The spark* blog
Thoughtful insights for socially responsible entrepreneurs who give a ****! Honest conversations about impact, wellbeing and creating sustainable change.
You can’t stop caring
A long time ago I wrote a line for my website: I work with people who give a ****! What it leaves out is what caring that much costs. This is about the almost five years I kept half of myself in a box, why trying to care less tends to backfire, and what to do with the care instead - starting with not carrying it alone.
I don’t do giving up
In 2024 I wrote ‘I do NOT do GIVING UP!!’ in a LinkedIn post. In capitals. I still mean it - grit has built most of what I have. This is about the times it kept me stuck: a job I’d outgrown, an escape tunnel out of a toxic team, a business that gave me just enough hope for four years, and the four questions I now use to check where my grit is pointed.
The choice was never between pressure and vanilla
Are you using pressure to drive yourself forward - or to prove you're not going backwards? A client recently told me that stopping the push would be 'like giving myself a lobotomy.' I knew exactly what she meant. This piece explores what high achievers get wrong about pressure, ambition, and the fear of going vanilla.
There is always more to your story...
My grandmother sold her business in her early eighties. She was a socially responsible entrepreneur before the phrase had been invented - and the blueprint she handed me is one I'm still following today. This is the story behind Ellipsis Coaching - where it came from, why it exists, and why the work matters to me as much as it does to the people I do it with.
Keeping the fighters in the fight
After two decades working in London education, I learned something crucial: the people creating alternatives and fighting for change carry weight that others don't see. The BikeStormz documentary reminded me why I stepped away from frontline work - and what that taught me about keeping purpose-driven founders sustainable enough to keep fighting.
What are we casting our votes for?
What if we viewed our daily choices as "votes" for what matters most?
In this blog post, I share how a tech founder's approach to managing his time and energy can help purpose-driven entrepreneurs maintain motivation without burning out. Discover a simple framework for sustainable motivation.