It's not every day you're on national radio!
It was 8.40am on the 16th January, parked in a layby off the A64 when the tears came.
I was still working part time, as well as running Adventurous Ink. Things weren't going well.
Despite a long career, a senior role, some lauded work and an influential position, my relationship with my boss had hit rock bottom. And with it my sense of self-worth.
I'd never needed a vote of confidence more than when this email arrived:
It was over a month since I'd emailed my suggestion for a track that expressed how I felt about running my own business to Lauren Laverne's #ItsBusinessTime slot.
I'd like to say I'd forgotten all about it.
But of course I hadn't.
I listened every morning, religiously. And every week that #ItsBusinessTime didn't feature Adventurous Ink was another kick in the teeth. Yet more proof that this thing I was doing was just a flight of fancy.
Of course I'd had plenty other praise and plaudits. It's not everyday a famed adventurer turns up on your doorstep to record a podcast over coffee. But that was yet to go out.
So there I was. On my way to work, pulled over in a layby to listen to the biggest shot in the arm I could ever have had.
And Lauren loved it!
"This is just my kinda thing. I love a good read and a good adventure. You had me at a man in a canoe!" she enthused, referencing our July 2018 feature, The 'Pull of the River', by Matt Gaw.
I always listened to Lauren's show on my daily commute, and found that her music selections had a way of speaking to me. A way of reflecting however I was feeling that morning.
She had become my emotional sounding board, so hearing her singing the Ink's praises was the most powerful endorsement I could ever have imagined.
It wasn't that exact day that I handed in my notice to pursue my passion full time, but it wasn't long after.
And the track I suggested playing? With the benefit of hindsight it speaks volumes about my mindset at that time, as well as everything I love about the freedom of the great wide open.
It was David Byrne's cover of the Cole Porter classic, 'Don't Fence Me In'. 