On luck, showing up, and the people we almost don’t meet

- Feb 04, 2026

I don't regularly see my name written by others online. So when it happens, it's joyful and moving all at once. (The last time? Fashion designer Bella Freud said she wanted to marry me in the Sunday Times Style. That was 2011. True story.)

A couple of weeks ago, we held a masterclass at Le Trente with the wonderful author and writing coach Paulette Perhach. She delivered a fantastic session on ‘how to finish and put our writing out into the world’. Her session brought in some new faces.

One such new face was Charley. Within minutes of meeting on Zoom, it was clear we needed a follow-up conversation. We both have great stories to tell. And for both of us, putting them out feels complicated. Fiction, memoir, autofiction?  

We exchanged details, and found each other on another Zoom call a couple of days later. Instead of the 30 minutes we’d allocated in our diaries, we talked for nearly two hours. It felt like I had made a new friend. How delightful. https://letrente.com/avm-events/the-intention-hour

A few days later, she shared her follow-up essay with me. And to my surprise, the topic wasn’t so much about her ‘big’ story, but rather the little story of what it’s like to put our work out in the world, the inner stories that can run us down, and how my response to her work helped quiet down that inner critic. A story of an unexpected connection, albeit remote. Somehow, the space we held for each other (as she puts it below) helped unlock something.

Her mentioning me, as she told me in her DM, was a way of thanking me. I got all pink in the cheeks when I read that. I didn’t need thanking, how lovely nonetheless. 

This may seem trivial as stories go, but I don’t believe that. 

The thing is, Charley and I almost didn’t meet. The masterclass only got on her radar because I posted in a writing community we are both a part of. 

That same week, this landed in my inbox:

Dear Anne,

I've been receiving your emails about Le Trente events and workshops, along with your newsletters. I find them inspiring... I wanted to let you know that if you see me using the 'pay what you can' option, it's not because I don't value your work — quite the opposite. I genuinely appreciate what you're creating. At the moment, I'm in a very limited financial situation... I'm grateful that you make these events accessible, and I wanted to be transparent with you.

Let me back up.

It can be deeply uncomfortable to be in 'promotion mode.' Right now, this is the space I’m living in. Not only am I hosting my own podcasts but building this social learning studio with lots of events. 

Just like I had to force myself out of my comfort zone as a teenager when I realised I wanted to be a singer, I'm daily managing my discomfort at always being 'on.' This early in the business, it’s just me doing it, promoting Le Trente and the varied offerings across various channels. 

I love it, not because I love social media today, but because I deeply care about what I do, and the people I am doing it with. 

It's also exhausting.

To promote the salons, masterclasses and podcasts, I directed some of my communication efforts to community WhatsApp groups, where my people already are (I’m an alumna of many online programs, and not very active on these). Most times I pop in, say hi, drop a link, explain what I'm offering that week. Crickets.

As Charley writes: “it takes a while to get comfortable with the slow response.”

For me the slow response I have to live with is watching the event RSVPs trickling in, the feedback or the email notes I occasionally receive when I send out my newsletter. 

The funny thing about creating something greater than ourselves, something that may feel intangible to many but that we deeply believe in, is that it's hard not to wonder: 

Is it worth it? 

Is it too hard?

Money can be found so easily in so many other jobs. 

Often just as the doubt becomes louder in my mind, that’s when serendipity happens.

The moments when you find one person who needed to meet you. Or hear that podcast. Or take that masterclass. Or meet that coach.

And suddenly, everything feels exactly as it should be.

My entrepreneurial plans don't look like they'll make me compete with the tech bros of the world. But today, I feel rich in other ways.

Charley and I are living examples that connection can happen in surprising settings, when we take a chance on something we’ve never done before. Like putting out a first essay on Substack, or joining an online masterclass with a new entity like a social learning studio. 

Serendipity is all around us. While I have always believed that to be the case, how we relate to our stories, where we choose to see connection, is likely to make us find more or less of this magic around us. 

On this happy note: our next masterclass, How to Be Luckier, with author, love coach and TED speaker Francesca Hogi, is happening tomorrow. Details and registration below. And yes, it's a pay-what-you-can event.

Listen to Francesca on The Mettā Interview here.

Discover her book How to Find True Love and download her Serendipity Playbook.

You can read Charley’s first couple of posts here, and yes, I suggest you support her by subscribing to her newsletter. Thank you!