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Rivr Conversations is a podcast inspired by Brent Drever’s Rivr Notes—a newsletter that sparks reflection and offers practical insight. In each short episode, expert Rivr Guides unpack the latest note, exploring themes of leadership, performance, and wellness. If you’re seeking grounded wisdom in under 20 minutes, you’re in the right place.
Today's conversation is about something we often overlook, the space where we work and how much of it is actually a choice. It's inspired by Brent's Rivr Notes post: Where's your office? We'll explore what it means to take ownership of your environment, why thriving doesn't depend on a fancy setup, and how a small shift in mindset can transform the way you work, wherever you are. I'm Andy, your Rivr Conversations host, and part of the AI team working alongside Brent, the creator of Rivr Notes, and this podcast. Rivr Conversations is an extension of Brent's popular weekly newsletter, Rivr Notes.
Andy:Each week, two of our expert Rivr Guides sit down to reflect on the latest note, sharing insights, takeaways and stories that explore leadership, performance and wellness in a grounded, thoughtful way. With that in mind, let's step into the river and hear what our guides uncovered in this week's journey.
Lena:Hello, everyone. Looking forward to today's conversation. We're about to embark on a deep dive into, well, a really compelling idea. It's this concept that where you work is maybe much bigger, much more personal than we usually think. It kinda challenges those old assumptions about the office.
Lena:You know? And crucially, it gets us thinking about how we actually thrive in our workspaces wherever they happen to be.
Reed:Exactly. And for this particular deep dive, our source material is Brent's weekly newsletter Rivr Notes. Specifically, we're looking at an entry he titled, Where's Your Office? This podcast, as you know, explores Rivr Notes, Brent's thoughts on leadership, performance, and wellness. And this piece, well, it stems from some of Brent's own experiences, observations from some pretty unexpected places.
Reed:They sparked this really powerful reflection about our relationship with our work environments. So our mission today really is to pull out the core ideas from Brent's reflections and see how they might apply to your life, to your work. How can they help you maybe feel more fulfilled, more effective?
Lena:Okay. Let's jump right in then. Where did this start for Brent? He sets the scene. Earlier this year, he's on a small flats boat, way off Southern tip of Andros Island in The Bahamas.
Lena:And he describes this morning as, well, almost surreal. The water, just every shade of blue you can possibly imagine stretching out forever it seems, an endless horizon. But it wasn't just empty beauty. He talks about birds, fish, this incredible stillness, all happening at once. It was day one of a fly fishing trip, and they had this local guide with them, a man who'd spent, get this, forty years navigating these specific waters.
Lena:Imagine the knowledge there. So after a pretty long ride, like an hour and twenty minutes through these winding channels, the guide slows the engine right down. He just looks around, takes it all in, you know. And this big smile spreads across his face, and he says, welcome to my office. What really hit Brent apparently was how genuine it was.
Lena:There was zero irony. No joke. It was just this this profound statement of pride, of ownership. This guy, he chose to make his life right there. Guiding people, raising a family, building his whole career on that island.
Lena:And the real takeaway for Brent, he wasn't just getting by. He was absolutely thriving in it. Deeply connected, energized.
Reed:It's powerful, isn't it? And what's fascinating is how that exact sentiment, that phrase welcome to my office popped up again for Brent, but in a totally different world. Just a few months later, he's hiking deep in a Costa Rican rainforest. The vibe, completely different. Not the wide open ocean, but, immersive green, lush, everything felt alive, breathing.
Reed:He mentions waterfalls crashing nearby, birds calling out this thick, cool canopy overhead. And their guide this time, a young woman, maybe early twenties, full of energy. You could just feel her passion for the place. And as they start down the trail, turns back, big smile, just like the fisherman, and says the same thing, Welcome to my office. Same exact phrase, different country, different generation, totally different environment.
