People. After 25yrs, they really come into their own.

Since posting on LinkedIn my departure from Spotify, I have been enjoying some down time of sorts. What I have not been doing is staring at Google Hangouts for hours everyday. Instead I have been meeting with lots of different people, some I knew and some I did not and hearing about what they are up to, it feels like a rush of different inputs all of a sudden after a long period of having the same circle of contacts for a long while.

I have spoken to people in the fin tech space, dating app space, beauty, sales, sports and more, yes the completely switch off and relax thing did not exactly happen, but hearing about all these industries has been fascinating and exciting.

Taking a break from work has not been the big, wave crashing relief you might expect but more a gradual reduction in stress, it feels like that long summer holiday where the first week is a little better but your mind is still wired in, second week things start to really chill and if you get beyond that, then you are into forgetting password territory. I am in the area of relaxing, but still keeping the mind alert with the conversations and discussions, just not that consistent pressure we all have from a normal 9-5 job, especially in today’s climate.

Something else very exciting has happened in the last few weeks, I have reconnected with so many old friends and contacts which has been a breath of fresh air, something that we all aspire to doing but just never do, thank you to everyone who has been in touch for one reason of another. Whether it is to be a moderator of a panel, on a panel, fireside chat in another company, help and advice, these last few weeks have been rich with interaction and that has been amazing.

As per my previous post on Ikigai, I have had so much discussion about ‘what next’ and well, I realised that now is the time to go for it because, well, what else is there too do?! I have put more and more thought into the next role and as I have spoken to people and really analysed, I am more excited than ever to take what I have learned over the last 25 years and put it into practice. 

I also have realised how many people right now are not working, I joked about launching a podcast for highly talented operators who were not currently working, pretty sure it hit a nerve and there are many out there who don’t want a rest or a break, they want to work. Great to see businesses coming for this talent pool, putting it to good work. Stefan Bardega with www.traktion.ai as well as Kate Merritt and team with www.libertyhive.com and there are others. Its inspiring to meet people all those out there scrapping away, building things, innovating and in some cases just starting their independent journey. It’s pretty wonderful to see.

So fully expecting a quiet lull to come soon after the wave of contacts, hopefully will stay in touch with many and excited for the leads and next steps. Even in this shitty period there is opportunity everywhere. Just got to make it happen.