
Very Happy New Year!
In Australia, we’re deep in summer. Languid beach and pool days, BBQs with Aperol spritz in hand (because why not?), and spectacular sunsets.
I love this weird, wonderful time between Christmas and before work properly kicks in. It’s a perfect pause button when I switch off, stay away from my phone (ahem, mostly), and go with the flow.
Entrepreneur Justin Welsh nails this precious feeling, saying, “Modern luxury is the ability to think clearly, sleep deeply, move slowly, and live quietly in a world designed to prevent all four.”
This contrast between the calm we crave and the constant pull of our distracted lives drew me to Johann Hari’s book Stolen Focus. Hari examines why our attention feels so fractured and offers both alarming truths and a glimmer of hope. The best part? If you’ve ever berated yourself for not being able to focus (I’m guilty as charged!), it’s not entirely your fault. Hari reveals that the forces undermining our focus are systemic, making your ability to reclaim focus a personal win and an act of resistance.
So, as we step into this New Year, maybe the greatest gift you can give yourself is permission to slow down. To move at your own pace, to seek out moments of stillness. The space to think, to feel, and to be. That’s the luxury I wish for you this year. And for me, too!
Here’s to a 2025 filled with pockets of calm, connection, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.
Power Play
Great leaders are mega influencers, but could their tools of influence be out of date? To influence today, you need more than just the traditional approaches of yell and tell (coercion) and sell (persuasion). With this book, learn new and commercially savvy alternatives that will help you deliver outstanding results in the modern workplace. Influencing others isn’t magic – it’s a skill that you can make work for you.
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