This is a collection of my newsletter articles aimed to help professional create a flourishing, independent and high-value portfolio career. Topics include:
Let’s be honest, things feel heavy right now. The pressure to step out on your own and escape the corporate grind is palpable. Over the past few years, I’ve had countless conversations with professionals who want to transition into independent consulting and build a portfolio career. The questions are always the same: How do I…
The world feels incredibly heavy right now. From rising taxes to geopolitical tensions and an increasingly difficult mortgage market, the pressure is constant. Add in the lingering fear that AI is coming for our jobs, and it is entirely understandable why so many professionals are tempted to simply throw in the towel. I have spoken…
Let me repeat that again: Do you want the bag, or do you want to be that guy? In other words, do you want to make more money or do you simply want to be known? We love the idea of being known. It ignites the ego. We see people on social media who seem…
We spend an enormous amount of energy telling ourselves “beautiful lies.” These are the narratives we craft to justify why we aren’t yet doing the thing we truly want to do. We tell ourselves we aren’t ready, that we lack the “proper” credentials, or that we need one more certification before we can step into…
Let’s be honest: for many senior professionals moving into the consultancy space, the question of “what do I charge?” feels less like a strategic decision and more like a shot in the dark. You find yourself hovering over a proposal, wondering if a day rate is too high or if an hourly rate makes you…
There is a pervasive myth that keeps many talented professionals tethered to roles they have outgrown. It is the belief that to build a portfolio career or step into independent consulting, you must burn the boats and reinvent yourself entirely. We look at the independent space and feel we cannot get there because we don’t…
Introduction Most professionals I speak to start the year with a high level of motivation. Which really means they want a high level of results. Results in their career. Results in their bank account. Results that allow them to finally feel like they are “ready”. Yet the reality is that intentions are strong, but actions…
Introduction Most professionals I speak to want more money.Which really means they want more freedom. Freedom to choose how they work.Freedom to decide who they work with.Freedom to stop feeling like their life is being dictated by calendars, inboxes, or someone else’s priorities. Yet the reality is that many people want freedom, but very few…
Introduction There is a profound difference between arriving at a destination and merely thinking about the journey. I see it often, and if I’m honest, I have suffered from it myself. It is that comfortable purgatory where we convince ourselves we are making progress simply by contemplating the logistics. We ask ourselves, “What does it…
Introduction January has a way of doing this to us. The calendar turns. The inbox fills with “back to it” messages. And somewhere between the first Monday and the second coffee (or in my case tea), a familiar feeling creeps in: feeling stuck in a career I should be further along than this. I see…
Introduction There comes a moment, often quietly, when progress starts to feel heavier than it should. On paper, everything works. The systems are solid. The feedback is good. The outcomes are respectable. Yet underneath it all, something feels misaligned. This has played out countless times with senior professionals and consultants, and, if I’m honest, I…
The first week of January has a familiar energy. New notebooks. New goals. New routines.The quiet pressure to “come back strong”.To prove that this year will be different. And yet, most professionals start the year the same way:With a plan to do more. More output.More productivity.More intensity.More ambition. I’ve done that too. But over time,…