April 25/Candle. Stefan. Stable.
She said she'd light a candle — as a thank-you this time, she specified, rather than a petition.
— from the desk, with coffee ☕I told my mother about the first client.
A long pause. 'Is it a real company?' Yes. 'And they pay you? With money?' Yes. A sound I can only describe as cautiously optimistic — the emotional equivalent of a half-smile, which is her highest register.
She then mentioned that Stefan has just been promoted at Allianz. Head of something. Pension contributions. I said I was very happy for Stefan. She said she'd light a candle — as a thank-you this time, she specified, rather than a petition.
I went to the office the next morning and looked at the Synergy Velocity spreadsheet and felt, for the first time, that the distance between where I am and where I'm going was a distance rather than a wall. Like standing on a map instead of inside one.
Marcus walked past and asked if I'd 'optimised anything interesting lately.' I said I was working on it. I wasn't lying.
The notebook
When I told my family I'd done it, they said Then they mentioned someone else.
Opening the notebook…