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Monday 9am - 6pm Tuesday 9am - 6pm Wednesday 9am - 6pm Thursday 9am - 6pm Friday 9am - 6pm Saturday 9am - 6pm Sunday 9am - 6pm

A Different Drummer, 6 Russell Street, Katoomba (2026)

01/10/2025

This weekend we’re diving into tarot with two magical workshops! 🎟 Tickets via the link in bio, with a special price if you join both.

✨ Workshop 1: Tarot for Beginners
Spend the afternoon uncovering the secrets of the Major and Minor Arcana, practising readings with new friends, and learning to tune into your intuition. No experience needed, just curiosity and good vibes 💫

💘 Workshop 2: Exploring Love through Tarot
Journey through the Suit of Cups and the myth of Eros and Psyche to explore love, connection, and intimacy. Discover how tarot can help you move through blocks, open your heart, and invite more love into your life 🔮

You’ll leave with fresh insights, a stronger connection to your intuition, and new ways to embrace love and self-discovery 💕

18/09/2024

Feeling the pull for greater mystery? Consider one of our retreats studying tarot, astrology, numerology or sacred geometry.

25/01/2023

Our Rewilding Retreat helps you return to your authentic self, renew your spirit and relaunch you into the world.

This 2-day retreat focuses on helping you move towards living a simpler, more meaningful and integrated life.

Find out more on our website!

06/11/2020

A radical rethink of our relationship to money is needed if we are to readdress the imbalances behind climate change, poverty, unhappiness and so many other social issues.

Some years ago Ken Robinson made waves in the realm of education by arguing that we need to move away from the archaic manufacturing model of education to take an approach more like organic farming. Instead of squeezing people into narrow moulds and creating compliant consumers, Robinson suggested we cultivate the uniqueness of individuals and help them find a fit in a society where they can best offer their gifts.

Nipun Mehta was a software engineer who found himself climbing the corporate ladder along with everyone else.

Mythologist Joseph Campbell once said, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭.” Midlife crisis often stems from following the scripted path of success.

Nipun felt uneasy about his place in corporate life. Instead of chatting to a financial life coach, he spoke to monks and nuns who lived on very little money. He contrasted their happiness levels to his Silicon Valley counterparts with their big bank balances. He concluded that happiness is not proportional to how much money you accumulate.

At 25, he abandoned the ladder to nowhere and spent his time volunteering before creating the not for profit, Service Space. His journey has led him to the following philosophy about finances:

“𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗪𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳! 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵, 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲.”

Nipun argues we need to adopt a metaphorical shift in the way we view money, shifting from a manufacturing mindset to a gardening one. As he describes it:

𝗜𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝘆, “𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗡 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲.” 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁? 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. 𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝘆, “𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆.” 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲𝘀. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱. 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄. 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼.

Read more in the full blog:

https://adifferentdrummer.com.au/career-counselling/blog-career-counselling/the-wealth-retreat

15/06/2020

Are you one of the 80% who classify yourself as not feeling engaged by your work?
It could be worse. In China & Singapore, the figure is 97%.
It’s hard to find your passion when you’re stuck in what is known as a bu****it job.

When I worked as a bank teller my job was a mixture of tedium (endlessly counting cash) and anxiety over whether I would meet my daily sales quote by upselling credit cards and loans.

Henry David Thoreau captured the essence of these jobs when he said:

𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰.

Equally disengaging is a burnout role.

When I worked as a caseworker with the unemployed, economic rationalism saw my caseload grow over time. Instead of working intensively with someone to enact change, I was pushed to quickly go through the motions in order to tick off the next client.

So why do we submit to spending most of our lives doing things we get little enjoyment from?

Necessity. Whether we live simply or lavishly, most of us require a certain income.

The seduction of affluence has steadily led people to abandon meaningful work. The initial production of automobiles required expert craftsmen who had developed their skills over many years working with bicycles and carriages. Their work was challenging and demanded a great level of technical proficiency.

But then Henry Ford introduced automation to lower costs. Initially, workers resisted the numbing assembly line roles. Every time Henry Ford wanted to add 100 workers to his factory personnel, it was necessary to hire 963.
Wages had to be doubled to entice people to give up satisfying work to endure monotony.

Fast forward a century.

Jacob Fisker captured the legacy brought about by disconnecting people from their work when he said:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨, 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐓𝐕 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 — 𝐓𝐕 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 — 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬. 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞.

The 1% that counts

When we hear the term 1% we tend to think of the recent movement to rebalance the extreme wealth inequality that exists in most countries. While this is an important issue, it could be argued that rectifying the extreme job satisfaction gap is even more important, as wealth doesn’t have a huge correlation to our overall happiness.

If around 20% of people feel passionate about their work, then the proportion of these people who would do it for free is far smaller.

