Though unplanned, this project served as the foundational research for the philosophy found in The Unremarkable Entrepreneur and concluded in 2025.

For current updates and to recieve The Unremarkable Entrepreneur book as each chapter is released, please visit unremarkable.co.

Not because I don’t know what to write about. Not because I lack ideas. Not because the business isn’t there.

Because I’ve fallen into a familiar trap: needing to chart the course before setting sail.

But if life has taught me anything, it’s taught me that things rarely go to plan.

And life has been complex.

A house move. A rebrand. A baby. It’s all been happening all at once. And I began to think that if I could optimise my approach, I could go some way to making the writing feel effortless when I finally got back to it.

Except here’s what actually happened: my remaining time became saturated by thinking about the doing rather than doing it. And the more I planned, the bigger the task felt, and the more confused I became about where to start.

And that confusion? It felt so legitimate. So reasonable. It even has a weird sense of nobility about getting started in the ‘right’ way.

But my confusion wasn’t about where to start. It was the symptom of not starting.

You can’t be an explorer with out exploring, you can’t be a designer without designing, you can’t be an inventor without inventing.

The adjective requires the action.

What words do you use to describe yourself? Writer who doesn’t write? Leader who doesn’t lead? Entrepreneur who never ships?

You’re not the thing if you don’t do the thing.

The Planning Trap Looks Like Progress

A few months ago, I wrote an article diagnosing this exact trap. I called it out clearly, with the confidence of someone who understood the pattern.

Then I walked straight into it anyway.

Planning feels safe. Planning feels like you’re doing something. Planning lets you believe you’re getting closer to launch without risking anything - not your ego, not your reputation, not the possibility that what you create might not work.

It’s why so many of us get stuck in this phase.

And look, I’m not saying ‘don’t plan’. You wouldn’t take a holiday without checking flight times, the weather forecast, etc. But you couldn’t claim to love travelling if you never go anywhere.

I’ve spent the last seven weeks raising new tent-poles to support the canopy of life. My son is now six and a half months old. We’ve moved house. I’ve been present for my family in ways that matter deeply.

Those things are real. Important. Non-negotiable.

But I also stopped working. And confusion rushed in to fill the space it created.

I don’t feel guilty about it. I think we rarely have the capacity to manage multiple big projects simultaneously, a house move, a six-month-old son, and running a business just didn’t all fit. Hats off to those who can make it work - you should come on the podcast and tell me how it’s done.

But I did experience a sense of anxiety about where to re-start from. Should I rebuild the ecosystem first? Redesign the offer? Map out the next six months? Plan the community I’ve been thinking about?

The more questions I asked, the heavier the confusion became.

The Mirror I Needed

So I started with who (not with why) and talked it through with a friend who reflected back some Unremarkable truths I needed to remember:

“You don’t have a capability problem. You have a consistency problem combined with new-parent reality.

The business is there. The offer is solid. The positioning works. The proof is in your own results when you actually show up consistently.

But here’s the harder truth: you can’t serve two masters. Right now you’re trying to be present for your son AND build momentum AND maintain confidence AND not feel desperate about closing deals.

Something has to give. And what should give is the outcome obsession.”

That conversation was the turning point. Not because it gave me a new strategy, but because it named what I already knew: I wasn’t stuck because I lacked clarity. I was stuck because I’d stopped moving.

Crucially, I remembered I’d already been walking a path: I wasn’t about to take my first step, I didn’t need to feel unsteady, I was simply going to take the next one (and I’d quickly rediscover my cadence). So I set myself easy milestones to help me take action and mark my progress:

1. Return to what already works. Re-read the ‘50k Question’ article - I know the path, I just need to walk it again. The answers aren’t new, they’re just waiting to be practised.

2. Reclaim my starter cadence. Monday: write one article. Tuesday: one offer post. Wednesday: publish. That’s it. Not 27 things. Three. Simple enough to sustain with a six-month-old.

3. Make one clear ask every day for 30 days. My own challenge from the article. Time to live it, not just write about it.

4. Schedule five conversations this week. Past clients or people who engaged with my articles. Not to sell. To discover: “What’s actually needed here?” Contact creates clarity.

5. Stop measuring success in deals closed. Measure by: Did I practise today? Did I serve the work? Did I invite someone to the conversation? Those are the metrics that compound.

You Already Know Where to Start

Here’s the uncomfortable truth I had to face: I knew exactly where to start.

I always have.

The same place it always is: write one article. Publish it. Move forward.

But I was deep into a fortress of legitimate reasons not to start there. And as momentum stalled, it became easier and easier to get stuck pontificating on structures that need rebuilding, platforms that need organising, and offers needing refining.

All valid. All reasonable.

All completely beside the point.

Because none of those things actually stop me from writing. I stop me from writing when I spend my limited time, my constraint, on things that I’ve decided (albeit temporarily) matter more than the practice itself.

That’s when I stopped serving the work, and the confusion set in.

Confusion is what happens when you know what to do but don’t want to do it.

It’s the mind’s way of protecting you from the vulnerability of creating something that might not work. From making contact with the market and discovering that maybe no one cares. From risking another lost opportunity after you’ve already lost several.

Confusion feels like a problem to solve. But it might actually be signal that you’re avoiding the work.

I wonder what pressures you’ve wrapped in confusion, or decisions you’ve delayed because really you’re afraid of the mirror it might hold up?

The Ship You Can’t Steer

I’ve written before about the truth that you can’t steer a ship that isn’t moving.

You can plan the perfect route. Study the charts. Wait for ideal conditions. But until you actually push off from the dock and start moving, you have no idea what the water will actually demand of you.

The same is true for any creative work.

You can’t edit a blank page. You can’t refine an offer you haven’t articulated. You can’t discover what wants to happen through you if you never give it space to emerge.

The confusion I was feeling wasn’t about where to start. It was about the gap between what I knew I should do and what I was actually doing.

And the only way to close that gap is to start moving.

Not perfectly. Not with the whole journey mapped. Not when everything feels ready.

Just... start.

What Actually Works

Over the last eighteen months, I’ve built an audience of over 12,000 people and I’ve replaced my income.

None of that happened because I had perfect systems or flawless strategy.

It happened because I created consistently. Made contact with the market. Invited people into conversation. Served the work instead of worshipping outcomes.

The moment I stopped doing those things - even for legitimate reasons like having a new baby and moving house - the confusion crept back in.

Not because the business stopped working.

But because I stopped practising.

And when you stop practising, your brain starts trying to think its way back to confidence. It convinces you that if you just plan a bit more, structure a bit better, get everything aligned first, then you’ll feel ready.

But confidence doesn’t come from planning.

Confidence comes from doing.

It comes from publishing the imperfect article. Sending the uncertain invitation. Having the conversation you don’t feel ready for. Making contact when you’re not sure what will happen next.

The confusion starts to dissolve the moment you take action. Not because the action answered every question, but because action reveals what actually matters versus what your mind invented to keep you safe.

Action creates contact.

Contact creates friction.

Friction creates learning.

It’s the fulcrum of everything else.

This is what I call Action in The PEACE Practice.

And here’s what I know from lived experience: momentum reveals what planning obscures. The confusion lifts not because the path becomes clear, but because you’re finally in conversation with reality instead of wrestling with your mind’s protective stories about why now isn’t the time.

The Practice Starts Monday

So here’s what I’m re-committing to: a weekly starter cadence that feels doable with a six-month-old.

One article every Monday. One offer post every Tuesday. Publish and move forward.

Not because I’ve figured everything out. Not because the structure is perfect. Not because I feel completely ready.

But because I know (from lived experience, from watching this pattern repeat) that momentum comes from movement, not planning.

Consistent contact. Regular invitation. Showing up weekly to serve the work.

That’s not glamorous. It’s not a breakthrough strategy. It’s not what the quick-fix merchants and system sellers are promising.

But I promise you, it is the secret sauce that everyone’s looking for, but everyone overlooks, and it’s the only thing that’s ever actually worked for me.

Your Invitation

If you’re feeling confused about where to start, on your business, your writing, your next move, I want you to consider something:

What if the confusion isn’t the problem? What if it’s just the signal that you already know what to do, but you’re not doing it yet?

What’s the one thing you could do this week that would create momentum? Not the perfect thing. Not the complete thing. Not the thing that solves everything.

Just the one next thing that moves you forward.

For me, it’s this article.

For you, it might be sending that email. Making that call. Publishing that post. Booking that session.

Whatever it is, I promise you this: the confusion will start to lift the moment you start moving.

You can’t steer a ship that isn’t moving.

So push off from the dock.

And see what the water actually asks of you.

I’m returning to weekly practice. If you want to build differently - with depth over reach, practice over performance, and patience over hustle - subscribe and join the journey. Or if you’re ready for 1:1 work, drop me a message and let’s talk about The Authority Lab.

For many of us, work is a means to an end, and we can make our peace with that. When your life has variety, community, friends, and art, your job might just grease the wheels, and that’s OK.

If it’s not OK, that friction might have nothing to do with your job (though it might feel like it). Instead, it might indicate that you lack variety, movement and meaning elsewhere.

During the pandemic, my wife and I experienced the collapse of variety, and in the giant marquee of life, our jobs became the only tent-pole.

Imagine it. A sweeping canvas and all its massive weight pulling down on a single point of focus.

Without meaning to, we expected too much value from work - value it was never designed to give, could never give. For a time, work felt like an anchor holding the ship down against a rising tide.

