Not the lesson I thought I'd take: Roll the Calls

It’s just clocked over to October. We’re in that strange week that fits my brain perfectly. The sun is up before 5.30, meaning the house is clean-ish, the dogs are walked and my garden has been watered by the time I swan into work at 8.30am. Now, it’ll all get a bit topsy turvy again in a few days time, when the clocks stir up controversy by jumping forward to once again darken our mornings, but that’s just one of the swings-and-roundabouts that comes with living in the southern hemisphere. For now, I’ll take it.

As the days stretch out and I find myself with the grace of sunlight at either end of the day, it feels like I can actually fit it all in. The list of to-do’s waiting: household chores, getting mini humans moving and organised for the day, the 9-5, groceries, farm jobs, dog walks and side hustle needle movers. The steps we’re constantly taking in the hope that there is some better version of ourselves further along the line. There are so many things to do, so much noise from the outside world, especially for those chasing the entrepreneur title, of which we have willingly put up our hand.

This last few months I have purposely spent less time on the apps, in an attempt to quieten the noise, but even the podcasts feel like a living, breathing LinkedIn status right now. Emma Grede who fills many of my lunch-break wanders outside with her Aspire podcast, just dropped an episode with Ari Emanuel (aka Ari Gold) and honestly it’s a tough listen.

As we wander into the last quarter of 2026, listening to these two throwing around phrases like ‘playbook for success’ and ‘constant learning mode’ has me feeling mid-funnel rather than motivated.

Why do you think you know that name? Because if you were around in the 2000’s you’ll remember the fast talking, take-no-shit ruthlessness of the Hollywood Agent responsible for wrangling Vinnie in Entourage, the HBO comedy series.

Rightfully so, the real Ari climbed from mailroom boy to basically the creme of the crop of actor-management so you know, he can carry the title of hustle-king and rightly so. But this whole chat was tiring.

The impressive accolades, the constant domination of life, the manipulation to drag others along. He once paid an employee $10,000 to run a marathon, not for anything other than he wanted them to lose weight. It all just feels so motivational conference/join the funnel kind of vibes.

Nothing about the relationships along the way. The funny anecdotes or crazy insights that people would relate to. Even just the stories about how you overcame the crazy world of building the empire… the drinks thrown in peoples faces, the crazy contract negotiations, the 3am mission to drag a drunken star out of a house party to be back on set by sun-up. That’s the tea we’re chasing in 2026.

Instead, it’s having discipline, hustle, grind, routine and hard work driven down your throat.

It feels so disconnected from the lives of so many business owners. Because we have lives. We must do the frivolous, unproductive activities… like oh I don’t know, eating, sleeping and breathing.

Don’t get me wrong, big fan of Emma Grede and the pinnacles she’s reaching, and she does acknowledge the privilege, the parts she doesn’t prioritise and the choices she makes every day that allow her to reach these business highs. SKIMS being the ultimate magical unicorn, but also Good American and a cache of other co-founded businesses.

And I will buy the books, Every time. Emma’s book has been flopping around in my handbag for weeks, all dog earred and marked up. I’ll buy the books every time, and no double will pick up Ari’s as well, already gracing the top of the biographies charts on my chosen app.

But I think, for those of us chasing a bit of backstory to our life, a bit of crazy antics, of ‘can’t believe that happened’ magic in our story telling, our lives have to involve more than just the grind. I want to be up at sunrise to see the ACTUAL sun rise and not just to meditate over a green glass of whatever is this weeks must have elixir. I want to sit with my kids and hear about their crazy antics for the day. To have people on our deck drinking wine and to not have it be a networking opportunity. To swim in the dam and not have it be exercise. To have a weekend off devices and not worry about the missed marketing opportunities come Monday.

It’s the silly little things that make up life for most of us. The uneventful dinners. The walk to the school bus. The afternoons where you potter about the garden (because we’re all 93 at heart) and have nothing to show for it at the end. Where you notice the butterflies, the new blooms on the apple tree’s that lost their foliage over winter. Where you notice the snake tracks in the dust and the change in where the sun sinks over the horizon. Life happens in the ordinary.

And businesses can be built between that.

Don’t forget to live a little between tasks, because effect of telling a good, silent laughter, tears rolling down your cheeks kind of story will outshine your sales statistics every time. I’m sure Turtle and Johnny Drama could back me on this one.

Ash x