Bom dia! š§š·
Before diving in, I want to say a sincere thank you to each and every one of you. Our attention is our most precious resource. Itās no coincidence that the worldās most valuable companies mine that resource. I recognize the deep power and affirmation of choice you exercise by sharing some of yours with me. It is also a treasure for me to share mine with you, so THANK YOU š¤
Quote Worth Pondering- Only is better than best.āSrinivas Rao Apparently thatās a book now but I remember reading the essay years ago and it appears to have been redacted, probably as a ploy to make you buy the book. Havenāt read the book, but the essay was damn good.
To date, I havenāt deliberately scaled this endeavor. I was under the impression that if it was āgoodāāwhatever that means, scaling will take care of itself. How foolish of me! The internet is not
Field Of Dreams.-s/o to
Tom White for that concept. If you build it, they wonāt come. Maybe thatās not true for adult sites, but it is true for others. š You have to build, and scream, and scream some moreā or at least scream tactfully.
Thus, the challenge is, how can I build, remain authentic, and scale? Austin, Texas may have figured this out with their mantra āKeep Austin Weirdā. I know plenty of folks that donāt keep their stuff weird, myself included! I know things can get weird in this newsletter sometimes, but trust me, they can get much weirder. I have a number of friends and acquaintances who write, as a means of boosting their personal brand, helping their job prospects, or for some sort of side hustle. In many instances, they hold back, and canāt afford to be creative š Embracing their full selves and creativity may result in a demotion or firing. If I intend to earn a living from my creative endeavors (and I do), I canāt afford NOT to be creative!
Despite having written this thing for over a year, Iām still trying to find my voice. Sometimes I try to share what Iāve learned, speaking in vague platitudes. Other times I try to share from a first-person POV, and worry that Iām being too esoteric. The challenge then is, how can I authentically share experiences in ways that benefit you, the reader, while remaining relatable? Boy, what a challenge that is! Part of the answer is to acknowledge that not everything will land! Trying to make everything land is a great way to water down the production, which sucks for everyone. Sometimes I want to jam out, and not listen on low volume. In that vein, I penned a note to myself the other day and thought it may benefit you all as well. It begins with the question, how can I generate
1,000 True Fans?
- Embrace your weird!
- Only is better than best.
- Write articles that are for 1s and 4s (see pic at bottom š thanks to WBW).
- Donāt deliberately be a dick, but understand that if youāre making waves, people on the pool deck will get wet. š¦
- Embrace your weird!-wrote this twice, so itās probably important.
- All that weird shit you are into, that is what makes you special. Thatās what you need to share.
- How can I embrace my weird?
- Butthole sunning
- Poly
- Ayahuasca
- Googleāwill be writing an article soon about how waiting tables was more cognitively demanding, yes, thatās not a typo, than the work I did for the GOOG. To be fair, the restaurant strived to be the worldās best casual dining operator and embodies that mission seriously and overtly.
- Dating Coach- likely launching a course soon to āget a girlfriend in 6 months, guaranteedāā the advice isnāt heteronormative and is broadly applicable, but it has to have some title!
- Entrepreneur- been there, done that, and prob gonna be there, do that, again.
Yes, that numbered list is my life. After writing the above and looking at it thinking, damn, what a mouthful, am I being too much? I worry about that. Itās been said
- Drew, many people may not be ready for the level of candor you present.
- Youāre being too real right now.
- Dude, you have a Ferrari engine and working at a corporation is gonna slow you down. š
To those people, sorry to burst your bubble, but Iām a truth seeker and intend to remain that way. But what does ātoo muchā mean? Too loud? Nope. Rude? Nope. Too much energy, maybe. š¤·āāļø I am reminded of my favorite poem, by Marianne Williamson-
āOur deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the World.
There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people wonāt feel unsure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
As we let our own Light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.ā
Keep letting your light shine. š
Love,
Drew
PS- that email signature is sincere. Sorry, not sorry. ā¤ļø
PPS- I realize last week that I said this weekās missive will include insights from my Brazilian experiment. While the above arenāt brazil-specific items, they are among the most significant thoughts Iāve had while here, so Iāll count it. š§š·