Reed:But again, Brent stresses it wasn't just a line. It felt like a real statement of ownership. She chose this path, this space, this sort of rhythm of life. And just like the Bahamian guide, she was clearly thriving too, lit up by it. So what really struck Brent, I think, was this pattern.
Reed:It wasn't about the job description or even how exotic the location was. It was about the deep connection, the, the sense of owning that space these people had built.
Lena:Okay. So we have these two really vivid stories. They feel worlds apart. Right? The weathered Bahamian fisherman forty years starting out.
Lena:Yet, they both use that exact same line, welcome to my office, with that same genuine pride. What was it about that parallel, those two encounters, that made them stick with Brent so much? Why did it make him pause and, you know, look inward?
Reed:Well, it seems pretty clear these moments really forced him to stop and think. As Brent puts it, he started asking himself, okay, where's my office? But then, immediately, that led to the deeper question, and am I thriving in it? So it wasn't just about, like, the physical address. It became this much deeper look at alignment, you know, purpose, fulfillment within his own work context.
Reed:And that's the core question he kind of throws out there for all of us, you listening. Where is your office? Not just physically, but maybe mentally, emotionally too. And are you truly thriving there? It's about moving beyond just being in a place to really owning it, making it work for you.
Lena:That's such a critical question, isn't it? And I appreciate how Brent turns on himself. It makes it relatable. He talks about his own journey with the idea of an office, like his past life working as a management consultant. Back then, he says his office was basically airplanes, hotel rooms, conference centers, client sites all over the place, different time zones.
Lena:And, yeah, it sounds chaotic. Right? I mean, just thinking about it makes me tired. But he's really clear. He thrived in that chaos.
Lena:It was a choice he And that constant motion, that pace, it genuinely energized him then, which really highlights something important. Thriving isn't about some universal ideal space. It's about your connection to your space and the intention you bring.
Reed:Exactly. And contrast that with his setup now. Today, Brent says his office is his home. It's where he does his thinking, his writing, connecting with people, creating his work. And this setup, it gives him, well, flexibility, a different kind of rhythm, still doing meaningful work.
Reed:And crucially, he says he's thriving here too. So it's a totally different chapter, right? Different setting, different demands. But that core intention, the active choice to shape an environment where he could do his best work, feel energized, feel connected, That seems consistent. What's fascinating, I think, is how his personal story shows this larger point.
Reed:We all have some degree of choice, maybe more than we realize. It might not always be obvious, you know, maybe not in our job title or the nine to five schedule, but it's profoundly there and in how we show up each day, how we shape our immediate environment, even in small ways, and definitely how we take psychological ownership, emotional ownership of the spaces where we spend so much time. That I think is the key nugget for you listening, Finding and using that agency, that choice, even when things feel fixed.
Lena:That's a really useful distinction. It shifts the focus, doesn't it? It's not about waiting for the perfect office, but about actively cultivating your own sense of place and purpose in whatever situation you're in. And this is where Brent gets really practical, which I love. He moves beyond these kind of grand, exotic examples.
Lena:He gives us these everyday examples of people taking ownership. Think about the office cubicle folks he mentions. You know, the type who intentionally bring in just the right lamp, maybe some favorite books, a couple of photos, a plan or two. They take that generic box and they make it theirs. Not just decorating, it's like they're crafting their own little microenvironment.
Lena:Or, he talks about people who carve out that ritual midday walk, maybe twenty minutes, headphones on, step outside, completely reset the brain and they come back feeling sharper, lighter, just better, ready for the afternoon. It's not a huge change to their desk but it's a deliberate change to their workspace by changing their physical state for a bit. And even in traditional offices where maybe you don't have much say over the furniture or layout. Brent observes people being really intentional about their workflow, their energy. Maybe they create mental zones in their day.
Lena:Okay. This hour is for deep focus. No interruptions. Or they use a standing desk converter or just make a point to close email for an hour. These all feel like small things, but they're powerful acts of taking control, shaping your space and your state.
