We recently connected with Toby Witte and have shared our conversation below.
Toby, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
I recently picked up the book The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. I was surprised to find it describing in a playful way my attitude towards abundance. If we open up, share, and help others succeed, only good will come of it. I believe that our possibilities and opportunities are endless if we allow them to show up. We are all faced with our own hurdles and inequities. To meet life takes effort. Not everything comes with ease. We are not all blessed with the same advantages. Most of the time we are busy just figuring out how to survive. Every bit of abundance we can welcome is only going to be multiplied when we share in it. Goodness does not come with a minus-plus ledger. If I can meet abundance with openness and intention, if I can meet others with openness and intention, and if I can help others to do the same, we will all be blessed with it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I fiercely believe good design improves our lives. I have been focused over two decades on creating homes, private sanctuaries, that are innovative, modern, and energy efficient – but most of all places that will have a chance to provide us with true happiness. In 2023 I published a book, Supersizing Bliss – How we have Betrayed our Homes and the Happiness we Seek, in an effort to share my discoveries. Through my design firm Wittehaus I offer design services as well as guidance to help homeowners create exceptional homes. I take them by their hand and guide them from the first questions and moments of curiosity to holding a key in their hand and moving in.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
What do they say? Hindsight is 20/20? I wish I could have seen with the same clarity and conviction I hold today what I believe to be the most potent attitude to breed success: a clarity of vision. One of the mantras I remind myself of constantly is “A strategy allows us to discern an opportunity from a distraction.” It is that simple and that difficult. I find myself in constant dialogue with myself about what it is I want to accomplish. What are my ultimate goals or dreams? And what are the steps to make them happen?
At the same time I nourish a deep sense of curiosity. I want to continue to play naked and learn and grow and discover. The world is just too rich not to tab into.
And so I find myself negotiating my openness and self-protection, my appetite and my clarity of purpose. A good friend of mine coined it perfectly: Say “no” to protect your “yes”!
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Writing my book, Supersizing Bliss, has been an eye opening experience. I was asked to shape sometimes loose notions or ideas into coherent chapters. It required me to fill some blind spots with research and analysis. In the same way the entire writing process itself provided me with a crash course into the English language, I thought I had long crossed off. In the course of the entire book creation process I shaped an understanding of my work that far surpassed what I started out with. Sheepishly I thought afterwards that one should write a book first and start a business second, just so you can show up with clarity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.witteha.us/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wittehaus/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wittehaus
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobywitte/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/witteha_us
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wittehaus
