Author: Penny Power OBE

We all want to matter, not in an ego driven way, but in the quiet human need to feel seen, valued and connected. This week’s Ponderings explores why true significance may be found not in seeking attention, but in helping others feel that they matter.

Success can feel elusive when measured against someone else’s achievements. In this week’s Ponders, Penny reflects on how easily we borrow other people’s benchmarks and why true significance comes not from comparison, but from contribution, gratitude and recognising the value of what we have already built.

In a world where likes, follows and views are often mistaken for connection, this reflection explores the difference between being visible and being truly seen. It considers why acknowledgment, genuine conversation and feeling understood still matter deeply in both professional and personal life.

Contribution is one of the most powerful human forces we have. It shapes our relationships, strengthens our self worth and quietly builds the confidence that allows us to create the life we desire. In this reflective piece, Penny explores the beautiful reciprocity of contribution, how giving transforms the heart of the giver, how receiving deepens trust and connection and why true communities thrive on meaningful human exchange rather than transaction.

Contribution is one of the most powerful human forces we have. It shapes our relationships, strengthens our self worth and quietly builds the confidence that allows us to create the life we desire. In this reflective piece, Penny explores the beautiful reciprocity of contribution, how giving transforms the heart of the giver, how receiving deepens trust and connection and why true communities thrive on meaningful human exchange rather than transaction.

Penny Power reflects on the moment she discovered her true expertise in community building and why choosing depth over breadth transformed her life and business. Explore how recognising your unique contribution can unlock clarity, creativity and lasting fulfilment.

Penny Power reflects on the moment she discovered her true expertise in community building and why choosing depth over breadth transformed her life and business. Explore how recognising your unique contribution can unlock clarity, creativity and lasting fulfilment.

Explore how human connection through curiosity and vulnerability can transform relationships, leadership and the way we communicate in modern life.

This weekend, I was deeply moved by the warm, loving comments on a post I shared on February 7th, called ‘Ecademy Day’. I reflected on the day Thomas and I first conceived the idea of creating an online community for business owners. This was a time before Friends Reunited, LinkedIn, and Facebook—when the concept of online communities was still in its infancy. The 151 comments so far, after 3 days, have mentioned over and over again, how special this time in business was, we were socially connecting as business owners, strangers becoming friends, just like Seth Godin stated in his…

This week, my Ponderings are to encourage us all to focus on our ‘humanness’ in this AI world and to thank AI for enabling us to have more time for the very thing that brings us joy, success and confidence in life and business, “time with one another’. We all read about fear as well as the opportunities of AI. I am very excited by it, as already I see in our business that we have more time to spend on the very aspects of our business that differentiate us, we have more time with the people we care about.…

Good morning! Today, I want to address a topic that many might find familiar but few discuss openly: the loneliness that business owners often face. My recent three-year online survey, with responses from 1,780 business owners, revealed that 70% had experienced loneliness in the past month. This loneliness can manifest in numerous ways, impacting both personal well-being and business performance: The driving force behind my life and work has been combating loneliness. Since the internet began transforming our lives, I’ve focused on how vital it is to feel valued within a group. Scientifically, reduced social connections impact the brain chemical…

How well can you attend to the people right in front you? Is there a danger that we are becoming too self focused? Does that increase our mental health challenges? Do we all know how to nurture the brain chemical that makes us have confidence, Oxytocin? My Ponderings this week has me reflecting on a vital, yet often overlooked aspect of our interactions and personal fulfilment: the power of attention. I remember an amazing member of Ecademy, Ronald Wopereis, saying to Thomas and I, Ronald Wopereis, in November 2004, “Attention is the Product”. These words had a big impact on…

This is my 76th Ponderings, and thank you for being part of this experience with me. It is also my final one of 2024 and I am excited about my choice of topic. You know the saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child”, we all know what that means. Of course you can’t raise a child entirely alone, the input from other loving people in your child’s life is critical for them to grow with confidence, clarity, joy, resilience and a feeling of safety and knowledge, so many aspects of life and love from others help children thrive.…

This week, I was inspired by a quote that showed up in my life. It caused me to ponder our business journey and reflect on how Thomas and I have found our way back to the impact we love to have and the business we are building. I want to share this ponder as none of us have a straight line to success; many of us even have to re-evaluate what success means to us personally. During my ponder, I wrote down six areas of our character and journeys through business that enabled us to keep going despite the knocks.…

