“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Attributed to Viktor Frankl.

Whenever someone close to me is struggling, I wish them space: space to figure out how they feel, what the problem really is, and how they want to move forward. The irony is that space is a gift I rarely give myself.

For most of my career, I was driven by shoulds. I should be grateful for job stability. I should climb the corporate ladder. I should push for the next promotion, the bigger title, the wider scope of responsibilities. What I didn’t see at the time was that should left me with no space at all. Whenever something happened – a new project, a tricky boss, a career opportunity – my response was dictated by whichever should applied. There was no room to choose differently. Just reaction.

My Executive MBA cracked that worldview open. I was surrounded by people from wildly different industries and life paths, people who weren’t bound by narrow definitions of success. The people who lit up the room were the ones who’d followed the work that called to them most deeply, and were unafraid to write as many different life chapters as necessary. They didn’t speak in shoulds. They spoke of desire, curiosity, values. I began to see how much of my life I’d built on automatic – always chasing what I thought I should do, rather than what I truly wanted. As I spent time with these vibrant people, I glimpsed what my life would be if I created space between stimulus and response: a life of freedom, creativity and impact.

And then, last July, I was reorganized out of my job. My initial reaction was irritation, followed by hurt pride – and then, to my surprise, relief: I’d known for some time I wasn’t in the right place, but I hadn’t been ready to admit it. When I shared the news with my EMBA classmates, they congratulated me. One said, “If you’re not playing at a level where you could lose your job because of internal politics, you’re playing it way too safe.” Talk about a reframe!

I spent the next two weeks catching up on sleep. My plan was to spend late summer preparing to job-hunt in the fall – update my CV, warm up my network, research target companies. But when the time came, I didn’t want to. At all. So for the first time in my life, I gave myself space: I decided to spend the rest of 2024 on sabbatical. I travelled, read, wrote, spent time with my family, explored public speaking, and built a bubble of calm where I could finally hear myself think. What I discovered was profound sorrow for how, as an adult, I had spliced myself into two – and Accounting June saw no reason for Creative June’s existence.

These solitary reflections were soon interrupted. The U.S. and Canadian elections made something clear: I’d misunderstood the purpose of space. It isn’t for retreating from the world, but for choosing how to engage with it. No man is an island. My life’s thread is part of a social fabric – the real question is: what fabric do I want to help weave?

I believe the vitality of the middle class is directly proportional to peace and political stability (*). So I freelanced with small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, diagnosing pain points and helping them build resilience into their business models. It was satisfying work, but I craved more complex, structural problems with broader impact. Then came a chance encounter with someone who also dreamed of strengthening Canada’s economy through innovation. He shared an ambitious vision. I knew instantly: this is it, this is what I am called to do.

Entrepreneurship is not a safe path. It’s uncertain, daunting, humbling. Hard. And yet it feels truer to who I am than any role I’ve ever held. I’ve always said I could do entrepreneurship as long as I was the right-hand partner of an Ideas Person, not the Ideas Person myself. When Michelangelo was asked how he created the statue of David, he said: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” That’s how I imagine my role now. I see the shared vision, and I chip away everything that isn’t aligned with the values, the product-market fit, the essence of the idea. In doing so, Creative June and Accounting June are working in tandem, as equals.

By giving myself the gift of space, I freed myself from the tyranny of should. For years, my responses were dictated by expectation – leaving no choice, no creativity, only reaction. This gift of space has allowed me to carve away life narratives that don’t belong, to act with intention, and to live in alignment with my purpose and values.

Choosing space over shoulds has given me more freedom and growth than I thought possible. How might space benefit you?

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(*) For more information on peace economics:

The Economics of Peace: Exploring the Interplay between Economic Stability, Conflict Resolution and Global Prosperity | United Nations, Ameyavikram Pathak & H.E. Ambassador Armen Baibourtian, PhD, 2024.

Global Peace Index 2025, Institute for Economics & Peace.

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Pic by me, 2021: Cap-Rouge Marina, Quebec City.