Brent M. Jones
Books, Essays & Reflections on What MattersReflective Nonfiction on Purpose, Communication, and the Human Side of Change
A bench. A book. A quiet pause. Sometimes this is all we need to find our way back to ourselves.
Welcome to Connected Events Matter.
This is where I write about purpose, communication, and the slow work of becoming who we are. Through books like What Matters, The Human Factor, and The Power of Authentic Communication, I explore how everyday experiences shape meaning and growth.You will find essays, poetry, and reflections that invite you to pause and notice the small moments that stay with you. Most of my work circles around three ideas. Self-awareness. Reinvention. The human side of change.
I write about the choices that shape us and the stories we return to when life shifts. My background in consulting and career development influences the way I look at people, work, and relationships. But the heart of my writing is simple. Pay attention. Listen to yourself. Let small insights guide you forward.
If you want to read more, explore the What Matters newsletter, browse my books, or spend time with the essays and reviews shared by readers.
Reflections on What Matters
We all move through seasons of change. Not dramatic turning points, but quiet stretches that ask us to slow down and reconsider what life is becoming. My writing begins in those places. The in-between moments when something meaningful is shifting and we feel it before we can describe it.
Every book and essay on this site is an invitation to pause. To look at how purpose takes shape in ordinary experiences. A conversation that lingers. A question that unsettles us. A memory that reminds us who we want to be. Growth does not always start with action. Often it begins with awareness.
Authentic communication sits at the center of this work. When we say what we truly think and feel, we understand ourselves more clearly. The Power of Authentic Communication explores that idea. Not only how we speak, but how we listen and respond. How we align our words with the things that matter most.
The same theme runs through The Human Factor and What Matters. Meaning is found in reflection and in the small choices that shape our days. Reinvention is not about escaping the past. It is about understanding it.
If you are here searching for direction or renewal, take your time. Read what speaks to you. Clarity is often closer than we think. It just needs our attention.
From the What Matters Newsletter
Each week I share short reflections on how small moments create larger meaning. A conversation. A shift in perspective. A quiet realization that asks us to begin again.
The What Matters newsletter is a simple space. A pause in the noise. A place to return to purpose and clarity.
→ Read the latest reflections on What Matters
🔍 Featured Reflections & Articles
There are lines in literature that stay with us not because they are elegant, but because they are unsettling. William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying gives us one of the strangest and most unforgettable: Vardaman’s declaration, “My mother is a fish
We often confuse understanding with wisdom.
Understanding sees clearly; wisdom acts with clarity.
One explains the world, the other transforms how we live within it.
Understanding allows us to see what’s really happening—how things connect, what causes what, and why events unfold the way they do. Wisdom, however, is what guides our response to that clarity. It’s what turns insight into compassion, and reflection into movement.
Understanding recognizes truth.
Wisdom lives it.…..
✨ Website Ideas and Posts That Resonated
📌 Most Visited: "People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime" — Poem by Anonymous. This poem continues to receive the most visits on the site and often resonates with readers navigating change.
🔹 “What Our Brains Are Really Doing in Stillness”
We live in a culture that measures value by the activities we engage in. If we’re not moving, typing, scrolling, or ticking boxes, we assume we’re falling behind. But the truth is, stillness isn’t wasted time — it’s one of the most essential things we can give our minds.
When you stop doing and allow yourself a moment of quiet, your brain doesn’t shut down. In fact, something remarkable happens. It switches gears.
🔹 Gratitude is more than just a feeling — it's a mindset that can transform how we experience each day. When we shift our focus toward what we appreciate, even in small ways, we unlock energy, clarity, and a deeper connection to the world around us. This reflection explores how choosing gratitude leads to real and lasting inspiration.
🔹 How Open-Mindedness Sparks Daily Creativity? New ideas aren’t accidents — they’re the result of staying open, curious, and ready to be inspired every day.
Where do new ideas come from? Sometimes we find them intentionally through research or exploration. Other times, they seem to appear out of nowhere.
What Matters on Substack
A quiet space for reflections on reinvention, connection, and the small moments that shape us. Short essays, poems, and thoughts on presence, identity, and the human side of change, delivered directly to your inbox.
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Words guide us toward clarity, one honest thought at a time.
“What does it mean to say you are “writing in the moment”? At its simplest, it means capturing life as it unfolds—observing what’s happening around you and setting it down while the details are still fresh, like slowing a camera to catch every movement. Writing in the moment is immediate and alive, grounded in the “here and now.”
But it’s also about choice. Out of everything happening, what details do you notice? Which ones do you leave out? Some events stand out so sharply you can almost breathe them in. Those chosen details shape the way the moment is remembered.
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We live in a culture that measures value by activity. If we’re not moving, typing, scrolling, or ticking boxes, we assume we’re falling behind. But the truth is, stillness isn’t wasted time — it’s one of the most essential things we can give our minds. When you stop doing and allow yourself a moment of quiet, your brain doesn’t shut down. In fact, something remarkable happens. It switches gears.
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