Why We Should Want to be a Generalist in a World of Specialists

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I’ve always considered myself a Jack-of-all-Trades, master of none. It’s something I’ve taken great pride in throughout my life. While most people would only focus on one or two major areas of interest, I was all over the place soaking up knowledge like a sponge. I didn’t care where it came from, I like learning fun facts and how things work.

I’ve never wanted to be a specialist because it’s always felt a little too restricting. Why be force into learning one particular thing when there’s so much out there to learn on such a wide array of topics. It always felt like a waste.

For a while, I started feeling my manic knowledge acquisition was becoming quite burdensome. I felt like other people saw me as flighty, uncommitted, and undisciplined. I’m sure they felt like they were on an episode of Pinky and the Brain where I was trying to come up with schemes to take over the world. It’s been stressful to say the least.

Unfortunately, over the last couple of years, I’ve come to face an uncomfortable truth. Companies don’t want generalists. They don’t want the “utility” player who can do a little bit of everything but is still willing to learn everything they need to know about their job. Companies want specialists. The purveyors of a “particular set of skills” companies can leverage for rapid integration of new personnel. The person who spent the last 10 years acquiring knowledge in a particular area to beat out the competition. They want the “best in their field.”

Generalists are often seen as flaky and undisciplined by the outside world. We are unwilling to put in the hard work to pursue excellence and be the best. Our flippant disregard for specialization makes others feel we are a liability instead of an asset.

This level of thinking was detrimental to me for years. I would bounce from thing to thing hoping to find my “one” thing I would be interested in to make a long-term career out of it. But of course, nothing stuck. Sure, there are interests I gravitate towards like business development, nerd culture, fitness, and, obviously, personal development but not enough to make anything land.

Recently, the stars aligned, and my thought process changed. Being a generalist isn’t a burden. Jack-of-all-trades isn’t a scarlet letter I need to wear in shame. It’s a superpower. It’s something I should embrace.

It 2007, Tim Ferriss wrote a blog post on “The Top 5 Reasons to be a Jack-of-all-Trades.” In the article, Tim gives his readers five excellent reasons to be a generalist, summarized here:

“Jack-of-all-Trades, Master of None” is an artificial pairing. Using the 80/20 principle we can learn all we need to know about a subject to be considered an expert.
In the world of dogmatic specialists, it’s the generalists who ends up running the show. Companies, organizations, the military, and countries are run by generalists who have specialists as sidekicks.
Boredom is Failure. Becoming overly specialized can lead to boredom while generalizing creates keeps things interesting.
Diversity of intellectual playgrounds breeds confidence instead of fear of the unknown. The more we want to learn the easier it is to connect with those around us.
It’s more fun, in the most serious existential sense. The more we find interesting the more unique experiences we can enjoy.

It is a great, short article which is worth taking the three minutes out of the day to read. The thing is, after rereading this article for this post, I felt he missed come critical positives of the generalist mindset. Some added bonuses generalist shouldn’t overlook.

Here are five more reasons to be a Jack-of-all-Trades:

They Better Problem Solvers:

When a problem arises for the specialist they want to solve it using the only way they know how, through their specialty. This could work for them, but it might not be the best solution. Having a broad sweeping knowledge of a greater number of areas allow the generalist to come up with creative ways to problem solve. This could wind up creating an even better solution than any specialist could.

They Pioneer New Industries:

One of the most important ideas, in my opinion, to come from the author/podcaster James Altucher is becoming an Idea Machine. This is where individuals brainstorm at least 10 ideas per day to build up the “idea muscle.” In this daily practice he brings up the notion of “idea sex” where two or more ideas are combined to create something new and different.

This is how entire new industries born. Think about the smart phone. It’s a combination of the mobile phone, the personal computer, and the internet. Now we have faster computers in our pockets than I didn’t when I went to college. Generalists have a great ability to use idea sex to pioneer new industries, due to their vast interests, then the specialist.

They are more creative:

Much like with pioneering new industries, generalists have a broader range of knowledge to use with their creative endeavors. New worlds, art styles, and passions can come by combining two or more areas of interest. Imagine if the movie Independence Day took place during World War 2 instead. It would probably look a lot like the PlayStation 3 game Resistance: Fall of Man. Two seeming different genres were melded together to get something completely unique and interesting. Even a Lord of the Rings is a blend of Norse Mythology, Medieval Fantasy, Tolkien’s experiences as a soldier during World War 1, and his observations of the changes in the world around him.

