Morning Musely

Career wise, there’s a bit happening behind-the-scenes. Will save the detail for another post but let’s just say there’s some clearer paths that feel safe, and some cloudier paths that feel exciting.

At some point I’ll have to put one foot in front of the other and choose a path.

A fork in the road.

Then I’ve got to step up in my role at home as my eldest embarks on his first exams and my daughter needs help to overcome some school-based challenges.

This one is an easier decision (of course I’ll do what I need to do!) but it doesn’t come without an offset of time that needs to be spent on other things.

See above about health and career.

To be clear - I’m not asking you ‘should I play golf or help my kids?’. That’s a no-brainer.

But the forks in the road are appearing in front of me at a more regular basis than has happened over the past decade.

It’s all part of the journey, isn’t it? That’s what you reassure yourself with.

Just not sure I’m used to it all happening at once.

A confluence of timing.

The next decade is nearly upon me.

The forks are appearing.

Guess I’d better get a plate.

Parenting, in three words

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 10 May 2026 20:01:33 GMT

Mother’s Day can be fraught.

For most of us we probably had/have a loving mother who gave us everything she could and we needed to enter the adult world.

Others have problematic relationships with their Mum that surface later in life. (If you’ve never read anything about ‘The Mother Wound’ or ‘Ghosts in the Nursery’, it’s worth exploring).

I’m currently watching the excellent HBO Series ‘Rooster’ starring Steve Carrell.

From the makers of Ted Lasso, ‘Rooster’ follows Carrell playing a doting/interfering Dad trying to help his daughter who is having major relationship issues (no spoilers).

The daughter is a Professor at a liberal Arts College in Vermont and Carrell’s character takes up a guest lecturer position to hang around her for a semester.

One scene in the most recent episode cut me straight to the core.

His daughter is moaning to a student about Carrell interfering in her life so much.

The student (whose own Dad is absent in his life) has a retort that is profound.

“Hey, at least he gives a shit”.

I sat on that for a while and realised there was no other parenting advice anyone ever needs.

The idea is simple. Give a shit about your kids life.

When they aren’t communicating with you as regularly, find ways to give a shit.

When they say they don’t need your help, find ways to give a shit.

When they piss you off and you feel angry, find ways to give a shit.

When they push you away, find ways to give a shit.

Your job as a parent isn’t to say, ‘hey I tried’. It’s to keep giving a shit no matter what. Until the end.

It’s one thing they’ll definitely reflect on after you’re gone.

Did Mum or Dad give a shit about me?

You want that answer to be yes.

Finding purpose in an age of emptiness

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 03 May 2026 20:01:10 GMT

What’s that you say?

A book that helps me find the meaning in my life?

Sure! Serve it up Chef.

This one got my attention based on the Author’s bio alone.

Arthur Brooks teaches happiness and leadership at Harvard.

He helps people cultivate meaning, depth, and value in their lives, telling The Telegraph that it’s “outside of what the world has rewarded them for - to find intrinsic satisfaction… where it was all extrinsic previously”.

His new book: ‘The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness’ talks about a simple way to start the exploration.

Take a long walk.

Arthur says “it requires you to take a long, physical journey while contemplating something that’s troubling you.”

He adds that research suggests “the mundane physicality of the experience actually open’s up one’s right hemisphere - the side of the brain responsible for love, mystery, meaning - in ways you can’t do in, say, your living room.”

So I hit the footpath and begin my own journey towards meaning.

I’m certainly guilty of looking for extrinsic reward. That experience started early for me.

To ease away the pain of what was a somewhat turbulent childhood, my maternal Grandmother would pick us up on a Friday after she finished work and whisked us to whichever Fast Food restaurant we wanted. If I wanted KFC and one sister wanted McDonald’s and the other sister fish and chips - then all three stops she would make.

I’m not saying it’s a good strategy, but I certainly was conditioned on the value of extrinsic reward. As such, I really can’t do deprivation at all. I’d spend my last dollar making myself and others happy.

