For years, I've been connecting with interesting people and documenting insights that might help my clients and myself. What was once private is now (mostly) public.

People often ask: "How do you know all these people?" and "How do you connect these (re: random) ideas?" The answer is simple: consistent relationship cultivation and thoughtful note taking. My north star is trusting my instincts, my maps are the constellations in these reflections.

This approach to multidisciplinary networking has helped dozens of clients, colleagues, and friends strengthen their networks and unlock new opportunities. Feel free to steal these ideas directly - that's what they're for! I can't promise you'll learn FROM me, but I guarantee you can learn something WITH me. Let's go. Count it off: 1-2-3-4!

Introducing... Chris Grimes!

Do you know Chris Grimes? He's an acclaimed actor, voice actor, comedy and improv specialist, executive coach, and communications trainer - all from Bristol, United Kingdom. But that doesn't even capture what makes him remarkable: Chris is the kind of person who sees stories everywhere, including in the most unexpected places.

If not, allow me to introduce you. Chris has built an impressive portfolio of creative and professional endeavors: he hosts The Good Listening Show, runs Second Curve UK (his training and development company), and produces Legacy: Life Reflections - a series dedicated to storytelling about the people who matter most.

I wanted to connect with him because he embodies something I value deeply: the ability to listen generously and extract the human truth from every conversation.

Our conversation is LIVE now on the Just Press Record YouTube channel (and this Cultish Creative Playlist). Listen and you'll hear two storytellers discover they're doing essentially the same work in different ways - helping people find their next curve and understand their own narrative.

THREE: That's The Magic Number of Lessons

In the meantime, I wanted to pull THREE KEY LESSONS from my time with Chris Grimes to share with you (and drop into my Personal Archive).

Read on and you'll find a quote with a lesson and a reflection you can Take to work with you, Bring home with you, and Leave behind with your legacy.

WORK: The Art Of Generous Listening Creates Connection (And Results)

Key Concept: Chris isn't interested in fixing people or forcing them down predetermined paths. His approach to coaching and communications is rooted in genuine listening - creating space for people to tell their own stories without judgment. He doesn't listen to insert his own narrative; he listens to illuminate theirs. This is the difference between a transaction and a transformation. When you listen generously, you give people permission to be themselves, and that's when real growth happens. In business, this matters because people don't change for strategies - they change for people who see them clearly.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: Chris Grimes had me on his podcast, The Good Listening To Show, at the behest of our super-connecting mutual, Julia Duthie. When I did my normal prep/what have I gotten myself into routine, I quickly found myself overwhelmed by Chris’ format for the show. There were just - so many steps and details and variables. But, Julia suggested meeting him, and she got through an episode of her own, so I settled myself down by trying to think up what else this reminded me of.

My brain eventually arrived on my friend, Brad Fisher. Because Brad, at his company - Scalable Leadership - also has a multi-point checklist that gets applied to businesses, and we’ve talked about his structure a lot. It looks daunting on the page, but in practice, it’s really effective. And, in practice, there’s a point he puts first, and as I listened to a few of Chris’ episodes, I figured out he was just doing his version of what I call “the Brad thing.”

When you prioritize attention and listening, a funny thing happens. The person across the literal or virtual table from you forgets about all the intimidating or scary bits. They forget about your multi-multi-point structure. They forget about the details they have to keep track of and the stresses of what they get down. The genius of people like Chris and Brad is that they both know this.

Everything I’m good at, from my professional advisor work to this whole podcast experiment, is rooted in listening, first. Yes, there’s a process on the backend, with all sorts of layers of complexity based on what we’re trying to accomplish. But the real value, and it’s scarcer than ever in this world today, of giving someone a good listening to, makes for a golden opportunity right now.

Work question for you: When was the last time you listened to someone without planning your response? What changed in the conversation when you actually heard them?

