Keystone Thoughts
Embracing change. Endings, new beginnings and living with uncertainty
Just start We talk a lot about the perils of procrastination and how important it is to begin wherever you are. Whether you're aiming for that first 5k run, filling out your tax return or starting a business, there's a lot of benefits sometimes in seizing the moment...
“You only lose what you cling to.”–Buddha
What I am taking with me from 2021 The only way I can remember what I have accomplished over the year is going back through my calendar. I cannot tell you how many times I said, "oh that was this year?", or "I forgot all about that!". If you have 30 minutes, use it to...
Six things I’ve learned about Leading Beyond Authority
At the end of November I packed my suitcase and set off for London from my home in Edinburgh to attend the 2021 Common Purpose American Express Leadership Academy. It sounds like the beginning of a journey but I felt I’d been travelling towards this point for a good...
Reflect & Celebrate
Lockdown actually taught me how to relax, reflect and better celebrate my work. To be more precise, my community taught me to trust in the good work done to date. They showed their support and love for the business in so many ways. It wasn't until then that I...
I’ve been reading Invisible Women and I’m furious.
I’ve recently been reading the book Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. It’s been on my radar for a while but I hadn’t got to it, partly because I expected it would make me furious. With the sorry state of the world now, I knew I didn’t have the emotional...
If You Read One Article About Friendships Read this One
Friendships Matter We just had our last zoom session with our current Keystone cohort. One of the participants was describing an incident where she was calm instead of being her usual stressed self in that kind of situation. As she reflected on how impressively well...
What the seasons can tell us about how to live.
I have mixed feelings about autumn. Traditionally, autumn and harvest season was for giving thanks for the fruit of our labours in summer. A time to reflect and recognise what we have achieved before moving into the fallow period of winter. But autumn can also be a...
Harvest Season
Beauty is the harvest of presence. "BEAUTY is the harvest of presence, the evanescent moment of seeing or hearing on the outside what already lives far inside us; the eyes, the ears or the imagination suddenly become a bridge between the here and the there, between...
Cultivate your power by listening to your inner voice
As a child, I’m sure much like you, I was encouraged to learn from my elders. Anyone more experienced and ergo wiser than me was to be listened to. At school, in my communities and at home I was trained to look up to figures of authority for guidance, to value wisdom...