A little win I wanted to share with this group because I know so many of you have seen parts of the journey behind the scenes. Last night I won two Peterborough Top 100 Awards: Workplace Champion and Rising Star. I’m really proud of it, but more than anything it made me stop and reflect on how much has changed in a relatively short space of time. When I started Curiously Divergent, I had a big vision for what I wanted to build, but I definitely didn’t have every part of the plan figured out. The ambition has always been bigger than just running a consultancy. I want to build a neurodivergent support hub that brings together practical support for individuals and families, alongside work with employers, schools and community organisations. Over the last year, that idea has started to become something much more tangible. We’ve grown the team, secured new contracts, built new partnerships, expanded our services and started moving much closer towards that bigger vision. There have also been plenty of difficult moments, uncomfortable decisions and lessons I probably wouldn’t have chosen to learn in quite the way I did. That’s one of the reasons I really value being part of this group. Having access to Mike’s mentoring, and being surrounded by people who are building, growing, questioning things and sharing what they’ve learnt, has helped me think much more strategically about where I’m taking the business rather than just focusing on what needs doing today. I’m still very much in the building stage, and I know there is a lot more to learn, but winning Rising Star and Workplace Champion felt like a really lovely marker of the progress so far. So I wanted to share the win here and also say thank you. The advice, conversations, challenges and encouragement in this group genuinely do make a difference. Now back to building the next stage.

François had plenty of great ideas. The breakthrough was choosing one, focusing on it and getting the right strategic support… …helping turn a product idea into a life-changing exit. I love the variety of my work, from early-stage founders to multi-million-pound businesses, and even helping homeless people, charities and communities change lives. The same principles apply: a clear map, focus, accountability and support. Change takes work, but with those in place, it can be simpler than you think.

From Birth to death You've got about 4,000 weeks.... How many have you got left and How are you going to use them? I worked out how many I'd already spent. I wish I hadn't. That's the premise of this week's book review: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. It is an anti-productivity book, and it will annoy anyone who has built their life on output. Which is most of us. Three things in it that stopped me: There is no bottom to the inbox. Clear things faster and more arrives. Build capacity and demand fills it. The reward for keeping up is more to keep up with. That "one big push and I'll finally be on top of it" weekend you keep planning? It does not exist in nature. Everyone settles. The only question is whether you settled on purpose or by drift. Decide what you are deliberately going to fail at, and write it down. A priority you have not protected isn't one. Stay on the bus. Every bus out of Helsinki shares the same first few stops. Get off because your work looks derivative, start again on a different route, and you'll spend your life at the station. Mastery lives past the boring stops. Almost nothing compounds inside eighteen months. I retired at 46. Within what felt like a fortnight every one of those freed-up weeks had quietly refilled. In the review I'm honest about why, and about which years of my life were actually the worst ones. They were not the years I was sofa-surfing and delivering pizzas. Full review is in the classroom, all 14 lessons plus my take 👇 Then do the maths on your own weeks, and look at next week's diary and ask whether it deserves them. https://www.skool.com/theboard/classroom/84055912?md=2b53984e82c74472a92fd3a6592cd8f6