01: What are you still chasing?
I’ve been thinking about something Alan Wick said during our recent Tea Mind conversation.
For much of his career, Alan was intensely driven by business and financial success. He told me that anything outside work used to feel like a distraction.
Then, talking about spending time with his five-month-old grandson, he said something quite simple. His priorities had flipped. Family was now the most important thing, and work came second.
What interested me was that this hadn’t happened overnight. Even after a serious stroke forced him to reconsider how he was living, it took years for that change to really take hold.
How often do we carry on pursuing things that were once important to us without stopping to question whether they still are?
Ambition isn’t necessarily the problem. Alan clearly still loves helping people build businesses and make things happen.
But perhaps it’s worth occasionally asking ourselves whether the things we’re giving most of our time and attention to still reflect what we want from life now.
I’m not sure that’s always an easy question to answer.
p.s. Your pause for tea this week is brought to you by Bollywood Dreams Chai - discover more teas here and listen to this week’s podcast to learn more and brew together.
© eteaket
02: The secret to being happy in 2026? It’s far, far simpler than you think …
Oliver Burkeman makes a persuasive case for spending more of our limited time doing things we genuinely enjoy, rather than constantly trying to improve ourselves. It made me think about Alan's early love of music and his rediscovery of what gives him pleasure now. Perhaps enjoyment deserves a more prominent place in how we make decisions.
Read Oliver Burkeman's Guardian Article
03: How the busiest people find joy
Achievement can be deeply satisfying, but it doesn't necessarily mean we're enjoying our lives. This Harvard Business Review article examines the place of joy alongside achievement and meaning, and why it can be overlooked by busy, ambitious people. A useful perspective on Alan's description of spending decades putting work first.
Read the Harvard Business Review Article
Thanks for pausing for tea with me today.
If this helped, I’d love a quick comment, a heart, or a share. It genuinely helps this post reach more people who need a calmer next step.
Erica x
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