From "You're done here" to "I'm just getting started"
It's not the plan, it's the momentum you create.
Read time: 3 mins
What do you do when you're thrown curveball after curveball?
You learn to hit them.
(Before we get into it, today I'm trying a new section "Escape the algorithm". You'll see it towards the end.)
I’ve been called into HR three times to hear the same news: "Your time here is over."
At first, it felt like failure. But those moments pushed me to adapt, innovate, and rethink how I work. They led me to diversify my skills, build new opportunities, and create something sustainable. Now, in 2025, I’m ready to channel the experience to take the next steps.
A wake up call
The first meeting came during the global pandemic. A lot of people lost their jobs, and I was no exception. I was engaged, and opportunities felt out of reach. It opened my eyes to the fragility of relying on a single source of income.
That’s when photography became more than a hobby. It became a lifeline. Each small business owner I worked with taught me something new:
How to find pain points.
How to build trust.
How to deliver results that mattered.
The experience gave me my first taste of entrepreneurship. By the time I found another job, one thing was clear: never rely on a single source of income again.
Building resilience and creating leverage
The second meeting was harder. Married, with a mortgage and a baby on the way, the stakes were much higher.
I knew I needed a system that allowed me to engage, share, and create opportunities - beyond a polished CV or maxed-out LinkedIn profile.
The Luck Razor - When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger luck surface area. It’s hard to get lucky watching TV at home—it’s easy to get lucky when you’re engaging and learning, physically or digitally.
Each edition of this newsletter became a way to shift momentum in my favour, increasing what I call my luck surface area. Opportunities I hadn’t planned for started to appear. One was an interim leadership role, giving me the chance to grow my skills and expand my network.
Each newsletter edition brings new lessons - not because everything was perfect, but because it started.
A turning point
The third meeting happened last month, and it felt different. It was expected (part of a temporary role) but it also marked the end of a five-year chapter of professional instability.
By then, everything had changed. Years of building systems, experimenting, and creating had prepared me. I walked out of that meeting with a sense of relief and gratitude.
The mindset had taken root: “Fck it, I’m gonna try anyway.”* No need for a perfect plan. No waiting for the right moment. Just action and the willingness to lean into the struggle.
Three HR meetings for me - made with Viggle.ai
The truth is: you don’t know what you don’t know. The only way to figure it out is to get in the arena and find out.
Looking ahead
As my reality changes, so does where I invest my energy, and the things I am learning about, and therefore sharing via this newsletter.
Here’s my focus:
Tech-life balance Technology should enhance life, not dominate it. I’ll research and share ways to live better in a tech-driven world, offline and online.
Content that teaches and connects More than ever we'll be loaded with trends and AI-generated content, and authenticity stands out. I will highlight examples that stand out from this noise.
Entrepreneurship Going down the self-employed route will be my biggest learning curve yet. This year promises wins and failures of all kinds. Just like I learn from my mentors who've already walked the path, I'll share mine.
Escape the algorithm
Here are a few gems I came across recently:
Article: What makes an album the greatest of all time? - The Pudding - masters at visual storytelling via web.
Podcast: Encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit - with Jodie Cook - The Futur with Chris Do.
Offline (if you're in the area): The Atlantida Picture Show shows our favorite movies from the past on the big screen. Cinema is a break. No scroll, no notifications. Just a story to enjoy.
Conclusion:
If you got this far, you're part of 73% of subscribers, so thank you.
There you have it. Business is open. In real life, it's a bit slow and back and forth (although I’ve been lucky to have great people handle my paperwork). In my head it played out like this, taking my papers to the admin office.
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