This week, I've been reflecting on a phrase that struck me during a particularly challenging time in my entrepreneurial journey: "Ambition is a curse." This notion prompted me to reassess my ambitions at a critical crossroads, influenced by recent conversations with exhausted entrepreneurs. The Curse of Ambition: The idea that ambition can be a curse is linked to its unhealthier aspects, which can severely disrupt personal lives and work-life balance. Symptoms some of us might experience include: Being perpetually "switched on" Lacking time for oneself or others Heading towards burnout Frequent excuses like “I have no time,” or “Sorry I…

This week, I've been reflecting on the courage required to create change, big or small. Each of us strives to leave a mark on the world, a testament to our contribution and inherent need to make a difference. This isn’t about ego; it’s about fulfilling our purpose through service to others, enhancing our lives beyond just making a living. Theodore Roosevelt’s famous quote serves as a brilliant reminder of the virtues we need when stepping into the arena of life and leadership: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,…

This Tuesday, in my Ponderings Newsletter, I'm diving deep into a critical human asset: TRUST. This delicate yet immensely powerful asset lies at the core of every thriving person, organisation, and community. In a world increasingly shaped by digital and AI advancements, I remain focused on the power of our hearts and emotions to counter disconnection. As leaders and service providers, how can we maintain human connections that reassure our peers and clients? How do we show them they deeply matter and that they can trust us with their thoughts, challenges, and ambitions? Trust, for us, isn’t just a marketing…

I have now applied some AI learning to create this AI driven Podcast of this newsletter, so if you would prefer to put this on in background, and listen, then be my guest. Read on to read how I learned this. This week I have had the honour of learning new skills, thanks to some amazing fellow business owners. It prompted me to ponder the challenge of keeping up and I thought I would share this with you and perhaps help you consider ‘how are you keeping up?’ The world seems to be accelerating at an unprecedented pace. With AI…

This week, prompted by a sense of negativity in the air, I thought I would share a saying we have in our family “Bad is Good’. In every life, we all encounter moments that test our strength, shake our foundations, and seemingly steer us off course. Yet, it's often these very moments that craft our most profound stories of resilience and growth through our innate ability to solve problems, be creative and move forwards. Here are some notes that I pondered over this weekend. 1. Relentless resilience and purpose - As a family, like many others, we have faced some…

It is hard for some of us to realise and allow for the fact that networking is a skill, the ROI is about knowing how to do it. This week, I want to ponder this, show empathy and also consider how important it is to learn it. I come from a place of empathy as I had to learn. I guess I am sharing my ‘expertise’ and this isn’t for glorification, it is to pass on wisdom to help anyone that is networking and either hating it, or not getting the results they seek. Before I share my ponder, I…

This past quarter we have been planning and implementing more events for our Community Members. I remember the excitement of the first in-person event with our BIPPers and the large group we assembled, around 50 Business Owners, everyone was so excited, hugging and thrilled to be ‘out-out’. I want to share this, so you, as the reader can perhaps make sense of why you find large events tiring and overwhelming. Each of us have our own capacity to manage life, business and our own sense of overwhelm. We can all go out now, and yet, many of us spend our…

This week, I ponder on a fundamental aspect of our brain chemistry: Oxytocin levels. For the past four years, Tj Power has been enlightening us about managing our mental health by understanding our control over brain chemicals. He introduced 'The DOSE Effect,' an acronym for Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins, emphasising how these chemicals shape our well-being. Last week's challenge for our BIPPers involved raising and understanding Oxytocin, leading to the creation of five new habits. Here’s what I discovered: Oxytocin, the Love Chemical: I've realised that much of my life has been driven by Oxytocin. It’s the chemical that…

This week, I wanted to share an amazing revelation I have had about the way AI and can help us all objectively give feedback to you about your own business. This is a strange Pondering, as it is less about the emotions I carry, more about tools that are so useful in business. I like to share emotions and mix my thoughts with business experience too. I hope this inspires you. I am sure like me, you collect a lot of endorsements and testimonials, they are so lovely to keep, much like the concept of a gratitude jar, you can…

This week, in my Ponderings, I thought I would share a discovery about myself, and perhaps encourage you to ponder your inner drive too. I have worked for 41 years now. My first proper job, aged 19, was supposed to be as a Physiotherapist, I had volunteered for 6 years supporting a boy with cerebral palsy. Toby was an amazing person in my life that gave me my first experience, aged 12, that enabled me to see that life for me was about contribution and love. My academic results were not good enough to get into Physiotherapy Training and aged…

