sit down, be humble

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.