For me it’s not money wasted, it’s money lived. It doesn’t buy happiness but it let’s you borrow it for a while.

Now as I approach a milestone birthday (and for other reasons I’ll share with you another time) my mind is turning more on how to gain intrinsic satisfaction. Being grateful for what I already have and being present for who I’m with.

The walking helps the thinking, and the thinking helps the walking.

This week I wonder if you’d join me? Taking the exploration seriously and reporting back your thinking via the comments or a message.

Why walk?

Arthur Brooks’ advice in one sentence…

“Walk and be found’.

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are…

How to enjoy the week ahead

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 23:58:06 GMT

Have you heard of the ‘Sunday Sads’? Otherwise known as Sunday night stress or Sunday night anxiety.

Whatever you call it, it’s a feeling of overwhelm about the week ahead.

I can honestly say I don’t r…

Creating core memories

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:01:19 GMT

On the weekend I took my teenage kids to a music festival.

This isn’t a lame attempt at seeking cool Dad aura. But hey, if you offer it I’ll take it.

Setting foot on a University Campus for the first t…

You can do hard things

Wade Kingsley — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:56:03 GMT

On September 12, 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech at Rice University, in which he said:

5 friends, and the key to living longer

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 21:01:32 GMT

Happy Easter to those who celebrate, and enjoy the long weekend if you have one in some parts of the world (like here in Australia).

Scouring the weekend newspapers is always an interesting exercise t…

To the ones left behind...

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 20:00:59 GMT

I’m lucky to travel frequently for work.

Over the last 10 days I was in the UK and Latvia, attending an annual conference.

Co-incidentally (so the family WhatsApp tells me), I wasn’t the only traveller.

'Always try and do it the hard way'

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 20:15:51 GMT

Ryan Holiday is someone you should get to know.

Over 300,000 people subscribe to his newsletter ‘The Daily Stoic’.

Stoicism - an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens - taught that virtu…

Help me if you can

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:40:32 GMT

"Look for the helpers".

It’s a famous quote from Fred Rogers (Known to generations of Amercians as "Mr. Rogers") recalling advice from his mother when he saw scary things in the news.

It teaches that …

Nothing is failure

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:00:52 GMT

David who?

Not exactly a household name.

How about this.

‘The oodie’.

Know what that is?

I do because we have 3 of them in this house. One covered in avocados, the other two are different AFL teams.

David is the guy who created them. He’s now worth an estimated $150m.

But his career is littered with failure.

David Fogarty

He was entrepreneurial in Primary school. Baking cookies and selling them to teachers.

By high school, David had launched and failed at a clothing business, iPhone cases, headphones, gym clothing. About six or seven failed businesses all up.

He was a serial failure.

Or was he?

Please subscribe to learn more about David and also hear my failsafe way to get rid of the fear of failure forever…

Thanks for subscribing!

Back to David…

He recently told Forbes Magazine “It wasn’t until I failed at a café business that I realised that while my desire to be successful was there, my skill set wasn’t,” he says.

So he took a social media gig with a watch company and contemplated giving up on his entrepreneurial dream.

One night David was on Facebook one night doing what he calls ‘the scroll method’: searching through forums and groups to find potential products. He recalls that, in one group, a mum was talking about making weighted blankets for her child with autism.

“I thought, ‘That’s a great idea’. I did a bit of research and couldn’t find them on any Chinese or Australian supplier site. So, I knew it was very early that it could work.”

That weighted blanket business generated $10 million in sales in its first year. The Oodie followed shortly after.

Now he owns 10 brands - including Calming Blankets and pet care brand Pupnaps, which are all part of his company Davie Group.

The avocado Oodie (picture is not of anyone who lives with me)

To rid yourself of the fear of failure, it’s about reframing it in your mind.

If you reframe anything you try as ‘an experiment’ - as Scientists would - it means that nothing is failure.

