Effortless Thursdays #50: Marking a half-century

Our Community. Our Vulnerability. Our Deep Inner Work.

The Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, England.

I feel like a cricketer today. I've reached a half-century! 

My father-in-law would be proud, but it wouldn't be for my batting skills (unless you're counting the time when - with much aplomb - I secured a duck in my first game of cricket at school).

I've published 50 editions of Effortless Thursdays every week since the first edition on 8 December 2022.

Rather than focus on what I usually write about, I wanted to take a moment today to pause and reflect.

It feels like an indulgence, but it's something I invite all my clients on my Effortless Leadership programme to do when they are rattling off all their recent achievements and successes, as if they're a game show host trying to ask as many questions before the timer runs out.

It's in these moments that space can emerge - before moving forward - to slow down, pause and acknowledge one's achievements.

Slowing down to reflect always unlocks more heart-felt energy, ideas and creativity.

Let's start with you!

Well, dear reader, you are one of 363 Effortless Thursday readers across the two platforms I'm publishing on - Substack and ConvertKit.

And you're a diverse group. Many of you are in North America, but some of you are tuning in from Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Hong Kong.

You're also an engaged group with over 50% of you opening my newsletter every week.

I'm not publishing to get hearts and likes. They're, of course, helpful for new readers to cross paths with my ideas (yes, the algorithms work in that way).

But what I've valued most - because they've nourished my heart and my creativity the most -  is the pictures you've sent to me, the messages you've taken time to write, the comments you've posted that accept, reject or challenge the ideas and the perspectives I've shared.

I might not respond to you immediately, but each of these is always a source of inspiration for me to look into my mind, body and heart to offer you, hopefully, some more wisdom so that you can lead your life in a way that feels effortless.

What my writing and your reading has given me

I've tried a few times to write a regular newsletter. It's been joyful starting. And then inevitably frustrating stopping.

It wasn't until I found a community of fellow writers in Write of Passage - many of whom are now good friends, too - that I found my catalyst to start this newsletter.

Since then, you have offered me three things that have carried me forward:

1. Our community

Writing Effortless Thursdays has literally brought you into my world.

It has opened up conversations with some of you that would never have happened.

We've had IRL meet ups from London to Lisbon.

We’ve had virtual meetings in many more locations - from living rooms, to beaches, to forests.

Thank you for your presence.

2. Leaning in to our vulnerability

I often think about how poor my English grammar was until I was 18. Growing up listening to, and speaking to varying levels of proficiency, Malay, Tamil, Hokkien, Cantonese and English scrambled my linguistic framework. After I applied to Cambridge University, my teachers sent in a letter accompanying my application to say that they had doubts about my ability to write critical essays in a coherent way. Not a great moment for someone applying to study law!

It's amusing now to think that I became a lawyer when so much emphasis is placed on a laser-like precision in using words. That included a potentially catastrophic, career-limiting moment when I was working on a transaction in Mongolia and almost scuppered a commercial deal because I had missed deleting the word "not" from a sentence.

The fear of not writing coherently has been replaced by the joy of being as creative as I can be with my words.

But another fear has emerged over these 50 editions. After pressing "Publish" I wonder - however precisely creative my words are - whether my thoughts will land with you, whether my words are useful, whether I'll get some likes, what comments you might be willing to share -

It happens EVERY SINGLE TIME.

But your inspiration helps me overcome that fear, and be vulnerable - every single time.

I think Brené Brown would be proud of me!

3. Our deep inner work

Many of the topics I write about are the very things that I'm working on myself. I have the same struggles, the same challenges, the same patterns of behaviour, thinking and feeling that I want to change.

This deep inner work is hard. 

It's like running up to do a pole vault with only a pogo stick to help you over.

Sometimes we can't see how we are thinking and what the cost is.

Sometimes we are blind to our unhelpful behaviours, seeing them only when we see a slight change in someone's facial expression.

Sometimes it's easier to turn away from feelings that are challenging or "negative", than it is to dive into them and explore with an openness the wisdom they can bring.

But like my writing, consistency with this deep inner work that we embark on reveals more of ourselves for us - and everyone around us - to experience.

Over to you!

Thank you for being part of this Effortless Thursdays community.

I would love to hear from you what Effortless Thursdays has given you - whether you're reading this for the first time, or you're sitting down again with a coffee (or glass of wine) to read the latest edition.

ps If you’re an entrepreneur, a lawyer or another high-flying professional  - who might be feeling lonely at the top - and want someone to help you connect your ideas in creative ways so you can build a healthy brain for a career that’s full of success and joy and feels effortless, get in touch and let’s have a conversation.

That’s it for this week!

As always, I appreciate your feedback on Effortless Thursdays. 

If Effortless Thursdays resonated with you, I'd be grateful if you told just one friend to subscribe. They and you can always unsubscribe using the link below.

What did you think of this week’s edition? How can I make it more useful to you? Let me know in the comments, by email, on Twitter or on LinkedIn.

To your health and success!

Eric