Owning the Moment

Jan 6

Most careers—and most lives—aren’t defined by a straight line of steady progress. They’re shaped by moments.

A phone call.
A quiet but undeniable signal that something is working.
A door opening that wasn’t open before.

These moments don’t always arrive with fireworks. Sometimes they show up disguised as opportunity. Sometimes as validation. Sometimes as risk. But when they appear, the real question isn’t what just happened—it’s what you’re going to do with it.

Are you going to own the moment?
Or let it pass by while you keep doing what’s comfortable?

Looking back, three moments across my career stand out—not because they were easy, but because each one demanded a decision.

The First Moment: Being Ready When the Call Comes

Early in my career, I was working at General Electric. I was learning fast, working hard, and fortunate to be on a leadership track that exposed me to great people and meaningful challenges. It was a season I genuinely enjoyed.

Then I got a phone call.

Someone from one of the largest management consulting firms in the world reached out—based on the work I’d done and the experiences I’d accumulated—to recruit me.

What made this a moment wasn’t just the opportunity. It was the timing.

Coming out of college, I wanted to be a management consultant. I applied. I tried. I didn’t get the interviews. That door didn’t open when I expected it to.

But four years later—after showing up, doing the work, and building credibility—it did.

That call represented something bigger than a job change. It was proof that effort compounds, even when results are delayed. It was confirmation that patience isn’t passive—it’s active.

I owned that moment. I went all in. And I thrived.

What it taught me then—and still reminds me now—is simple: if you put in the work, good things tend to happen. Just not always on your timeline.

The Second Moment: Recognizing When Something Is Working

Years later, I launched an online education company. It didn’t happen quickly. It took years before we even had a viable product.

At the time, online education wasn’t seen as a credible solution for corporate learning and development. We heard plenty of skepticism. Progress required grit, patience, and a team willing to stay heads-down when validation was scarce.

Then something shifted.

We started seeing traction—real traction. Individual students were enrolling from around the world. Large organizations began reaching out to enroll their employees. And then, over just a couple of days, we received roughly thirty enrollments for our largest course.

That was unusual. And unmistakable.

The moment wasn’t loud—but it was clear.

We could feel it: this is working.

Owning that moment meant doubling down without cutting corners. It meant investing further, strengthening the foundation, and staying focused on quality rather than speed.

That decision mattered. The business went on to serve learners across the globe—and last year celebrated 20 years in operation. I sold my stake years ago, but the longevity of that company still makes me proud.

Moments like that don’t ask for hype. They ask for commitment.

The Third Moment: When Momentum Finds You

More recently, I launched a podcast—Midlife Circus—with my good friend Rob, focused on midlife reinvention. We didn’t know exactly where it would lead—we just knew the conversations mattered.

Then, less than two months after launching our first episode, something unexpected happened.

The podcast was selected by Apple Podcasts as New & Noteworthy.

That designation is curated by people—not algorithms—and only a small fraction of new podcasts are selected. The impact was immediate: listeners increased more than 10x in a matter of days, followers surged, and within weeks we were reaching people in 100 countries.

That was a moment.

And like the others before it, it came with a choice.

We could celebrate it briefly and move on. Or we could recognize it for what it was: a signal that something meaningful was resonating—and worth deeper focus.

We chose the latter.

Owning that moment didn’t mean chasing growth for growth’s sake. It meant recommitting to quality, to presence, and to serving the community forming around the work.

What Owning the Moment Has Taught Me

Across all three experiences, a few lessons stand out. If you’re in a moment right now, these are worth remembering.

First, moments are rarely solo achievements.
They’re built with others—teammates, partners, mentors, supporters. Owning the moment means pausing long enough to acknowledge that and express gratitude.

Second, momentum isn’t permission to cut corners.
If anything, it’s a responsibility to keep delivering a great product or service. Moments are fragile. Shortcuts cheapen them.

Third—and most important—owning the moment often requires subtraction.
You can’t fully lean into what’s emerging if your time and energy are scattered. The real work is asking: What can I take off my plate so I can honor what’s in front of me?

That’s a question I’m sitting with now.

A Pause, Not a Goodbye

Which brings me to this post.

For the foreseeable future, I’ll be stepping away from a fixed publishing cadence for Rivr Notes, with deep gratitude for the community that has shaped and supported every edition. My writing will continue—but more of it will live within the Midlife Circus community on Substack, where the intention and energy are pulling me right now.

This isn’t a goodbye.

It’s a recognition of a moment—and a choice to own it.

To everyone who has read, reflected, and shared Rivr Notes: Thank You. Truly. Your presence has mattered more than you know.

Moments don’t last forever.

But what you do with them can.

If you’re standing in one right now—don’t rush past it. Don’t downplay it. Don’t wait for perfect clarity.

Own it!

Be well,

Brent, your Rivr Guide

Brent Drever