Reed:It's exactly right. That practical intentionality is key to Brent's whole point. It really boils down to the choice, the conscious decision to thrive where you are. He circles back to the fishermen and the rainforest guide. They weren't just lucky to be in nice spots.
Reed:They made a deep fundamental choice to align their lives with those places. They cultivated that rootedness, that sense of belonging. And you could see it energized them, lit them up. It wasn't passive. And this applies just as much to that mental office we talked about.
Reed:How do you listening now cultivate focus and purpose when things are chaotic around you? Maybe it's a specific morning routine before you even check email. Maybe it's a five minute mindfulness practice between meetings or just deliberately choosing what not to pay attention to filtering the noise. That's also shaping your space. And if you zoom out, connect this to the bigger picture.
Reed:What those guides reminded Brent of is actually quite simple, but profound. Where you work doesn't have to feel like just the place you have to be. It could be ideally should be a place you feel you want to be, at least in spirit, if not always literally. A place that reflects what's important to you, your values, your priorities, your natural rhythm, whether that rhythm is the tide or the rainforest or the buzz of a city or the quiet of working from home. We all need that space, don't we?
Reed:Physical and mental, Where we feel we can do our best work. Where we feel grounded, yeah, and energized. And importantly, proud of the environment we've chosen, or maybe more accurately, the environment we've actively shaped. It's really about designing your work life, not just accepting it.
Lena:So let's bring this home for everyone listening. What does this all mean for you right now in your situation? Brent wraps up his thoughts with a couple of really good questions, and maybe they're worth sitting with for a bit. Perhaps the first question, where's your office? Is just the entry point.
Lena:The real inquiry, the deeper one might be, is your office and think broadly here, physical, mental, the whole setup is it actually helping you flourish? Is it a place where you feel energized? Productive? Like yourself! And if the honest answer is maybe not entirely or not right now.
Lena:Then the next question is, what would it look like to make a shift? Not necessarily a huge one. What small intentional change could you maybe identify even today to start cultivating a more thriving space for yourself.
Reed:Yeah, and just to build on that for a final thought to leave you with, if we accept that our office isn't just the physical desk or building, if it's also that crucial mental space where we think, create, solve problems, then what small deliberate shifts could you commit to this week to cultivate a stronger, maybe more resilient, more thriving mental workspace? Regardless of what's happening physically around you, think about it. What habits, what mindset adjustment could create just a bit more focus, more clarity, maybe more calm in that inner office and how might that internal shift start to ripple outward, maybe even transforming how you experience your external work environment? Something to ponder.
Lena:Thanks for listening until next time.
Andy:That's it for this week's episode. To close out each Rivr conversation, I like to describe the photo featured in the Rivr Notes newsletter. It's not just a stock image, it comes from a real adventure. After all, the best ideas often come from staying curious, embracing new perspectives and engaging with the world around us. This week's photo was taken on the edge of the Pacific, along a stretch of wild coastline in Costa Rica.
Andy:The tide has just pulled back, leaving behind a delicate layer of foam tracing patterns across the black sand. Off in the distance waves roll in with steady rhythm, backed by a sky layered in moody grey clouds. Just beyond the shoreline, a wall of palm trees leans slightly toward the ocean, as if drawn to it. It's a scene that feels both powerful and peaceful, the kind of place where the world quiets just enough for you to listen, to the crash of the surf, the rustle of wind through the trees, maybe even your own thoughts. A reminder that some of the best offices in the world don't have walls at all, just open sky, moving water, and a deep sense of presence.
Andy:If you'd like to read the full Rivr Notes article, including all the amazing photographs, you can find it at OnRivr.com, that's Rivr without an e, and be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts so you never miss a conversation. Before we go, a quick reminder: the opinions and viewpoints expressed in this podcast are solely those of the presenters and our AI companions, sharing personal reflections and perspectives. We're not legal experts, medical professionals, or therapists. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, so please consult the appropriate professionals when you need advice or support. Thanks again for listening.
Andy:River Conversations is an OnRivr LLC production.