Start now.
Hello? Is this thing on?
What’s up everyone. So, this is my first official post. There, I said it…
I’m finally starting.
This feeling has been burning up inside of me for a while, it gets more profound with each day that passes. I keep putting it off and procrastinating, I doubt myself and think that my writing won’t be good enough. I fear that no one will read it or pay any attention to it.
All that to say, I’ve reached the boiling point. I can’t continue living like that anymore.
The pain has outgrown the fear.
I’m no longer worried about what anyone else thinks. I’m doing this for my own sanity, with the hopes of helping others along the way.
Recently, I took a trip down memory lane. I looked back in my personal journal and saw that 6 years ago I bought my first domain.
I was working a job that I knew was not right for me, I wanted more out of life. I started searching for what else was out there and I fell into the rabbit hole of information online. I wish I had started documenting this learning journey earlier. I wish I could say that I followed through and started writing or blogging earlier, but I never did. I let that empty domain sit there, only to gather dust and cobwebs.
Why? Well… because… turning stuff into things is hard.
But now I have a new perspective on writing and putting my thoughts out on the internet.
When you’re writing online, all you have to do is take the things you find interesting, filter those things through you’re perspective, and then put it out there in the world for others to see.
By doing this, you can attract people with similar interests. You can build a community based on your values and interests.
One of my primary goals in life is to connect with other people who are like-minded and to have engaging conversations that lead to new insights.
There is a podcast with Tim Ferriss and the founder of Shopify, they talked about the importance of camaraderie and finding a peer group who you can learn & grow with. We should all strive to find “companions on the path”, as they called each other.
Not only do I want to surround myself with people whose core values align with mine, but I also want to spread the knowledge that I’ve acquired through my life and see if I can spark a new way of thinking for you or anyone else.
This quote from David Perrell sums up perfectly why I’m going public with my thoughts -
“The Internet is the best matching tool ever invented. Sharing quality ideas on the Internet is tinder for the flame of serendipity.”
Stay curious
“Once You Stop Learning, You Start Dying” - Albert Einstein
From a young age, we’re taught to think in certain ways based on the environment we’re brought up in and the values our parents instill in us. However, as we reach adulthood and begin to make independent decisions, we have to expand our thinking beyond these preconceived mental models. By exploring different worldviews and perspectives, we can broaden our understanding of the world and gain new insights that resonate with us on a deeper level.
In order to do this, it is important to remain curious and open-minded. One way to achieve this is by following your natural interests and pursuing topics that fascinate you. This can lead you to discover new ideas and perspectives that you may not have considered before.
Seeking out diverse perspectives and engaging in meaningful conversations with people from different backgrounds can expand your thinking and help you develop a more nuanced understanding of the world.
By constantly learning and experiencing new things, we can reach our full potential and taste the variety of flavors that life has to offer. This is how we evolve and make discoveries about ourselves.
To give an example, I was always curious about learning how to skydive.
I used to watch the early Jay Alvarez Youtube videos and wonder to myself how I could also jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
It wasn’t until a met a guy named Bobby on a friend’s birthday trip to Mexico. He already had hundreds of jumps under his belt and he told me everything I needed to do to get the certification. He even recommended an instructor for me to learn with.
Until I met Bobby, skydiving seemed like some far-off, unattainable thing, but he completely shifted my perspective on that.
All it takes is one person or one conversation to completely alter the course of your entire life. I hope to be your Bobby, and open your eyes to a new way of thinking.
My own remix
You’ve probably heard of FISHER before. He quickly rose to the top of the dance music scene with the release of “Losing It”. During the pandemic, he became a household name, people were posting viral videos of themselves “DJ’ing” to this same song. Since then he’s been touring non-stop, headlining festivals, and selling out shows all over the world.
Would you be surprised to find out he only has 12 original singles?
Really? Only 12 original tracks? Are YA KIDDING?!?
(To give you some context, Michael Jackson recorded 147 songs, the Beatles sit at 188 originals, and you have Elvis clocked in with over 700 songs)
The reason I’m telling you all this is that his latest release (which would count as #13), is not an original.
It’s a remix of the wildly popular 2006 track “World Hold On” by Bob Sinclar.
This was a smart move by the FISH, he knew that the song had massive success, so why not put a fresh new spin on it?
The idea of remixing doesn’t only apply to music.
You can take ideas and concepts that resonate with you, and then put your own “remix” on them. This is the quickest and easiest way to start creating. Staring at a blank page and coming up with new ideas is hard. If you can start with a template and build off that it becomes a bit easier.
That’s exactly what I’m attempting to do here. For years I’ve been consuming other people’s blogs and YouTube channels, and now I want to explore my interests and understand them on a much deeper level, through my lens.
They say the best way to learn something is to teach it. When you can take a concept or idea and reframe it through your own perspective, this enables you to see it from multiple angles.
As one of my favorite mentors Dan Koe says, this is exactly what we are put on this planet to do: Self-actualize, transcend, and then pass down our lessons.
In essence, help others arrive at their goals faster. I also believe that if you do good for humanity, you’ll receive good back.
If you’re interested in learning more about this particular topic, there’s a book by Austin Kleon called Steal Like an Artist. I highly recommend it if you’re looking to break into a creative field but are not sure where to start.
A public journal
Keeping up a regular journaling practice has been one of the best habits I’ve implemented in my life.
It’s like self-prescribed therapy sessions.
You can use it to think through your current struggles or document the wins in your life. It’s a way to record pivotal moments and the different chapters you’re experiencing. It also helps you capture memories and ideas you’ll never want to forget. You can look back years from now and relive those moments in great detail, instead of letting them fade away into the ether.
This is me going public with my journal. The purpose is to share my knowledge and experience with others, in hopes that it will inspire someone else to see things with a fresh new perspective.
Don’t you just love it when you read a blog post or watch a YouTube video that really resonates with you, and you realize that you’re not the only person who thinks that way?
It’s like this ah-ha moment, you let out a sigh of relief knowing that there are others out there who have the same beliefs as you.
I’m done keeping everything to myself.
I want to share the knowledge I’ve compiled throughout the years.
I want to continuously be connecting with people on the same path as me.
I want to give back and help others find a new way of thinking.
Lastly, I want to have something to look back on at the end of my life.
Something I’m proud of that I can leave as a legacy to future generations.
I’m excited to continue learning and growing, with the hope that my writing can inspire even one person to make a positive change in their life.
Build something that 100 people love rather than 1 million people like - Brian Chesky (CEO of Airbnb)