This week I have been pondering the necessity of adaptation in business. I find myself reflecting on how the evolving needs of our clients continually shape the way we operate our business, BIP100 and I hope that this ponder provides time for your own reflection. As you know, we run a community for business owners, and these are smart, dynamic, progressive people, who like variety, but also like to feel safe. Safety is found in predictability, while variety embraces the desire for innovation and change, remaining close to advancement in technology and focusing on human emotions and needs. I thought…

Over the summer, one topic loomed large for me: identity. What does identity truly mean, and when does it create unnecessary heartache and pressure? Reflecting on the past is a way that I often ground myself, I like to consider the era before the internet and my father’s early career days (he was born in 1927), I ponder what identity meant then compared to now, did anyone care about ‘my dad's identity’ or were his deeper talents and his personality that helped him achieve his financial needs for his family. Recently, Thomas and I discussed our identities during a profound…

This week's Ponderings is a gentle reminder of the power of stepping back. As I prepare to take a brief break from these weekly musings, returning on August 26th, I reflect on the transformative nature of rest, not just as a pause but as a vital strategy for sustainable creativity and growth. We are all navigating the complexities of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial life, it's important to remember: we're not in this alone. Whether we’re forging paths in our own ventures or innovating within established companies, our success hinges on our ability to manage our energy and nurture our creative spirits. Why…

This week, following an amazing lunch that we hold each month, Thomas and I heard the deep life stories from 12 business owners. This is a lunch we have held for four and a half years. We invite people we are connected with, mostly through LinkedIn, that we would like to get to know personally. It is called our ‘Business Is Personal lunch’. The idea came after the launch of my book, “Business Is Personal”. Within the pages I share how personal business is, that each of us must lead the life and business that is right for us. It…

This week I had a number of calls with Business Owners that allowed me to be very grateful for the adversity I have experienced in life and business. So this week's ponderings are about how we feel about adversity, how we manage it mentally and how great it is. I once asked a good friend, "if there is a God, why does he put us through so much if he loves us?”. Her reply was amazing, “Because the richness of our learning enables us to help others”. I like this, in fact, when we are seeking new members for our…

This week, a conversation disturbed me deeply. Someone during an interview to join BIP100, mentioned they rarely experienced acts of kindness, the subject came up as I explained that kindness was one of our core values within our community. This conversation set me on a reflective journey about the essence of kindness, how we practise it, and why it might feel so rare in today's fast-paced world. The simple definition of kindness, according to the Oxford dictionary is: “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate” Kindness is a simple word with deep implications. It's a fundamental human act, however,…

This week, in a conversation with a new client, I shared my personal story of discovering that I had an ego that was affecting my joy. I thought I would ponder this with you and perhaps tempt you to think about it too. Modern life is not easy, I am sure my parents said that too about their life. Some of our challenges are not about the environment we are in, nor the economy, some of them are man made by ourselves, life, unwittingly creating some beliefs and internal challenges that without us exploring them we are unaware of their…

Last week, I pondered how important it is to deeply value clients, a nudge that so many of you responded to and shared that life can just get in the way of reflecting on gratitude for people in our lives. Following the feedback and conversations that I had as a result, it brought to mind the story of ‘Who Packs your Parachute’, that I first heard 15 plus years ago and have been inspired by ever since. You can Google this story, to give you context, I have copied words from a Forbes Article: Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy…

This week, for many reasons, I have deeply reflected on how lucky we are to have such amazing clients. I thought I would ponder this with you and nudge you to spend time having that appreciation too. Maslow calls us ‘Wanting Animals’, our daughter calls it the Want Monster in us all. The fact that we always move on and want more. It is a sad aspect of human existence; however, it is also what has created us as the most innovative, problem-solving species. Never satisfied with our achievements for long, always wanting more. The danger is that once a…

This week I have been pondering the role of Community Leader and the role the ‘Citizen’ takes. In today's hyper-connected world, the opportunities to join various communities are greater than ever. Yet, the real value of these communities is not just in membership, but in active participation—or what I like to call "citizenship." This week, I have been pondering what it means to be a good citizen within these communities and how it can enhance both personal and professional growth. I am a great believer in action and responsibility, I was once told that when you coach, train or lead…

