I write a lot about change. It's going on all the time, for all of us, in ways that are hard for our little minds to comprehend.
So I share a lot of examples of the results that my clients see—to open up those same little minds to possibility—but of course change is going on for me all the time too. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in much bigger ones.
Two years ago, almost to the day, I sat on my bed in my pyjamas, with my iPad on my lap, and started feverishly queuing up the first Daily Reminders. (I don't think I moved for the best part of the day – the floodgates had opened!)
That was a big change, although I didn't know it at the time. But I was hugely excited that I was allowing myself to do this: properly writing! (I love writing 😍)
Then the creation of the website, six months ago—another big change—and with that one came the even more thrilling prospect of ‘writing for a living’.
Could that be where life was taking me? Was that my path? It certainly felt right, that's for sure.
As you'll have noticed, the ‘writing’ bit has worked out brilliantly.
The ‘for a living’ bit… erm, not so much.
😬
What I've discovered over this two years of experimentation, especially in an age of widespread economic contraction and AI uncertainty, is that daily-writing-plus-the-occasional-coaching-client on its own isn't a sustainable business model.
I'm a pragmatist and have had my ear to the ground for some time, for work that might supplement my practice, but honestly, I never found anything that was the right fit for me; something that felt like going with life (and everything it had taught me to that point), in a new direction.
Until now.
The news
On Monday, I start work as a Flying Start ‘Dads Advisor’ for Monmouthshire County Council, here in Abergavenny.
Flying Start is the Welsh Government's early years programme, supporting families with kids under four in communities who need it the most. My role will be focused on fathers – facilitating groups, providing some 1:1 support and helping dads to show up, present and resourceful, for their kids (and their partners).
I wanted this job from the moment I saw it advertised, and feel truly honoured that they picked me for the role (it's a lovely team, doing great things)!
It also feels ‘right’, against the criteria above. Starting the Daily Reminders two years ago and tuning into the immense power of good old fashioned, plain ordinary presence, to write about it on a daily basis has taught me loads, and I'm not sure I'd have been ready for the position until now.
(The Giles Ego Construct 📦 would love to make a big old story about it all—life's going to be quite different, from next week!—but I'm trying not to pay too much attention to that; just going with it, instead. This isn't my first rodeo, when it comes to career change.)
The changes
The position is not quite full time, I'll be a beginner again, and as I get fully stuck into the new role and find my feet, I'm planning on sending Daily Reminders out to you four times a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday.
For Premium 🔖 subscribers, everything continues as before: we'll still meet up once a month, there'll still be additional writing & audio content dropping into your inboxes and available on the website.
I shan't be running my 6 week RECONNECT programme this year, nor offering to work with organisations any more.
I shall be taking on fewer 1:1 clients and there's now a light touch application process, to ensure we're the right fit in advance – the details of which you can find here: https://www.gilespcroft.com/individuals/. (I've found generally, that when people know they're ready, they know they're ready and we just need to set a date to start!)
The future
There's something a bit poetic, a bit ‘full circle’ about a boy who was on his way to becoming a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, before getting sidetracked for 25 years in an accidental quest to find happiness and contentment, learning all sorts about innate health and resilience along the way, and eventually returning to support his fellow humans as a Dads Advisor.
It's a funny old game. I don't know how any of this stuff works—why life presents us with the challenges and the opportunities that it does—but it strikes me, still, that to navigate those changes successfully, all we need is three basic ingredients: to show up, be present and stay open to it all.
That's true for you, I'm sure it'll be true for the dads I'll be working with, and it turns out it's true for me too.
With so much love.
💝
Giles
p.s. See you tomorrow!