Where am I?

Oh, hi there. Remember me? I used to write for this Substack before I disappeared for three months.

Where have I been, you ask? Well, I’ve been to a lot of places. I went to a music festival in New Orleans with some high school friends. I visited Las Vegas with my wife (highly recommend the show Absinthe!) and made $500 playing Black Jack before we spent it mostly on dinner. I’ve fished quite a bit once the weather in Chicago stabilized later than usual. I’ve been going to the gym on a regular basis for the first time... ever? I’ve been playing music with friends and spending more time with family. Generally speaking, I’ve been doing the sort of things you might expect from someone on a sabbatical.

Amidst all of this, I’ve been slowly pulled into the world of Web3 and cryptocurrency, which has fascinated me since early 2017. I’ve spent much of my free time diving into the latest trends and projects, learning about the evolutions of different blockchains, specifically some of the exciting new things happening on Bitcoin. I even started a crypto X (Twitter) account, much to the dismay of my wife.

A lot of the time and energy that I had used for this Substack was redirected into those efforts. I find myself spending my afternoons in the trenches of X or the depths of Discord servers. I’ve helped some projects redo their websites or rethink their content strategy. I’ve created quite a bit of my own content (it’s good to know my meme game is still strong) and even written a few long-form thought pieces. I created a simple dashboard using ChatGPT, Retool, and a few APIs that people in the space seem to be using. I’m even going to a Bitcoin-related conference in Nashville later this month to take a deeper dive.

I’m not sure how long this phase, if you want to call it that, will last. I can’t say if this will turn into a career move or if it’s just  a pastime. But what I can say is that it feels amazing to be building and creating again. I’ve rediscovered the feeling that fueled my passion and excitement at Catch Co. and previous startups that vanished from my professional life a number of years ago. 

For me, creating things that people like provides some form of deep and mysterious validation. It doesn’t matter if it’s a joke, a tweet, a new product, a piece of music, or a Substack article. Making things that other people like is my vice.

I use the word "vice" because as I find myself exploring new professional opportunities, I see some of my best—and worst—tendencies from the past resurfacing. Part of what made Catch Co. and other projects successful for me early on was my complete obsession. I couldn't stop thinking about creating new things or making things better. I found myself constantly checking in, refreshing dashboards, ad accounts, and social media profiles hourly just to confirm that the things I did mattered.

And with this latest endeavor, I see some of these habits creeping back in. Some of the fences I created for myself, like keeping my phone in my office at night or meditating every day, fell apart. I find myself wondering if it is possible for me to find success without relying on these habits. As I’ve said many times to many people, your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness.

When I was in New Orleans and mentioned some of this to my friend (and former Jeopardy contestant) Elan Sherbill, he quoted an insight that he read by the famous hasidic Rabbi, R’ Nachman of Breslov (Ukraine 1772-1810). He told me that with personal growth, the challenges encountered at different levels of development often repeat themselves. We must confront the same obstacles and overcome them over and over, finding ways to renew our strength while remembering that as we confront these challenges, we are not the same person that we were before. These insights definitely hit home.

So, for the time being, I’m exploring where my passions lead me while dabbling in activities that feed my curiosity and keep me fresh, searching for balance between the two. I can’t say where this Substack will play into the process, but it’s comforting knowing that so many people have asked about it. I’ve been blown away by how far some of my articles seemed to have traveled. I’m truly grateful.

Until next time...