The Thread Beneath It All

A few years ago, I started sharing the idea of Slow Change—a framework for transformation that defied the hustle narrative. It wasn’t about grinding our way to greatness or hacking our habits for short-term wins. It was about something slower, deeper. A way of becoming that respected the pace of the soul. 

I didn’t arrive at that work from some tidy, academic exercise. I lived it. I broke. I rebuilt. And in that rebuilding, I discovered that change isn’t something we do to ourselves. It’s something we remember. Something we return to. That insight gave birth to Slow Change, and it’s served as the foundation for everything I’ve written, taught, and coached since. 

But now something new is emerging. 

Or maybe it’s something ancient. 

Either way, it feels like the next right step. 

I’m calling it The Secret Thread. 

This Isn’t a Pivot. It’s a Deepening

Let me be clear: Slow Change isn’t going away. It’s still true. It still works. I still use it every day in my own life and with clients. But The Secret Thread takes the work deeper. It asks a more fundamental question:

What if transformation isn’t something we initiate, but something we rejoin? 

There’s a thread beneath our habits, beneath our ambitions, even beneath our pain. A thread that has been quietly holding us all along. You might call it spirit, or belonging, or the sacred. You might feel it during a walk in the woods, a shared silence, or a child’s laughter. Some of us forgot how to name it. Others were taught to ignore it.

But it’s there. And the more I work with people, the more convinced I am: Change doesn’t begin with strategy. It begins with remembrance. 

The Thread We Forgot 

Modern life teaches us to live as if we are separate. Independent. Self-made. This is the story baked into our economics, our education systems, and much of our personal development culture. 

But here’s the quiet truth: we weren’t designed to go it alone. 

The ache we feel—the low-grade loneliness, the burnout, the longing for something real—isn’t a sign that we’re broken. It’s a sacred signal. A memory trying to break through. 

We are not wired for isolation. We are wired for interdependence. 

And that’s what The Secret Thread is really about. It’s about remembering that the most powerful transformation doesn’t come from optimization. It comes from reconnection. 

How do you stay productive while constantly moving?

Over the next several months, my writing, podcast, and social media will be centered around this new conversation. You’ll see recurring themes: 

• Belonging as a spiritual technology 

• Sacred remembrance as a form of healing 

• Interdependence as a more powerful force than individual will 

• Legacy as something we create in community 

• Agency not as control, but as collaboration with something larger 

  If Slow Change was about learning to pace your transformation, The Secret Thread is about rediscovering your place inside a much larger story. 

  This is still about growth. It’s still about becoming who you’re meant to be. But we’re pulling back the curtain a little further now. We’re asking where these longings come from. And we’re starting to realize they may not be personal cravings at all, but echoes of a deeper memory. 

A New Rhythm for the Road Ahead 

I want you to know what to expect. 

Every week, I’ll be exploring a new theme related to The Secret Thread. Some will be deeply reflective. Others will be wildly practical. Many will carry both elements, because I believe the head and the heart were never meant to be separate. 

You’ll see this thread pulled through my: 

• Substack essays, where I’ll share stories and frameworks 

• Podcast episodes, where we’ll hear from others walking this path 

• Social media posts, which will offer bite-sized reflections and practices 

• Talks and seminars, for those ready to take this deeper in community 

Will’s Recent’s

▶ Recently Visited City: Phoenix, Arizona

▶ Podcast on repeat: Rich Roll

▶ Current read: The 5 Types of Wealth by Shah Bloom

▶ Mid-Day Pick Me Up: Go for a run while listening to 70’s & 80’s classics

Until next week…