WC 011: How Did We Get Here?
How did we get here?
At one point, you had an interest or passion that was driven by only one thing, the feeling of being lit up.
You spent nights and weekends absorbing everything you could about that subject.
And then someone told you that you could make a lot of money off this thing.
You thought to yourself, "wow this thing I love, I can make money doing this? How amazing would that be?"
And so you started a business.
You kept doing that thing, and at first it felt even better than at the beginning, because now you owned it in your new identity as an entrepreneur.
Such a sexy word.
Someone told you "wow you are awesome", or in my case, "wow you are a real wizard at this stuff".
Soon, that identity became something to protect.
And that interest which was simply something you loved for the joy of it became something you do out of obligation to keep feeding this identity.
You learn to manipulate your experience to ensure that this is always the case.
You are respected for your skills, and you are paid well for your services.
And so, the original spark begins to dull just a bit, as less of your focus remains on what's alive in the moment, and more on self-preservation.
We begin to make decisions in calculated ways, through the lens of "how will this be perceived?"
"What result will this create?"
We start to strategize a path towards "whatever the next level is", because that is what is expected of us - to grow in our capacity, and to prove that we are continuously achieving higher levels of success.
It's not because that is what we desire, or that it's even necessary - but because it's what's expected.
And so it goes.
Round and round with the passage of time.
And before long, where we came from, and our original spark of joy is so buried that it's no longer recognizable when we look in the mirror.
I ask again, how did we get here?
What was your original spark of joy?
My earliest perceptible memory of this was sitting on my father's lap in front of a personal PC watching the screen light up, and being in a state of complete awe.
It was creating music in college, and then seeing how Myspace allowed me to bring people together to experience this in community.
It was the dawning of an era in which the internet would create infinite opportunities for connection with others in ways that, at the time, we couldn't quite imagine.
Bring yourself back.
What was the spark?
What was the fabric of the joy that brought you to this place of presenting your gift to the world?
Can you still touch it?
Is it alive in you?
If it's no longer present, ask yourself, is it because you've evolved?
Consider leaning into that.
Or is it simply that the gem has been buried under a layer of dirt that you can start to peel away to connect back with child-like wonder.
Stop performing your daily routines for the obtaining of a particular outcome.
I strongly suspect it will lead to unhappiness in the end.
Do it because it feels good.
Right now, writing this final sentence feels good.
Can you feel it?
Sending Love.
Here's What I Want to Share This Week:
I wrote a bit more about Web3 for creators: This week was hectic, but I still managed to write about a recent Stripe announcement, and it's implications for online course creators, as well as the best crypto wallet for creators looking to get started with Web3.
Ry and I are looking to breathe some new life into our Quantum King brand in a big way this year. As part of that initiative, we are evaluating Web3 as an enabler of some of the goals we have. We listed our Fearless Lover course on the Resource Network, as an experiment in participating in circular economies.
I hit a bit of a speed bump this week with the health. As part of this, I had to remind myself a few things about showing up when I'm tired. So I wrote about it, mostly to get myself back into flow. Maybe it will help you if you ever find yourself needing to float.
Who We are Celebrating This Week: Kevin Thompson
Kevin and I connected through a small group-mastermind we were both a part of roughly two years ago, right around when the pandemic started.
I was initially struck by his genuineness, and sincere desire to help everyone in our group.
I later learned that Kevin runs a preferred partnership community, Tribe for Leaders, with a pretty aligned mission.
Their core intention is to ignite opportunities and facilitation for accelerated growth and impact through crafting and curating authentic strategic relationships.
I've attended a few of Kevin's events, and each time I've walked away with a significantly expanded network, and a few new friends.
Kevin and I reconnected recently, and I'm excited to share I'll be doing an interview with him in early April about relationships and answering this question:
Have you ever met or been introduced to a person that completely changed the course of your business or your life… so much so, that had you not met this person, most of what you have today wouldn’t be possible?"
I'm sure it's going to be a fun conversation, and I'll be excited to share it with you when it's done. There have certainly been many people that have shown up as allies in my life over the years in business.
This Week's Curiosities :
LearnFlow (Link)
I came across this on Product Hunt earlier this week. Its a free template to learn how to no-code in Webflow. As someone who has been curious about building no-code web apps, I thought it was a pretty cool learning experience. I've got it it bookmarked for a rainy day :)
Tellie (Link)
Tellie is the first website builder that I've found with native Web3 functionality right out of the box. It provides the ability to create NFT/Token-gated exclusives on the Ethereum blockchain. Right now the service is free, but it's invite only.
Good news for you..if you are crypto curious like me, I've got you covered with an invite :)
Sort of a "wait and see" on the value of this tool, so this is a share for those who want to get out way in front on the early adoption scale.
Content AI (Link)
This is a bit of a show and tell opportunity. I've been experimenting with various AI writing assists (assist being the key word). If you've ever wondered what happens when you buy cheap content on Fiverr, this tweet will give you a look behind the curtain:
38 seconds of behind the scenes of the content you're buying from Fiverr. #seo pic.twitter.com/ZNqoPDlVV1
— Mark Williams-Cook = 🅼🅰🆁🅺 🅲🅾🅾🅺 (@thetafferboy) March 10, 2022
Mark Williams-Cook is founder of AlsoAsked, a tool for topical content research.
Why I Deleted My Personal Site (Link)
I've been thinking a lot about community, and decentralization. We are seeing more signs of a bit of a splintering effect in the social grid as more and more people move away from big tech platforms like Facebook, and towards tools like Circle and Discord.
This is a fascinating video from Rob Fitzpatrick about his decision to delete his personal site and replace it with a Circle Community.
Not sure I'd advocate this just yet, but he makes some interesting and valid points. Would be curious to hear what you think. https://youtu.be/FAKQ9OHmoGM
Memorable Quote:
"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. "
- Mary Jean Irion, Poet and Essayist
With appreciation,
Phil
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The Wizards Chest 011: How did we get here? #ship30for30 with @Nicolascole77 and @dickiebush 👇 pic.twitter.com/uFQvyt80gm
— Philip R. Powis (The Wizard) 👽 (@philiprpowis) March 18, 2022