing the basics well.

There is always going to be that new piece of software, the next shiny productivity tool, or a quick hack, that promises great results in less time.

But, in my small sample, a disciplined and ruthless focus on the basics has a much higher chance of leading to repeatable success.

A short one from me today.

It’s been a dawn-till-dusk moving kinda day.

We’ve had an amazing 4 years in our tiny 1 bedroom flat, but we’re looking forward to settling into our new place and having a little more space!

As I’ve done with every place I’ve lived—and as I’m sure many of you do, too—I did a final walk through, taking a moment to be grateful for the memories, laughs, and love shared whilst there.

Jacob Collier is the most talented musician on the planet.

I’m not exaggerating.

He composes and arranges music that leaves even the smartest musicians dumbfounded. If you want evidence, his arrangement of Lionel Richie’s ‘All Night Long’ won him a Grammy earlier this year.

And so when I heard he wrote a song that moves into a musical key that none of us have heard before, I was super curious.

In typical music, there are 24 keys: 12 major keys and 12 minor. Every song you hear on the radio is in one of those keys.

So here is where Jacob Collier breaks that boundary: in his song ‘All I Need’, as the second chorus hits, the entire song is transposed up half a semitone. Instead of a traditional key change, moving from C to C sharp, the song moves from C to C Half-Sharp.

Here is a link to 10 seconds before the key change. When you listen to it, sit back and feel the key change happen. How does it feel to listen to music in a key that isn’t in any other pop song?

To me, it’s other worldly!

Packing your house for a move is a boring task. But the sorting, cleaning, and organising is made better by the company of a good audiobook.

I’ve been making my way through Bill Bryson’s ‘Body: A Guide for Occupants’, and I’m learning random, impractical, but thoroughly interesting facts about our bodies.

Here are a few that have stood out.

Each of us are made up of 37 trillions cells. Alone, these cells don’t have much meaning. But when combined in exactly the right way, they make, well, us!

We’ll grow about 7.5 metres of hair in our lifetime. And we’ll secrete 36,000 litres of saliva, which is more than a litre per day!

We also get cancer everyday—with between 1-5 cells turning cancerous in a 24 hour period—but our body captures and kills them.

And scientists still don’t know why we cry, as there is no physical benefit to it.

This is a different read for me, but I’m glad im on the journey. I’ve certainly developed a new found appreciation for my wobbly, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, hydrogen, phosphorus home.