Do you feel as though you’re asked to do more, to produce more, to change and adapt every time the wind changes direction?
You’re not alone.
Documentary filmmaker Brett Culp addressed an audience of marketers in the opening keynote at B2B Forum 2025. And he reminded us of a profound truth that resonated deeply with our audience.
Listen to Brett’s keynote now, or read the transcript below.
And for more inspiration to do your best at work and in life, join us at B2B Forum in Boston, Nov 2-4, 2026. Early-buyer discounts and team tickets are available now at https://mpb2b.marketingprofs.com/register-2026-kickoff
Imagine being 13 years old…
Swimming through the night—when you should be in bed—surrounded by cold water.
Nobody in the water with you.
No ability to be touched, or to touch a life preserver.
And no opportunity for AirPods or podcasts or music.
Just you in your head for six and a half hours of darkness.
It got worse!
During the middle of the night, a small storm came through. And there was a five hour period of time where Annalise swam her heart out… and lost a mile.
You say, “wait a second. How does the math on that work out?”
All that has to happen is that the winds and the waves and the current are moving just faster than you are, in the other direction.
And you’re giving it everything you’ve got, but still you’re losing ground.
Have you ever felt that way? Like you’re giving it everything you’ve got, but still you’re losing ground?
Maybe you’re feeling that way right now.
How do you navigate through those moments?
While all the grownups in the boats were freaking out, Annalise was playing a movie in her mind.
She was thinking about those young people, thinking about their stories, seeing their faces, considering their families, and minute after minute, hour after hour, stroke after stroke, she just kept moving forward.
Because she wasn’t focused so much on the winds and the waves.
She was focused on the meaning, power, and impact of the work she was doing in that moment.
She was anchored someplace much deeper than the surface.
That moment reminded me how important it’s for all of us, for you, every day, to stay anchored to your meaningful mission.
To be able to wake up every morning and know the heart and soul—the core—of the energy you bring and the difference it makes.
Because look:
At this moment, you are being asked to produce, to deliver predictable results with unpredictable budgets.
You are trying to connect with buyers who do not want to talk to sales teams.
And you are being asked to use tools that nobody fully trusts or understands yet.
And yet you are being called to be the Chief Storyteller… the Chief Technologist… and the Chief Therapist, sometimes, within your organization as you move through these unknowns and moments of change.
How do you do it, when all the change is happening?
You look at what’s going on around you, but you come back to the place that never changes.
The values, the energies, the belief, the core mission that does not move. It is anchored, rock solid.
And that place within you, no matter what happens out here over the next year, five years, 10 years, when you know who you are and you are anchored to that at your deepest level, your place in the world is secure.
Because the humanity, insight, the depth of intelligence and intuition that you bring in every single moment?
That can’t be replaced.
It’s the uniqueness of you and your power is in that presence.
Your power is not what you know here, in your head.
It’s about what you know about who you are that never changes.
That’s your place of power.
And when you lose sight of that, when you get lost in the winds and the waves, it’s easy to get tossed around.
But come back to that place, always.
A few years ago I was interviewing an astrophysicist. And we got talking about stars, and starlight.
And she said,
“Most people have a fundamental misconception about starlight. They think that when they look up at the night sky, they’re seeing those stars right now.
“That’s not true…
“Everything in the night sky is old light.”
It’s old light…
The closest star to us is of course, the sun. It only takes a few minutes for that light to get here.
But imagine Polaris, the North Star, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, a star that led travelers home for centuries.
That star is over 400 light years away.
So that means, if tonight the sky was clear and everything was aligned just right, and you could see Polaris, the North Star, you’d be looking at light that left that star when Shakespeare was still writing sonnets.
But you’re just seeing it now, because that’s the nature of starlight.
It shines through the darkness, unwavering in its course until it reaches its destination.
This is a moment where so many people are running around with concern, with reactivity, with fear, and with anxiety. They are concerned about what’s going to happen, what we need to do, how much we need to pivot, what our business needs to look like. How do we keep up? How do we respond?
All of those things.
And in those moments of pressure and fear, it can feel like you are moving through the darkness, going nowhere, maybe feeling uncertain.
But dear friends, here’s the truth:
You are starlight moving with an unwavering radiance in your course. And then, in those moments when everybody looks around at the night sky and says, “wow, how beautiful! Look what you did!
You’ll know about the moments when you sat in meeting rooms, when you talked to your team, and you had no idea how you’d ever arrive.
But those are the beautiful moments when your work is manifest in this world in a powerful, impactful way.
But here’s the sad news:
Stars don’t get thank you notes.
They never hear from all the poets and dreamers who their work inspires. Those stars just keep doing their job, which is… to shine.
And so my dear friends, even when you feel like you have blown it on live television in front of everyone, keep telling your story.
And even when it feels like you’re giving it everything you’ve got, but still, you’re losing ground, keep swimming.
And even if you feel lost and confused in the darkness, keep holding space for hope, for what’s possible, for the potential within this and every moment.
For there are galaxies within you.
You are filled with wonder and beauty and magic and light. And so my dear friends, today and every day, keep shining.
Keep shining.
Published December 16, 2025
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