The week I realized: Doing it MY WAY is my competitive advantage
putting my blinders on | going viral on LinkedIn | easing into Capetown
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From the looks of my calendar this week was uneventful. No big milestones, no dramatic adventures.
But in reality, this week was a big deal. Internally something shifted.
So let me set the scene for you…
Last Saturday, I took an 11-hour flight from London to Cape Town — from the northern edge of Europe to the southern tip of Africa.
Even though I only crossed one time zone, and remained in an English speaking country, everything else feels drastically different.
The season flipped from a cozy fall in the Northern hemisphere, to a vibrant spring in the South.
The landscape shifted from a landlocked city to one that is wedged between the mountains and the ocean. An ocean that feels low key aggressive with waves that make a statement as they powerfully crash against the shoreline at the edge of the continent.
Basically on Sunday morning, I woke up in an entirely different world- and I felt it.
Permission to travel my way
Even though I can travel 6,000 miles in a single day, it takes my body at least a week to truly arrive.
When I first land somewhere new (especially after a long haul flight), I need to take things slow.
I start with a small radius — the coffee shop on the corner, a walk to the nearest park — and slowly expand my explorations as I find my rhythm.
I used to judge myself for this (and still do to a degree). Telling myself I’m a “lazy traveler” wasting opportunities to experience a new place.
But I’ve realized it’s a crucial part of caring for my nervous system while I live nomadically.
For some reason, travel is an area that brings up all my “shoulds.”
I should be exploring more.
I should be spending more time outside of my apartment.
I should be doing more things.
But as I always tell my clients: shoulding is shaming.
So this week, I’ve been gently noticing the judgement and unhooking from the “shoulds”.
Letting myself be a homebody, honoring my nervous system, and moving at my own pace. The more permission I give myself to do what actually feels good, the freer I feel.
The reason Capetown and I get along so well..
My week consisted mostly of trying out new cafes to work from, walking along the promenade with moody views of the Atlantic Ocean, taking care of doctors appointments and errands, and accidentally making friends everywhere I go.
The South Africans are known for extreme friendliness. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Striking up a conversation with a complete stranger in a supermarket- isn’t just normal- it’s expected.
In fact, the word stranger doesn’t even feel like an appropriate concept in this country. Everywhere you go, there’s this energy of “we’re all in this together”.
On Monday, my waiter at the cafe saw me typing away in a word document and told me he’s always wanted to be a writer. I told him about Substack and wrote down the website for him.
My toxic trait is that I coach everyone I meet to follow their dreams. I’m planning to go back to the cafe this week to check in on his progress. Coach Chels is at it again.
On my Friday morning walk, I met an American girl while ordering coconut water from a pink food truck. She’s lived here on and off for seven years and gave me her number when she found out I was here solo.
And my favorite moment — meeting the lead singer of a rock band in Woolies.
We were both staring at the same rack of questionable clothing, and she just blurted out, “These clothes are so ugly.”
I burst out laughing, and ten minutes later, she was inviting me to her band’s next gig.
People always ask me how I make friends while traveling solo.
That question used to confuse me.
“How do you not make friends when you travel?” I would think to myself.
But I realized, a key reason that connection finds me effortlessly.
I believe that the world is a friendly place, and I walk around with an open heart. When I carry that energy, I’m basically a friend magnet.
And then when I come to a friendly culture like South Africa, my magnetism is amplified 10x.
Unexpected business wins this week
Business-wise, this week was remarkable.
A post went viral on LinkedIn.
I figured out how to channel that viral traffic into my email list — which is now growing fast.
I launched the paid tier on Substack and got a wave of new free and paid subscribers.
Substack ranked me #44 in “Rising in Business.”
Two clients signed on for a full year of coaching which generated $14,000 in sales in 48 hours.
I’m already at $9,000 cash for the month (and it’s only the 11th at the time of writing this)
But they aren’t so unexpected after all
In some ways, it feels like these epic wins just came out of nowhere.
But when I trace it back, I think it all started with one key decision: to pause Instagram and Facebook for the rest of the year and go all in on LinkedIn + Substack.
Initially, it felt painful to think about signing off Instagram for 90 days.
But the moment I committed, things clicked.
It was like the universe said, “Finally, you’re focused.”
And in a world with the attention span of a 30-second TikTok, focus is a powerful currency.
People are so easily distracted these days—trying to do all the things, chasing shiny objects, giving in to FOMO.
But do you know what that means?
It’s never been easier to win.
Because most people aren’t being intentional. They’re scattered, reactive, and stretched too thin.
Simply being willing to focus—to say a firm no to what doesn’t matter—instantly gives you an edge.
And that’s the whole ethos of essentialism.
Do less but better.
Because doing less doesn’t make me lazy — it makes me powerful.
There’s this deep peace that comes from accepting I can’t do all the things.
From focusing on what actually matters instead of chasing shiny objects.
From trusting that if I go all-in on a few aligned things, the universe showers me with blessings.
The Spiritually Ambitious Competitive Edge
Overall, this week reminded me that the spiritually ambitious approach to success really works.
Success doesn’t come from doing more — it comes from being more myself.
The more I embrace how I actually want to do things, the easier everything becomes.
How I want to travel: by seeing none of the sights my first week.
How I want to spend weekends: curled up on the couch in my pajamas, reading.
How I want to do business: by going all in on long-form content and LinkedIn.
Every time I choose my way, things flow.
Wholeness is the strategy.
Focus is the currency.
Alignment is the edge.
That’s how we win — as spiritually ambitious entrepreneurs.