Everything is a hypothesis, followed by testing, followed by evaluation.

Some things will ‘work’, and some things won’t.

But failure doesn’t enter the equation.

Because failure is a mindset.

You don’t fail unless you give up.

Nothing is failure.

Thomas Edison said “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work”.

So get cracking. Experiment with something today.

Have a great day,
Wade

A memory being made

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:58:49 GMT

Your Correspondent, trackside.

This post is from 2025. I’m featuring a few of my most popular posts while I build out the new Morning Musely.

On Sunday I flew back into Australia after 10 days abroad.

My plan was clear. Land in Melbourne after 24 hours in the air from Europe and drive straight to meet my family at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

You might think that sounded ambitious, but I am pretty good with jet lag (a little tired, but timezone adjustment is fine) and I sleep well on flights (upgrades to flat beds help).

My fatigue wasn’t the issue. It was the weather.

After spending most days in London, Athens, and Amsterdam under cool-mild sunny skies - Melbourne was having some sort of tantrum.

Squalling winds and driving rain meant I was leaving the comforts of Business Class to standing outside like one of those news reporters you see covering a cyclone.

Still, a deal’s a deal!

I hadn’t seen Suze or the kids for 10 days and we were all excited about the Grand Prix. ‘Drive to Survive’ had turned us into devotees of Lewis, Lando, Oscar and Carlos.

So there we were - 3 hours before the race out in the freezing rain in our pink ponchos getting hammered.

And I hated it.

I kept thinking ‘what’s the point?’ and I offered the kids many a chance to find a warm, cosy pub to watch the race on TV.

That’s what I wanted to do.

What they wanted was to spend time with me.

Looking back on it, the weather wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Sure, it wasn’t pleasant (at all) and maybe the pneumonia inducing elements were eased with the constant supply of hot donuts and coffee.

But I wasn’t there for me. I was there for them.

I had to remember that the point of the activity wasn’t cars going round the track 57 times. It was a shared experience. A memory being made. Something that one day we’d look back on and smile about.

“Remember that time we went to the Grand Prix in the pouring rain!”.

If it was a sunny day and the race was just okay, it would have neatly been filed away in the other activities we’d done together. Nothing special.

But this was special. It was a fleeting moment in an otherwise busy life of teenagers with their work-obsessed Dad at at time when they are starting to prefer being with their mates more than me. It was adding to the shoebox of childhood memories that remain in their brains, long after the activity was over.

Always remember to ask yourself - is this all about me?

You’ll probably find the answer is no.

See you in the morning,

Wade

How to care less

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 20:00:34 GMT

Happy Monday,

Today we have a re-shared post from 2024, while I prepare my next edition and create the new podcast. I hope you enjoy it.

Wade

_________

Yesterday I revealed that my father-in-law is a new subscriber to Morning Musely.

Nothing really newsworthy in that, except to say that he is a quite a learned English Teacher and by sheer coincidence I’ve developed a sudden interest in proofreading.

I raise it because for the first time since I created Morning Musely his subscription made me aware of what you - dear reader - might think of what I’m writing here each day.

Then I had to remind myself to care less about what anyone reading this thinks. Yes, even you.

Here’s why.

One of the hardest parts of creating anything of worth, is balancing your own ideas with what your audience might think about whatever it is your creating.

This could be a Powerpoint deck for a meeting, a song for an audience, or dinner for your family.

The act of creation covers all those - and many more - examples.

The best advice I can give you is this.

Care less.

One of the curses of creating things is we can focus too hard on how the audience might respond and therefore dilute the potency of what we produce.

Imagine a songwriter thinking ‘before I write this ballad a to a girl I once loved but have now lost, I’ll run it by the Facebook freaks’.

In his seminal tome, ‘The Creative Act: A Way of Being’ famed music Producer Rick Rubin says:

“In terms of priority, inspiration comes first. You come next. The audience comes last.”

Last.

Dead last in fact.