But work wasn’t really the anchor, it was just an unwilling victim of the drama playing out elsewhere. A vessel through which our angst could flow.

Now, we’ve moved, our son has been born, we’re meeting new parents, we’ve made new friends at the gym, and I’ve started going back to Church. In short, we’ve raised new tent‑poles that support the grand canopy of life.

Its weight distributed, creating shelter. In its shadow, room to move and breathe. Space for new connections and friendships to form.

And with it, the work lifts too.

Our work exists in service of life - it’s no longer the centre of it.

It’s one of those, ‘yeah, obviously’ ideas. And yet, time and time again I see friends and loved ones try to solve a dissatisfaction with life by changing their work, when the reverse is often required.

Changing what you do might change how you feel. But most of the time we just take our insecurities, frustrations, blind spots, and triggers with us. After the honeymoon period fades, we remain who we always were.

Incomplete, with bigger questions to answer.

The Transaction Truth

For most people, when fairly held, work is a transaction. We exchange time, energy, and brain power for money. That’s it.

And that’s OK.

When the exchange is fair, work promises a great many things, security and stability among them; maternity cover, affording things with ease, weekends that belong to you, etc.

It’s not work’s job to give you purpose, validate your worth, or ease the strain where you’re not raising new tent-poles to support life more broadly.

Where work facilitates warm connections and occasional direction, good - but here’s the hard truth: your life experience is not your employer’s core function. But in the exchange, you do get to put your job down at day’s end. Your weekends are yours to enjoy, or whinge through.

The trouble starts when we expect work to be more than this transaction. When we demand it give us identity, meaning, community, and creative expression all at once.

That’s not a job anymore. That’s a religion.

And most jobs make terrible gods.

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Why Starting a Business Won’t Save You

After five redundancies in a decade, I understand the impulse to escape. To start your own business powered by “earn what I deserve” or “achieve financial freedom.”

But these objectives create an impossible paradox.

When will you have achieved your worth? When you hit six figures? Seven? Will you ever feel financially free, or will your expectations expand to match your new wealth?

And there’s a new world of frustration waiting for those who do take the plunge.

Here’s what nobody tells you: being good at what you’ve been trained to do doesn’t mean you have the adjacent skills to make a business work. You’ll need to sink hundreds, maybe thousands, of uncertain hours into earning almost nothing whilst learning those skills.

New businesses fail within two years. Not because of the official reasons we hear about, but because that skills gap, and the distance between expectation and reality, amplifies every negative feeling about worth you carried into the launch.

If you believe it’s going to be a battle, you’ll approach the work with a warrior’s mindset. If you believe opportunity is scarce, you’ll become cheap. For many entrepreneurship doesn’t set them free, it amplifies their flaws.

Hustle culture is the exemplification of this, a pervasive myth whose conditioning I struggle to break every day. I do my best to remember this piece of Unremarkable thinking: entrepreneurship isn’t designed to make me rich, it’s designed to set me free - financially, spiritually, and creatively.

For most, the friction feels too much. The way too unclear.

Disconnected from colleagues (who may have been your only friends), working in your leisure space, hours longer and earning less, security? What security.

So people give up.

Not because they lacked hustle. Because they started for the wrong reasons. Without respecting the cost. Without understanding themselves.

The Freedom Paradox

The Rolling Stones said it best: you don’t always get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you need.

Think about smiles for a second.

A smile is only a smile because you don’t smile all the time. If you did, that would be creepy, and it would be meaningless - it would just be your face. Wealth without limits is just a new normal. Restaurant Gordon Ramsey might as well be McDonald’s if it doesn’t cost you anything.

Financial freedom is painfully over-rated (hell, it might not even be real) and not recommended for the majority of people who understand that value isn’t a number - it’s a decision born from the tension that not everything is possible. Maybe we should keep it that way.

If you start by pursuing external validation or unattainable metrics about financial freedom, you might get what you’ve chosen - but you won’t get what you want. Peace. Joy. Contentment. Space to enjoy your life.

If you slave yourself to objectives that can never be satisfied, all your actions will have your insecurity, not your power, baked into their DNA.

No truly satisfying business was ever built on such foundations.

Yes, there are wealthy, powerful people who’ve achieved it. But are they happy? Would you want their life?

Do you want to downgrade your Michelin-starred meal to just… food?

Of course not.

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The Unremarkable Path

So what actually works? Whether you stay in your job or start a business, the answer is the same.

Stop asking work to hold up the entire canopy.

Before you change jobs, before you launch a business, before you chase financial freedom - raise the other tent-poles first.

If you do want to start a business, interrogate your motivations. Do you want to start a business to solve a problem or to express who you are and serve?

The difference is crucial: in one world you’ve just chosen a new master to work for, in the other you’re working towards your most realised self.

Here’s what I’ve learned through five redundancies and building my own business: the problem was never the work itself. The problem was that work had become the structure I was relying on to hold up the canopy of everything else.

When I finally raised new poles - moved house, became a father, joined a gym, returned to church - my business didn’t just survive. It breathed. Not because I worked harder, but because work stopped carrying weight it was never designed to bear.

And I’m not saying that when my business ‘breathed’ money started pouring in. Not at all. I’m saying that those kind of outcomes became proportionally important.

This is why constraints matter more than ambition. Why practice matters more than outcomes. Why the bottlenecks of your business might have nothing to do with work - they might be resolved by raising other tent-poles in your life that create the stability and space that lets your work find its own rhythm.

And when you do, you might find that work abdicates its throne at the centre of your world and instead becomes a great partner in service of your life.

And for most, that’s the win they’ve been looking for all along.

Activity: Your Tent-Pole Audit

Let’s explore where you might need to raise or reinforce tent-poles to support your grand canopy.

Take five minutes right now. Draw five columns on a piece of paper and label them:

Work - Your job, business, or career. Rate honestly: how much weight is this pole currently carrying?

Purpose - Your long-term sense of direction and contribution. The work that matters beyond the paycheque.

Value - Your grounded sense of self-worth. The relationships and communities where you’re seen and valued for who you are, not what you produce.

Wonder - The interests and experiences that bring you joy. The things you do simply because they delight you.

Relationships - The meaningful connections you actively invest in. The people who know you beyond your job title.

Now rate each column honestly: Is this tent-pole standing firm (5), leaning (3), or collapsed (1)?

If work is your only 5, you’ve found your problem. And the solution isn’t to make work do more - it’s to raise the other poles.

Which one needs attention first? Don’t demand it from work. Design for it elsewhere.

For whichever pole needs attention most, write down two or three specific actions you could take this month. Not someday. This month.

Maybe that’s rejoining the gym you’ve been putting off. Texting three friends to schedule that coffee. Signing up for the pottery class you keep thinking about. The specifics matter less than the commitment - pick one action and put it in your calendar before you close this page.

Because here’s what I’ve learned: when the other tent-poles stand firm, work becomes what it was always meant to be - one support among many, not the whole structure.

The Gardener’s Choice

There was once a gardener who inherited a large plot of land. Overwhelmed by the possibilities, she tried to cultivate every corner at once - vegetables here, flowers there, herbs along the fence, fruit trees in the back.

Within months, she was exhausted. The garden became a burden.

Nothing thrived because nothing received enough attention. She spent her days racing from one failing bed to another, wondering why her neighbours’ smaller gardens flourished whilst hers withered.

One autumn, she made a decision. She would close three of the four gates and focus on a single quarter. She chose constraints.

That winter, she worked that small plot deeply. She learned its soil, its light, its rhythms.

Come spring, something unexpected happened - the concentrated effort created abundance. The vegetables grew strong. The soil improved. And in that focused quarter, the garden finally breathed.

By choosing what she wouldn’t tend, she discovered what could truly flourish.

Your life is that garden.

Work is one quarter, not the whole plot. And the constraint of choosing which gates to close - which demands to decline, which parts of life to nurture and grow - is what creates the space for anything good to grow.

The challenge:

This week, name one thing you’ll stop demanding from work and one tent-pole you’ll raise instead.

Write them down. Make them specific. Then serve that work, not the outcome.

That’s the practice. That’s how constraints create freedom.

It’s not poor products, positioning, personal brand, bad timing, or a lack of hustle and hard work.

It’s simpler. More devastating. And way more stupid.

We never ask.

On Friday I sat down with my son on my knee and a microphone in my hand.

Because time was (and always is) in short supply, I’d decided to dictate my latest update and fix my greatest problem as an entrepreneur: inviting people to work with me.

24 hours later and I had £50,000 worth of enquiries in my inbox.

Most would-be-entrepreneurs are actually privateers. They create offers in private, maybe talk about it once, and hope someone notices. When they don’t, they assume the market has spoken.

But the market can’t speak if you never start the conversation.

I’d spent 18 months building The Authority Lab - first by accident, then by design. Through my podcast and events, people found me. They’d ask me to help bring their business ideas to life, and I’d simply say yes.

The conversations created flow. Ideas emerged. Money followed.

Then I made a mistake.

I decided the offer needed to be “ready” before I could really invite people in. So I rebranded. Refined the methodology. Polished the language. And waited.

For what? Another insight? The perfect positioning? A sign from the universe?

My offer sat there. Complete. Powerful. Gathering mental dust.

Until Friday, when my son settled on my knee and I realised something stupidly simple:

There was nothing left to do except ask.

What I didn’t realise: I wasn’t protecting the work. I was protecting myself from the answer.

Because here’s what asking really means - it means making the world respond to you. And once the world responds, you can no longer hide in the safety of “someday.”

