In 2021, I spent a lot of time thinking about community. When Unreal Collective was acquired and I was brought in to help build the Community Experience team at SPI, my life became community building. As a result, my community building palette has been refined. I’ve separated the ideas of “community” …
Lessons Learned in 2021
I think we can all agree that any year is a step up from the year that was 2020…but I have to say, 2021 was better than I could’ve imagined. I won’t focus on my own results too much, but I made some big moves this year that have really …
Upgrade your heros
As a 20-something, I was constantly looking up to other exceptional 20-somethings. Tech guys like Mark Zuckerberg (yikes), musicians, the Forbes 30 Under 30 list… It gave me a lot of drive! It fueled my ambition. If these people can do this at my age…why …
Addition over Invention
I love creating a first draft. There is an irresistible, magical feeling that comes with making something for the first time…so much potential and possibility… Maybe this thing is what creates my luck and really takes off! And of course, there are major benefits to going from …
Time is your friend
The story of my creative journey begins with startups. And in the startup and tech world, speed is really important. If your company doesn’t show rapid growth and improvement from day one, you’re not interesting to investors. If you aren’t interesting to investors, you’re not interesting to …
Seek out the babies
The more I’ve come to understand about myself and the things that I like, the easier it is to find myself in an echo chamber. I know what I like, and I stick to what I like. I know what I believe, and I naturally …
Aspirational decision-making
Last week, I interviewed Dan Runcie for an upcoming episode of Creative Elements. Dan is the creator of Trapital where he writes and hosts a podcast about the business of hip hop. He writes essays about how the biggest stars on the planet like Will …
Your content as a product
Creators and content entrepreneurs put a lot of time and effort into free content to feed the machine that is their creative platform. But what I see time and time again (especially with folks early in their journey) is that they fall into this trap …
Don’t build a personal brand – build a creative platform
You know how sometimes there’s a word or phrase you just hate but you can’t come up with a better alternative for it? The word “content” is one of those in the context of “creating content.” Is there a less appealing thing to create than …
Shiny Platform Syndrome
Every few weeks, I’ll get the bright idea that I should really be putting some energy into YouTube. I mean, come on – it’s a search engine. That’s organic traffic to the things that I create! And the successes I’ve seen from creators on Creative …
Addition over Invention
I love creating a first draft. There is an irresistible, magical feeling that comes with making something for the first time…so much potential and possibility… Maybe this thing is what creates my luck and really takes off! And of course, there are major benefits to going from …
Time is your friend
The story of my creative journey begins with startups. And in the startup and tech world, speed is really important. If your company doesn’t show rapid growth and improvement from day one, you’re not interesting to investors. If you aren’t interesting to investors, you’re not interesting to …
Seek out the babies
The more I’ve come to understand about myself and the things that I like, the easier it is to find myself in an echo chamber. I know what I like, and I stick to what I like. I know what I believe, and I naturally …
Your content as a product
Creators and content entrepreneurs put a lot of time and effort into free content to feed the machine that is their creative platform. But what I see time and time again (especially with folks early in their journey) is that they fall into this trap …
Don’t build a personal brand – build a creative platform
You know how sometimes there’s a word or phrase you just hate but you can’t come up with a better alternative for it? The word “content” is one of those in the context of “creating content.” Is there a less appealing thing to create than …
Shiny Platform Syndrome
Every few weeks, I’ll get the bright idea that I should really be putting some energy into YouTube. I mean, come on – it’s a search engine. That’s organic traffic to the things that I create! And the successes I’ve seen from creators on Creative …
What will your luck look like?
