Brutal Simplicity of Thought

“Brutal simplicity of thought is a painful necessity.”

— Maurice Saatchi

That phrase defined my career the moment I stepped into the lobby of M&C Saatchi. The giant wooden black letters — M&C SAATCHI, as tall as I stood — carried the weight of everything I had dreamed of back in Townsville, North Queensland.

I’d already spent years at AEC Group, Australia’s leading economics and market research firm. I was young — plucked from working in bars into leading strategy, design, and research. I’d worked on national projects like the introduction of ethanol as a byproduct of cane sugar and tourism strategy for Hamilton Island. I’d saved the Bord of Directors for Best Western Australia. But I wanted more. I wanted campaigns, creativity, and execution. I wanted to see strategy take shape.

When I moved to Melbourne in 2006, I thought I’d found it. I’d emailed every agency in Campaign Brief and Ad Age with one line: “I’m a big fish in a small pond. I want to be a small fish in a big pond.”

I landed a job in account service at M&C Saatchi. It was my dream agency — but also a lesson in boxes. I had led entire campaigns at AEC: writing scripts, briefing designers, carrying beta tapes to the TV stations myself. In Melbourne, I was suddenly told there were boxes — copywriters, art directors, suits. I didn’t fit into any one of them.

That’s where the phrase came back to me: brutal simplicity of thought.

It doesn’t mean easy.

Nike told us to “Just Do It.”

Apple taught us to “Think Different.”

Adidas promised “Impossible Is Nothing.”

Amazon declared: “Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History.”

Simple doesn’t mean easy — in advertising, in strategy, or in life.

Owning Two Careers

For years, I lived in two worlds. Advertising strategist by day. Actor by night.

It didn’t come without cost. I lost promotions. I saw eyes glaze over when I admitted I had two careers. I took unpaid leave for acting work but always carried my laptop, still delivering on client campaigns in between shoots.

People told me I couldn’t do both. They were wrong.

Because acting catapulted my strategy career. Acting taught me empathy, human behavior, story structure, how to listen, how to own silence. It gave me everything I needed to see audiences not as demographics but as people.

And now? Those “two worlds” aren’t separate anymore. They are the reason my strategies cut through.

Breaking the Box

Agency life was intoxicating — the clients, the campaigns, the awards. But it was also destructive. Alcohol, drugs, long hours, chairs rolling down hallways at 2 a.m.

I believed the narrative I’d inherited: life is hard, work harder.

But brutal simplicity has taught me something different. Healing has taught me something different. ADHD, scoliosis, trauma release, and the soul work I’ve done over the past few years showed me that clarity isn’t about grind — it’s about freedom.

And when you’re free, the strategy becomes clear.

Why It Matters for Clients

Last year, I had a booth at the LA Business Show. At first, it felt like a waste — little return, little traction. But a year later, I see the real return.

I met someone offering the exact same work I do — at five times my base rate. That was the day I realized how much I’d been undercharging, and how much value I truly bring.

Now, my bandwidth is limited. I only work with a small number of clients at a time, because what I bring isn’t just execution — it’s 25 years of seeing the answers fast, of cutting through noise, of running strategies that are soul-led and brutally simple.

If you want in, now is the time.

Because brutal simplicity of thought is still my compass — and it has never been more necessary.