I was asked this question a few times in the past two weeks. People want to know why I am doing this blog. There must be something behind all of this.
What is your angle dude?
There is always an angle. Right?
This blog is my ever increasing portfolio of writing that is being delivered pro bono. This is a way of giving back to the broader community, it is free content, and I will never advertise on here.
Now I may throw down some content that has some affiliate-based links that could result in a couple dollars, but by no means is this the point of the online writing here.
For me, this is about building a legacy that will be here for those closest in my life, those that are complete strangers, perhaps even family members that I may never even meet. The idea is that this content will be here when they are old enough to appreciate the material that is on here. Much of this content will remain viable even ten years from now, and I am certain that a good chunk of the content will age out in terms of applicability.
So yeah, legacy.
My own voice.
I am writing out here to continue to hone in on my true voice. A voice that is the same if you were to meet me in person, interact with me via text, via phone, over a beer, or over a conference call at work.
I have had many people in my life ask me how I’ve done this unification of my ‘online blog’ with how I really am in person. The questions that I get asked generally turn towards the following kinds:
Aren’t you scared about what people will think?
How do you find the time?
Why are you doing this anyway? What is in it for you?
When I first launched this blog – yes, it was very intimidating. Fear ruled me in many ways, as I had all sorts of concerns about the implications of putting myself out there. Both in the short term, and in the long term. I was now on record, and in many ways facing the reality that people were going to actually get to know me. Privacy was a thing that I truly safeguarded. I still do in a lot of ways.
Looking back, this was a hollow version of who I am now. The insecurity of transparency was going to get ripped to shreds – leaving behind the unvarnished version of an imperfect guy that gives enough of a shit to put it all out there. This is a lesson I’m continuing to learn, and each inch won of transparency is another inch of freedom from any limiting beliefs that have been noosed around my neck for too long.
Those that have asked me that question have sometimes implied that they wish they could be so open, and that they yearn to let go of the persona that they present to the world. That shielded type of living is tiring. I know this to be true, as I have lived that way for a long time.
It really is scary to share the imperfections, and daunting to wonder how many people you will lose given this audacious approach to sharing about yourself. Yet, my experience has been strangely amazing. The more I bleed on the page in an authentic way, the more people are responding to the journey that I am on. I am still digging in, and getting deeper. There are more than a few topics that I have yet to hit here, and some of these topics will definitely trigger reactions. A couple of these inflammatory topicsI have trialed in conversations with a few close folks in my life.
The topics that get people engaging authentically are those that I think really work well for this format. The topics have to be ones that I actually care enough to write about – sometimes these inflammatory topics are just drama wheels spinning around to get people spun up on symptoms – not root cause problem resolution.
Getting truly authentic here has become an act of freedom for me, and when a day or two goes by where I have not written anything – my nervous energy level rises. It is now akin to missing a day at the gym for me. And I have some strong opinions on the value now of daily exercise, ideally throwing around some heavy weights, along with writing on the daily.
When I started 2018, I had a goal of cultivating a daily writing habit. I did this for a solid 84+ days in a row over the course of the summer, and even lately – I’m trending towards the vast majority of the days of the week. So this has been accomplished for the year as of now.
Finding the time? – The question is a flawed one that indicates a mismatch of priority, and possibly a misunderstanding of how time ‘works’ for those that direct their time. I make the time, there are very few times in my life when I have ‘found time.’ In the past, I have discussed how to build in time on the calendar for the things that are important in your life – regardless of setting or Dimension of Life.
I make the time for writing depending upon the demands of the scheduled day, just like I do for my gym time. Now somedays things override my schedule. Escalations at work. Personal life demands that sometimes feel like escalations too. Then there are the unexpected emergencies that warrant an unequivocal approach to resolving. All of these have happened in the past week, and they have pressed me harder than I have been pressed for months. So what am I doing? I am doing this blog entry in a free wheeling manner, and later in the evening – I’ll be hitting the gym hard as well. Writing has become a backstop along with my gym-going habit. This is what is keeping my mind and body fresh on even the hardest of days. Resiliency is borne out of these sorts of habits cultivated during easier times.
Why am I doing this, and what is in it for me? I love this question so much, and there are a few answers I tend to offer up depending upon who is asking the question.
I am building my own platform. My own brand. I am going long game here, and I am doing this now for the world we will all find ourselves in that is fast approaching. I firmly believe the world we will be living in – approximately 3 years from now – will be a world of content-dominated value. It will be a world where those that have a voice, and those that can readily convey their expertise, passions, and do so authentically – will be sought after.
