Beth Ridley left a 12-year career at Northwestern Mutual to start a wellness company promoting "thin places" - quiet spots for reflection. She argues that stillness, not constant busyness, drives creativity and innovation, and wants to make "doing nothing the new kale."
12 years.
She said she started her own company called the "Brim Full Life" (also referenced as "the Brimful Life").
Okay, last but not least, I'm gonna bring up to the stage a woman who I got the opportunity to meet when she was not an entrepreneur, when we were both at Northwestern Mutual. And it was interesting because I felt like I was just getting to know her. And then she left, started a business. I'm like, oh, man. Man, that's too bad. But we have another opportunity to connect, so I want to bring to the stage right now Beth Ridley and have her share a little bit more about her organization called the Brimful Life. Here we go. Beth Ridley, ladies and gentlemen. Give her some love. Give her some love.
I was at NM for 12 years, so, Adam, you just came a little late. We could have overlapped for a lot of time. All right, so, so recently my friend asked me, where is my thin space? I had no idea what she was talking about. Thin, thin place. Is that like, you know, where I go, where everyone is skinny? I don't know, Miami. She goes, no, no, no, no, no. Your thin place. The place where you go, that's so beautiful. That's so perfect. It's like that thin place between heaven and earth and. Oh, got it. My thin place. Of course, of course. Yeah, of course. It's Bay Beach. It's like a three minute walk from my house. A little sliver of Lake Michigan. No one goes there. It's absolutely beautiful, especially in the sunrise. Oh, but you know what else? Like a few miles up the road, there's Atwater Park. That's beautiful. That's my thin place, too. But then near there, there's also the Villa Terra Museum and North Point Lighthouse. But then further north, there's the Schlitz Ottobahn Nature center. These are all my thin places. And I started to think, you know what? We're so lucky to live in Milwaukee. Think about your thin place. Maybe yours is just a short drive away, a short walk away, or even maybe in your own backyard. So that's what I wanted to talk about, your thin place tonight, right? And you're probably thinking, yeah, but this is all about technology and innovation and entrepreneurship. What does thin place have to do with that? And I would argue thin place has everything to do with innovation because it's the thin place. It's where we go to just be still, to be calm, to reflect, to do nothing except absorb the beauty where ideas can ferment, right? We create the space for innovation and creativity to thrive. So that's why I think that thin space and quiet time, reflection and time to do nothing is so important. But as a culture we just, we don't prioritize that, right. We put a premium on being busy. It's like a badge of honor to be busy. When you ask someone, how are you? Oh, I'm so busy. I say that too, right? Like, so proud of ourselves to be productive. But I would argue that being really busy is unproductive, right? When we're really busy, we're not present. And it's in the present where those big ideas, those moment, moments of joy actually happen. When we're busy and just focusing on execution, we're not pausing, reflecting, maybe looking at the big picture or connecting dots. So we're not being strategic. And when we're constantly doing, we're not rejuvenating, so we get burned out and depleted, right? So for whatever reason, in my personal experience 25 years working in corporate America, I really started to be attuned to the negative impact that a priority on being busy and doing had on corporate cultures. When a corporate culture prioritized being busy, they became void of joy, meaning, purpose, creativity and innovation. And I really started to think, there has got to be a better way. There has to be a way where we can build corporate cultures, whereas individuals, we can achieve professional success, but not at the expense of personal well being. There has got to be a better way that as leaders in companies, we can foster cultures that enable employees to thrive so that the business can thrive. So I decided three months ago to leave my big time corporate job at Northwestern Mutual and to start my own company called the Brim Full Life. And I am all about, I call it a career and culture wellness company. Right? So I provide solutions to help individuals achieve professional success in harmony with personal well being. And I work with leaders to create inspiring, inclusive and innovative cultures that bring out the best in everyone. And a big cornerstone of my solutions, believe it or not, is to do nothing, to encourage people to reflect, to schedule time to be still so that they can be in the moment and allow creativity and innovation to thrive. So I am on this mission to make being busy the new smoking and make do nothing the new kale. And I figure I'm in a group of innovators, creatives and early adopters. So I need you on this mission with me. Who's on board? All right? So my call to action for you is super simple. Just figure out where your thin place is and go to it often, because the innovation in Milwaukee depends on that. So that's what my business is all about.
