S2 E8 - Starting over: Leaving London and Quitting the Church - with Rob Grundel

Knowing When to Quit

Today is a biggie.

Have you ever changed your life so much that you feel like you're completely starting over again? Today's guest, Rob Grundel has done just that. After 12 years of living in London and building a life there, Rob said goodbye to the people, communities and projects he'd built and returned to Australia with his family. While in London Rob started the music community Imaginary Millions, ran his leadership coaching consultancy Somekind and was pastor for a small Christian community. He is now living in Australia with his family and is currently a principal at business storytelling community Anecdote.

Shortly after returning home to Oz he also decided to quit the church he was part of. Stripped back from all of his identities, Rob is now asking himself 'who am I now?' And 'is there a way I don't have to identify quite so deeply with the things I create in the future?'

This is an incredibly powerful episode, which will get everyone wondering, who would I be without all the things in my life? For anyone who's ever found themselves starting again, this is for you.

In this episode we discuss:

PART 1: LEAVING LONDON

• What took Rob to London originally
• What happens to identities/ communities when you move away
• The closing rituals that Rob went through when leaving London and how it felt similar to dying.
• About Imaginary Millions - the successful hip hop night and how he 'closed' it

PART 2: QUITTING THE CHURCH

• Rob's first experience of a connection with God when he was 14
• Holding two things at once: Rob's own beliefs and the church values
• How Rob used his inner knowing to make a decision about leaving the church and what it means for his belief system now.

LINKS:

This is the Imaginary Millions album which Rob recorded just before he went to Australia:

https://open.spotify.com/album/5bre4fiI1V1O1oW8MyKeW9?si=N8hJu0LSR0ywsTTofmKoww

This is Rob's weekly letter The Letting Go:

http://tinyletter.com/robgrundel

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Sarah's newsletter: https://sarahweiler.substack.com/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in January 2023

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