Journal

Writing on transformation, mid-life, and the work of change.

Long-form writing across mental health, leadership and purpose, for the men's and women's expeditions alike, including pieces from Bill Williams and Toni Noble. Honest, occasionally uncomfortable, never wellness-jargon. More from Shereen and our coaches to follow.

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Essay · By Bill Williams · 7 min read

The Success Mountain and the Freedom Mountain.

You climbed the first mountain. You won. The question no one prepared you for is the one you found waiting at the top: is this it? Bill Williams, who leads The Second Summit, on the two mountains every successful man climbs, and the bridge between them.

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The difference between the Success Mountain and the Freedom Mountain is not the altitude. It's who climbs it.

Recent writing

From the journal.

Toni Noble · Reflection · 5 min

Leaving life behind: what happens when you finally unplug.

When was the last time you went seven days without being needed by anyone? On the first day of Kilimanjaro, and the space that opens when the world learns to carry on without you.

Toni Noble · The Clearing · 6 min

Finding Clarity on Kilimanjaro.

A 53-year-old mother of five, in the middle of menopause and a house full of hormones, on what the mountain quietly gave her: time, perspective, and herself.

Summit Your Mind · The Second Summit · 8 min

After the summit: the question winning never answers.

On purpose after achievement, the arrival fallacy, and the second mountain that becomes visible once the first is climbed.

Summit Your Mind · The Clearing · 8 min

The Clearing: on meeting the woman you set aside.

On the women who have carried everyone, the midlife reckoning, and the quiet work of going back for the self that got deferred.

Summit Your Mind · Women at work · 7 min

The menopause is not a private matter.

Around one in ten women leave a job because of menopause symptoms. On the cost of the silence, and the chapter that can begin once it breaks.

Summit Your Mind · Leadership · 7 min

The loneliest chair: why the people at the top have no one to tell.

Around half of chief executives report loneliness in the role. On the mask that becomes the face, and the one relationship that changes it.

Summit Your Mind · Re-entering work · 7 min

Coming back: returning to work on your own terms.

You stepped away for good reasons. Coming back should not require you to apologise for them. On the confidence gap, and return as reinvention.

Summit Your Mind · Midlife · 8 min

The man who is fine: on the quiet midlife unravelling.

He is not in crisis. But something has gone quiet that used to make noise. On the midlife dip, and why challenge and fellowship reach him.

Summit Your Mind · Equality & respect · 7 min

Taking up the room: on equality, respect and being heard.

On the long history of silencing women's voices, the daily arithmetic of being interrupted, and the authority of a woman who stops shrinking.

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