Series 1 - episode 4 - Instinct
Eyes where we wanna go, let’s go there.
I’ve had a mad 6 weeks. Staring down the barrel of a cash flow squeeze is fun. Two businesses and two cashflows make for really leaning into the “trust me” part of “trust me, let’s go on an adventure”.
Work has kicked off. The odd bit between everyone knowing what they are doing, your calendar exploding into pieces, and the first invoices being sent out. It feels a bit like alchemy. I’m pretty sure we can turn this random collection of materials into gold. But, shieeet. Be nice to see some gold soon.
Robin Sloan’s New Avenues has been doing the rounds. It’s absolutely lush. I wrote to Anna early on about how the industry feels to me at the minute. I look at stuff and think, is this really it?
At times the last few years have felt like pushing through a crowd at a festival that is going to a bigger stage to see a well-established band, but I’m cutting through them to go to another stage with a band that makes me feel more alive.
I feel confident as this is how I felt in 2007. Waves come and rise over 15 years. UCD, in its current guise, got productised and commodified. That’s great. It’s got democratised and mainstreamed. Power to everyone’s elbow. Some days I want to revel in the classics. But mostly, I hate the feeling of nostalgia. Let’s push things forward. It’s what I’m good at. Remain endlessly curious, hopeful and confident.
But honestly, my mind is elsewhere. The Venn of work and life has been a circle for a long while. Probably unhealthily so. But again. That is where I’m at. Every time I go to take a shot, something random snaps at my ankles like an angry small dog. C’mon world. Can I just catch my breath and focus on one thing at a time?
I’m surrounded by good people who I love. When life yanks me in all directions, I can fall into their arms. When I’m slightly spun about and can’t get my bearings, I look at the people around me and simply go in the direction they point.
I will come up for air eventually, and having trusted the people around me, I know I will end up nearer where we want to go.
Look after each other. It’s nicer that way.
Peace
EF