First, you dream of going there. And then the dream comes true, and you actually go. You get to be one of those very unique humans that will have a chance to walk on the icy shores of Antarctica.

Not only do you get to go there, but then you also get to create a narrative to explain to the world, in any way that you choose, from what you have learned. Why it’s important. And how it connects with you. And maybe even why you should care. It was all a dream come true.

But then you get home…

You’ve heard someone around you say this before: “I live on Twitter.” Or maybe this one: “I’m addicted to Facebook and I’m trying to quit.” And then there’s the phrase that’s reached meme-level: Saying to someone, about something, the moment they’re sharing is an “Instagram-able Moment.” Or more recently, maybe you “Burned through half a day on Clubhouse,” maybe even “trying to go viral on LinkedIn.”

So then, what about Medium?

Who here will admit that they live on Medium? Clearly there are lots of humblebrags of people who are killing it on Medium, or so they say. But who…

Screenshots are the way out of incompatibility jail between your platforms and programs. I know because I’ve spent months trying to iron out various incompatibility nightmares. For example: You want…

I want to share one of those aha-moments I had a few months ago, at the risk of it sounding so plain and simple, the only response is: duh.

Now that that big project of yours is done, marketing is that task that you know is massively important, and I know that you’ve already written up a plan about how you’re going to do it all. And because you work on your own, when you say all, you really mean all.

But when it comes time to implement your great ideas, I’m going to bet that it’s a furious race…

It’s not glorious. There are no angels singing. I’m to-the-fingertips exhausted, on the verge of hating it all, and fanning away my negative self-talk like a swarm of blackflies in a Northern spring.

What keeps me going is the finish line that I can see in the distance. In my mind it’s definitely a ribbon strung across the road, and I do intend to cross it, which will snap loudly as my tired body lurches through the space of before, and after.

But every part of me wants to just sit down on the road right now and curl up…

Audio Love

In this last year, many of us have learned about different types of grief. There’s been the obvious sort — many of us have lost people we love. But there are other sorts too…the types are less easy to define and discuss.

Loss comes in all sorts of packages, and sometimes these are left on your doorstep when you least want them, or least expect them. We’ve got Anticipatory Grief, for those things that get lost inside anxiety that you fear, and these may or may not be real. There’s Complicated Grief, for those people that you miss, but it’s…

Here’s the advice that I wish someone had given me, many years ago: When you’re out there creating and innovating, be careful not to push that unknowable boundary too far. In other words: Create and dream, but stay within reach of the shore.

I know, I know. You don’t want to hear this. Maybe someone has even said this to you but you ignored it, or just didn’t hear it. I know people said this to me back when, and yes, I ignored them too. Why? …