Since I've been testing this experiment of taking 30 minutes a week with no technology, just sitting with a pen and paper writing down my stream of consciousness, I've seen a massive difference in my overall well-being. Try it yourself and see what happens.

We hear a lot about the importance of saying no and protecting your time, and I'm absolutely an advocate for that.However, there is an alternative view, which is equally as important, and that is The Power of Yes.

By saying yes, you're accepting new opportunities, new chances to make friendships, connections, business relationships, etc.If you watch my podcast, The Burning Desire, you'll know that I always use the Steve Jobs quote that "You can't connect dots going forwards, only backwards." This is absolutely true when you look at how you met people and how certain parts of your life turn out. You can often pinpoint it to a specific moment where you went to a certain coffee store, decided to travel to a certain country, said yes to a certain meeting, reached out to a new contact, etc.

As I was having a conversation with a friend of mine the other day, he mentioned something quite profound, which is that to always find an activity that you suck at is humbling. It allows you to develop and grow both personally and in the endeavour, and it's all-round good for the soul.

Having read The Almanack of Naval Ravikant (a book I highly recommend), one of the things that stuck out was when he says:

"If you can find something that, for you, is play and is to others like work, you will always succeed (paraphrasing) because you will put more hours in, more effort in because you want to."

This video is an excerpt from an interview I did with Michel Nydegger of Greubel Forsey (worth finding on YouTube) and I thought it was an important clip that I wanted to pull out and share.

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In this video, I break down how deeply concerning our conscious and subconscious habit of comparing ourselves to others on social media really is. It’s far more harmful than we realise.Years ago, when we stepped into the fantasy world of a James Bond movie, we didn't leave the cinema feeling insecure—thinking we weren't as good-looking as Pierce Brosnan, didn't drive a nice Aston Martin, didn't have as attractive a partner, didn't have as cool a job, or weren't vacationing in exotic destinations.We need to remember that Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms are just modern fantasy worlds, and they should be viewed as such.

In this episode, I talk about the fact that you cannot rely upon society's definitions of words and concepts.I particularly focus on the word success, as your definition may simply be being happy and healthy, and there's nothing wrong with that.Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.Whereas somebody else may need a Ferrari, a Rolex, and a large bank balance to consider themselves successful.There's nothing wrong with either definition or how you define something as opposed to somebody else—in fact, it’s a useful debate.It's just important to understand where your definition comes from, that you've properly thought it through, and that you're not just inheriting somebody else's lens.

When Mark Zuckerberg set up Facebook, his intention was to connect the world in a way we'd never experienced before. Whilst that is potentially true, you might see a TikTok, a reel, a YouTube video from someone somewhere far away from a distance perspective. Simultaneously the world has not ever seen a loneliness pandemic like we are seeing, and people in real life have become more disconnected than ever before. Events like WatchMarketplace's Annual Golf Day, the Manchester Luxury Partners dinner, sports such as Padel, hobbies, activities where people come together for something that's not just work-related are incredibly valuable.

They have the added benefit of creating real long-term connections that have substance and are not simply transactional, as unfortunately life has become. As always, guys, love to know your thoughts on this topic. Drop a comment below or reach out to me personally with your opinions.

We all know the mantra by now: go to the gym three or four days a week, do cardio, lift some weights. It's good for your posture, your overall well-being, and fitness, but how often do we do the same for our mental space? On a recent trip to Switzerland on "vacation", (which is something we should do more often in our own cities. You don't have to go on a plane to find a different space, a different way of being. You can simply get lost in a park or library or a restaurant or coffee store you've never been to), I gave myself a few hours overlooking the mountains with no technology, just to think with a pen and paper, and the results were quite astounding. Not only does this feel like the first time in a long time that I've done this, but also how refreshing it is to just pull away from all the notifications, the noise and distractions. Try it, I dare you. Turn the phone off. Turn the TV off. Go for a walk in the park and just think.

Burning Issues - #85

In this episode, I look back on 2025 and give my thoughts on having written and lived 3x goals for the last 1/3 of 2025.