The Sunday Spotlight

A 3 minute read.

3 things. A lesson, a win and a thank you.

Let's see where this takes us....

A lesson. ??

What can five days spent in silence teach you about pitches and presentations?

I’ve spent the last week at an amazing retreat centre in the North York Moors (if you’d like the details drop me a message). In the stillness of a beautiful valley blanketed in snow I’ve had the chance to bask in the midday sunshine and peer at the glowing moon and the twinkling stars.?

It’s been brilliant to stop. To reflect. To be with my thoughts.

The programme is comprehensive. Seven hours of yoga, meditation and breath-work spread throughout the day from 6am until 9pm, with plenty of time in between for nourishing food, walks in nature and chilling out in the sauna, hot tub and cold plunge. All without saying a word.?

As you’d expect you learn a lot about yourself on your mat and on the meditation cushion. But the in between times are just as powerful. With no books to read, no websites to scroll, no journaling to do and no music to listen to, you find yourself turning inward.?

For me, one of the most important teachers of the last week has been the log fire in the centre’s communal living room. I’ve lost count of the hours I spent gently staring into the flames. But the hearth wasn’t always ablaze.?

In fact on Wednesday morning I found myself getting increasingly frustrated. I’d added some logs to the dying embers but all I could achieve was smoke.?

I tried some more kindling, chucked in some cardboard, poked, prodded, huffed, puffed and blew with all my might. But none of my boy scout training seemed to make any difference. The fire just spluttered and flickered but wouldn’t take hold.?

Feeling defeated, I finally gave up and curled under a blanket on the sofa. Twenty minutes passed and without warning something unexpected happened. All of a sudden the smoke turned to flame and the logs that I’d added nearly thirty minutes prior were engulfed in a roaring inferno.??

All the ingredients were there but the conditions weren’t quite right. It needed time to come to life. No amount of effort could force the outcome. Things had to take their natural course.?

We spend a lot of time pushing for results. Trying to make things happen faster. Feeling frustrated at our lack of progress.?

What would happen if we were more open to putting in the work to the absolute best of our abilities and then sitting back and trusting the process?

?It might just save us a lot of huffing and puffing. An interesting lesson.?

A win. ??

One of the things I enjoyed most about being at the retreat centre was handing over my phone on day one for safe keeping.

If you’re anything like me, that small rectangle of microchips and glass has a powerful draw. An ability to distract and take you down a rabbit hole of endless scrolling and flicking.

I know the benefits of digital detox. The research is quite clear. Reduced stress. More focus. Improved sleep. Better relationships. And yet the pull of the smartphone is strong. Being forced to surrender it at the door is in fact incredibly liberating.

When I was handed it back on Friday afternoon I was surprised at how I felt. I wasn’t excited about checking my messages, I didn’t care about what was in the news and my email inbox was of no interest at all. A device that can sometimes seem like the centre of the universe was in fact just a cold lump of plastic, metal and glass, a useful tool for sure but much less alluring than it once had been.

Since coming home it’s mainly sat in the fruit bowl! I wanted to keep it out of reach. My promise to myself is that I’ll maintain a level of distance and continue to embrace the powerful presence that comes with being phoneless.

I’m under no illusion that I’ve won the war against the smartphone but this first battle has been a definite win.

A thank you. ??

Those of you that follow the podcast will know that things have slowed down a bit recently. My work schedule has been hectic and we haven’t been able to fit in as many recordings as we would have liked.?

There are a couple of great guests coming up but in the meantime I’ve had an idea.?

I’ve decided I’d like to do some solo episodes. Some deep dives into the biggest challenges people are having when it comes to pitches, presentations and communicating at work.?

So I’m asking for your help. What would you like me to talk about? What topics would you like me to cover? If there’s something you would like my best thinking on reply to this email with your suggestions and I’ll put them into the production schedule. It will all be completely anonymous too, so feel free to share your biggest, juiciest problems. It will make things much more interesting and valuable to everyone listening.?

Thank you in advance for your help.

I hope this was useful in some way.

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Enjoy the week ahead. Talk next Sunday.

Dominic