The challenge with most audiences (be they in a boardroom listening to your presentation, or in a concert hall listening to your performance) is they can only judge your work on what has come before it - what is already familiar to them.

In other words, they don’t know what they think of it until you share it. Applying that logic to the act of creation itself - you don’t know what they are going to think - so why let it stop you?

We can use our best experience, intuition, judgement, or even a ouija board and still get it wrong.

Let what you know be a guide.

Let what you’re passionate about be a guide.

Let what perspective you have to express be a guide.

If I decided to research what topics and subjects you’d like to hear before I wrote this daily piece, it would be based entirely off what you already like. The risk therefore is that I write something you want rather than what I think - diluting either the end product or certainly my interest in creating it.

My creative process for Morning Musely is simple:

Think of a subject that’s interesting to me.
Have a clear point of view about it.
Communicate that point of view to you in a way that I myself would find engaging to read.

The job of this publication then is to find as many people who agree on points 1, 2, and 3.

Then I can tinker with it over time. See what is resonating and what you’d like to hear or read more of from me based on your actual behaviour - rather than any potential creativity-stifling assumptions I made in advance.

So in short (with my newly found proofreading hat on) please care less. Your creativity is relying on you to.

See you next Monday Morning,

Wade

I like Mondays (I'll tell you why)

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 20:00:42 GMT

Here’s an unpopular opinion (or so I found out when we were discussing this a family on a drive yesterday).

I actually really like Mondays.

Trying to trace the origin story of why this is the case will take more time than you or I have the patience for, but there must be some connection to really enjoying the work that I do.

To me Monday is an opportunity to shape the week. Get things in motion. Make plans and deliver on them.

I’ve heard of this thing called ‘Sunday night syndrome’, where basically the more depressing or unhappy your work makes you the higher your propensity to suffer from a mild case of anxiety as the clock ticks towards bedtime.

There would’ve been times in my past that I had the Sunday sads, but if I did it was a handful of weeks. Most likely it comes from choosing the career that I enjoy today.

Leaving school, I was unemployed for about six months. When I say unemployed I did collect what used to be known as ‘the dole’, while my friends went to university or travelled.

I wanted to get into university - to study journalism - but my marks weren’t good enough and I had to stick to my part-time basketball umpiring which paid the grand sum of about $8 per game.

Pursuing a career in the media meant that instead of being a television newsreader (which I practiced in front of a mirror most nights as a teenager) I was looking at radio as a way in the side door.

I still remember my first Monday working in radio. It was completely uneventful apart from the fact that pretty much I was in heaven. Walking through those radio station doors with a little briefcase, a notepad, and a head full of dreams. I was on my way to starting a lifelong passion of simply going to work.

Of the approximate 1,650 Mondays since then most have maintained that same feeling. That desire to start the week anew and and hopefully get to Friday and know that you’ve done your best.

As it turns out not only did I not need to do journalism to become a writer or buy a newspaper to become a publisher - I am already both.

So starting next Monday morning, this will be a more substantial substack and also a new podcast. You’ll be able to read my words and hear my voice, hopefully giving you something positive that helps you look forward to Mondays too.

See you Monday morning

Wade

The love of a dog

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 20:52:06 GMT

Good Morning!

Firstly I want to re-assure you that I’m not about to ‘Marley & Me’ you. #IYKYK.

Our dog is fine. He’s good in fact.

His name is Lucky.

Something happened over the summer break where he now has 100% control over me.

As I mostly work from home, this is a typical day.

Between 7-7:15am he wakes up… from the position of his head next to my pillow. To clarify, it’s mostly his arse that is pointed in my direction.

His method of waking up is to tap me with his paw. This means both ‘I need to go outside for a pee’ and ‘it’s breakfast time’.

Breakfast consists of dry kibble, but now there has to be a treat(a “yummy”) mixed in with the kibble. Once the kibble has been eaten, another yummy is demanded.

Morning is quiet. Asleep on the couch. Will occasionally come in to the office to say hello.

