Why write?
Inspiration
Being the baby of a family with three (🤪) ridiculously successful older brothers is… interesting. Basically, life comes with a built-in instruction manual. Not sure what to do? Just look at what they did, tweak it a bit, learn from their mistakes, and boom! Success! (Or, at least, that's the theory.)
In early November last year, my brother Jim found himself without a job, and decided to write his semi daily musings for his friends, family, and past / future colleagues. It was wonderful to be able to keep up with Jim’s life during a time where he had a lot going on, and I really admired his dedication.
Jim's always been a huge inspiration to me, pushing me to question things and strive to be better. So, thanks, Jim, for inspiring me to start this blog and share my own thoughts and experiences. And, as always, I'll try my best not to outshine you too much.
[Aside] My relationship with Jim
I was looking through some of the journaling I did a few years ago, when I was in a period of limbo and had come back home for the first time since COVID hit. This quote really summarizes my relationship / with my youngest, boldest, shortest older brother ❤️
God does he [Jim] look and sound like hes in a much better place now, its inspiring, impressive and honestly really really annoying.
When Jim was between jobs, I suddenly found myself with a delightful surplus of free time. Naturally, I used it to keep my brother company so he wouldn’t waste away. Whether we were playing TFT, or debating the nature of civil society, I genuinely (okay, mostly) enjoyed our time together. And let's be real, he loved it too! Proof? He sent me an actual, physical card saying how much he appreciated it. A card! From Jim! In this day and age! (Thanks Vicky).
Goals
So why write? Well I had 3 main goals with this project, which I will now list out in a LinkedinLunatics style emoji horror fest straight:
- 📓Record keeping - As I start the scariest part of my life: my late 20s, I find my memory slipping in my old age (and years of smoking 🙃). I've found that being able to point back to concrete moments in my life has been very beneficial in the past, and forcing myself to keep a record of these adventures will be a treasure trove of memories in the future.
- 🔗 Disconnection - I want those close to me to follow my travels without requiring constant connection. Using a "push" model of information sharing helps me avoid guilt over unanswered messages while staying connected with everyone..
- Rhythm & Discipline - a big personal goal of mine for the next few months is to reach a level of personal discipline and conviction that I haven't been able to reach since I entered american corporate life 5 years ago
- Taking pride in my projects
What to expect
As some of you might know, I decided to ditch the 9-to-5 (for now) and go explore a bit. (If you missed the whole "quitting my job" saga, check out my other post: Quitting Google.)
So, what does that mean for this project? Well, I'm going to be sharing snippets of my travels in China and Japan (A.K.A White man Mecca) —think cool photos, maybe some goofy videos, and definitely some stories. I'm also going to try and show you guys what I'm working on with my video game projects, which, let's be real, could be a hilarious train wreck or something actually cool. We'll see. And, because I can't help myself, I'll probably be rambling about my thoughts on my career and where I want to go next.
Basically, expect a mix of travel updates, creative chaos, and maybe a little bit of existential pondering. I'm hoping it'll be entertaining, at the very least, and at least a nice collection to look back on if its not 🙂.
For now, I'm soaking up some Parisian sunshine with the family. I’m excited to spend time with my brothers, sisters in law and niblings. It's been a much-needed break from the constant doom and gloom of the news cycle, and I'm really enjoying just being present and appreciating the simple joys of life.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all this, feel free to message me on anything (but the best way is probably through Signal)