Everything is possible in the planning phase. That’s why we love it. But possibility only becomes real when you ask.

And honestly, there’s an ocean of new possibilities waiting just beyond the horizon for people brave enough to do so.

The artist creates and invites. The amateur creates and waits.

I stumbled on a video of Jim Rohn speaking on the power of asking. He said that asking starts a process you don’t even need to understand. “Push the button and machinery you can’t see begins working. All you need to know is: it works”.

If you want something to happen, you need to invite it to happen. You need to ask for it.

And that simple action could change everything.

But there’s a nuance here: how we ask is a catalyst for transformation.

Because asking isn’t magic. It’s archaeology.

You’re not extracting what you want from the world. You’re discovering what wants to happen through genuine dialogue. And in that discovery, all manner of things can happen - to you, through you, and for you.

This is what it means to think like an artist. To price like an artist. To ask like an artist.

The artist doesn’t pitch. The artist invites.

The artist doesn’t manipulate outcomes. The artist creates space for response.

The artist doesn’t ask “How do I get what I want?” The artist asks “What’s actually possible here?”

When I finally pressed record on Friday, my son wasn’t settled, my voice wasn’t steady, and that didn’t matter. Because I wasn’t selling. I was inviting.

I described The Authority Lab honestly. Who it’s for. Why it matters.

No tactics. No countdown timers. No manufactured urgency.

Just clear invitation: “This exists. If it’s for you, let’s talk.”

Within 24 hours: £50,000 in enquiries.

Not because I finally decided to sell. Because I finally decided to ask.

And asking, it turns out, is the beginning of everything.

Rohn said there are two ways to ask:

First, ask with intelligence. Be clear. Be specific. Don’t mumble. Define what you want.

Second, ask with faith. Believe like a child whilst planning like an adult.

Both are true. But there’s a third way he didn’t mention:

Ask with curiosity.

Ask without predetermined outcomes. Ask to discover, not extract. Ask to start a conversation, not close a transaction.

Because here’s what I’ve learned: the artist’s ask isn’t about getting. It’s about revealing.

You’re not asking the canvas to become what you’ve already decided. You’re asking it to show you what it wants to be.

This isn’t just philosophy. The stakes are real: Around 94% of coaching businesses fail within the first three years. I wonder how many of those people approach each day with a spirit of genuine enquiry versus a need to make what they’d already decided on work.

Me? I’m right at the end of year two, right in the middle of the dead zone. Here’s why I might just make the 6%: because by serving the work I discovered what the world was asking from me.

Anthem led to my podcast, Culture Crush. Culture Crush replaced my income, and as I leant into what my community was telling me, The Unremarkable Entrepreneur became the obvious next step.

My curiosity created dialogue, and dialogue illuminated a path worth following, and so I followed it. I evolved, I allowed, I welcomed. I didn’t shut down the answers I was getting because they didn’t align with things I’d already decided.

I found my best work, I didn’t choose it.

I want X, how do I get it?

Most treat asking like a transaction, but artists treat asking like a conversation: I’m curious about X, what’s actually here?

The difference isn’t semantic. It’s fundamental.

Transaction requires control. You need the outcome you’ve predetermined or you’ve failed.

Conversation requires courage. You need to be willing to be surprised by what emerges.

One keeps you safe and stuck. The other sets you free.

This is the practice: Ask without attachment. Invite without manipulation. Create space for what wants to happen.

The world doesn’t respond to those just working away. It responds to those who speak up, ask questions, and invite answers.

Because genuine dialogue starts with a question.

And dialogue is where discovery lives.

You will find what you’re looking for, the question: what are you asking?

And that’s not some daft platitude, it’s reality. Look at your life. To gossip at work is to ask for gossip, to be impatient with people is to welcome impatience. You won’t be generous when you’re successful if you’re not generous when you’re not.

I am asking for a measure of success in my business. I want options for my son, for me. I’m now getting some of the answers I want because, like any practice, any muscle, becoming a good asker takes time. Learning how to invite and be open is a mental work of years.

But you could start today by simply noticing what you want, and asking for it.

My invitation to you

What would you ask for if you weren’t afraid of the answer?

Who would you reach out to if rejection didn’t sting?

What conversation would you start if you didn’t need to control where it went?

Here’s what I know: Success isn’t rationed. Authority isn’t in short supply. The people who need your work are already looking for it.

It’s like the tide, sometimes it rolls in, sometimes it rolls out. But the ocean is always there.

Abundant. Endless.

And your questions are like the moon’s gravity.

Powerful. Influential. They direct the ocean’s movement.

When most start building, the tide is out. Distant. They see others playing in the surf and that’s where they get stuck, voyeurs of other people’s success. They don’t realise that they have power over the tides, can bring the ocean near, and accept its abundance.

Not because they lack ambition, but because they lack practice asking.

The amateur? They mumble. They hedge. They qualify. They plan what to say instead of using their voice.

The artist? They rise in the night’s sky. They influence the waves. They challenge the ocean to respond.

They create, articulate, and invite, without fear.

The artist trusts that asking - real asking, honest asking, curious asking - starts a process that doesn’t need their understanding to work.

All you need to do is push the button.

Your 30 day challenge

Make one clear ask every day. Not a sales pitch. An invitation.

Ask a question you’re genuinely curious about.

Ask for feedback on something you’ve created.

Ask someone if they’d like to work together.

Ask what’s actually needed here.

Don’t predetermine the outcome. Don’t measure success by whether you “got” what you wanted.

Measure it by what you discovered.

Document what actually happens - not what you hoped would happen, but what emerged from the conversation.

Watch what reveals itself when you stop trying to extract and start trying to discover.

Because asking isn’t about getting whatever you want.

It’s about learning what wants to happen through you.

And once you start that conversation, all manner of things become possible as the tide rolls in.

The question isn’t whether the work is ready.

The question is whether you’re ready to ask.

I’m trying something new. I’m dictating this entire weekly roundup whilst holding my 4-month-old son, Sonny, who’s in fine voice today. So forgive me if this feels a bit rough around the edges!

I can’t promise these weekly roundups will be every week, but I wanted to share what I’ve been working on, what’s been causing me friction, and what’s been bringing me freedom.

What I’ve Been Working On

Earlier this week, I launched a new content rhythm for myself. I’m breaking free from the hamster wheel of believing I need to create-create-create: if you’re running your own show, you know exactly how that can feel!

Instead, I’m writing one really good article a week and using that long-form piece to set the tone for everything else.

I’ve written about this approach in my latest article, The Planning Trap - which is a bit meta, because I’m simultaneously planning, doing, and writing about the planning and doing. It’s been a fascinating exploration.

As part of this new cadence, I’m also recording article read-throughs and publishing them to both Substack and the podcast. You’ll find that linked below as well.

The Authority Lab: My New Offer

The other thing I’ve been working hard on is redefining my signature offer. Over the past year, I’ve been working one-to-one with clients through what I called the Authority Building Pathway - a few months of intensive work to help people bring their businesses and ideas to life.

Here’s what most people don’t realise: when you step out of corporate, start consulting, or launch as a freelancer, you think you can just “turn your expertise into an offer” and people will start paying you.

But running your own business involves so much more than that.

Most people think, “I’ve got six months’ runway, I’ll be fine.” But almost no one I’ve met has launched from a standing start and been profitable in six months. That’s why most businesses fail - people run out of road before they’ve had time to learn all the adjacent skills they actually need.

What I do is help people leap over those boundaries: branding, tone of voice, how they show up in the world, what that first offer looks like, the system for guiding people from social media into your own database. All the foundational pieces that actually make a business work.

I’ve been refining this work, and it’s now called The Authority Lab.

The Authority Lab is about turning your expertise into a practice that will free you financially, creatively, and spiritually for the rest of your career.

It’s about redefining who you are and why you’re here in 60 days, so you can scale without limits.

I believe that your unfiltered self is a one-of-a-kind opportunity magnet and my hustle-defying business methodology will help you become your most effective self - designed for the 1% who have the conviction to build for the long term, not just chase the next trend.

In short: I’ll help you know who you are and why you’re here in 60 days.

I only take on two clients each month. That’s partly because, as a new dad, I want to spend loads of time with Sonny. We’re also moving house. Life is full. I know I can only give two partners a month the attention they need, and that’s a choice I’m making for now.

But if you know anyone who’s ready to build a practice, not just a business - who’s ready to break away from the gurus, the tactics, the noise of social media - I’m ready to have that conversation. Drop me an email at dan@unremarkable.co or send me a message.

You can’t tell, but Sonny’s agreeing by screeching like a baby dinosaur in my ears.

This Week’s Friction

The friction this week has been around that tension between planning and doing. I’ve been stuck in planning mode when what I really want is to get on with the practice of serving my community, working with my clients, and just doing the work in front of me.

Serving the work instead of worrying about the outcome.

Lots more to come on these themes soon. But for now, I’ve named it. I’ve done the work. It’s Friday and Sonny keeps grabbing the microphone.

So I’m gonna go!

Be well,

Dan

Culture Crush has been a wonderful community to lead. Over 2,000 people have joined in the last year, and some of you have become great friends. I’m deeply and profoundly grateful.

Through that network of very real relationships I’ve slowly realised that Culture Crush isn’t aligned deeply enough with how I now feel called to serve others. So despite the numbers, it’s time for something new.

Of course, I have some ideas about what comes next, and I can’t wait to invite you to join me, but I’ll resist any details for now - it just simply isn’t ready to be shared.

