I’ve felt a strange sense that’s been getting stronger and stronger over the last few months. It’s hard to put a name to it, but I’d describe it as the feeling of being on the cusp. It just feels like the work I’ve been doing for the past several months have landed me near the doorstep of some sort of …
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 months, I had been marketing an August 20th launch date for the website, and checking …
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 now. When we see beautiful highight reels on social media showing all the COOL stuff …
too late, too aware, and the many forms of imposter syndrome
Working with and being around so many creative, entrepreneurial people, I see a common “excitement arch” play out a lot. It looks like this: someone has an idea for a project, product, or even specific niche. They get super excited, and in the span of a few hours, are totally bought in on this idea. Then they will start doing …
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” — when your work is totally in the realm of things you have enthusiastically chosen to …
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 get a bad rap for a lot of things — being “lazy” or “entitled” or …
simplicity and the magic of experience
During my 10-day silent meditation course last month, the course instructor beat into our heads where true understanding comes from. The course was structured in such a way that we were intensely practicing the meditation technique for up to 11 hours per day. And every evening, there was a “lecture” where the instructor gave insight into why we were practicing the method the …
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 expect them. I’ve found that by saying yes to almost everything that has come my …
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 time! This is my year! Honestly, I love that mentality. And I think you should …
10 days of silence (part two)
In case you missed it, I recently took part in a 10-day silent meditation retreat. On November 27, I took on the 11+ hour drive through the snow and ice to Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, to the first Vipassana Meditation Center in North America. I stayed there for a 10-day course, ending on December 9 (last Sunday) when I drove back. …