I live a decelerated life where I don’t use social media and don’t chase followers. This blog only gets a few visitors a day. I had decided early on I was going to not use traditional metrics and break every rule there is. It gives me pleasure every time I do something like that. The people that need to find me find me. I love knowing I’m your secret weapon (or that I can be)...
There’s an old school computer programming term called “Close to the metal”. It means you’re working with assembly level languages that the chips and hardware understand, rather than much more easier for humans to understand higher level languages. This was more important back in the day with limited hardware and memory power. You had to squeeze everything you could out of...
A few weeks ago I was inspired to challenge myself again. I needed to up the amperage on “What’s Next?” I asked myself this question: What scares me? After I sat with that for a bit, I answered it with this doozy of a question: Who do I need to be to charge 1 million dollars for 1 day of my time? I was less scared of this idea than excited by it. This is me challenging myself in the right way and...
For the past few years, ever since I made the decision to step away from daily responsibility of the company I co-founded, I have been pursuing ideas of what I thought I should be doing. Basically making the world a better place. Aspiring to be selfless. Helping others. Problem was, after a couple of years of this, I realized none of my ideas were taking root. I’d come up with great thoughts and...
There’s a piece of very colourful art that hangs prominently on my wall behind me. It’s visible when I’m speaking. You might have seen it already. There’s a powerful story about it and how it got there. I mentioned this to a friend. He commented that I have an amazing knack for creating curiosity in people. OF COURSE he now wanted to hear that story. So I recorded this...
“You’re watching me make this up” – I can say this to a stranger now because there is nothing fake about me. It’s been liberating. I’m not faking till I make it. Not anymore. That was a strategy I used effectively for years but not now. I’m showing up as the whole Chris. That is who they are there for. There is no faking that. They’re either going to want more of that, or not want it, and if they...
I’ve been in a holding pattern for a lot longer than covid has been around. My life, generally, is good. Yeah I’ve been searching for “What’s Next?” and have felt something missing for a long while, but overall not much to complain about. These would be referred to as “Quality problems”. Most people right now have frozen their lives and are waiting for it to return to normal. But you, the reader...
As I sat to write this week’s article that famous quote from Back to the Future popped into my head from out of nowhere. It’s the scene from the very end of the first movie. Doc has just returned from “the future” and now he’s taking Marty back to the future. Marty: Hey Doc, you better back up, we don’t have enough road to get up to 88. Doc Brown: Roads? Where we’re going, we...
I’ve been dealing with the “What’s Next?” question for myself for some time. I’ve spent a lot of time writing about it for my blog. I’ve learned many people carry that question with them and it has resonated. Now “What’s Next?” is a bigger question than it’s ever been. With my background, I feel uniquely qualified to help people work...
The doldrums is a sailor’s term for when they are at sea caught in calm, monotonous, windless weather. It’s a term that I’ve learned can also apply to times in your life, and certainly has in mine. The doldrums generally follow exciting times, times of tremendous growth and commitment to your goals. After having achieved some success, things begin to taper off. This is...
For the last few years that I’ve been exploring “What’s Next?” I’ve been very successful at learning what it isn’t. As I test, explore, research, and play with ideas I’ve built a very long laundry list of things I don’t want to do. This includes everything from the fact that I don’t want to go into work somewhere, it has to be done from my...
For so many people, whether or not they will voice this, when asked “What do you want?” the (secret) answer is: “More”. More money, more “stuff”, more house, more vacation, more whatever. The thing is, when you get “more”, the answer still remains “more”. I can remember 10 years ago figuring out my monthly budget. If I could generate...
There’s a scene in the 1993 Tom Cruise movie The Firm that I think about often. The lead character named Mitch, played by Tom Cruise, is having a meeting with an FBI agent at a dog race track. We see the Greyhound dogs whipping around the track chasing a mechanical bone. Mitch: Doesn`t the dog ever get the bone? FBI Agent: Yeah. When it happens they can never get that dog to run again. For...
Upon reflecting my story so far, and the distinct chapters I’ve lived, I begin to see a clear pattern. The things I’ve done all have had exciting periods of explosive growth. Of creation. Then things plateau, which is not terrible either. Often that’s the period of seeing some return on the sacrifice I made during the growth period. Eventually, however, the plateau turns into...
Below is a story that’s been around since the 1960s, and has been adapted many times. I first read it in Timothy Ferris’ 4 Hour Workweek book. I like the story quite a bit and think of it often and how it can relate to my life. For the last 20 years or so I’ve worked from home on my various businesses. I’ve resisted changing things up too much. Choosing to live the life I...