Stay on the Bus! A lesson in Clarity and Courage

I started off the year reading a fantastic book: 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman and formulating my thoughts and goals for the year ahead.  The book related a story about a Finnish-American photographer, Arno Minkkinen, who talked about the secret to career fulfilment at a graduation speech.

He used the analogy of the Helsinki bus station, where buses leave from many different platforms, and go to many different destinations.  Whilst all buses follow the same route initially, there comes a point, after 3 or 4 stops where they diverge off into different, unique directions. Minkkinen says that each bus stop represents a year of your career, and that maybe at stop three you find that your business idea has already been taken and so, out of fear, you decide to you need start again – returning to the main bus station.  However, had you found the courage to stay on the Fxxxing bus, you might well have found a brand new path and forged a new direction.

Being clear about our purpose and vision is what is needed in order to find the courage to move forwards and overcome any fears and doubt. Clarity and Courage are two of the Escentia’s 6 critical ingredients that enable us to lead and live with intention.

Six months down the road in 2022, Escentia has worked with many teams, from NY to Germany, Holland, the UK, Ireland and Finland – helping them to lead in life and work with greater intention.

At Escentia, we are clear about our purpose and we’re resolute in staying on the bus!

So if you have ventured on a new path and direction, consider staying on the bus for a while and BE CURIOUS of the many learnings along the way…and please, enjoy the ride.

Get in touch today to hear how we can help you or your team gain more clarity wherever you or your team are on your journey.

Personally, I am now taking a well-earned break to pause, rest, celebrate and think about me, life, work and my personal intentions to maximise every precious second ahead…… tick tock goes the clock.  See you in September.