Before I hit record on an interview for Creative Elements, I spend a little time talking with the guest. I share what they can expect in the interview, some of the themes I want to explore, and then we talk about their element. I say …
Creative Independence vs. Financial Independence
For the last eight years or so, I’ve been fixated on financial independence. The idea of having enough financial resources that you can have total freedom over your time is so alluring…it’s hard not to be fixated on financial independence once the idea is introduced to you. And as …
Holding your happiness hostage
Over the years, I’ve told a lot of friends that I want to write books. I always viewed it as this privileged achievement that I would work my way up to. First, I generate a strong economic engine in my business, which will afford me …
Making commitments
One of the best books I’ve read over the last few years is James Clear’s Atomic Habits. It really struck a chord too – it sold over 1 million copies and was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 12 straight months. I think …
Lessons Learned in 2021
I think we can all agree that any year is a step up from the year that was 2020…but I have to say, 2021 was better than I could’ve imagined. I won’t focus on my own results too much, but I made some big moves this year that have really …
Reflecting on three years of running a freelance business
It’s safe to say that we’ll all remember 2020. There are a lot of reasons that we’ll look back on 2020 and cringe. As of this writing, we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic that the United States seems to have just given …
Wrong bait or wrong pond?
I go on fishing trips with my dad a couple times each year. Each trip is different, and each one has its own purpose: some trips are focused on catching bass, others are focused on catching walleye, others on crappie… And depending on what type …
Be someone people want to work with
We spend a lot of time selling ourselves. You sell yourself to potential clients, partners, employers, followers, and friends. We’re constantly putting ourselves out there as someone worth taking a chance on. And, inevitably, we win people over. They decide to tune in, follow along, …
Decision-making and way-finding
Decision-making has always been a core part of conversation within the Unreal Collective Accelerator – and that’s only become more evident over the last several weeks. During uncertain times, each decision comes with more weight. The stakes feel higher, we ask more questions, and we waffle …
Now is the time
Have you ever heard the phrase, “The Cobbler’s kids have no shoes?” It perfectly encapsulates reality for so many of us who work with clients. We do AWESOME work for other people – but when it comes to our own assets, we fall flat. You see …
Education and access
I was talking with a soon-to-be college graduate this week, and we got on the topic of next steps after college. He saw that I took the startup path and joined as an early employee/cofounder right out of college, and had similar aspirations. The truth …
How to solve a puzzle
Ever since Mallory and I visited Joshua Tree back in November, we’ve gotten more interested in puzzles – and I’m talking about literal jigsaw puzzles. Over Christmas, we picked out a 1000-piece puzzle and were pretty quickly overwhelmed. When you first look at the box …
Lessons Learned in 2019
For the past couple of years, I’ve published an annual “year in review” looking back on accomplishments of the year and goals for the next. To be honest, it’s a really great exercise to reflect on the past year – accomplishments, successful goals, failed goals, …
Creators make things for others
Black Friday is happening (both before AND after Friday somehow), Cyber Monday is coming in hot, and my inbox is full of sales emails. I mean FULL of sales emails. And as someone who occasionally sells things, it really has me thinking a lot about …
Wrong bait or wrong pond?
I go on fishing trips with my dad a couple times each year. Each trip is different, and each one has its own purpose: some trips are focused on catching bass, others are focused on catching walleye, others on crappie… And depending on what type …
Be someone people want to work with
We spend a lot of time selling ourselves. You sell yourself to potential clients, partners, employers, followers, and friends. We’re constantly putting ourselves out there as someone worth taking a chance on. And, inevitably, we win people over. They decide to tune in, follow along, …
Decision-making and way-finding
Decision-making has always been a core part of conversation within the Unreal Collective Accelerator – and that’s only become more evident over the last several weeks. During uncertain times, each decision comes with more weight. The stakes feel higher, we ask more questions, and we waffle …
Staging your vision for the client
Ever since my girlfriend became a Realtor in June, I’ve learned a LOT more about real estate than I ever expected. One of the most interesting parts of selling a home that I never thought about is “staging.” When you stage a home for sale, …
Introducing Freelancing School
I never really intended to freelance. When I quit my job in early 2017, I just knew I wanted to be my own boss. I hated the feeling of being required to be at a certain place at a certain time to do work that …
re-thinking risk
I was interviewed on The Video Community podcast recently, and the topic of risk came up. It comes up a lot in interviews with entrepreneurs, because starting your own business or working for yourself is risky. But is it? We’ve all been shown different paths. …
design your life by designing your day
Lately, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people who are at an inflection point. They are usually stressed, or anxious, which I totally get. Been there. Am there. There’s a lot of pressure we put on ourselves for picking the right path. For …
seeking validation by chasing the pudding
There’s a running joke amongst my friends that I love attention and constantly seek validation. Like all jokes, there’s some truth to it. And I think it used to be even more true. We’re kind of raised on validation – your parents tell you that …
be the client you want to see in the world
Between my junior and senior year of college, I decided it was time for me to get some experience in the service industry. Well, to be totally honest, the two (very different) internships I applied for at Bridgewater Capital and MNML Design Studio both fell …
Minimum Viable Promise
In 2021, I spent a lot of time thinking about community. When Unreal Collective was acquired and I was brought in to help build the Community Experience team at SPI, my life became community building. As a result, my community building palette has been refined. I’ve separated the ideas of “community” …
How to build an online community (and why I’m all in on Circle)
There’s never been a more relevant time to learn how to build an online community. I’ve spent a lot of time building community over the last seven years. It started in 2012 when I began attending, organizing, and facilitating dozens of Startup Weekend events across …
What is community?
