brain pickings are are short and actionable advice on marketing, productivity and humaning. I write them daily'ish, sometimes insightful, sometimes personal, always humurous. happy scrolling!
just because you’re smart, beautiful and young,
just because you work hard,
just because you’re privileged, able bodied, European or American,
just because you believe, you go to church, you read a lot,
just because you have a strong social network, and have a lot of online followers,
just because you wake up early in the morning and go to sleep late at night,
just because you want it,
just because…
is not enough.
how are you going to get there?
what is your plan?
I’ll see you tomorrow
today is day 216 of the year, there are 151 days remaining of 2022
a quick peruse through my goodreads history will show you that I primarily read non-fiction,
marketing, business, biographies, self help…
how boring.
in an effort to:
- nurture my creativity,
- improve my writing prowess,
- letting my mind drift without purpose;
I began the year with a forceful effort to read more fiction.
I wrote my first post on the 22nd of June 2022,
this is post #27,
you could say it’s going well.
were I to have found the patience to read fiction in the spirit in which it asks to be read, I would have done this sooner.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 215 of the year, there are 152 days remaining of 2022.
I’ve always had an urge to test myself, to take risks, to haunt the edge of possibilities,
particularly when it comes to my body.
my legs still hold the scars I’ve earned as a 6+ year old learning to roller blade, jump spiky fences and hang upside down from trees (I have the cast to prove it)
as time went on, these impulses became more articulate;
I picked up strength training at 16, learned about and implemented paleo and keto around the same time,
as an adult I run and hike in minimalistic footwear (socks, basically)
I try out every sport that crosses my radar, at least once,
forever powered by an urge to just… move.
I don’t know precisely what percentage of nature and nurture is responsible for this side of me, but if I had to guess, I’d say that…
in a whirlwind of pure chance, I was born in an environment that provides such safety that yesterday I went for a run in the 45th hour of a 48 hour fast, just to see if I could.
and I can, barely.
to no longer feel satisfied doing what comes easily to you,
to decide on not eating for two days,
to run out of pleasure and not of necessity,
what a privilege…
the one thought running through my head in tandem with my feet yesterday was “I chose to do this, this is a choice, I want to do this”
I don’t know what I was expecting to learn out of this experience but I had the greatest reminder of all,
gratitude,
after 48 hours, 46 minutes and 41 seconds, I decided to eat, and I could.
I’ll see you tomorrow
today is day 214 of the year, there are 153 days remaining of 2022.
I don’t particularly go out of my way to read the news, the bad ones have a way of seeping into my life anyway, with or without my permission,
recently however, I’ve developed a habit of playing The Daily (New York Times) and Today Explained (Vox) podcasts during my runs,
this unrelenting heatwave is, unsurprisingly, an ample topic of conversation at the moment,
cementing strongly held believes, most of us have, that we are, indeed, fucking up this planet,
one of the people being interviewed by Vox, was this “john,” in his early 40s, from LA, living in an area that restricted him from watering his lawn for more than however many minutes a day, mkay… sounds reasonable?
“they will remove me from my house before I stop watering my lawn. I didn’t cause the heatwave, why should I have to pay for it”
I’m sorry, what?
now, I don’t have a habit of getting riled up by people holding opposing views to mine,
but clearly this aggressively mediocre, grown ass man was clinging on to unintelligence a little more stubbornly than most…
I understand that it can be difficult to accept your way of living as being unsustainable,
I understand that change is hard,
I even understand wanting to preserve your social status as an alpha male capable of holding a hose above grass for a few minutes a day,
we all want to be able to enjoy life without burden, but this is not burger king, you can’t have it your way,
things are bad,
things will continue to be bad,
but if we do the absolute bare minimum, things may be a little less bad,
I am not asking you to understand this, merely to accept it as a fact,
even now, after all the ups and downs, we are right where we started,
dangerously close to the end of the book.
it takes a lot of different people to make a world, and only one to end it.
I’ll see you tomorrow(?)
today is day 208 of the year, there are 157 days remaining of 2022.
the world collectively lost its s#!t when Simon Sinek published his now bestseller, Start with Why.
for the first time in the history of trade, we’re not selling services because:
A. we were born into it
B. our livelihood depends on it
C. it’s just way things are
we do it because we want to make an impact, we want change, we want to matter, to be unique, to be remembered, to be appreciated,
we also want money, but that’s not new.
when why replaces how,
work is whatever you want to change,
and what a privilege that is.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 207 of the year, there are 158 days remaining of 2022.
I used to attend live marketing events quite regularly cca ~ 2019 BC (before covid)
especially in the US.
ClickFunnels, Digital Marketer, Smart Marketer…
while the content itself was valuable, it was certainly not exclusive to a physical space,
what you’d learn as an audience member one day, would have been recorded, transcribed and uploaded online before the speaker even left the stage.
much like any other niche, marketing events, conferences, masterminds and now “summits…”
are all about networking:
the next tech unicorn, the newest apps on the market, new swipe files, but most importantly…
a whirlwind of nerdy marketing strategies being exchanged with the type of intensity that only comes after the 3rd beer.
it’s lonely out here in the land of keyboards, headphones and screens,
these get togethers used to be the highlight of my professional year,
being able too meet up with clients, colleagues and fellow marketing aficionados, painted an extra dimension to my life that I deeply appreciated.
shortly after covid regulations began loosening up, I started to infuse myself in the digital nomads scene in Lisbon and Prague.
from 18 year old TikTok influencers making 6 figures a year, to american real estate agents that decided to retire after buying a vineyard in the north of spain,
no story was the same,
extraordinary people, with extraordinary personalities and extra ordinary egos.
I was holding up a mirror against my own shadow.
in Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday defines ego as an “unhealthy belief in our own importance.
he also talks about “the temptation to tell ourselves a story, to round off the edges, to cut out our lucky breaks and add a certain mythology to it all.” The “arching narrative of herculean struggle for greatness against all odds.”
aren’t we so special…
I am by no means immune, writing in and of itself is an act of ego,
and while I’m out here experimenting with stoicism and gratitude instead of launching in self indulgent spirals…
what I’ve learned is this:
a healthy self confidence stems from intent and NOT abilities,
we are on track to reach 8 BILLION by the end of this year,
given similar circumstances, there are at least a million people that can do what you do,
don’t rest your worth (and your ego) in your ability to do the thing,
it’s the fuel you use to power your engine that makes you, you.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
today is day 206 of the year, there are 159 days remaining of 2022.