Well, a lot has changed in the last three months. The most important thing? Becoming a first time Dad. It’s my greatest joy to introduce you to Sonny Beau:

Somehow I’ve also found the space to explore what people in the Culture Crush community have been asking from me since it started, and it’s rooted in something counterintuitive that’s taken me a long time to learn: our best work isn’t chosen, it’s found.

As I reflected on thousands of hours of conversations, live events, and client partnerships, I noticed a pattern: people often wanted to know how I was building my business in such a human and grounded way, how I built an audience that genuinely felt like a community, and whether I could help them do the same.

It’s how I found The Unremarkable Entrepreneur.

And this journey starts with a thank you to the many great friends who encouraged me to integrate the earlier chapters of my story, who’ve pointed out where they see me come alive, and reminded me not to downplay my gifts (and we all do that, we tend to undervalue the things that come easily to us).

I’m building it for all the unremarkable entrepreneurs out there.

The ones who don’t need to be iconic. Who don’t bend the knee to the algo. Who don’t need to go viral. The slow builders. The meaning-makers. The quiet legacy-shapers.

The ones who believe they can build a life-affirming, wisdom-unleashing, home-sustaining business one unremarkable step at a time.

Here you’ll find articles that make you feel seen and say “hell yes”, practical insights that help you believe and say “yeah, I can do that”, and realism that lifts the pressure so you build in a way that aligns deeply with who you are.

My hope is that you’ll journey with me. But time and energy are in short supply, so if you haven’t got the bandwidth (or this just isn’t your jam), don’t subscribe - I wish you the very best on your onward journey.

For everyone who wants to stick around, thank you. I’m so excited that you’re here.

If anything I’ve written about today resonates, I’d love to hear from you - why not drop me a message?

For now, let me leave you with this encouragement: you are everything you need. There is nothing to add, no external validation you need, and no flaw that’s deep enough to stop you from beginning.

Once you do, you’ll start to notice the good things that want to happen to you, through you and for you.

Let’s get started.

Ps. Sonny has been strapped to my chest the entire time I’ve been writing today - how cute is that!

You're ready. Not because you feel it. But because if not now, when?

Your business, your venture, your calling? It's already flowing through you. You can find it in the conversations you have every day, the 'great idea' you bug your partner with, that feeling of 'I could've done that', in the moments when you feel the fizz of being alive.

Pay attention. Because like a constellation in the night sky, the pattern is there: it's just waiting for you to notice.

Finding Your Way Through the Rubble

After five redundancies in a decade, I discovered something counterintuitive: our best work isn't chosen, it's found. My career choices put my future in someone else's hands, where someone else had figured out how to monetise my time more effectively than I had, until economic downturns, pandemics, and acquisitions made me expendable.

I launched because I had to: not because I was ready, not because I wanted it, not because I'd chosen it. So I dived into the threads of my own story:

• 23 jobs in 30 years from cleaning hospital floors to global brand activations

• 17 years' worth of notes, business ideas, and half-written articles

• 5 start-up launches with other Founders

• 84 podcast interviews

• 100s of social posts and newsletters

• 27 consulting projects delivered for global brands in a single year

I didn't launch my business, that's too grand, I found it in the rubble and took my first unremarkable steps. Unsteady and uncertain.

The Great Unlearning

We've been conditioned to believe that building a business means following proven formulas, building perfect systems, and chasing endless growth. But here's what I've discovered working with entrepreneurs: these aren't rules, they're cages.

Consider James Dyson, who started with a simple frustration: vacuum cleaners that constantly lost suction. Instead of following industry conventions, he spent five years building 5,126 prototypes in his coach house. No business plan, no scaling strategy—just rigorous problem-solving and persistence. That singular focus on solving one clear problem grew into a multi-billion dollar innovation company.

Or take Gary Dahl, who turned a bar conversation about pet maintenance into the Pet Rock phenomenon. He didn't conduct market research or write elaborate business plans. He simply packaged ordinary rocks with a clever care manual, turning a $1 product into a million-dollar business by understanding what made people smile. Not through following formulas, but by trusting his instincts and embracing the constraint of absolute simplicity.

What Success Really Looks Like

The path to building something meaningful isn't about following someone else's blueprint. It's about:

• Noticing what's already working

• Embracing productive constraints

• Serving the work, not worshipping outcomes

In 18 months, following these principles, I replaced my income and built an audience of over 10,000 people. The Unremarkable Entrepreneur began to take shape. No fanfare, no grandstand moments, no viral posts.

The Work That's Waiting

Your breakthrough is already there, waiting to be noticed. It's in:

• The problems you solve naturally

• The conversations that energise you

• The work that flows through you effortlessly

• The ideas you can't stop thinking about

Maybe you're already building but caught in a spiral of buying other people's ideas. Perhaps you want to take your first steps but aren't sure how. Maybe you just need a little help noticing what's already there.

That's what The Unremarkable Entrepreneur is about: to help founders and small business owners:

• Notice and build around what's already flowing through them

• Find freedom through the right constraints

• Build businesses that feel authentic, not algorithmic

• Focus on deep resonance over shallow reach

Your Next Step

Your breakthrough isn't hiding in another course, system, or mastermind. It's hiding in plain sight, in the work you're already doing, the conversations you're already having, the problems you're already solving.

The question isn't "How do I build a business?"

The question is: "What's already trying to be built through me?"

Pay attention. What are your stars trying to teach you?

I try to sound clever. The ideas get bloated. Instead of sharing what I know with people who'll interpret it their own way, I chase perfection, as if there's a "right" way things should be done.

But when I choose to serve the work instead of the expectations? That's when freedom, momentum, and focus start to flow. And in that flow, I've discovered something surprising: my best work never comes from following prescribed paths. It emerges naturally from paying attention to what actually works, not what I think should work.

This observation sits at the heart of everything I've learned: how we work best is found, not chosen. It's discovered in the trails we leave, the relationships we build, and the quiet patterns that have been asking to be noticed all along.

The Founder’s Noose

We live in a culture obsessed with outcomes. We worship the chart that goes up and to the right, the algorithm hit, the "proven system," the overnight leap. But here's what nobody talks about: this obsession with outcomes isn't just stressful, it's actively destructive to the work itself.

Every great innovation in history came from people who couldn't possibly have known the outcome. Edison wasn't chasing "disruption" when he tested 1,000 filaments. He was serving the work. The Wright brothers weren't building a "transportation revolution." They were solving a fascinating problem.

Yet today, we're expected to predict our outcomes with crystal-ball precision. We call it "strategy," but really it's just fear dressed up in business clothes. This creates what I call The Founder's Noose: Fear → action → outcome → fear → action → outcome → fear... you get the idea.

When fear leads, our actions become distorted. We jump on the next tactic, buy the course, adopt someone else's playbook. Nothing fits our context, results falter, and the spiral tightens.

I've lived this cycle. After my fifth redundancy in a decade, I built with "I need money" energy. Fear drove my decisions, chasing reach instead of building relationships, pushing sales instead of serving needs.

Everything changed when I stopped trying to control outcomes and started focusing on service. People didn't just show up; they stayed.

Or perhaps I finally noticed them.

You can spot the noose in the small things. We buy books we never read because it feels like progress. We sign up for programmes we don't finish. We chase "reach" because it looks like growth. Meanwhile, months pass, we don’t leverage the knowledge we’ve collected, and very little actually changes.

Take a look at your bookshelf. If you picked just one unread business book, binned the rest and and committed to experimenting with the ideas if offered, you’d get more from it than ten new playbooks. It doesn’t even need to be a good book, because the value is in the process, not the outcomes it promises.

Breaking free requires more than different tactics; we need different lenses. And I’d like to offer you three unremarkable practices to disrupt the cycle and help you focus on the work:

• Think Like an Artist

• Start with Who

• The Increment is the Way

• Plus: The Unremarkable Growth Loop

Think Like an Artist (when everyone else thinks like a machine)

Most business thinking is machine-like: template-first, control-focused, seeking sameness. Artist thinking is the opposite: process-faithful, context-aware, seeking truth. Here's the stark difference:

• Machine thinking asks: "What worked for others?" Artist thinking asks: "What's actually happening here?"

• Machine thinking says: "Follow the template." Artist thinking says: "Follow the thread."

This isn't just philosophy; it's practical survival. In an AI-driven world, template thinking becomes worthless overnight. But artistic thinking is a return to the possible. It’s the ability to see what's really there, to notice what could happen to us, for us, and through us.

The key question: "If I hadn't already decided the outcome, what would this situation actually ask of me?".

Start with Who (because 'why' is a trap)

We've all heard "start with why." It sounds right, but there's a problem: in isolation "why" becomes a philosophical trap. We end up writing mission statements that sound good but feel hollow. We’re not objective enough to decide our purpose cleanly (let alone for thousands of people if we’re business leaders).

Start with Who flips the script. Instead of trying to deduce your purpose in a vacuum, you discover it through relationships and impact. It's archaeology, not architecture.

Here's the not-so-radical move: message five people and ask:

• When have you seen me most energised?

• When have I helped you solve a problem?

• How did I make you feel?

But here's the harder part, the part most skip: Look for the patterns that feel boring or make you uncomfortable. Look for the impact you dismiss because it seems too simple. Those are trailheads to explore further, and closer to you’re ‘why’ than anything you’d normally choose. It’s where the real work lives.

The increment is the way (especially when pressure says otherwise)

When I was 18, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. On the final ascent, at −15°C with altitude sickness kicking in, I learned something crucial: you can't climb the mountain; you can only take the next step. This isn't just a nice metaphor, it's a fundamental truth about how meaningful change happens.

