Tagged Motivation

16 September 2026

Why I stopped running solo

Cairn has joined AI New Zealand. Here's the part of the story that didn't fit the announcement: what it took to decide, and why a solo founder needs a crew.

31 October 2025

Every time you take a mis-step, you dull your blade. And a dull blade becomes increasingly hard to sharpen.

When I was twelve, a teacher shared a story I've never forgotten. At the time, I was likely misbehaving, perhaps for the second or third time. He pulled me aside and said: "Every time you take a mis-step, you dull your blade. And a dull blade becomes increasingly hard to sharpen."

13 October 2025

Sometimes expertise trumps enthusiasm.

What started as a "quick fix" became a several-hour project over months, multiple trips, and a small collection of unused plumbing parts. The lesson? Sometimes expertise trumps enthusiasm.

31 March 2025

Northburn 100 - 2025

Faces in the rocky landscape and voices in the scrub were the subtle and somewhat strangely welcome hallucinations that greeted me as I ran the last few kilometres toward the Northburn 100 mile race finish line.