Professional MotoGP rider Chris Vermeulen once said that motorcycle racing was such a joy for him that if he won the lottery he would continue getting up each day to ride.

How many people do you know who would do the same?

Read the rest of the article to learn how transformative it is to find your passion and live an integrated life:

https://adifferentdrummer.com.au/career-counselling/career-retreat

03/06/2020

The big factor in career change over the last couple of decades has been having to accept that the days of a job for life are well and truly over.

As technology becomes ubiquitous and the pace of life quickens, we’re having to become more nimble and dynamic than ever before.

First, we had the GFC and now Covid.

External shockwaves like these can completely upend a person. Entire industries such as tourism, airlines, entertainment, restaurants and countless others have collapsed or contracted out of sight.

Radical change can hit personally, too. An injury or health complication, becoming a parent or having to care for parents… so many events can flip our career on its head.

Consider the situation of a woman I spoke to yesterday.

Pre Covid her mainstay career was working as a musician. Post Covid, her work completely dried up.

Each year she had some seasonal work where she took school photos part way into the school year. But with schools shutting down, so did that supplementary income.

Over the last few years, she also had sporadic work offering team building events.

Not this year.

The last piece of this woman’s portfolio career involves offering hypnotherapy, something she has recently become quite capable at. With her other work in hibernation, she has been channelling all her focus into this avenue. Before Covid it was very much a fringe part of her life. As she has poured energy into it, the work is coming in and proving to be highly satisfying.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discovered that the flow state occurs when our skills are being used and there is an element of challenge to what we’re doing.

As a musician, the lady I spoke with wasn’t finding flow as she was continually doing cover material that provided little challenge. When she began offering hypnotherapy she had to master a new skill and the flow state returned.

Few of us go out of our way to invite shockwaves of change into our lives. Afraid of having to leave our comfort zones we have a terrible tendency to stay in ruts.

New frontiers by definition are unsettling and daunting. But as Paulo Coelho pointed out, “𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥.”

Read the rest of this blog article & get your link to a brilliant short film about embracing career change during difficult times:

https://adifferentdrummer.com.au/career-change

16/05/2020

The dancer and musician Gabrielle Roth shared some potent wisdom when she said “𝗜𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀? 𝗘𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲?”

As industry slows, nature grows more vibrant.

And as our industriousness wanes, so can our soul-sickness dissipate.

This morning I connected with an online group where we each spoke about what has changed in our lives since Covid. Many people shared the same responses.

‘𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.’

‘𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.’

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴.’

People spoke of how clear the air was, how connected they felt and how peaceful life had become.

Collectively, we hoped that the gains we’ve made would stay once normality returned.

Beauty making was another theme. We were asked what creative work was rising within us and how we could help create a better world.

It reminded me of the glorious phrase Maggie Smith’s closed off with in “Good Bones”, a poem encouraging people not to be overwhelmed by the immensity of the issues we are facing:

“𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹.”

Having been bogged down doing things that don’t particularly speak to me, I’ve noticed a shift in the last couple of weeks as I’ve returned to doing life story writing.

Events in my past which seemed arbitrary took on a great deal of meaning as I looked at them with awakened eyes.

The combination of introspection and writing helps us to view life as a great adventure and privilege. It infuses soul back into our lives. And as the Philosopher, Heraclitus so sagely pointed out “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤, 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

A facilitator in this mornings group shared a most exquisite poem. It was written recently to capture the zeitgeist. You can read it in this blog post:

https://adifferentdrummer.com.au/about-life-story

26/11/2019

“Work that is rich in gratifying experience, work as self-fulfillment … in short, work as vocation, has become the privilege of the few, a distinctive mark of the elite, a way of life the rest may watch in awe, admire and contemplate at a distance but experience vicariously.”

Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman captured just how atypical it is to meet people who are aligned to their work and enlivened by it.

Unable to accept that work was something to be endured rather than relished, I spoke to hundreds of people about their engagement with their jobs & found that a rarified 1% of people managed to place themselves in roles where they could integrate their values, creativity, passion & a sense of contribution.

I came to view this minority as ‘Different Drummers’ who followed their own beat and walked the path of the hero’s journey. This lead me to write a book outlining what is required to walk the narrow path of individuation. My ebook takes a holistic & mythical approach to career direction and It also speaks about how doing so impacts every other aspect of one’s life.

While there are innumerable social challenges are being faced today, career misalignment may well be one of the most pressing considering just how much time and energy work consumes. Isn’t it time to develop a vision for more nobility in our careers, personally and collectively?

Read some of the foreword here:

https://adifferentdrummer.com.au/career-counselling

You can also read an excerpt from one of the chapters on the above website.

A Different Drummer

01/10/2025

18/09/2024

25/01/2023

06/11/2020

15/06/2020

03/06/2020

16/05/2020

26/11/2019

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