But here's the challenge: what do you do when external pressure demands big leaps? When investors want hockey-stick growth? When the market seems to reward the dramatic over the deliberate?

The answer isn't to ignore these pressures, it's to get smarter about how we respond to them. Here's what I've learned:

• Big leaps are usually invisible until after they happen

• What looks like a breakthrough is usually the surfacing of long preparation

• The pressure for speed usually slows us down

It’s a strange quirk of the modern world that for the first twenty years of our lives, we’re conditioned to build incrementally - school is a good example. Later in life we’re told to excel and compete, and the time we invest in training ourselves is all but cut. It’s counterintuitive; it kills our patience, our curiosity, our critical thinking, and our ability to notice and celebrate our growth.

The world is still full of wonder, opportunity, and invitation—but with our blinkers raised, we simply don’t notice anymore.

Take a moment to recall a career, educational, or long‑term personal goal that once felt impossible. That’s the mountain. Picture where you were on day one of that journey, notice the increments that carried you forward, and celebrate how far you’ve come.

The Unremarkable Growth Loop

These three practices come alive inside a simple loop that turns The Founder's Noose on its head: Intention → Action → Outcome → Reflection

This isn't just another planning framework. It's a fundamental shift in how we relate to outcomes. Instead of serving the outcome, we let outcomes serve the work. Here's how it works:

• Intention: Start with a clear but open direction

• Action: Choose activities you think will help (get started, don't hide in planning)

• Outcome: Name what you hope to achieve, then treat whatever happens as information, not judgment

• Reflection: Welcome and integrate what actually happened: this critical step informs your next loop

Let's see it in action:

Simple Example: Getting Coffee

• Intention: Get my morning coffee

• Action: Walk to the local coffee shop

• Outcome: Get coffee (easy win!)

• Reflection: Great service, I'll come back tomorrow

Complex Example: Performance Review

• Intention: Approach this review with openness

• Action: Prepare honestly, speak clearly

• Outcome: Hope for positive feedback, but stay open

• Reflection: Use the feedback (whatever it is) to grow

Think of the Growth Loop as your multi-tool: it helps you plan, acts as a guide that grounds you through the process, and offers a lens to honestly review what worked.

The more you use it, the more natural it becomes—and the easier it gets to serve the work instead of worrying about outcomes.

Serve the work

What if success wasn't about what we achieved, but about how we work? That shift is the heart of unremarkable practice.

The default path is clear: chase reach, build a personal brand, grow your platform. It's also increasingly hollow. As AI floods every channel with generated content, pure reach becomes worthless. But what if we did this instead?

• Curate a small database of people who care (hundreds, not thousands)

• Share your real work, including the struggles

• Offer limited ways to work together

• Turn customers into collaborators

• Let every conversation be an exploration

Resonance over reach isn't just a better marketing strategy, it's a different way of being in relationship with your work and your people. Instead of broadcasting to thousands, you're in dialogue with dozens. Instead of chasing metrics, you're building meaning and revealing new ways to work - it’s how I found Unremarkable, I didn’t choose it, it was already there; revealed by serving the work and starting with Who.

For some this, approach will feel too slow, too small, too ‘unremarkable’. That feeling is the price of admission. The alternative is burning out chasing metrics that don't matter. And for those that can’t resist The Founder’s Noose, and embrace a new way to serve the work, there’s a perfectly good office desk waiting for you.

And honestly, for the majority, that’s no bad thing.

The Unremarkable Entrepreneur

I wrote this for people who feel the pressure to perform, to be seen, to get "there" fast. The trouble is, the fastest route to significance is usually unremarkable: honest steps, compounded over time, in the company of people who help you see what's already true.

The Unremarkable Entrepreneur is my attempt to put language and practice around that kind of life and business. If this resonated, stay close. I'll be writing the book in public, one unremarkable article at a time.

But in the face of a crisis, the real question is how you respond to it and what resources you can call upon to help you.

Not so long ago, I was staring down the barrel of my fifth redundancy in a decade: two charities, one business pivot, one acquisition, and one pandemic. As you might expect, my initial response was a frenzy of job applications, recruiter calls, and trawling online job boards.

The job market is a total firestorm.

Some of you might be familiar with the current job market. In my experience, I often found myself competing with over 400 candidates. Surprisingly, I received lots of feedback, but it usually went something like this: "We loved your application, but there are 20 other candidates who are coming from big agencies, so we're going to speak to them first."

So I decided to search for a new plan by diving into the archives. Stashed away in over 15 years' worth of notes I found half-written articles, business ideas, personal development mantras, workshop plans, and endless project deliverables. I realised that I had worked with every level of leadership, helped launch five start-ups, and created purpose-driven values on a global level. I had created a library of content for every social platform, launched websites, and unlocked creative breakthroughs for 27 global brands in the last few years alone.

Turns out that I had everything I needed to start my own business, and since then I’ve managed to replace my income from a standing start! But that's not what this article is about, it's about how your perspective shifts when you audit your advantages.

Audit your advantages and take control of your story.

YouTube recently served me a really interesting video on this subject. In it, Ali Abdaal unpacks some of the key messages from Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba's book, The Unfair Advantage.

He outlines that success is a combination of fair play and unfair advantages. Fair play refers to things we can all replicate, while unfair advantages are unique to each individual.

Consider Mark Wahlberg (yep, I didn’t expect that either).

In 2018, he shared his much-talked-about daily routine on social media, and it’s a good example of fair play and unfair advantages. It included things like prayer time, workout, family time, and waking up at 2.30am. Regardless of its sanity, these are all examples of things we could classify as fair play. They are actions most of us could take if we wanted to.

However, it also includes things like 'cryo chamber recovery', which is something that most of us don’t have access to. It’s an unfair advantage. Side note: in 2022, Wahlberg updated his schedule, revealing he’d developed a lazy streak — he now gets up at 3.30am (and the cryo chamber is out)!

Taking a wider view, we can consider a range of successful start-up founders. Sure, there are rags-to-riches stories, but most of them are packaged with some sort of unfair advantage, such as family wealth, an Ivy League or Oxbridge education, or access to the right network, nepotism, etc. In fact, event the rags-to-riches crowd were propelled by the right people at the right time (community is the great leveller, but let’s cover that advantage, that we can all leverage, another time).

The reality is that we’re not playing on a level playing field.

But a really interesting thing that Abdaal highlights in an interview segment with one of The Unfair Advantages authors, Hasan Kubba, is that we’re not offering a level playing field to others either — we have our own unfair advantages.

Take my background, for example. When I traced my employment history, I discovered that I have worked 23 jobs in 29 years, ranging from cleaner to Strategy Director. What my employment history has denied me in terms of a career path, has given me unprecedented breadth instead.

Reframe your disadvantages as superpowers.

At first glance, what naturally reads as a disadvantage is without question an unfair advantage. My unparalleled experience means I can command any room, lead any team, and manage negotiations of all kinds. It has become a superpower.

Here’s another example from the celebrity world. Today, Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.8 billion, but she was born into poverty and survived a traumatic childhood. She is known for her empathy and as a gifted communicator. Why? Because she understands adversity. She has turned her deeply rooted connection with crisis into a remarkable advantage, not to mention the commercial drive that can be born from the experience of having very little.

"It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always." - Oprah Winfrey

What are your unfair advantages?

In 2016, after my first two redundancies, I found myself working with collaboration specialist, Richard Watkins. He was an important mentor to me at that time and helped me take a significant step up in my career. He introduced me to the concept of career threads and helped me to understand that the lack of a traditional career path I’d experienced would become my strength, in time.

He was right, but it has taken years, five more jobs, and another three redundancies for me to truly understand it at a practical level. My chequered career is my unfair advantage, and all those micro-learnings and experiences are fuel, not failure.

To help you audit your advantages, I've included a couple of useful links below. But let’s start with something practical. I suggest you create a quick timeline of your life, plotting important moments, relationships, jobs, career highlights, and anything else that stands out as the process unfolds.

• Are there any threads that connect those moments together?

• Are there distinctive things that are unique to your story?

• Are there places where the playing field is levelled in your favour?

Answering some of these questions will begin to reveal your unfair advantages and perhaps unlock a new and exciting direction for you.

And if there's one thought I want you to hold onto, it's this: if when looking ahead you feel unremarkable or your path forward feels unclear, look back, I promise there is gold hidden in the earlier chapters of your story.

Expand your horizons? Here’s some good stuff to take you forward.

What Makes People Successful? - Ali Abdaal

Want to audit their advantages? 19 famous figures who went from rags to riches - Business Insider

Understanding The M.I.L.E.S. Framework (from the book The Unfair Advantage) - Ash Ali

Because, in the end, all those incremental learnings and incidental experiences are worth way more than the sum of their parts.

Experiments, failures, and experiences all become resources you can call on. They're why meetings with senior executives become easier to navigate, or why you become a better presenter over time. When you do things, you learn from them, and over time those learnings work together to unlock bigger opportunities—career jumps, personal breakthroughs, or even landing a dream client.

Sure, some people get lucky. They hit a home run off the first ball and it can feel like they’ve found the shortcut, leaving you behind. But guess what? Without the hard yards, they won’t be able to reflect on what worked or why, and on the next pitch, it’s a swing and a miss.

Look, if you stopped reading here, just remember this: The increment IS the way.

