Be a little kinder today.To yourself.To someone else.Without announcing it. By Patrick M. Tarpey This morning, while out for my walk, I noticed a series of signs that have been popping up around town. I've seen them before — usually from the car, often around the ring road, half-noticed and quickly forgotten. But today I was on foot.I had time. So I stopped and looked properly. The messages are simple: You are doing great.Be who you want to be.Don't break yourself to fit in.E

By Patrick M. Tarpey | 30Jun 2026 There's a particular kind of bunch of flowers you buy when you care — just not quite enough. You know the ones. Plastic sleeve. Over-bright colours. Technically flowers — emotionally… debatable. They're not bought with bad intentions. They're bought with urgency. With a vague hope that effort will stand in for thought. And here's the uncomfortable bit: they rarely do. Not because flowers don't matter — they do. But because how you show up mat

Direction, Distance, Duration, Description, Destination. We get the map out, we read the ground, and we plan the route off it. That's it. That's the whole trick. By Patrick M. Tarpey When I teach young people to find their way around, I teach them the five D's. I don't mention the sixth. The sixth one scares them, and there's time enough for that later. The five are Direction, Distance, Duration, Description, Destination. We get the map out, we read the ground, and we plan th

Don't Let Your Business Become the Lake District Hotel By Patrick M. Tarpey | "Bad service makes good comedy. But it ruins businesses." — Patrick at Magnitude The Big Trip Our Liam and his girlfriend Sandy had flown all the way from New Zealand. When you come that far, you don't do it often, so you pack a lot in. The plan was simple enough: A few days in London A visit to Aberdeen to look up some of Sandy's relatives Meander south with a stop in the Lake District Finally, on

You Can't Vote for Success While Living Like a Spectator By Patrick M. Tarpey "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."— James Clear That might sting. It did for me, too. I didn't write this post from a mountaintop of perfection. I'm not immune to bad habits, distractions, or the allure of "just one more episode." In fact, writing the three series this post is based on, Mistakes That Kill Momentum, How to Achieve Mediocrity, and Habits That