THE DARING WORKS NEWSLETTERTrimTabs - small shifts, big possibilities.
A weekly dose of curiosity, perspective and the occasional provocation.
A trim tab is a small flap on the rudder of a ship. By moving this tiny piece, you can help turn the much larger rudder and ultimately change the direction of the entire vessel.
It's an idea I came across through the brilliant and unconventional thinker Buckminster Fuller, who saw it as a metaphor for how individuals can influence much bigger systems.
And I love the idea that small shifts in how we think, see and act can create ripples far beyond ourselves. That's the spirit behind TrimTabs.
Every Tuesday morning, I share something that's got me thinking. Sometimes it's about business, leadership or the systems we've created. Other times it's nature, burnout, community, technology or simply what it means to be human.
I draw on my experiences in the corporate world, my work as an Accredited Coach and strategist and my growing fascination with what the natural world can teach us.
It's a place to connect seemingly unrelated ideas, challenge a few assumptions and perhaps see something familiar in a different light.
Sometimes personal. Sometimes practical. Occasionally provocative.
And hopefully, every now and then, something that acts as a little trim tab in your own life.
Enough is a feeling, not a number.
I'm feeling so grateful for the magical evening we experienced on Friday with The Longer Table.
This was our second gathering and each time we navigate a shared theme with conversation, perspective and curiosity. This time nearly 30 people came and joined me and my co-conspirator Kate as we explored the concept of ‘Enough’.
It's an interesting concept and it relates to our idea of sufficiency. What's enough money? Do I have enough possessions? Do I really know what ‘enough’ means to me?
Who am I? I’m starting to find out.
I was away last week and for the first time I can remember, I decided that also meant a break from writing this. So here I am with a fortnight's worth of field notes to share.
The Friday before my break, we hosted our seventh workshop in The Natural Network wheel of the year. It's an adventure me and Kate at Four Acre Farm started back in September to build workshops that balance seasonal energy with practical insights for work, life and everything in between.
The power to choose.
It’s the 23rd of June and that means it’s been 2 days since the Summer Solstice. Did you celebrate it? Or maybe just witness it? It’s the longest day of the year and reminds us that summer is in abundant flow with nature in full bloom. Hopefully you can sense that energy in your life too!
It probably isn’t a surprise that I love witnessing the rhythms of the year. It’s a principle I use in my work and has opened up profound changes in my own relationship with the light and the dark.
These are now moments I consciously feel rather than just mark on a calendar. Something shifts in me at the solstices and equinoxes, a kind of internal weather change that I've learned to pay attention to.
I was stuck in the mud.
I’d like to start today where we ended last week.
I'd left you with a reflection: Where can you be daring this week? Or maybe willing to be naive? Or maybe even finding other people to nurture your courage together?
I've been wondering how that landed? It's been sitting with me too.
Looking back across my life, I can see how many moments have asked me to choose courage. And the shape of that courage has almost always been the same - going with the truth, even when it was painful or destabilising.
Daring to be naive.
I hope you enjoyed the re-introduction last week, It was a temporary meander to give some context and one that's hopefully laid a solid foundation for us to push on into new territory together.
This week builds on that energy. So as I’ve re-introduced myself, maybe I should provide some context to the philosophy behind my business name.
Please allow me to reintroduce myself.
I thought I'd start this week with a welcome to our new readers. I've been writing these newsletters for over a year now and you might have missed the backstory.
Firstly, thank you to all of you that have read, supported or attended something I’m part of. It genuinely means so much to me.
Anyway, back to the newsletter. I started without much of a plan. The odd email here and there, letting people know about things I was involved in. Then a few of you started telling me you liked the writing, which caught me off guard, because after a lifetime of fairly successfully silencing myself, it turned out I had more tosay than I'd ever given myself credit for.