4pm… and I mean exactly 4pm… I get a tap on the office door for dinner. Either he’s swallowed an Apple Watch or he can tell the time on the clock on the wall.

Dinner is not meant to be served this early (don’t tell Mum) but the chopped up loaf of something and tapioca (can’t remember, plus never tried it). Again with a yummy upon completion.

I then get a break until about an hour after we’ve eaten our dinner and then he decides to get up from the back of the lounge cushion and go and tap on the back sliding door.

Now, this would traditionally mean it’s time to go out for a pee again but by the time I get to the door he runs away from it. This repeats two or three times depending on my level of tolerance. It’s like cat and mouse but it’s actually dog and owner.

This tap doesn’t mean go out. This tap at this time of day means it’s time for a walk.

We take the 450m journey over to the beach. Sit on a park bench and watch the sunset - if the time is right - and then return home.

Oh I forgot. On the way there or the way back a poo is evacuated. Not me! And it’s always on the same patch of lawn which I promptly collect and bin.

So yes, I’m fully under control of Lucky.

Why am I telling you all this today?

Well, someone else lost their dear dog. Someone famous, with a famous dog. Click this link but only if you’re feeling okay about dogs.

After I read it, I looked down at Lucky (surprisingly not wanting something at the moment) and I think… Lucky me.

See you later in the week.

Wade

And so, to the year ahead

Wade Kingsley — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 20:01:32 GMT

For officially the first time in 2026, Good Morning!

Thanks for either re-subscribing or simply opening this email once again.

I don’t know how you felt but the back end of 2025 was a dumpster fire for me.

One can almost mark the calendar (from October 14th through to December 23rd) where I just slogged my guts out for what I thought at the time was no return.

Of course it’s never the case that there’s zero return. All work is good. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes you don’t get the payoff (financial, reputational) until much later.

So I’ve started this year with intent! (He says like someone who has just taken out a gym membership on 1st January).

My focus this year is twofold:

Continue to build out my business against the mission, vision and values I’ve created (that’s a post for another time).
Build longer-term financial stability. Over the past 8 years I’ve been working on 12 monthly budgets. Now I’m working on a 5 year budget cycle which neatly aligns with when my kids finish school.

I posted this on LinkedIn a week ago…

So here are those ‘second set of numbers’ as of this morning:

I’ve created a simple ChatGPT prompt that updates it daily and emails it to me.

How have you started your goal setting for 2026?

See you in the morning.

Wade

And a happy new year to you too...

Wade Kingsley — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 20:00:58 GMT

If you’re only just getting back on the tools, or you’ve been back at the grind for a little while now - welcome back.

I think the statute of limitations on ‘Happy new year’ lasts until the first time…

Take the (Christmas) pressure down

Wade Kingsley — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 23:25:29 GMT

Good morning!

The calendar is a weird construct we’ve inherited, don’t you think?

“We need to catch up before Christmas!”.

Um… it’s just a date on the calendar. We can catch up anytime can’t we?

“You need to get this done by Christmas!”

Yeah but you’ll probably sit on it for a couple of weeks so I’ll just do it in January instead.

“In the new year I’m going to get fit!”

Why not start today? Who cares about a one-day blowout on the 25th. You can go for a walk or a run right now if you want to. Plenty of other people are.

The creation of the ancient calendar reminds me of the famous scene in Monty Python’s ‘The Life of Brian’…. What have the Romans ever done for us?

What have the Romans ever done for us?

Except in this case I reckon the Romans (and the Egyptians, and Pope Gregory XIII) created a construct that in an attempt to provide clarity is choking us with its expectation.

None of these ancient fuckers ever had an overflowing inbox, a house to clean, relatives arriving to stay, grocery shopping to be done, cars to be serviced… all “before Christmas!!!!”

It’s all very anxiety provoking and the pressure builds. Racing around to get gifts, clean up, buying a shit tonne of food… for what purpose exactly?

