Find Your Third Space

It isn't Starbucks I promise you

One of the most sacred things in my life is something surprisingly simple: third spaces.

They’re the places you can access without much effort, places you don’t have to perform or produce.

When you enter there is an easiness that develops in your body. Where time slows down, your shoulders drop, and you take a breath.

Third spaces live somewhere outside of home and work. Most are held together by atmosphere, familiarity, and just enough social friction to remind you that you’re human and not alone.

Some of my fondest memories from spending extended time in the UK came from their culture of pubs.

Places where people linger.

Some of the most influential conversations of my year last year happened in a pub of all places. Shoutout Saint Church Shoreditch crew.

Back in Colorado, cafes have become that place for me.

They’ve turned into a steady rhythm in my life familiar faces, familiar light, familiar corners where ideas flow a little easier.

Over time you build relational capital with you and the place through consistency.

Some of my favorites are Roast Coffee, Sapor Coffee, and Brew Culture Coffee.

Before I walk into a cafe, I often pray a simple prayer:

“LORD help me be faithfully present in this place. Draw toward me the people I’m meant to meet.”

And sometimes I walk in and God’s sense of humor is funny cause its a cafe that is completely empty. I’ve learned to take that as a gentle nudge from God to enjoy my own company instead.

One of my favorite YouTube channels is Social Animal a French guy who simply goes into cafes, makes people laugh, and creates moments of genuine connection. His channel has been growing quickly, and I don’t think that’s accidental.

I think many of us are waking up to the same hunger.

I admire AI deeply as a technologist, it can write, optimize, and communicate better than us. However, we cannot forget its a machine and can’t live the human condition.

It cannot feel.

For some, a third space won’t be a cafe. It might be a park. A church. A bookstore. A billiards hall. A cigar lounge. A dance studio. A social club. A evening wave to surf on.

Third spaces don’t announce themselves and you usually stumble into them slowly.

But once you find one, cherish it.

I encourage you to cultivate a sense of curiosity to seek out that third space in your city.

It might do something far more profound for you than you might expect.