Community means a lot to me. It started as a volunteer interest while running student organizations in college and organizing startup weekend events. Then it became my business while building the Unreal Collective accelerator. And now, since Unreal was acquired by Smart Passive Income, it’s …
Unreal Collective has been acquired by Smart Passive Income
Unreal Collective, my paid community and virtual accelerator, has been acquired by Smart Passive Income. And beginning January 1, 2021, I’ll be stepping into a leadership role with Smart Passive Income (SPI) as Community Experience Director! 🎉 Smart Passive Income is one of the biggest, …
Don’t be a hero, be the guide
You know those moments where you finally actually listen to something that you’ve heard a thousand times, and thought you already knew? It happened to me twice this last week. First of all, my girlfriend was right and we should’ve started watching Ozark sooner. Second …
Staging your vision for the client
Ever since my girlfriend became a Realtor in June, I’ve learned a LOT more about real estate than I ever expected. One of the most interesting parts of selling a home that I never thought about is “staging.” When you stage a home for sale, …
Launching and a new sense of empathy
One night in August 2012, I felt completely defeated. I had been working all summer towards the launch of my first startup, MarketOSU. It was a simple idea – basically Craigslist for Ohio State students that required a student email to create an account. For …
line of sight
When I think about marketing (whether it’s Unreal, upside, or myself) I think a lot about awareness. The idea I wrote about a couple weeks ago — do you even exist to the person you want to the attention of? When we become aware of …
do you even exist?
Over the last couple of months, my messaging and inbox traffic has exploded. It’s still manageable; I’m an inbox zero person and have curated my “Primary” tab in Gmail to be very effective in filtering out the stuff I actually need to see/action. And some …
simplicity is not simple
As I study more about marketing, persuasion, and communication, it’s becoming clearer and clearer to me that simplicity wins out. The more simple you can make something, the easier it is to understand, talk about, remember, refer, and generally attract others. Great — so make …
Upgrade your heros
As a 20-something, I was constantly looking up to other exceptional 20-somethings. Tech guys like Mark Zuckerberg (yikes), musicians, the Forbes 30 Under 30 list… It gave me a lot of drive! It fueled my ambition. If these people can do this at my age…why …
Time is your friend
The story of my creative journey begins with startups. And in the startup and tech world, speed is really important. If your company doesn’t show rapid growth and improvement from day one, you’re not interesting to investors. If you aren’t interesting to investors, you’re not interesting to …
Aspirational decision-making
Last week, I interviewed Dan Runcie for an upcoming episode of Creative Elements. Dan is the creator of Trapital where he writes and hosts a podcast about the business of hip hop. He writes essays about how the biggest stars on the planet like Will …
Reflecting on three years of running a freelance business
It’s safe to say that we’ll all remember 2020. There are a lot of reasons that we’ll look back on 2020 and cringe. As of this writing, we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic that the United States seems to have just given …
Holding your happiness hostage
Over the years, I’ve told a lot of friends that I want to write books. I always viewed it as this privileged achievement that I would work my way up to. First, I generate a strong economic engine in my business, which will afford me …
Making commitments
One of the best books I’ve read over the last few years is James Clear’s Atomic Habits. It really struck a chord too – it sold over 1 million copies and was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 12 straight months. I think …
Make something remarkable
I’ve invested a LOT of time into making stuff over the last three years. I’ve produced somewhere north of 500 published articles, 150 podcast episodes, a documentary, and however you want to quantify what I’ve put out on social media. But, naturally, I’ll look at …
Decision-making and way-finding
Decision-making has always been a core part of conversation within the Unreal Collective Accelerator – and that’s only become more evident over the last several weeks. During uncertain times, each decision comes with more weight. The stakes feel higher, we ask more questions, and we waffle …