This is not a game of self aggrandizing.
This is about helping others out – with my hard won lessons learned, the easy shit I’ve learned will not be popped off here. That’s the kind of stuff that people do not care about, and frankly it is a pain in the ass to deal with people like that, no?
My own platform, my own voice, my own brand – in preparation for a world of tumultuousness that is set to rage unlike any social or online environment we have seen in at least 40 years. Seriously folks, we are about to embark in a future that will be roiling with upheaval and disappointment like you not seen in a long time.
It will also be a future of untold opportunity that we have likely never witnessed before.
We get to decide how it plays out for each of us.
I have decided that sharing what I have learned in terms of experience, approaches that are working for me now, and also some areas of research that you likely benefit form – are all topics that will enrich both my life and yours.
My struggles with getting my body re-formed. My struggles with shedding some fat. My struggles with hormonal imbalances. My struggles as a workaholic. My struggles as a man raising three men. My struggles as a divorced guy. My struggles as an executive with numerous demands and incredibly rewarding projects with teams that were history making. My experiences aimed at deepening self awareness, and unwinding programming that had me judging myself harshly. Perfectionism. My chronically horrendous sleeping patterns. My weird and damaged relationship with money. A chronic procrastinator. My historical tendency to be busy. My ongoing struggle with my need to outperform and over deliver. My historical difficulties with focusing.
You get the idea, and this is all rich ground to dig into. I bet everyone reading this can identify with something mentioned above, and that is kind of the point with this project. I am doing this yes – to build my legacy, platform, voice, etc AND
I am doing this to help you with the gifts I have been given.
This online project is about giving back, as I have received so much from so many without ever asking. A prior version of myself would also add – ‘without ever asking, and without being worthy of the help…’
Now, I am getting the responses of ‘you didn’t have to write that blog for me’ or ‘thank you for writing that up based on what we had talked about.’
It is incredibly rewarding to be giving back like this, and I do believe there is so much more to give back on this project.
That’s great Mark, so what’s the catch?
There is no catch.
Enjoy the material as you will.
As I continue to open up about more things going on in my life – you will see opportunities for us to hang and to help each other out. As these things unfold, and you become interested – we can figure it out. Or you can hang here on the site, and jam band with me on topics for however long ya like. I am now beginning to understand that opportunities present themselves as much as they are pursued. Either way, you have to get the work in to be in a posture to take some action and to do with energy…
Hell, in the past two weeks I had a friend reach out about how to power up my retirement savings strategy. Unprompted, yet – this ongoing writing thing had me in his mind when he was considering opening it up to some others. Wild.
Then a former colleague reached out about another opportunity that has me intrigued, again unprompted. She tells me it is as a result of the writing here that showed a side or two that I did not really share at work a couple years ago when I was an overworked, high strung, type A workaholic that had no time being human with everyone I worked with.
Times have changed and so have I.
Guess what, times are changing even faster than before for all of us.
If you are unclear on what is driving you forward.
If you are unclear on what your priorities are across your life.
If you are unsure what the next step is for your career, let alone the version of you that is 10 years from now.
If you are simply unsure in general.
You will be tossed around hard in the coming years. You will be subject to those that have a voice. You will be directed by others to pursue their drivers, their priorities, and you will have a growing sense of unease. Why?
It will be increasingly obvious to everyone alive who is living their lives, and who is living a life subject to the demands of others. The level of uncertainty experienced by those that are not driving their own lives will be painfully obvious to those around you, and it will not be constrained to a LinkedIn feed or a Facebook update.
For those of us that have the clarity about ourselves, about our future, about our legacy, and are actively working towards a cultivated lifestyle that is ours by design – the future is incredibly exciting. The vast waves of change and of upheaval represent incredible opportunities that many are already taking advantage of. If you have no idea what I am alluding to – you are frankly, at risk. We all are at risk, the difference makers are those that move forward with their plans without waver.
Be a flawed person. Have inexact plans. Work towards ever increasing clarity. Create. Give to those that need your help, as best you can, with the gifts you have. Do all of this with faith.
I’ll be spending more time in the coming weeks highlighting some futurist topics and research that I have been conducting. We are seeing rapid developments across a number of industries and social constructs that are set to destroy and recreate many ways of default thinking for many of us. I’ll elaborate on this shortly.
The imperative I feel is even greater now for this online project, and to help friends going through substantial changes right now.
Massive change in the next 3 years, and for some closest to me – massive change going on right now.
If you need a hand, and we are not already in touch – feel free to ping me.