No shows. No regrets.


Ambition isn’t the enemy. Unclear ambition is.​

Read time: 4 mins

Hi Reader,

This past week was full of networking events, business openings, and social mixers. Not long ago, I'd have felt obliged to show up.

Not this time.

Not out of rebellion, tiredness, or indifference.

I just needed to set clear boundaries for myself.


From the experts

“...our culture glorifies burnout as a measure of success and self-worth… Burnout is not a badge of honour.”Greg McKeown

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”Seth Godin

“If you’re not saying ‘HELL YEAH!’ about something, say no.”Derek Sivers

“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants.”Henry David Thoreau

“No.” is a complete sentence.Anne Lamott


Four games

A simple idea from entrepreneur Jodie Cook has stuck with me. She says entrepreneurs typically play one of four "games", and each has its own motivations and ideal peer groups.

Lifestyle Game

  • Goal: Freedom of time, location, and financial stability.
  • Success: Living well on your terms.

Artist Game

  • Goal: Maximising time spent creating meaningful work.
  • Success: More hours in creative flow, fewer in admin.

Performance Game

  • Goal: Pushing personal limits, measuring success through growth and recognition.
  • Success: Consistently outperforming your past self.

Build to Sell Game

  • Goal: Building a company designed explicitly for a profitable exit.
  • Success: Achieving a smooth and lucrative sale.

Jodie suggests that understanding your own game makes life simpler.

I think knowing which game you’re playing protects your energy and your peace.

In my case...

When deciding whether to attend these events, I asked myself:

  • Who genuinely benefits from this event, and how?
  • Is attending a "vote" I'm comfortable casting?
  • Do I believe it contributes positively to someone beyond the organisers?

What became clear is that a version of "enough" is about supporting impact, not being tagged on social media to appear "connected" and play status games.

I'm realising my games sit somewhere between "lifestyle" and "artist" (although I hate that label). I value my quality time with the important people in my life, and I want to spend most of my working hours on creating value for my clients and readers, like you.

I care less than ever about rankings, follower counts, or low-stakes status games. (Admittedly, once upon a time - that was the case)

Even though last week's events promised many connections, I politely opted out. They all went ahead and it all looked like it all went well, so everyone's happy.


Escape the algorithm - A few things I’ve been exploring lately

Article: Why ambitious people need each other by David Perell. He's a good writer.

Podcast: Jodie Cook's Four Entrepreneurial Games Her summary of the four business games lives in my mind rent-free.

Major tool update: Midjourney video has officially launched. Those subscription fees are piling up...

AI Tool: Adobe Firefly is now available on mobile, on both iOS and Android. It includes access to Adobe's text-to-image, text-to-video, and image-to-video tools, as well as Generative Fill and Expand features found in Photoshop. Users can also choose from third-party AI models when using Firefly features, including Google's Imagen 3 and 4 models, Veo 2 and 3 video models, and OpenAI's image generator.

AI prompt: For a bit of fun. Works best if you have history on and it knows EVERYTHING about you.

If my life was a movie and people were watching up until the point, what would the audience be screaming at the screen telling me to do.

Mine said: "Go all in!" – You’ve tested enough. You’ve helped others build their visions. Now build yours.


If you got this far,

you're part of 71% of subscribers, so thank you, Reader.

If you’ve ever said yes to something out of status, guilt, or FOMO, you're not alone. I’m still learning where to draw the line, too.

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See you in two weeks.

Peace,

Has


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