Living With Loss
It is an inevitable part of our journey that we will encounter loss, confront loss, be overwhelmed by loss. Today, we start with self. As you read it will become clear why. / SELF Pauline Boss is an emeritus professor in…
Tag Personal Mastery
Better Humans Make Better Leaders
Good morning friends Earlier in the week, LinkedIn told me that Dr Sarah Mosoetsa, CEO of the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, had said this about last week’s letter Be Gentle and Ambitious. As you can imagine, my week was made. Additional…
Be Gentle And Ambitious
A few days ago, The New Yorker published this cartoon with the caption, “Remember when we thought the pandemic was only going to last a couple of weeks?” Last week Fortune Magazine published the results of a survey of the CEOs of…
The Wisdom Of Elders
Good morning friends The focus of today’s note, came to me via Chip Conley’s Wisdom @ Work, in which he recounts this proverb, “When an elder dies, it’s like a library has burned down.” I was reminded of it this…
Ways To Keep Moving Forward
Good morning good friends As we all know, this is a time of profound change. Plans that were conceptualised just 6 months ago have had to be discarded, and often nothing clear has, or perhaps even can, taken their place.…
Even In The Most Extreme Circumstances, We Resist Change
Good morning friends Today, I thought it worth reflecting on the dichotomy of change – that is both hard and necessary. This letter explores change and provides some inspiration. If a friend has shared this letter with you, you can…
Knowing Yourself
There’s a lot I want to share with you. I have recently finished Erin Meyer and Reed Hastings’ No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, and Wahbie Long’s Nation on The Couch: Inside South Africa’s Mind, both of which are…
Life lessons from a rock star
Wow! It’s September! September 2021! I remember Feb 2020 and then it got all blurry, but here we are, living life with all its pain, joy, loss, and love. Thank you for being here. Writing to you is one of…
The Story Behind The Story
I had started writing a different letter to you this week and then, as I watched this sunset from a friend’s porch in the Banhoek Valley, this letter started to write itself and so here we are, with a different letter to the…
The Spur Story: One of SA’s Most Successful Franchises
It is Cape Town Art Fair this weekend and so I thought I’d share some new art that I’ve been enjoying. Although, as you know, it is not like I need an excuse to share art. I loved this piece by young…
Lessons from John McPhee
A February 2019 podcast conversation between Tim Ferriss and Jim Collins introduced me to John McPhee. I’d never heard of the Pulitzer Prize winner McPhee who has written thirty-three books, all of them non-fiction (he prefers the label ‘factual writing’)…
A Strategy, Soul, & Self Toolbox
Hello friends Today’s letter is coming to you from Schuilhoek Cottage. Thank you to Defijn founder, Eckardt Kasselman, for introducing me to this place of quiet beauty. I am staying mostly offline, so will share some pictures with you next…