Things I Mentally Bookmarked This Week

AI referrals, a $30K pay rise in the middle of nowhere, and questionable wedding songs

May 07, 2026

Rather than a long article focused on one thing, here's a quick download of what's been on my mind this week.

On finding your thing

If you've ever finished a project and immediately felt the pressure of what's next?, I hear you. What will the next book be about? What's a new offer I can bring to the market? I like to think I’ll just wait and miraculously wake up with the answer.

Recently I heard something that reframed this for me. During an episode of This American Life with Ira Glass, he shared

“If you’re going to make creative work, you have to find an idea to make the work about, and that is a job in itself. Finding what you want to do next is a job.

You have to make it a task, you have to set aside hours in the day, and you have to be a soldier. You have to fight for what you’re going to make.”

We all want that lightning bolt, the idea that hits us, the ‘instant clarity’. But Ira Glass, one of the most celebrated storytellers alive, is telling you: that’s not how it works.

Finding the idea to work on is the work.

You can watch his full speech here (it’s great).

On excuses

My IG feed is full of Jimmy Carr videos right now, and I loved this one where he finds a guy in the audience who is a stand-up comedian. But the twist is, this guy (@comedybrent27) has cerebral palsy and has never uttered a word in his life.

He uses voice notes to share his jokes. If that isn’t inspiration, I don’t know what is.

The number of times I’ve caught myself thinking, “Oh, I can’t do x because of y”... is something I need to stamp out of my life.

I mean, this guy can’t talk and he does STAND-UP COMEDY. Incredible.

On the best ‘office’ in the world?

Surrey County Cricket Club in London has started offering “Work From Oval”. They upgraded the wi-fi, desks, power points, at the stadium, all with a clear view of the cricket.

You can access this ‘co-working space’ for only £15 a day and have your laptop open, while watching the match. Their tagline is, “We won’t tell your boss.”

Hundreds of people have already taken them up on it. Read more here.

What's your version of 'Work From Oval'? How could you repackage something you already offer to fit into a different part of someone's day?

On why meetings are still broken in 2026

I find it fascinating that in 2026 meetings are still draining the life out of people. They’re too long, too bloated, too frequent, and too full of people who don’t need to be there.

I shared this Tim Ferriss quote in a leadership program recently, “A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”

I think this quote accurately captures the problems with meetings.

Good meeting habits, like starting on time when not everyone’s arrived, interrupting to keep things on track, excluding people who don’t need to be there - all require a moment of discomfort.

While these feel a little awkward/uncomfortable at the beginning, these are precisely the things you need to do to lead effectively.

On random recommendations

Tactful Pettiness podcast with Cody Rigsby (my fav Peloton instructor) and Andrew Chapelle - funny banter + keeps me current with pop culture .
Good Work (YouTube Channel), the host Dan Toomey is hilarious, here’s a recent story he covered on Silicon Valley’s new miracle drug.
Wispr Flow. It’s a voice transcription app - but the real magic is that it formats your emails and notes as you speak, rather than just lump it as one big piece of text. Super accurate. I use it for a lot of things now, capturing notes, sending emails, writing this…
Mulga Bills cafe. This is such a lovely spot to have an early morning coffee in Brisbane, it’s right near the Kangaroo Bridge. A great location for a halfway walk-and talk stop.

On the post that surprised me

My LinkedIn post about moving to Broome went a little viral this week.

I think it landed because it offered something different to the usual cost-of-living conversation.

Every media outlet is telling you to fuel up at off-peak hours and audit your subscriptions, I shared the best financial decision I ever made: which was moving somewhere remote, immediately getting a $30k pay rise, where the package paid for housing, electricity, gave me seven weeks of annual leave, and an annual travel allowance to fly anywhere in the world.

I had no idea jobs like that existed.

But they do because it’s genuinely hard to attract talent to remote places (oh, and the ironic thing? I felt more connected and involved in community life in an isolated town, than I do living in the city).

The insight here is - maybe the answer is for you (literally, or metaphorically) is to go somewhere no one else is willing to go.

Happy anniversary to us 🥂

Yesterday was our 10th wedding anniversary. Fun fact: Our wedding dance was to Percy Sledge’s When a Man Loves a Woman - wait, no. It was actually You Really Got a Hold on Me (sung live in Broome by Miss Behave and the School of Funk)

Which, if you read the lyrics, is objectively a questionable choice for a wedding song:

“I don’t like you, but I love you…”
“I want to leave you, don’t want to stay here…”

And yet, I love these lines:

“I can’t quit now / You really got a hold on me.”

I think that’s what marriage really is - where two people keep choosing each other through different versions of themselves. Plus, lyrics aside, it’s just a fantastic soulful song, super easy to slow dance to, and loooove the piano.

On AI referrals (I’m Copilot famous!)

I asked a prospect this week how she found me.

She said CoPilot AI recommended me, “Your work was presented as someone who is Australian based, understands organisational change, workplace culture and communication. Specifically, what interested me is that you were pitched as highly practical and interactive, with usable tools…”

I mean. I’ll take it (by the way, paid subscribers can find out how I created AI-friendly pages for my website here: The Exact Process I Use to Turn a Framework Into a GEO-Optimised Page).

It got me thinking about a trap many of us consultants and solopreneurs fall into: the content wheel. We post, we create, we show up - and we assume that’s what’s driving the business.

However, when I look at my actual data (AKA sales), my two biggest contracts this year came from people who aren’t even connected to me on LinkedIn. They found me through personal recommendations.

Yes, content matters. But it’s worth asking honestly - what’s actually moving the needle for you? This question came up a lot in last week’s marketing session - part of a three-part series I’ve been hosting this month on workshop design, marketing, and systems. I’ve genuinely loved it. Meeting everyone, answering questions, and realising: hey, I actually have learnt and tried a LOT over seven years.

Today I’m hosting the final session - seven years of solo business systems. Join us live and bring your questions (9am AEST), or grab all three recordings to listen back at your own pace.

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