I spent years being thanked for work I could do in my sleep.

Nobody forces you into that. They keep asking, you keep being good at it, and one day the thing you are known for is the only thing anyone will give you.

I came out the other side of that in my fifties. Uncertain of the next step, unclear how to position myself, unable to say what I was actually worth. Friends wanted to help. They were too kind, or too close.

So I worked it out from scratch. No title to hide behind and no network to fall back on. I had to find what I was actually selling before anyone would buy it. Then I started doing the same for other people, and this session is where that starts.

I write about this under Wild Leadership. There is a book next year. I live on a houseboat, which is a good place to think about work you are not inside.