Now, if you’re anything like me, your social feeds are currently full of internet gurus offering shortcuts and hacks to “x10 your business”, unlock massive progress, or close more leads than you can possibly handle.

And let’s face it, I’ve made myself an easy target.

That’s right, I’m deep into the hot mess that is starting my own enterprise. I’m clicking through, downloading the lead magnet, and making sure that the barrier to entry for my inbox is worryingly low.

One of the key things we’re looking at today is the fact that those shortcuts, frameworks, and productivity strategies do work, but they are also illusionary because they require the right conditions and a baseline of previous experience to leverage their potential.

Real traction requires leveraging incremental learnings.

In most cases, what’s being offered is a mountain of experience that’s been distilled into a process that you can purchase and leverage. But real traction still requires you to bring the right incremental learnings to the table.

Russell Brunson, for example, is a huge advocate for funnel hacking—clicking on people’s ads to learn from the journey they’ve created for their customers. He’s even built a business empire around the idea and offers free training on how to launch your first funnel. Ultimately, the training is a sales pitch (which they are refreshingly transparent about), but there is plenty of value up front.

One of the quick wins the training will help you execute is a landing page that uses content and copy to motivate users into completing an action; buying something, booking a call, etc. Click Funnels do their best to simplify the process, but you still need to build the muscle memory that the creative side of the process requires.

The simplest funnel might look like the one below. For this example, let’s say you're just trying to build an email list and you’ve created a PDF one-pager as a lead magnet:

This is as simple as it gets, and there is A LOT going on. There’s no way around the fact that you need to be good enough at a lot of things; content, design, awareness of social best practices, hosting providers, a carefully designed PDF, an email provider, etc. The ‘hack’ can give you the format, but you’ll still need to apply time and patience to leverage results.

The structure is only part of the puzzle; the success of the execution relies on your ability to test, learn, and try again.

Brunson himself acknowledges that your first funnel will likely feel like a flop. And even though the process is simple enough at first glance, it asks you to bring plenty to the table in advance. People who can apply the process quickly and powerfully are those who can apply a myriad of incremental learnings forged from earlier experiences.

Some people get to grips with these things with sickening ease. Consider what they’ve done in the past. Have they launched an earlier business idea? Are they coming in from a marketing background? Are they practised in social media? Are they already running a personal website or blog? If yes, they are coming with a toolkit of ready-made increments that they can reapply in this new context.

Let’s zoom out for a moment and consider a macro example like the Apollo 11 moon landing. Think about Armstrong stepping off the ladder for the very first time. The world witnessed a moment of massive progress, which changed everyone’s relationship with the possible, but it was the result of decades of research and millions of incremental learnings. Indeed, today SpaceX are reimagining how these learnings can be applied in new ways, unlocking a new business model for space flight.

Zooming back in, it’s not quite as grand, but the same rules apply for any shortcut or business hack; they are solutions that have been found and forged by others who have done the hard yards. And here’s the thing: they work. But being able to execute is contingent on two factors: a) you having some skill in the background expertise those shortcuts rely on, and b) your ability to commit.

Mastery is born from increments and immersion.

The painful part is how these hacks and shortcuts can make you feel. The impact can feel diminishing because they reveal a bunch of stuff you don’t know, making you consciously incompetent. But this realisation is dramatically important because it helps you discover where to look and who to learn from. And that’s what can be great about the guru crowd because the processes they present reveal the categories and areas of skill that you need to grow in. However, the answer might not be to buy their offer immediately.

For example, I could buy Russell Brunson’s ClickFunnels 2.0 down the line, but first I’ll lean into learning areas, start experimenting, and circle back later when I feel I can maximise and understand the investment. Of course, there’s plenty of sales pressure to take the shortcut NOW, but for me at least, that would feel like going off-road before I’ve learned to drive.

You can also see how conscious incompetence is leveraged by the myriad of micro-learning apps available for smartphones. Indeed, most of their ads are designed to reveal something you don't know, or to show you a puzzle you can't solve; the frustration or desire that creates drives you into the first part of their sales process. Again, they work if you can commit, and they do a great job of responding to conscious incompetence and taking you through a journey of bite-sized chunks to conscious competence. Mastery, however, or unconscious competence, is reserved for immersion. Think about language apps: the only way to master a language is to engage in free-flowing dialogue with native speakers.

We can leverage the above framework above (The Four Stages of Competence) to triage the hacks and shortcuts coming our way and asses whether the 'hack' or framework is worth the distraction. You may find that you are consciously competent in lots of the skills the framework requires of you, in which case the decision to move ahead might be straightforward. If not, take note of what's being proposed and what feels new; isolate parts of the process that you can explore, research, and experiment with, so you can build a base level of understanding. Like the learning apps, turn the journey into bite-sized chunks.

At this stage, you may only be adding to the list of things you don't know yet, but at the very least, you're revealing what you need to know for any new shortcut to be effective. And that might be enough to allow you to move forward with confidence.

It’s important to ask whether the ‘hack’ is worth the distraction.

‘Here’s the easy way to do ‘x’’ can often leave us feeling disempowered and discouraged. Without experience, muscle memory, conscious awareness of what we don’t know, or the micro-learnings to call on, it just won’t translate into action at first. And it certainly won’t feel like a shortcut to massive progress as our wheels spin and we wrestle with what we don’t yet understand.

You don’t know what you don’t know, and you might need to spend some time forging the required experience for yourself before you can leverage a shortcut, find a foothold, and achieve some progress.

And here’s the hard truth about incremental learning: it’s often not very clear when they will align to unlock massive progress. It’s common to feel frustrated that time has been wasted on learnings, jobs, or projects that don’t immediately feel useful.

But rest assured, nothing is wasted.

Your brain is a subconscious powerhouse, able to knit your learnings and experiences together in new and surprising ways, often when you least expect it. Consider, the smell that recalls a memory, or the task you suddenly easy after you’ve taken a break. Your learnings and experience will align in new ways, and when they do, you’ll experience a rush of sudden acceleration—when something just clicks, you have the solution on a team call, or you have a killer creative idea ready to roll for the latest pitch. That breakthrough moment might feel like you’ve discovered a shortcut, but I assure you, it’s really the result of your sweat and investment over time.

Your experiences and learning will align in new and exciting ways.

Like me, you may be at a crossroads in your career. Perhaps you’re trying a few hacks that hold promise for you but you're not sure yet which ones are worth your attention, or perhaps you're starting something new and the range of tasks you've taken on feel disconnected, perhaps the forward path simply feels uncertain. If that resonates, hear me when I say that each of the experiences and incremental learnings you are currently investing time in has value and will benefit you in time.

For now, it might comfort you to remember that while you might be hungry for massive progress, you can give yourself permission to be in an incremental phase. Allow yourself to ignore some of the pitches and guru lead magnets. Firstly, you might not have the bandwidth to handle massive progress today, and you might need to build the right mental muscles first. Secondly, the path forward might not be clear yet because you're trying to skip the learning phase, which is foundational for maintaining any momentum. Clarity will come.

In reality, massive progress orbits incremental learning. You can't have the former without the latter, which brings us full circle. If you're hungry to make massive progress, remember this mantra and repeat it to yourself when frustration sets in: The increment IS the way.

And don’t just sweat the small stuff, celebrate it. After all, moon landings are made of the 1%, the marginal gain, the collective power of incremental learnings —and big things lie ahead for the patient.

For this FINAL episode (more on that below) of Culture Crush, I sat down with returning guest, Ashley Faus, the newly-minted author of “Human-Centered Marketing”. I was surprised to get any time with Ashley, who found some somewhere for me and the Culture Crush community whilst gearing up for the book launch!!

At heart, this is a conversation about resisting broadcast-style marketing and embracing vulnerability and real human connection (crucial in a post-Zoom-fatigue era).

And yes, this is tip-of-the-iceberg stuff.

We do manage to break down some of the things that make communities tick in today’s rapidly evolving digi-landscape, but if you want to go really deep, you’ll have to grab a copy of Ashley’s book!

Questions to Reflect On While Listening:

• Think of a brand you love - what helps you feel a sense of deeper connection?

• When have you felt truly seen by a group? What made the difference?

• Are connections being damaged by tech and efficiency?

So why is this the final edition of Culture Crush?

When Ashley and I sat down to record I had no idea that this would be the final episode, a very busy few weeks made that decision for me.

If you haven’t heard, my wife and I are expecting our first baby, so time has certainly been a factor. I also don’t want to sit at my desk up until the moment things change forever!

But it’s more than that.

Culture Crush has been a wonderful community to lead. Over 2,000 people have joined in the last year, and some of you have become great friends. I’m deeply and profoundly grateful.

Through that network of very real relationships I’ve slowly realised that Culture Crush isn’t aligned deeply enough with how I now feel called to serve others. So despite the numbers, it’s time for something new.

Of course, I have some ideas about what comes next, and I can’t wait to invite you to join me, but I’ll resist any details for now - it just simply isn’t ready to be shared.

Be well, I’ll be in touch,

Ashley, fresh off her book launch and gearing up to teach at Stanford, shares candid lessons from her own experiences, from resisting broadcast-style marketing to embracing vulnerability and real human connection (even in a post-Zoom-fatigue era).

Grab your copy of Ashley's book here.

Questions to reflect on while listening:

1️⃣ Think of a brand you love - what helps you feel a sense of deeper connection?

2️⃣ When have you felt truly seen by a group? What made the difference?

3️⃣ Are connections being damaged by tech and efficiency? 

Episode Highlights:

Community isn’t about YOU! Move from broadcast to real conversation.

