This morning we intended to do absolutely nothing. Tea and coffee in bed. Cooked breakfast. No big plans. Then we thought we’d just clear a few things away. It’s now lunchtime and I’ve repotted around 20 plants that have been sat staring at me for months. Matt has cleared more space, put up a mirror and a picture that have been leaning against the wall for years, and now we’re going to the tip with a pile of rubbish. That was not the plan. But we got into flow, and that’s OK too. Sometimes rest looks like doing nothing. Sometimes it looks like finally having the headspace to do the things that have been draining you every time you walk past them. We can still rest today. But now we’re resting with 20 plants sorted, walls looking better, and a bit more space around us. Today’s POWERUP: don’t force productivity, but don’t ignore it when the energy appears. Sometimes the thing you didn’t plan to do is exactly the thing that helps you feel better.

It’s never too late for a POWERUP. And this Friday afternoon I want you to think about one thing you could do that would make a difference to your life or business. Just one thing. Today we went to the gym in the afternoon. Unusual for us, but we’d had an early start and already missed two sessions this week. When we got to our post-gym swim, part of the pool was cordoned off for a swimming lesson. And I had the absolute joy of watching a woman, probably mid-thirties or older, having her first ever swimming lesson. She had never tried to swim before. Ever. Then there she was, holding a float, kicking her legs and making her way across the pool. The look on her face gave me goosebumps. Because she was doing it, not just thinking it was too late. So what about you? What do you want to do, learn or achieve that you keep putting off? Today’s POWERUP: it’s never too late to start. Pick one thing, however small, that gets you back in the pool.

Hard Doesn’t Always Mean Stop I’m in the middle of writing and editing The Fusion Paradox. And I’ll be honest, it’s hard going. Much harder than I thought it would be. It’s taking a lot of mental energy, and there have been moments where I’ve sat looking at it thinking, why is this so difficult? Matt said, “If it’s draining you this much, maybe we shouldn’t do it.” And I get why he said that, because he sees me at the end of a writing session absolutely exhausted and he worries about me. It would have been so easy to grab that and run (and it was tempting). Sometimes if something is draining you, the answer is to stop. But not always. Because I know this book is important. I know the work in it will help people understand why their business feels harder than it needs to. So I don’t think the answer is to give it up. I think the answer is to stop pretending I can do it in the way I first imagined. It needs smaller writing chunks. It needs scheduled time so I can be in a rhythm. I need less (self-imposed) pressure to get it done quickly. Some things are draining because they’re wrong. Some things are draining because they’re important and need a different pace. Today’s POWERUP: don’t assume hard means wrong. Sometimes it means the thing still needs doing, just not in the way you first planned.