We live in a world of short-cuts and productivity. Seeking ways to make our life easier, but ironically, we are making it harder. Results happen in life when we spend time to think, consider, and show intention in our activities. This is my Ponder to you this week, how can we all carve time for deeper conversations and time for one another. Last week, I had the pleasure of delivering my keynote ‘The Human Touch in a Digital World’, to CISI,  The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, who have the Royal Charter to set standards of professional excellence and…

This week, I had many moments when I witnessed and felt the importance of how I felt during and after a new interaction with someone in business. I thought this would be a great ponder to share, as the ability to trust information and people is becoming increasingly challenging for us all in the digital age. Trust is a feeling, and feelings are heart led. Social Media has made it much harder to connect as a heart level, broadcast is never as good as a deep conversation and so leaving a feeling of trust online or face to face is…

Hello, I hope you are feeling good this week and that my Ponderings give you a moment to ponder and encourage you to see all the ways you should be appreciating yourself. I imagine you are the greatest asset in your business, you are your own boss and perhaps not always being the kindest boss to yourself. This week, join me and ponder “self-appreciation”. A powerful skill to hone and one that can take us out of the modern-day stresses of comparison and of constantly seeking more. Don’t get me wrong, having a growth mindset and always seeking to develop…

This week, I have spoken to many business owners about the chasm we all have to cross when we are naturally independent. I thought I would ponder this with you this week. Most business owners share this characteristic, after all, the world of employment doesn’t always serve this need. It is no surprise that we all desire independence and have to step into our own businesses to feel that sense of control and choice. Being independent can create some challenges though, I call this the ‘Lone Wolf Syndrome’, as this condition is characterised by a set of associated symptoms that…

This week I have been pondering how Baby Boomers and Gen X are navigating the digital disruption that defines our current business landscape. These generations, born before the digital age, face unique challenges as they adapt to technologies that are native to Millennials and Gen Z. While digital innovation accelerates at a pace, it's fascinating to see the resilience and willingness of Baby Boomers and Gen X to learn and thrive amidst these changes. Unlike our parents who enjoyed predictable career paths and retirement, today's professionals must continuously adapt to remain relevant. This adaptation isn't just about learning new technologies;…

Today, I wanted to cry, but I had no reason to. Does that sound totally barking mad? I was just feeling so frustrated and cross, and I had a short fuse. It made me laugh in a way, as a friend told me about a Michael McIntyre sketch, where he talked about his wife and why she never tells him when she is ‘getting on her tether’, he only learns when she is at the end of it. He said it would be so useful for him to know when she was climbing onto it, or at least halfway along…

This week I have spent time thinking closely at a subject that our daughter, Hannah Power, has taught us in detail, the lessons she has coached us on are about the type of people we want to attract into our business life. She helped us understand the clarity we needed around the feeling we are left with when we spend time with them, and whether they are therefore the right people for our community, BIP100. I thought I would pass on this wisdom and enable you to ponder this too, it is so beautiful to learn the choices we all…

Hi, I hope you enjoy this Ponder, it’s a reflection on a theme that I have been pondering over the past week. I always love the input that comes from readers of my Ponderings, it adds to my knowledge of the topic and helps me personally and professionally, so thank you. This week I researched the words around ‘validation’ for our shared ponder, and read this sentence, which sums up why I want to ponder this with you… ‘Validation has evolved with society. In the past, validation may have come from one's role in a community, while today, it can…

This week, circumstances have made me ponder the fact that we can never stay still. It was catalysed by our increasing understanding of how to use AI in our small business. In my writing today, I want to inspire you to tap into people and conversations about AI. Do you have the right mindset for growth? At our BIP100 lunch last week, Thomas shared that AI is about to become the biggest investment theme in the world. In 2023 alone, AI start-ups raised over $40 billion in funding. So, if you reflect on 1998, the real start of a lot…

This week, I have been pondering the expectation people set for themselves and how these become so deeply programmed into our minds and become a driving force, which can be negative. I thought I would share a fabulous message that I received from a Radio 4 program about 8 years ago. To give you some context, eight years ago, in 2017, I was caught up in a scarcity mindset. It was an unusual mindset for me, but it occurred due to experiencing success and then losing it. We all know life is not linear, however, when we peak our success…

Hello and thank you for joining me this week with my ponderings. Many of you know me well enough to know that I am not an academic person, I write from experience; my ‘wisdom’ comes from my curiosity, and my life experiences. I hope this means I am relatable, with my feet firmly on the ground of life and business, still striving, still learning, and still finding people far more fascinating than books! I am a curious observer and I rely on moments in my journey through life to teach me the things I need to learn. Leading communities has…