Ashley shared the “social spectrum” of community, showing how the most impactful brands go beyond ‘amplify our message’ and start creating spaces where others talk to each other, and not just about the brand.

Small, deep connections matter more than big numbers.

Forget the pressure to “go big or go home.” Meaningful progress often starts with 10 purposeful relationships, not 10,000 faceless likes. Focus on value exchanges and helping each other out, even if it’s behind the scenes.

Be honest about your intention: don’t fake community for sales.

People can spot a pitch from a mile away. Ashley’s advice: if you’re here to sell, be transparent. If you want to build trust, think about what you can genuinely offer, (connections, knowledge, referrals, etc) not just a sales transaction.

Wondering whether to build your own group or join existing ones? We unpacked that too, plus why investing in self-sustaining communities (where members talk more than you do!) is the new competitive advantage.

Join the Crush?

Every episode is co-created by our community at Culture Crush LIVE, a series of free online gatherings where we connect, reflect, and meet incredible speakers. Sadly, the Crush is coming to an end, but there are exciting evolutions to come. See you soon.

Loved the episode?

Please like, subscribe and leave a rating. We want to do good and need your help.

Ps.

Culture Crush is brought to you by ⁠Anthem⁠. Visit us if you’re looking to build a thriving business, team, or culture based on connection, not control.

Chapters

00:00 Failed Book Attempt Shared

05:30 Embracing Connection on Stage

09:19 Connecting Meaningfully Amidst Zoom Fatigue

12:49 Balancing AI, Video, and Human Connection

13:57 "Trust Famine and Authentic Community"

18:35 "Brands Stuck in Conversation Phase"

22:49 "Joining Conversations: Brands & Creators"

26:35 Mutually Beneficial Networking Connections

30:11 Value Deep, Not Wide, Connections

31:31 Build or Join a Community?

36:42 Event Planning Challenges at Atlassian

40:16 Creating Authentic Group Experiences

44:08 "The Art of Genuine Curiosity"

46:44 "Networking: It Depends on Goals"

Ever feel like your to-do list is running your life but you’re not actually getting anywhere meaningful?

You’re not alone.

On the latest episode of Culture Crush, I sat down with leadership strategist and ‘high-performance whisperer’ Justin Hills from Courageous&Co to unpack why traditional goal setting might be quietly killing your confidence, and what you can do about it.

We explored Justin’s MAPS goal-setting system and why action often doesn’t mean progress. Spoiler: It’s not about crossing off more tasks, but about finding the right actions at the right time for the right reasons.

Questions to Reflect On While Listening:

•  Does the to-do list fill you with dread? Is it a vortex of unfulfilled aspirations?

• Do you have a clear vision of what you want your life to look like in six months? Where will you be? What will you look back on? What will you celebrate?

• Do you find yourself reacting and regretting or reflecting and responding?

Before I dash, it would be awesome to see you at the next Culture Crush LIVE, where you actually help co-curate these episodes.

Here’s what’s coming up:

• Empathy as a Collaboration Superpower (to actually get things done) with Richard Watkins

• The 5 Biggest Mistakes First-time Founders Make with Peter Sorgenfrei

You can register for both of those below.

Be well,

Ever feel like your to-do list is running your life but you're not actually getting anywhere meaningful? You're not alone. In this week's episode of Culture Crush, we sat down with leadership strategist and 'high-performance whisperer' Justin Hills to crack open a big question:

Is traditional goal setting slowly killing your confidence? And how can we finally break the cycle?

Questions to reflect on while listening:

1️⃣ Does the to-do list fill you with dread?

2️⃣ Do you have a clear 6-month vision?

3️⃣ Do you react & regret or reflect & respond?

Episode Highlights:

Why “Action = Progress” Is a Trap Are you stuck in motion, mistaking busyness for real progress? Justin reveals why we’re conditioned to jump to action (often busywork) instead of pausing to make the right moves, for the right reasons, at the right time. (Spoiler: Tackling just one high-impact action beats a dozen distractions every time.)

Introducing: The MAPS System Justin’s signature MAPS framework flips goal setting on its head:

➡️ Measure: Look back before you move forward. What are you proud of from the last 6 months?

➡️ Aspire: Define what success looks—and feels—like 6 months from now.

➡️ Prioritise: Get ruthless. What are the 1–3 focus areas that move the needle most?

➡️ Stack: Reverse engineer milestones all the way from your big vision down to today’s next step.

Fav Takeaways:

⭐️ “Right action, right time, right reason” over mindless task-ticking.

⭐️ We often procrastinate by “learning” instead of doing—sound familiar?

⭐️ Only 10% of people achieve their ambitious goals. Most simply shrink goals over time to avoid disappointment. Ouch.

⭐️ Reflecting on past wins radically boosts your self-confidence and motivation (try it!).

⭐️ Busy ≠ meaningful. Are your daily tasks actually tied to your dreams?

Join the Crush

Every episode is co-created by our community at Culture Crush LIVE, a series of free online gatherings where we connect, reflect, and meet incredible speakers. Join the next event: ⁠https://www.anthem.ooo/culturecrush⁠

Loved the episode?

Please like, subscribe and leave a rating. We want to do good and need your help.

Ps.

Culture Crush is brought to you by ⁠Anthem⁠. Visit us if you’re looking to build a thriving business, team, or culture based on connection, not control.

Chapters

00:00 "Reflective Mindset and Life Goals"

04:36 "Nonlinear Marketing Journey"

07:07 "Diverse Goals, Common Struggles"

13:12 Procrastination Through Endless Learning

14:23 "Risk Avoidance vs. Taking Action"

19:26 Burnout vs. Inspiration

21:20 MAPS Goal Setting Essentials

26:54 "Transformation Through Celebration"

28:15 "MAPS Goal Setting Insights"

34:22 Reflecting on Last Year's Vacation

35:57 Six-Month Reflection and Goal Assessment

41:27 "Embrace the Present Moment"

45:02 Defining Personal Satisfaction

48:28 Reverse Goal Stacking Strategy

49:34 "Steps to Long-Term Success"

55:19 "Simple Planning for Enjoyment"

57:54 Reflecting on Our Collaborative Journey

Are you feeling stuck in a rut?

This week on Culture Crush, we’re going from beige to brilliant with three mindset shifting questions to unlock your awesome!

And honestly, the questions in today’s episode are pure power if you want to ignite personal growth, dial up your self-awareness, and hit new levels of confidence. It’s not that they are groundbreaking, it’s that they are so practical and brutally simple: prompts that you can introduce to your daily routine to get some much needed perspective.

So, who’s responsible for this genius? Michelle Hartley. Michelle is a hilarious LinkedIn rabble-rouser, HR disruptor, and founder of People Sorted. If you’re not following her already, you really should.

Questions to Reflect On While Listening:

• Are you giving yourself enough credit? Who sets the crazy high standards you’re trying to reach?

• Are you getting in your own way and making things too complicated? How do you keep things simple?

• Do you find your goals liberating or are they a constant guilt trip?

If you’re joining us on Friday for Culture Crush LIVE with Brittni Bowering I can’t wait to see you. Yes, this event is fully SOLD OUT, but you’d be most welcome to join the wait list just in case or hold out for our podcast episode coming soon. Click here to subscribe in advance.

Here’s what’s up next on Culture Crush LIVE:

• Meet the Author: 3 Community Building Lessons from ‘Human-Centered Marketing’ with Ashley Faus

• Why and How to Unlearn Multitasking with Kate Sotsenko

You can register for both of those below and that’ll do for now!

Be well,

This week on Culture Crush, we're going from beige to brilliant with three mindset shifting questions to unlock your awesome! These question are power: they can ignite personal and professional growth, dial up your self-awareness and help you hit new levels of confidence... so lean in as we welcome LinkedIn rabble-rouser and HR disruptor, Michelle Hartley, to the show!

Check out Michelle’s work

Questions to Reflect On While Listening

These questions are designed to help you step into a reflective mindset as you listen. Consider them as you follow along.

• Are you giving yourself enough credit? Who sets the crazy high standards you’re trying to reach? Who told you that you needed to hit certain goals and milestones or post consistently? And where does that pressure come from?

• Are you getting in your own way and making things too complicated? How do you keep things simple?

• Do you find your goals liberating or are they a constant guilt trip?

Episode Highlights

• The Power of “How Do We Get to Yes?”: This question helps shift perspectives from resistance to solutions. It encourages creative problem-solving and a more positive approach to challenges, especially within teams and organisations. [14:30] Michelle shares how this question transformed her previous corporate role, breaking down resistance and fostering a more collaborative environment.

• Simplicity and Experimentation: Overcomplicating things is a common hurdle. The episode emphasises the importance of simplifying processes and embracing experimentation, encouraging listeners to ask “What does easy look like?” and to adopt an experimental mindset to overcome obstacles. Michelle shares how this simple question helped her overcome self-doubt and perfectionism. [21:24]

• The 1% Better Mindset: Instead of aiming for dramatic overnight changes, focus on small, incremental improvements. Ask, “What does 1% better feel like?” and identify those tiny actions that can create a ripple effect. The episode emphasises the power of small daily actions and celebrates the benefits of micro-goals and micro-praise in team settings. [31:29] Michelle shares how this approach helped her manage depression and fatigue, advocating for gentle, achievable steps toward well-being.