LIFE: Sometimes What You Do Next Has Been Right In Front Of You All Along

Key Concept: Chris recognized a pattern in Brad's work - storytelling with heart, helping people find their next curve - and pointed out that this wasn't a new skill or a pivot; it was simply the through-line of everything Brad had already been doing. This is a profound observation about second curves and intentional living. We often think our next move requires abandoning everything that came before, when really, mastery comes from recognizing the through-line. Your "next thing" usually isn't a departure - it's a deepening. The skills that made you successful in one domain are asking to be applied in a new context. That's not starting over; that's evolution.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: You can have your head down for so long, working as hard as you can on getting the basics right and the job done, that you start to assume the next big breakthrough will only show up as a revelation, complete with blaring trumpets, fireworks, and maybe a parade. But it usually doesn’t. Which simultaneously makes it harder to spot AND harder to not miss.

A behind the scenes fascination I have with Chris and Brad, and a key part of getting them together, is how they’re both trying to take a next step with their businesses, and in both cases it involves doing the simplest, most obvious thing they’ve already realized they’re good at with decades of proof: listening.

They’re not trying to scale up in any massive or unrealistic way. They’re both at a stage in life where working intentionally and not as round-the-clock has extra appeal. And with less time and energy to put in, getting the time and energy to still have maximum impact means they have to reduce what they do.

The idea of where to put the left foot down in front of the right one isn’t a million miles away. It’s literally right under where their feet are already hovering. Chris is working on becoming a broadcaster, of some modern form, now. He’s sharpening the way he describes the listening concept, with some extra products and ways to hire him at the margin, and - he’s actually doing it. No moonshots. No larger than life ideas. Just looking back to see where he’s been and letting that steer where he’s going.

Life Question For You: What thread runs through everything you've done? What if your next move isn't a pivot but a deepening?

LEGACY: Build Your Work On Stories With Heart And Soul

Key Concept: The most lasting impact comes when you help people tell their own stories without trying to rewrite them. Whether you're a coach, a parent, a leader, or a friend, the legacy you leave is built on one simple practice: listening more than directing, reflecting more than instructing. Chris's Legacy Life Reflections series is literally built on this - celebrating the stories of people who've shaped us, immortalizing them through narrative. That's the kind of legacy work that matters. It says: "I see you. Your story is valuable. It deserves to be remembered and shared."

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: Chris had the very touching experience of capturing stories from his own father. He spun this into a broader idea, where the main show is people of public interest in some way, but if you hear it and say, “I wish he could talk to this person from my life that, maybe nobody else really wants to hear talk, but I’d like Chris to give them his attention in the way he does” you can hire him for that.

Yes, it’s a business, but think about this for a moment. It’s really an experience. Imagine if Oprah offered this. Maybe she does. What would people pay for that? To have her spend dedicated time with a loved one, and see what comes out?

This isn’t a skill everyone has. This is a special skill that is practiced, honed, and to at least some degree, is inert to a person like Chris. While he has a product and a component of the series that matches, he also has a brilliant sense of attention sharing that will ultimately become how he is remembered.

It’s a service for hire, but it’s in service of a better world too. I’ll get behind somebody doing work like this every day. Beyooteeful.

Legacy question for you: What stories from the people closest to you are at risk of being forgotten? What would it look like to capture and celebrate them?

BEFORE YOU GO: Be sure to…

• Check out The Good Listening Show to experience Chris's podcast (my episode is here!)

• Visit Legacy: Life Reflections to see the beautiful work he's doing around storytelling and legacy

• Connect with Chris's training and development company, Second Curve UK

• Take a moment to reflect on the stories that matter in your own life!

You have a Personal Network and a Personal Archive just waiting for you to build them up stronger. Look at your work, look at your life, and look at your legacy - and then, start small in each category. Today it's one person and one reflection. Tomorrow? Who knows what connections you'll create.

Don't forget to click reply/click here and tell me who you're adding to your network and why! Plus, if you already have your own Personal Archive too, let me know, I'm creating a database.

Want more? Find my Personal Archive on CultishCreative.com, watch me build a better Personal Network on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel, and listen to Just Press Record on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and follow me on social media (LinkedIn and X) - now distributed by Panoptica.

You can also check out my work as Managing Director at Sunpointe, as a host on top investment YouTube channel Excess Returns, and as Senior Editor at Perscient.