Hello and welcome to this week’s Ponderings, dedicated to the human need we all have, the need to belong. I think one of the most painful emotions is to feel alone. To have a feeling that people, that you need in your life or business, don’t need you. In 2018, I recognised this feeling myself and, while I could rationalise why my loneliness had manifested itself, and take responsibility for it, I had to create a strategy, and take action to ensure I found my way through that loneliness. I used to watch others that had comrades around them, friendship…

Welcome to this week’s Ponder and thank you, last week I met many friends, due to a highly sociable birthday week, and it was amazing to hear that they like reading my Ponders. I love that some people really do choose to ponder the thoughts for their week and this week’s words are based on a great learning I had from a new client. I am talking here about how love is a virus, we can all spread it, and it seems to be highly spreadable. It is the basis of any culture to create it, within family, friends, in…

This week, as I fast approach a big birthday, I have been having thoughts about what positive habits I should form for the next decade and which negative ones, which tend to be the easy habits, I should work hard to remove. I thought I would share in this week’s ‘Ponderings’. We all know that self-development is the foundation for professional development. I want to thank our daughter Hannah, who ran an amazing session on the importance of routines this week for our BIP100 Community, it gave me so much inspiration Here is a list of some good habits and…

This week I thought I would share a very common challenge, how to focus in a technology driven world when we have so much information coming at us. It is so hard to manage the multi-tasking needs of work and balance this with the need to concentrate. For those of us who own a small business It is not just the tech that we manage, it is also the variety of roles within the business we navigate. I have always been proud of my ability to multi-task. I am a hard worker, and I cannot rest until my work is…

Thank you for joining me in this ponder and I hope it sparks something in you to create calm, inspiration or just amusement. This week I am talking about the art of achieving sales without being a hustler, by purely being interested in the person you are seeking to help and by being deeply interested in other people. I am very aware that few people have been trained in sales, and many have never been a ‘sales person’, yet, we all have to inspire, to gain trust, to promote what we believe in and to earn a living. So many…

I think you all know how honest and open I am about the journey of being a businessperson, so let me continue that journey with you. I sat in a café on Saturday to write this as I am speaking in Lisbon next week and have therefore lost two days of my normal routine. I stared out of the window and thought deeply about the week I have had and what message was channelling through me for you today. This week has been about how much time and money should I invest this year in my skills and personal development,…

Thank you for joining me in this week’s Pondering's that are actually very confronting and uncomfortable to share, however, when you read this true story, I know it will be an important message for you and you will probably always remember it. I have pondered this because I absolutely love ‘experts’; people who have a passion and wisdom built over years of investment in themselves. This is why Thomas and I have supported experts for over 25 years, some call themselves solopreneurs and small businesses, most are so humble about the wisdom they have, and many find it hard to…

Thank you for joining me again with my ‘Ponder’ and, this week, together we can think about all those moments we were challenged, those moments of adversity and how life turns out depending on how we reacted to it. None of us have sailed through life without some serious moments of pain that caused us to develop our inner self. I imagine, like me, you are quite grateful for those times, even if the memory of those moments can still hurt in some cases. I remember each year, at this time, the moment my sister rang to say her daughter…

Thank you for joining me on this and I would welcome your thoughts on the opinions I am a about to share because this week, I have been pondering the fact that I now call myself a Small Business Owner, following 22 years of being an Entrepreneur. Maybe this will help someone to define their mindset this year and I would love that as it helped me hugely when I defined this for myself. When I became responsible for an idea I came up with in 1998, Ecademy, the first Social Network in the world, I had never worked for…

Happy week 2 of January, I hope the year is going well so far for you. This past week, I thought I would spend time pondering my willpower and whether I had a strong or weak willpower and how I can apply it to those things I need to give up, as well as those things I would like to achieve. I guess both should be a ‘towards’ emotion, rather than an ‘away’ from. My greatest issue is sugar, in the form of chocolate, and every single year since I became a mum (31 years ago) I have had the…

  Happy New Year and may your year be filled with Happy Moments. This week my pondering is about happy moments and the power of knowing you are noticing the moments in your life that are happy. When I met Thomas, he noticed that I was always saying, "isn’t this a lovely moment?", or "I want to savour this moment". Later in our life he said that my grave stone should say “Penny lived her life through happy moments". A colleague once said to me in 1998, "you get pleasure out of such tiny things". Go forward 15 years and…