• LinkedIn Controversy and Authentic Self-Expression: Michelle shares a humorous anecdote about getting a video banned from LinkedIn. This sparked a conversation about the importance of authenticity and the potential risks of expressing unconventional opinions, reminding listeners that sometimes, expressing one’s true voice can lead to opportunities and stronger connections. [09:44]

Join the Crush

Every episode is co-created by our community at Culture Crush LIVE, a series of free online gatherings where we connect, reflect, and meet incredible speakers.

Join the next event: https://www.anthem.ooo/culturecrush

Loved the episode?

Please like, subscribe and leave a rating. We want to do good and need your help.

Ps.

Culture Crush is brought to you by Anthem. Visit us if you’re looking to build a thriving business, team, or culture based on connection, not control.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Culture Crush

00:16 Introducing Michelle Hartley

03:14 Reflective Questions: Giving Yourself Credit, Over complication, Liberating Goals

08:06 Michelle’s Work: Transforming HR Teams

09:44 LinkedIn Ban and Authentic Self-Expression

13:36 Three Big Questions: How to Get to Yes, What Does Easy Look Like, What Does 1% Better Feel Like?

14:30 How Do We Get to Yes?

21:24 What Does Easy Look Like?

31:29 What Does 1% Better Feel Like?

42:58 Where to Start Your Experimentation Journey

45:19 Episode Wrap-Up

Are you living with intention or letting life happen to you?

We can feel like we’re walking our own path, but often what we’ve been taught, the context we grew up in, and our career paths dictate our steps.

It’s why I asked Wilson Obeneme to Culture Crush, because he’s helping people grapple with the ideas of fulfilment and legacy. In today’s episode we’re discussing three practical ways to take control of your life, find a deeper sense of intention, and create a future focused on purpose and meaning-making.

Question to reflect on while listening:

• Do you keep doubting yourself? And why do you think that is?

• Do you find yourself chasing other people’s expectations of you?

• Are you looking to other people for a sense of validation?

If you joined How to Decolonize Your Mind and Stop Oppressing Yourself with Dr Virginia Lacayo this week, I’m sure you’ll agree that it was a profoundly moving LIVE and I can’t wait to share the podcast episode with you. Thank you Virginia.

Here’s what’s up next on Culture Crush LIVE:

• 3 Questions To Ask Yourself BEFORE You Present (so you can show up with confidence, not nerves) with Brittni Bowering

• Meet the Author: 3 Community Building Lessons from ‘Human-Centered Marketing’ with Ashley Faus

I’ve already raised the capacity for Brittni’s session, so you gotta be quick if you want to join this one! Check below for more info and to register.

Be well,

This week on Culture Crush, we explore three powerful strategies for designing a life filled with purpose, impact, and genuine fulfilment with Wilson Obeneme. Wilson is a coach who helps leaders unlock their potential and create a legacy that matters, and in this episode we focus on actionable steps you can take towards self-discovery, mindful living, and lasting personal growth.

Check out Wilson’s work

Questions to Reflect On While Listening

↳ Do you keep doubting yourself? And why do you think that might be? This links to Wilson’s discussion on identifying and leveraging your strengths to build confidence and overcome self-doubt (10:01).

↳ Do you find yourself chasing other people’s expectations of you? Reflect on this as Wilson explores the importance of aligning your actions with your core values and personal vision (17:07).

↳ Are you looking to other people for a sense of validation? Or are you able to find that from within? This ties back to the discussion on building a life based on intrinsic motivation and fulfilling your own definition of success (20:27).

Episode Highlights

↳ Living by Design, Not Default: Wilson introduces the concept of consciously designing your life rather than passively accepting societal expectations (06:33). He emphasises understanding your strengths and aligning them with what genuinely brings you fulfilment (9:35).

↳ Uncovering Your True Fulfilment: The episode explores the difference between happiness and fulfilment (8:51). Wilson encourages listeners to identify activities or states that naturally excite them and bring them into a “flow state” (9:56), where they feel truly engaged and fulfilled (10:01).

↳ How You Want to Be Remembered: Wilson emphasises the importance of identifying your core values and attributes (17:29). He suggests reflecting on what characteristics you want people to associate with you, even in your absence (18:58). The discussion includes considering the legacy you want to leave behind and the impact you want to have on others’ lives (22:26).

↳ Impact and Achievement Beyond Material Success: The conversation shifts towards defining achievement and impact not solely through monetary success, but also through the positive influence you have on others (29:31). Wilson underscores the significance of considering the ripple effect of your actions and striving to create positive change in the lives of others, even if on a smaller scale (31:03).

↳ The Importance of Authenticity: Both Dan and Wilson discuss the importance of being authentic in your pursuits. Authenticity helps you connect with the right people and build a business or career that truly aligns with your values and passions (36:49).

Join the CrushEvery episode is co-created by our community at Culture Crush LIVE, a series of free online gatherings where we connect, reflect, and meet incredible speakers. Join the next event: https://www.anthem.ooo/culturecrush

Loved the episode?Please like, subscribe and leave a rating. We want to do good and need your help.

Ps.Culture Crush is brought to you by Anthem. Visit us if you’re looking to build a thriving business, team, or culture based on connection, not control.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Culture Crush

06:33 Living by Design, Not Default

08:51 Uncovering Your True Fulfilment

17:07 How You Want to Be Remembered

29:31 Impact and Achievement Beyond Material Success

36:49 The Importance of Authenticity

Emotional intelligence is key to navigating the complexities of work and personal life, but there’s a secret ingredient often overlooked: resilience.

This week on Culture Crush, we’re diving into the power of resilience with returning guest Justin Bariso, an expert in Emotional Intelligence, Founder of EQ Applied LLC and Inc. Magazine columnist.

Justin reveals how crucial this element is for high-achievers seeking to build stronger relationships, make better decisions, and achieve greater success.

Question to reflect on while listening:

• What is the secret that you think makes people successful?

• What are the character traits that you’re really investing in?

• Do you find yourself reacting and regretting or reflecting and responding?

Before I go, I’m super-excited to invite you to the next edition of Culture Crush LIVE: How to Decolonize Your Mind and Stop Oppressing Yourself with Dr Virginia Lacayo.

Yes, we’re revisiting a theme for the first time ever. And if you joined us last time, you’ll know how profoundly moving this session was.

In short, we all do battle with social labels that fail to serve us, or the work we feel called to, labels that shape how we lead and behave. In this session we’ll work to expose and eject some of the labels that are holding us back so we can stride into the best version of ourselves.

Register your free place below, tell your friends, and see you there!

Be well,

Emotional intelligence is key to navigating the complexities of work and personal life, but there’s a secret ingredient often overlooked: resilience. This week on Culture Crush, we delve into the power of resilience with returning guest Justin Bariso, an expert in emotional intelligence. Justin reveals a crucial element for high-achievers seeking to build stronger relationships, make better decisions, and achieve greater success. Discover Justin's work.

Questions to Reflect On While Listening

• What is the secret that you think makes people successful? Connect this to Justin’s discussion of resilience as a key trait amongst successful leaders, such as Barbara Corcoran (15:13).

• What are the character traits that you’re really investing in? Reflect on this as Justin explains the importance of building inner resources and the practice of cognitive reframing (29:28).

• Do you find yourself reacting and regretting or reflecting and responding? This ties back to Justin’s explanation of resilience as not just bouncing back from setbacks, but also making conscious choices about your response (22:14).

Episode Highlights

The Four Core Elements of Emotional Intelligence & The Secret Fifth: Justin outlines the four core components of emotional intelligence—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management (08:53). He introduces resilience as the often-overlooked fifth element, crucial for navigating challenges and bouncing back from adversity (12:11).

Resilience: A Muscle to Be Built, Not Just a Trait: The conversation explores resilience not as an innate trait, but a skill that can be developed through targeted exercises (14:49). Justin shares Barbara Corcoran’s inspiring story of overcoming setbacks to illustrate this point (15:13).

Cultural Influences on Resilience: The discussion highlights the cultural differences in how resilience is perceived and cultivated, comparing the “tough and grit” approach of some Eastern European cultures with the more praise-focused approach prevalent in the United States (18:28).

Building Inner Resources and Cognitive Reframing: Justin introduces two key exercises for building resilience: “replay,” which involves reflecting on positive experiences, and the “milk carton rule,” which emphasises focusing on what you can control (30:40). The importance of journaling is highlighted as a way to reinforce these practices (32:37).

The Power of Cognitive Reframing: The episode explores using the question, “What advice would you give yourself?”, to gain a fresh perspective during difficult times. This exercise aids in detaching from immediate emotions, allowing for more logical decision-making (36:30).

Join the Crush

Every episode is co-created by our community at Culture Crush LIVE, a series of free online gatherings where we connect, reflect, and meet incredible speakers.Join the next event: https://www.anthem.ooo/culturecrush

Loved the episode?Please like, subscribe and leave a rating. We want to do good and need your help.

Ps.

Culture Crush is brought to you by Anthem: https://www.anthem.ooo. Visit us if you’re looking to build a thriving business, team, or culture based on connection, not control.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Culture Crush08:53 The Four Core Elements of Emotional Intelligence12:11 Introducing Resilience: The Secret Fifth Element14:49 Resilience: A Skill to Be Developed15:13 Barbara Corcoran’s Story: Overcoming Setbacks18:28 Cultural Influences on Resilience22:14 Reacting vs. Responding: Conscious Choices29:28 Building Inner Resources and Cognitive Reframing30:40 Practical Exercises for Building Resilience: Replay and the Milk Carton Rule36:30 Cognitive Reframing: Seeking External Perspective39:37 Neuroplasticity and Building Resilience