The Ask I've Been Avoiding Early this morning I received the final email with all the details. Costs. Permits. The full picture of what it takes to make this real. After a very serious and heavy dose of anxiety, I started moving. The same anxiety I felt the first time I got on the ice two years ago. All the negative thoughts came up. You can't do this. Who do you think you are? But eventually, you have to start moving. So I got the donation form up and running. Wrote this email. Because...
14 days ago • 4 min read
2026 Reader, I'm not going to tell you to crush your goals or optimize your life or become the best version of yourself. That's noise. Here's what I actually want for you... I hope you fuck up spectacularly this year. I hope you try something that scares you and it doesn't go the way you planned. I hope you take a swing at something hard and miss completely, because at least you swung. I hope you say yes to things that don't make sense on paper. I hope you have conversations that make you...
19 days ago • 2 min read
I hope your Christmas is quiet when you need it to be, loud when you want it to be, and full of the things that make it yours. May you find moments that matter, people who get you, and peace in between the chaos. If we connected this year - through coaching, expeditions, a conversation, or even just these newsletters - thank you. Those moments matter more than you know, and I'm grateful for every one of them. Take care of yourself. Rest if you need it. Be present for what's in front of you....
25 days ago • 1 min read
The Geography of Landing Hi Reader, Five months ago I wrote The Geography of Missing. Can't believe how fast this year has gone. I don't realize how fast I've been moving until I stop. The year's done. The flights are over. The last private guided trip I hosted wrapped in the lowveld after Amsterdam and Turkey with a client who made the work feel less like work. I'm home in Johannesburg now, and the calendar says I should feel relief. I do. Sort of. But there's this other thing sitting in my...
28 days ago • 5 min read
How Do You Create a Life You'll Look Forward to Looking Back On? Sunday afternoon. Just finished lunch. Braai. Now sitting with a glass of red wine and noise-canceling headphones. Music playing. The kind of afternoon where thoughts move without asking permission. I'm thinking about my trip coming up tomorrow. Amsterdam, Turkey, safari. With a client I'm looking forward to spending time with. The conversations we'll have. The laughs. The real moments that happen when you're away from...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The Timelines We Make Hi Reader, It's raining. Sunday afternoon. I'm working. Have three big weeks coming up. One week at home with more work and zooms than seems reasonable. Just tomorrow I have 9 zoom sessions. Then two weeks away on a private guided trip. Amsterdam, Turkey, Tengile. Looking forward to it. But before I get on that plane there's work to finish. Website updates. Training sessions. Planning. All of it stacked into the days I have left. Except none of it technically has to be...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Thoughts I'm Not Sure About Yet Hi Reader, So, I don't actually know what to write about this week. Which usually means I need to write about whatever's been sitting in my head taking up space. So here are some thoughts that have been floating around. Not connected. Not polished. Just things I keep noticing. Here we go... I saw this quote yesterday: "People can only meet you where they are - mentally and emotionally. Not where you want them to be." Hit different. Because I keep expecting...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Floor Week This morning I was supposed to hike 10km. Sat there looking at my shoes thinking about how much easier it would be to just sit on the couch and feel sorry for myself. Because that's the mood I was in. That's where I'd been all week. Went anyway. Did 11.5km. Don't know why I'm telling you that except it felt hard and I almost didn't. This week was a small tsunami. Not the dramatic kind. The kind that starts as nothing and then just keeps coming. Things that normally come easy were...
3 months ago • 3 min read
The Quiet Architecture of Anxiety Hi Reader, Been a crazy busy first week back from travels, loads on the go and still doing a lot of work on the backend of the website and newsletter as well as wrapping up details on a pretty amazing PVT trip I'm hosting at the end of November. So this week, let's get straight into it. Saw the following graphic online, really made me think and then I started writing: There's this thing that happens when anxiety becomes your baseline. You stop noticing the...
3 months ago • 10 min read