The Next Phase of MWB

From scattered notes to career-defining stories

Hello – I hope this week has been great for you.

For those who have been long-time subscribers, you would have read from me a few times about two ideas: “Not Stopping” and “Victim of Exposure (VoE).”

I defined Not Stopping as the stage between when you start something and when you’ve built the habit of consistency that ensures delivery in any situation.

And for VoE, I defined it as the necessary awareness of your options, with the singular goal of helping you navigate uncertainty. This image captures it best: broaden your knowledge of options, narrow in on one to build core skills, and eventually apply those skills across a variety of paths.

These two ideas have shaped my career and personal life in a fundamental way. They’ve helped me navigate my own journey and also guide others in theirs. But where did they come from?

For VoE, it was the early days of my career. I was clueless about many things, so I went on LinkedIn and read countless profiles. From doing so, I discovered what options were available even though my educational background was Accounting.

For Not Stopping, it came from my many attempts (and failures) to keep this newsletter going. There’s always a reason to miss one week’s update, then a month, then many months. But as you can see, I always come back. I am never stopping. With the belief that one day I’ll get it right and make something of this publication. No doubt it has already added value to many of you—but I’ve always wanted more. And while I learned this lesson through the newsletter, it’s been useful in every area of my life: when you stop, you’re done; but if you keep trying, you might just arrive.

The thought of Not Stopping keeps me picking up MWB whenever I can. The thought of VoE has now influenced the next focus of this newsletter.

Whenever I share an update, I ask myself: How useful will this be? Who are the readers? What do they expect from MWB when they open it? Most of you didn’t subscribe because I asked you what you wanted—you subscribed because you were curious about what I had to say. Over the years, I’ve written on many different topics. Now is the time for focus, to converge, as the VoE image above suggests.

The Next Phase: Career Stories

Whenever I hit “send” on a newsletter, I ask: How useful will this be? Who are the readers? What do they expect when they open MWB? Most of you didn’t subscribe because I asked you what you wanted. You subscribed because you were curious about what I had to say. Over the years, I’ve written on many topics. Now it’s time to focus—to converge.

Here’s where MWB is heading: I’ll be sharing career stories. Not biographies, but highlights of defining decisions, choices, and outcomes—moments that reveal how careers actually unfold.

A preview:

1. Do you have a dream job you’re convinced will bring you fulfilment? What if you never get it? One man dreamed of working at The Wall Street Journal. He even went to Harvard Business School to make it happen. He never did. Yet his career was still rich with meaning.

2. How much are you willing to sacrifice for your long-term goal? Would you take an unglamorous job if it aligned with a 20-year vision? One person did—stayed the course despite immediate pressures—and eventually became a Fortune 500 CEO.

These stories are not about neat career ladders. They’re about uncertainty, trade-offs, and meaning—themes at the heart of MWB. In line with VoE, my hope is that knowing these stories helps you see more options, make better decisions, and navigate your own career with greater perspective.

What This Means

I’ll be moving from weekly to bi-weekly publishing. These stories take time to find, sometimes hidden in the most obscure places, and I want to make sure each one is truly useful to you.

If this new direction excites you, I’d love for you to share MWB with friends and communities who might benefit. And I’d love to hear from you too. It will encourage me to keep writing, keep searching, keep not stopping.

Thank you for being here. I’m excited for what comes next.