Why does Christmas lunch need to be more special than any other time we’d cook for family or friends? It can still be a really nice meal without the added stress.

This year we’re hosting (12 of us in total) and I’ve axed the seafood course. It’s completely gone. I love a prawn as much as anyone but look it’s only going to be 17 degrees here so tradition be damned! Even suggesting there’d be a ‘seafood course’ feels unnecessarily ostentatious.

I’m cooking a nice roast with Turkey and Ham. 2 choices of meat is 100% more choice than I’d normally offer anyone else coming to dinner. I don’t have Cousin Betty and her husband Jim turning up for a bite to eat on a random Monday in May and saying ‘now tonight we are serving your choice of…”. Sorry but I’m a family member not a First Class Flight Attendant.

I’m not baaa humbugging Christmas by the way. I love it. The tree is up. The carols are being sung. I’m just being realistic. The pressure we place upon ourselves is crackers.

I’m saying all this to give you a leave pass.

Unless you are celebrating the religious origins of December 25 then I say work out what your capacity is between now and then and go with that.

If you have room for something extra added to your to-do list then knock yourself out.

If not, let it go.

It’s just a date on the calendar after all.

See you (calendar permitting) in January,

Wade

I didn't know what a panic attack was until I had one

Wade Kingsley — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:00:51 GMT

Good morning,

Been a few days so I thought I’d let you in on what’s been happening with me.

(First up, I know some of you are here for a daily dose of positive inspo. If so, I suggest you bail out now. But I also know some of you are here because you like to hear what’s on my mind. So here goes…)

I’d had a great weekend.

I wrote about it here in fact.

I was happy. I would even describe myself as ridiculously joyful.

Driving along the freeway, singing out loud to music, genuinely happy with my life.

Then it hit me.

I was dying.

Not dying in that exact moment, but I had a flash of psychic insight.

My time was up. I was going to die and I’d had a good 49-and-a-half years but it was now all over.

I didn’t know how I was going to die, or the exact date. Just that it was my turn to go and the decision had been made. Paperwork completed, rubber stamped by the Gods.

It overwhelmed me in the way grief can. The best way I can explain it was that it felt like I had just received a phone call to tell me someone I love very much had died.

That someone in this instance was me.

It hit me like a tonne of bricks and I immediately started crying. The crying quickly turned into bawling. Bawling into howling. Howling into screaming. Out loud.

My ultimate fear in life is dying. Not necessarily the act of it, but more to the fact that I really like it here and don’t want to go. I still have a heap of stuff I want to do, including seeing my kids grow up, travelling, new adventures etc. This is definitely not an act of desperation or self-harm. It’s the opposite. I’m kicking and screaming (literally in this case) to stay here.

Somehow through the fog of grief I managed to make a call to my best mate. This was late at night and I just prayed he’d realise it was important and pick up. Which he did.

He talked me off the freeway and to park the car safely. He then talked me through some box breathing exercises. It worked temporarily but my genuine feeling of overwhelm consumed me. It swallowed me whole and as much as I tried to resurface I was instantly dragged back under. It was the rip in the ocean. Doesn’t matter how hard you swim against it, the rip has you and won’t let go.

I asked him to call my wife and let her know what was happening.

When he came back on the line he asked me to nominate a place in my mind where I felt safe. I said it was with my Nanna, laying in her bed, her hand stroking my hair saying ‘it’s okay, I’m here’.

It was surprising to me that I was able to take myself there so quickly. All my senses were able to channel the memory so quickly. Touch, smell, warmth.

This temporarily calmed me down and then my wife called and my distress started all over again. She said she was coming to get me.

For some reason this should have been the most comforting news but it piqued my anxiety immediately. I didn’t believe her. Not that she was lying of course - it was that my overwhelm had taken over my functioning power and I simply couldn’t think straight.

I kept saying to myself that she wasn’t coming and had to keep checking our family tracking app every minute or so to see if the car was heading my way.