Why I'm Removing The Paywall From The Pocket Dojō

Hello, hi, how are you? Like many of you, I’m heading into the busiest part of the calendar year and am grateful to be able to engage in the work I love to do.

I’ve been thinking about why I run this Substack and what I’m trying to do in putting it together for people like you who are kind enough and willing to read many of the articles and podcast episodes.

They say the path becomes visible as you take the first step into the unknown. More steps mean more visibility. Seeing the direction of travel taken to date offers the opportunity to put a hand on the tiller and begin to steer the boat, make tweaks based on the course taken so far, trim the sails, and modify the direction of travel.

And so to the paywall.

I’ve decided to take it down. Not because the revenue isn’t incredibly helpful but because the original intention was to provoke new thinking and encourage people to put what they read into practice. The aim is to share ideas that, as far as possible, seek to ‘go left’ when everyone else goes ‘right’. It’s the only way we’ll make progress.

Much of what goes on in the business world is either a rehash of old, outdated ideas or clients are hemmed in by their current priorities and targets making some of the radical change needed either simply a pipedream or something to be avoided at all costs.

Putting together new thinking is hard work with hours of trawling around academic journals either looking beyond the ‘no sh*t Sherlock’ conclusions of much of what’s out there or wading through the molasses of academic word salads trying to understand the points being made.

Do I believe I should be paid for putting The Pocket Dojō together? Yes, absolutely. You believe in being paid for your work too, I’m pretty sure.

I write here to avoid being a slave to the ‘rithm and echo chamber that is LinkedIn. This means I write wherever my attention and intuition take me. Sometimes a post will come easily because my brain has connected several dots over a period of time by simmering away on the back of the stove.

More commonly, the posts take quite a bit of intellectual and emotional labour. Writing is a skill and whilst it’s tempting to rely on ChatGPT and its ilk sometimes, I’m learning to do the work. Hopefully, I’m getting better at it the more I practice.

Substack is a rich community of writers creating content that is authentic and, often, unfiltered by consensus or convention and, as a heretic, I love that. We’re not quite in the ‘I like what I say and say what I like’ territory here but there is a need to provide pattern interrupts to our current discourse and ways of working in the RTO and AI era.

Whilst I’d love to make Substack one of my primary revenue streams, the stats tell you that except for A-list authors and creators who have established a readership over the last 10 years, it’s a long game.

So, you can take out a subscription to support me if you feel inspired and I appreciate those of you who have already done this. Companies can take out a subscription too and reclaim it as a legitimate business expense.

The bottom line is that I want you to have access to the thinking contained in the posts regardless.

Over the coming weeks, you’ll begin to see a small course correct as the emphasis shifts more closely to the idea of leading from the inside out and the exercises and practices that you can pick up and use in your daily work.

The podcast will also shift its focus from the end of Series 2 to looking at leading from the inside out as my partner in mischief, Asha also shifts course and puts her energies behind deepening her focus, passion and involvement in projects and communities working on regeneration and regenerative practice.

We’ll be closing out the current run of the podcast by the end of November and then it will take an extended Christmas break whilst the various shifts are made.

This is an opportune time for these changes to begin now with the removal of the paywall.

If this changes how you feel as a paid subscriber I completely understand. You can switch to a free membership and have access to the same content you had as a paid subscriber. Free subscribers can also upgrade to a paid membership, which I would - of course - greatly appreciate.

Regardless, I’m so very appreciative of all those who have supported me to date and chosen to follow along and take time to comment where something has resonated.

Much love and gratitude.

Paul