We’d been in Florence less than a day when I started to notice it.
Not the city. Florence announces itself: the Duomo, the heat, the tourists, the noise, the sheer accumulated weight of five centuries of beauty pressing in on you from every direction. You can’t not notice Florence.
I’m talking about the apartment.
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I had a bad week last week. I’m not going to tell you why, the details don’t matter. What matters is that something went wrong: unexpectedly, unfairly, in a way I hadn’t seen coming. And it floored me more than it should have. More than it would have done a few years ago. That’s what I’ve been sitting with. Not the problem. My response to it.
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I came across an article about “soft living” recently and it got me thinking: how does this philosophy align with retirement goals?
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As we progressed through January several people asked about my New Year resolution. And I must confess I was deliberately cryptic – “it’s big and it’s going to take a while” was about all I’d share. The truth is, this isn’t a resolution in the traditional sense. It’s multi-year, it’s transformational and it has a specific end date and a comprehensive set of outcomes. It even now has a name: Project 64. Along with a name goes a fully formed V2MOM to keep me aligned and on track.
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Last week, I mentioned I was making just one New Year’s resolution for 2026. Making it was the easy part. The hard part is already happening: getting motivated when its -9c outside (welcome to my Monday). showing up in February when the excitement fades; doing the hard yards in April when life gets busy and in August when progress feels slow. I know these times are ahead. And that’s why most New Year’s Resolutions die. Not from lack of ambition, but from lack of accountability.
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Three months ago, I wrote about wrestling with hypothetical worries while dismantling my old working life. I was anxious about whether we’d have enough resources for a safe and fulfilling retirement.
Well, the office sold. Then we sold the family home too.
It’s taken months of sorting, selling, waiting and finally signing. There were moments when it felt like the transition would never end. But at last we have made it: both sales are complete, and the long process of closing out the old life is finally behind us.
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I ’ve just returned from a few days in Paris and while it was undeniably chaotic, architecturally stunning, and buzzing with energy, it also gave me unexpected space to think.
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The other Saturday morning I woke up feeling flat, de-energised, and if I’m honest… a little fed up.
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If your inbox is a constant source of stress, you’re not alone. Here’s how I tackled mine — and what I learned in the process.
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