We’re not meant to live entirely in “on” or “off” mode.

Between the intensity of work and the intimacy of home, there’s a quieter, more human space that many of us are craving, even if we haven’t yet named it. A place where connection isn’t transactional. A place where you don’t have to put on your professional polish or keep your guard up. A place that allows you to arrive as you are, not as who you think you should be.

In 1989, sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third place” to describe these in-between spaces. Your first place is home. Your second is work. But your third? That’s where community lives. Where you meet people not through obligation, but with ease.

He meant cafés, pubs, barbershops. Places where conversation flows, where regulars gather, and where a sense of belonging is built not through structure, but through shared presence.

What if we reimagined the third place for today?

Not just as a venue, but as a container. A rhythm. A relationship. A pause. A space between worlds. A breath between roles. A place for presence, reflection, and reconnection — not only with others, but with yourself.

I call this version The Third Place too. But it’s less about where we meet and more about how. It’s business without the burnout. Conversation without the small talk. Connection without the pressure to perform.

It’s a walk with someone who really sees you. It’s the quiet comfort of dogs at your feet. It’s the kind of collaboration that starts not with a pitch deck, but with a cup of tea and a question you didn’t know you needed to ask.

In a world that often demands clarity, confidence, and constant output, The Third Place gives us something else: space. The clearest insights often come not when we chase them, but when we slow down long enough to hear what’s already true.

Why Now?

The rhythms we've been living by don’t quite fit anymore.

We’ve emerged from years of blurred boundaries, where home became work and connection became a calendar link. The return to normal never really came, because for many of us, “normal” wasn’t working in the first place.

We crave something more human. Not another Zoom room. Not another name badge. But a softer kind of space. Where you don’t need a business card to belong. Where conversation unfolds instead of performing. Where you don’t have to lead with what you do, but can start with how you are.

For business owners, solopreneurs, and thoughtful humans charting their own course, this kind of space isn’t just a luxury. It’s essential. We carry a lot, often alone. And we’re not just looking for answers. We’re looking for people who ask better questions.

The Third Place offers an alternative to hustle culture and surface-level networking. It’s not a productivity hack. It’s not a leadership tool. It’s something gentler, and more true.

When connection is real, ideas follow. When safety is felt, clarity returns. When we stop performing, we start listening — to ourselves, to each other, and to what’s quietly been waiting for space to emerge.

This is part of what I call The Rooted Way. It’s a way of being that values depth over speed, connection over clout, and the kind of confidence that grows from within.

A Reimagined Third Place

This version of the third place isn’t found on a map. It’s not pinned to a postcode or marked with a sign.

It might look like a slow walk on the Downs, with the kind of conversation that starts with a sigh and ends with a sense of clarity. It might begin with dogs padding alongside us, a reminder that presence doesn’t need performance. It might be a group gathering, light on structure but rich in meaning — a space where no one’s trying to impress, and everyone’s trying to understand.

There’s warmth here, but not forced intimacy. There’s space, but not silence. There’s a kind of informal generosity that says you don’t need to have it all figured out to be welcome.

The Third Place, in this form, becomes a container for many things:

• A different kind of business conversation — less about scaling, more about meaning 

• A different kind of community — not noisy or crowded, but consistent, thoughtful, and real 

• A different kind of confidence — the kind that grows in safety, in rhythm, and in reflection

This work is built on the belief that we don’t need bigger networks. We need deeper ones. And that trust is the real currency. It’s built slowly, shoulder to shoulder, one conversation at a time.

A Soft Invitation

This isn’t a launch. There’s no programme to join. Not yet.

This is the planting of a seed. A quiet beginning. A start that’s been growing under the surface for a long time — in walks and voice notes, coffees and collaborations, shared stories and soft nods of recognition.

In time, The Third Place may become:

• A walking circle 

• A conversation series 

• A constellation of collaborators 

• A kind of home for those doing life and work with depth, with questions, with care

But for now, it’s just a whisper. A space being shaped not by design, but by desire.

If you’ve been craving something gentler — not just for your work, but for yourself — you’re not alone. If the pace of your life leaves no room to hear what matters, this might be your breath between.

And if you read this and exhaled, even just a little, then you’re already part of it.

I'm quietly gathering those who want to be part of what’s next. Sign up here and I'll send out a gentle nudge when it's time.