🏡 July; home, holidays, and reading habits.

On ten years in Australia and coming home

Oh hi,

Well, after my book reading binge in Cyprus, I’ve spent the last few weeks seemingly unable to open a book. Which feels a bit ridiculous given I ended up with a 20 hour delay flying back to Melbourne, all of which was spent in Heathrow airport and all of which could have been better spent doing some reading 🫠. (Keep scrolling to see some of the things I *have* been reading this month though).

Even without the travel-mare that is a long delay, my trip wasn’t the most restorative experience, so I’m holding out a lot of hope for my next trip’s brain restoration powers; a five day hike in the NT next week.

This next trip into the Outback also feels very timely because today (at the time of writing this note, on 29 July) is my 10 year Aussiversary. A whole TEN YEARS since I stepped off a plane with a pommier accent than the one I have now, and started building a whole new life Down Under. It’s 100% the decision I’m most proud of in life, and am still excited by the reality of on an almost daily basis.

Last year, I made a couple of big life changes, and around that time also considered whether that was the time to pack everything up and move somewhere else. My first option was somewhere in Scandinavia, and I even started having some conversations with people to suss out some pathways and ideas.

But after a few weeks of looking at apartments in Copenhagen, the reality of leaving behind this life that I’ve so intentionally created, curated, and crafted, just felt incredibly sad.

Of course, at first my reaction was that this was me being weak-willed and scared of change. (Like some kind of normal person! How dreadful!)

But as I started talking to some of my very best people, I realised that maybe this just wasn’t the best time. Yes, I suddenly had a lot more freedom, but I also really wanted to be around my people. As a very wise, very dear friend said; maybe I can still do that move, but at a time where it feels like I’m going towards something, rather than running away from something.

Last Friday, I went along to the second Melbourne Olio, which was fittingly on the topic of Home and Nostalgia. There were a mixture of people who'd come and gone to/from Melbourne throughout their lives, but there was a real sense of intent in everyone’s choice to be here right now. We discussed what the meaning of ‘home’ is to us, the privilege of choice when it comes to where to live, along with some of the stories and feelings of our childhood homes.

Which all brings me back to my ten year Aussiversary. Which I celebrated on Saturday alongside 11 of the people who have made this last decade what it’s been. We ate, laughed (with each other and at each other), shared stories, and I told them all why I think they’re great. Most people only knew one or two of the other guests, so it was a beautiful melting pot of the different pockets of ‘life’ I’ve created here.

And to me, that’s what makes home; wherever you are, and wherever your people are.

To coming home,

Steph

PS. If you’re travelling this Winter/Summer, I highly recommend getting a travel eSim from airalo. I’ve been using them for over a year and it’s so much cheaper that the rort that is roaming charges, easier than trying to buy a local sim, and more convenient as you can run your usual home sim at the same time as your travel data sim (if you have a compatible phone). Get $3 off your first eSim here using code STEPH1595.

PPS. To borrow from Austin Kleon, this newsletter is 'free but not cheap'. You can support their ongoing creation and keep me in books by buying me a coffee as a 'thank you', recommending it to a friend, or using any affiliate links in the email.

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The it list 🔥

Some of the things I’ve been enjoying recently…

• Song - Weak in Your Light by Nation of Language: I’ve tried to hack my listening algorithm recently and my Spotify blend with my friend Olivia has been a very helpful tool for this. Thing song popped up on there just today, and I’ve listened to it about 6 times in the last couple of hours. I love that synth-y sound 🤤

• Podcast - Create Tomorrow; The Future of the Dinner Party: This recent WGSN podcast had my interest very much piqued, as I am a fan of throwing a good dinner party. They talk about some interesting themes and trends of how people are hosting right now (high/low, glimmer parties, weeknights), what they’re serving, and what’s the latest best thing to bring your host as a gift (cough cough). Spotify | Apple

• Treats - July Everyday Large Tote: I’ve been eyeing these totes up for a while. Given they now do a special edition in ‘merlot’, which pairs very nicely with my special edition red case collection, I decided this (and the fact I’ve got at least six trips coming up between now and the rest of the year) were the perfect excuses to treat myself.

• Album - Parachutes by Coldplay: After watching their mind-blowing Glastonbury set, I’ve been listening to a lot of Coldplay’s seminal (and IMO, still their absolute greatest) album.

📚 My Substack Stack 📚

When cracking opening a book (or my Kindle) feels a little too much effort, or I’m already on my phone and want to feel less stupid than scrolling, I turn to Substack.

Now, if you spend any time here, you might notice that Substack is a weirdly sycophantic and self-righteous place, so don’t worry, I’m not about to go down that road. But, I will say that one of my favourite ways to spend a weekend morning, is sat on the sofa with my iPad and an extra large mug of matcha, catching up on all my favourite Substacks from the week.

If you’re looking for some new inspo in your inbox, here’s some of my top picks. And if you have the means, maybe subscribe to these publications for a month or two (or more) to enjoy more of their content and to support the work of these writers.

1. After School by Casey Lewis

My go-to to keep up with weird trends, and what the young people are up to / thinking about. Casey’s insights are always interesting and often paired with her own experience working in youth media.

2. On Things by Madeleine Dore

I’m such a fan of Madeleine’s beautiful, honest, and interesting writing that’s all about the biggest of thoughts triggered by the smallest of things. She talks about creativity, the everyday experiences we have, and the weirdness of living life.

3. Excited Adults by Megan Flamer

My wonderful friend Megan has recently started writing again and she’s documenting her own experiments with her work, life, brain, and body in this delightful, and brilliantly titled, newsletter.

4. The Hyphen by Emma Gannon

This was an outstanding recommendation by the very Megan Flamer mentioned above. I’m a new but very convinced convert to Emma’s writing. She recently wrote this piece about ‘both/and’ thinking, and I felt it in all of the fibres of my being.

(Note: Megan kindly gifted me a month of Emma’s newsletter, and I loved it so much that I am carrying on paying myself).

5. Zine by Matt Klein

Matt is one of the cleverest folk that I follow. His work is always so thorough and so thoughtful, and pushes me to think a bit harder about the future and what’s actually colliding in the world of culture and change.

Bonus: Here’s a cool piece I came across recently on here (via [SIC] by Ben Dietz), but don’t subscribe to the publication:

Why It’s Time for America to Embrace the Lad by Jason Diamond

I’m not sure I agree that America (or anywhere else for that matter) should be fostering lad culture, but I did enjoy this well observed piece from Jason about the sub-culture of the British Lad.

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Some places I popped up recently 👋🏻

ATTN: SYDNEY FOLK - I’m MC’ing the $100MBA Show Podcast 10 Year celebration on 15 August (clearly all good things started in 2014). If you’re interested in creating, growing, and monetising a podcast of your own, come and learn from two of the absolute best. Tickets here

Smart Company - I wrote about why all CEOs should be futurists in my latest Smart Company piece.

App - The People Spot: Each month I pop up in the audio tracks of the People Spot app sharing a few interesting signals about the future. These audio clips are included in the free download (iPhone only) and you can use the code STEPHC for an additional two months free access to the full content library in the app.