Grow Your Network: Steve Willison Is A Default Stoic

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.

Find my Personal Archive on CultishCreative.com, watch me build a better Personal Network on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel, and follow me on social media (LinkedIn and X).

This approach has helped dozens of clients strengthen their networks and unlock new opportunities. You can:

• Steal these ideas directly

• Hire me to implement them with you

• Create your own combination that works for you

I can't promise you'll learn from me, but you'll definitely learn something with me. Let's go. Count it off: 1-2-3-4…

Do you know Steve Willison? The karate chopping HR exec who just so happens to write books about stoic philosophy in his spare time? The lifelong learner with a military background, a business mind, and a genuine passion for helping others – especially kids – to grow and develop?

If not, allow me to introduce you. Steve embodies something I value deeply: the stoic understanding that we can't control what happens, only how we react to it. His work teaching martial arts to children, leading HR initiatives, and his ability to pull wisdom from ancient philosophy into all sorts of aspects of modern life, showcases his unique ability to be, as I told him and Mark Newfield, both humane AND resourceful.

Our conversation is LIVE now on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel. Listen and you'll also get an extra revealing peek into how he thinks about everything from work-life integration to martial arts wisdom to lifelong learning.

In the meantime, I wanted to pull 3 key lessons from my time with Steve 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: Life Integration, Not Balance

Key Concept: Rather than fighting for a clear separation between work and life (which may be unrealistic for many), focus on creating a cohesive integration where all roles flow together as part of a meaningful whole.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: A work/office conversation you actually need to have is - who you expect to have work/life balance and who you expect to have work/life integration? I want my day job assistant (the legend, Lisa Kearns) to leave as much work-stress as possible in the workday. I want a boundary, if not a balance, between when she’s on and when she’s off. However, I accept my fate as a director at our company, that sometimes I have a far more limited version of that boundary. I need to do, as do my partners, and as Steve in his role suggests, work-life integration.

At work, we need to have these conversations. If you don’t, or worse - if you say one thing and then act another way, you will create a mess. There’s a healthy version of each, but you have to talk about it with your colleagues.

Work question for you: What artificial boundaries have you created that might actually be causing you more stress than they're preventing?

LIFE: Your Superpower Doesn't Look Like a Weakness

Key Concept: What society or others might label as a weakness or limitation often contains the seeds of your unique strengths and contributions. Your perceived "differences" can be your greatest gifts.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: I know my ADHD is my best friend and worst enemy. The same skill that kickstarts my curious heart into action, can, if I don’t keep tabs on it, take me off course. Badly. But, if I know curiosity is a signal of my capacity for focus in any great moment - you can’t stop me when I’m going. The stubbornly obsessed side-effect factor here, it’s a goldmine for every success I’ve ever had. I know it can make me frustrating to work with (and be around, periodically), but it also makes me fun to work with and - join for a podcast, if nothing else!

Life Question For You: What quality in yourself have you been trying to minimize or "fix" that might actually be the source of your greatest contribution?

LEGACY: I Shall Pass Through This World But Once

Key Concept: Life is a singular journey that deserves our full attention and engagement – curiosity is the fuel that keeps us growing and learning until the end.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: If we’re all going to die anyway, why defer your curiosity? Why not be weird? Why not let that freak flag… you get where I’m saying. I spent 10+ years with a corporate straightjacket on/noose tie around my neck, trying to sound like a company man. I copied the people around me who were “successful” by the corporations standards. I played by the books.

And I hated it. If you’re going to do it, you get one shot at this big game. Do it your way. Tell the kids. Tell the young people at work. And, to he olds who think their way is the only way, your job as a youngin is to figure out how to grow old. Bonus points if you’re a good old and not a curmudgeon.

Legacy question for you: What curiosity or interest have you been deferring that, if pursued now, might create ripples of impact long after you're gone?

BEFORE YOU GO: Be sure to…

• Connect with Steve Willison on LinkedIn (he's Steven Willison 1)

• Check out his book "Prospering" on Amazon, and

• Take a moment to reflect on all these ideas!

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.

Last thing: Don't forget to click reply/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.