Asset, Boundary, Narrative Analysis
When I quit my job a few years ago, one of the first things I did was invest in Seth Godin’s altMBA program. It was a good experience, but a couple of lessons really stand the test of time. One of those lessons and exercises …
The difference between a cocktail and running shoes
My knees hurt. I’m not a doctor, but I’d guess that it’s a combination of my age, the extra few pounds I’ve packed on this winter, and my running shoes. I’ve been thinking about buying new running shoes for months. A friend of mine once …
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Lately, one of my guilty pleasures is watching one of the Food Network or baking shows before bed. I have a pretty out of control sweet tooth, and these shows really appeal to me. On an episode of Zumbo’s Just Desserts (it’s on Netflix, highly …
What people don’t tell you about morning routines, time management, and other systems
Many years ago, a good friend of mine introduced me to my very first productivity tool: Omnifocus. Omnifocus is a really cool piece of software. Even back in 2011, I couldn’t believe how detailed and flexible this tool was! It let me create categories of …
it takes time to become technically good
Last week I wrote about how easy it is to see the exceptional. The example I gave was Evan Spiegel, the then-23-year-old founder of Snapchat, or Mark Zuckerberg…but there is a standard distribution curve for ability in anything you’re interested in. Those at the far …
boundaries: the dark side of being motivated
As I’ve gotten better at building a life of my own design, I find myself really only spending time on things that I actually, really want to spend time on. What a great place to be. Rarely do I have any problem with “motivation” — …
waiting for the inevitable
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about how lucky I am to spend time around the people I spend time around. A lot of driven, intelligent, and caring people. Most of them are in the often-attacked, “millennial” generation. And we …
doing fewer + doing more
For a very long time, I said yes to everything that came my way. In fact, I distinctly remember a piece I wrote five years ago about saying “yes” to everything. Opportunities come in all shapes and colors, and rarely do they come when you …
here’s the problem with New Year’s resolutions
You’ve probably heard that the hottest time for new gym memberships is in January, when people are at the height of their New Year’s resolutions. There is something about the “new year, new me” mentality that brings a heightened sense of aspiration. This is my …
living like a tracker
One of the podcasts I’ve gotten into lately at the recommendation of my upside cohost, Eric, is Invest Like the Best by Patrick O’Shaughnessy. What I like about this podcast is that besides speaking with obviously great investors, the individuals he interviews have very interesting …
good writing is made in the edit
The more that I write, whether for this newsletter, my Linkedin Learning courses, or otherwise, the more I am reminded that good work is made during the editing phase. The problem is that getting started is the hardest, most daunting part. It’s the part that …
pacing // counterpoint
Yesterday I wrote about my recent focus on pacing and how to best utilize my energy. As with most of my viewpoints, there’s another side to the coin. There are very few things that are truly binary or black and white…and so I wanted to …
How to build a strong network
We use the word “network” a lot in conversation. “You have such a great network…” We talk about networks as if they are a singular asset. But thinking about someone’s network as a singular asset both a.) undervalues it and b.) makes it seem like …
Leveraging feedback and generative conflict
I felt a lot of emotions this week (as I’m sure you have, too). I oscillated between anger, frustration, fear, self-doubt, self-preservation, shame, embarrassment… Those cycles were pretty rapid, too. Anger towards the way our society values black lives. Frustration when I feel like people …
People invest in lines, not dots
In startup circles, there is a classic blog post by Mark Suster titled, “Invest in Lines, Not Dots.” Mark is a venture capitalist based in Los Angeles. His point is pretty simple to understand: When mapped on a graph measuring your company performance over time, …
thinking long term
You may have heard of the idea of the “10-year overnight success.” It’s nearly cliché at this point, and yet, I don’t think it’s talked about enough. There is a lot of excitement around the beginnings of something. We are enchanted by the potential of …
