Sometimes an idea pops into my head and I can’t wait to get going. Then the reality hits. The good kind of reality—the one that says “this is going to take time”—and the less welcome kind, the one that whispers “what if you give up?”
Giving up. That’s the bit I’ve wrestled with most.
I’ve been on Substack for what feels like ages. And while 2025 hasn’t exactly been prolific, something’s shifted. Lately, I’m writing more. Not just ticking boxes or journaling in my head, but actually writing.
A few weeks ago, I flirted with the idea of setting up a boutique consultancy for small business owners. The idea got traction. Then came the doubts. What if it works? Will I need a team? Do I even want that right now? Just as fast as the idea took root, I pulled it up.
Instead, I stayed put in the corporate world, and let writing be my off-ramp, a place where I’m most myself.
I have a novel ready to go, and I’m working on a prequel set during the Second World War. It’s reminded me that writing, though time-consuming, is liberating. I never really fell out of love with it, but I did forget how energising it can be.
Like many of you, I’ve got stories to tell. And lately, I’ve been thinking about the ones rooted in memory, like my time as a young boy, living in West Berlin in the late 1980s. Back then, the Cold War felt like a board game. Now, in light of what’s happening in Ukraine, it’s clear the stakes were, and still are, very real.
Writing gives me space to think, reflect, and roam. It’s how I make sense of the past and imagine new futures. After all, fiction creates curiosity.
If you’re a writer, a dreamer, or a small business owner looking for a different kind of support, Northbeam Collective is where my creative and strategic worlds meet. I’m building something thoughtful here, with room for ideas, stories and quiet ambition.
Come along for the journey.
Subscribe, say hello, or just stay curious.