How to introduce two people via email
One of my favorite things to do is introduce two people via email. It’s so powerful to bring two people together, knowing that they are going to hit it off and naturally find a way to collaborate. And besides the satisfaction of making a connection, …
be the client you want to see in the world
Between my junior and senior year of college, I decided it was time for me to get some experience in the service industry. Well, to be totally honest, the two (very different) internships I applied for at Bridgewater Capital and MNML Design Studio both fell …
appealing to the discerning eye
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s a lot of noise around us. HEY LOOK OVER HERE CHECK OUT THIS SALE WHAT IF WE PUT AN INFLUENCER BEHIND IT? ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME NOW? In relative terms, this environment is incredibly new to us. The amount …
the case for support
Back in 2014-15, I was busy building and running a ticket marketplace called Tixers. A lot of the time, it was really in-the-weeds and miserable work. Not only was it rough work, but there weren’t a lot of people I could talk to and relate …
going first
I’m really lucky to be in Columbus, Ohio. Having been in one major city for the past nearly 10 years, I’ve been able to dig deeply into different communities here, and create a good name for myself in a handful of circles. Because I pushed …
the hidden risk of taking advice
Make no mistake, one of the most important factors in my life has been mentorship. But there’s a surreptitious risk to mentorship — and it’s when “advice” isn’t really advice. Sometimes, “advice” is really a veil over self-validation. Instead of giving thoughtful, calculated, and unbiased …
thinking long term
You may have heard of the idea of the “10-year overnight success.” It’s nearly cliché at this point, and yet, I don’t think it’s talked about enough. There is a lot of excitement around the beginnings of something. We are enchanted by the potential of …
sell your first cup of coffee
I love new ideas. New ideas provide that beautiful breath of fresh air from whatever wall you’ve been banging your head into. A glimpse into a new world! I was sitting on a panel last week with Ryan McManus, the founder of SHARE. He told …
experience ladders: why YOU are right for the job
A common theme that has come up in conversations this week in the Unreal Collective community is the struggle with self deprecating thoughts and head trash. We are our own worst enemies. I think it’s a cultural thing — part of where our society is right …
relationships and infinite games
I really can’t overstate the value of relationships. Relationships really make the world go ’round, and they are also (in my opinion) the most fulfilling part of life. I’m blown away by the volume of Linkedin messages and emails I get on a daily basis …
protecting myself from myself
You probably know what it’s like to feel like you’re seeing opportunity all the time. Maybe it’s your own idea, or someone else bringing you an opportunity, but it seems like when we’re open to it, opportunity is surrounding us. But every time we say …
don’t sell over email
Continuing on with yesterday’s theme of conflicting perspectives, I want to talk about selling. Specifically, let’s talk about selling via email. Hey! You sell stuff over email sometimes! You’re right, italicized font. And that’s a distinction I want to draw — I want to speak …
de-risking yourself as a reputational risk
Over the last year or two, I’ve become aware of the fact that I generally don’t have much difficulty getting in touch with someone I want to talk to. I’ve written about access being easier than you think and how I got onto one of my …
people don’t really care about what you’re doing
…and that should be a totally liberating reality. Yesterday I wrote about developing a thick skin being essential to being an entrepreneur or creative professional. That only happens by creating “friction” by putting yourself out there. And, yes, some self-promotion. Self-promotion is a polarizing idea — …
are you suffering from myopia?
No, I’m not a doctor, and I’m not here to talk about your vision being nearsighted. During an Unreal group call last night, a member on the hot seat was talking about his business and mentioned a problem that I think is super common. He …
intention over effort
Back in the day when I was hawking tickets with Tixers, I led our marketing efforts (on top of product, customer service, fraud prevention…) and I always forgot to plan a sales and marketing campaign for Black Friday. In both 2014 and 2015, I remember …