They make better Specialists:

Contrary to most of this posts message being a specialist isn’t a bad thing. Getting into the nitty gritty of a topic or subject has it’s on set of rewards for those willing to take the time to dig deep. If, however, a specialist decides to broaden their worldview by looking outside of their discipline it could create some interesting opportunities. Especially when the other discipline is completely different.

In a YouTube video discussing the documentary Free Solo about Alex Honnold who was the first person to ever free solo Yosemite’s El Capitan, the director makes an interesting but throwaway comment. Director Jimmy Chin stated, “We needed elite professional climbers that were also incredible film makers and cinematographers, meaning there’s only three or four people in the world you can call.” These individuals were using knowledge and expertise in multiple areas to help with a unique experience they wouldn’t had otherwise.

They are specialists in disguise:

Generalists specialize in the world. They can find something interesting where others might find it unappealing or boring. They like to learn from people who are passionate their interests and try to bring out their excitement. Generalist specialize in “fun facts” and know just enough about various topics to be dangerous.

They may not be concerned with becoming the best in a field of study, but they are happy knowing they can hold their own. This allows them to take what they’ve learned in a variety of areas and combine them into their own unique specialty. Vagabond, dilettante, dabbler, jack-of-all-trades are badges of honor for the specialist who “specializes” in everything.

The best part is history is littered with successful generalists. People who took their love and passion for the world and became immortalized. Three of the most famous being Leonardo DaVinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.

Even as the world has gotten small and the demand for the specialist has grown there are plenty of famous generalists including Tim Ferriss and Ashton Kutcher. If someone told me 20 years ago that guy from That 70s Show and Dude, Where’s My Car would become not only a famous actor but a successful investor, philanthropist, and activist, I would have said they were nuts. Here we are, and he is killing it.

It can be easy sometimes to see our generalist desires as burdensome. It’s easy to feel bad when we are unwilling to focus on one thing. It’s easy to listen to the nay-sayers. The thing to remember is it’s okay to be a generalist. This super power of ours gives us strength if we are willing to embrace it. Sure, if we are not careful it will control us, but, with practice, we can become stronger than any specialist. If we continue to learn wherever we can, there is no limit to what we can create. So, let’s get out there, read a book, watch a YouTube video, or have a genuine conversation with someone to learn something new.

Finding Our One: Building Our Virtual Mentor Network

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I’ve always wanted a mentor. Someone I can turn to help guide me through my personal and business related developments. Someone who is willing to help me start a business and grow it into something sustainable. Or someone who bounce questions and ideas I have in my personal life. Unfortunately, I do not any formal relationship with anyone, however, I’ve found the next best thing. I discovered a world of virtual mentors who I can “crowd source” for information on the questions I’m facing. We’ve never met but they help guide me more than they’ll ever know.

“But, Joe, there are so many people out there peddling their Cure All’s, how do we know who to trust?” It’s a good question. There are tons of people out there, including me with this blog, who are looking to help and share what they know, many even come with a cost. It can be difficult to know who to trust. Where are the individuals we will actually find helpful and who are the snake oil salesmen/women? (I don’t want to discriminate against salespeople.) Most importantly how do we find them?

These are important questions. How do we cut through the noise and the garbage to find the people we can trust? Here is the best way I’ve found to find quality virtual mentors:

Start with One: Cutting through the noise and finding quality mentors comes down to this one simple principle: Start with One. What does this mean? Well, we find one person we trust, whether personally or virtually, learn as much as we can from them, and find out who they trust. Then the cycle begins again. Our “One” could be a parent, friend, celebrity, or someone we heard about on the news. Maybe it’s Warren Buffett or Steven King or our Dad. The important thing is to find someone, just one person, to start the process. Typically, this is someone in a field we’re interested in but we can start anywhere.

Once we’ve found, and learned from, our “One,” we find out who they trust, usually through interviews, books, or personal blogs, if they have one. It doesn’t them long to mention at least one or two people they like, follow, are reading, etc. If they aren’t famous or don’t have much information out there on them, check social media profiles. It’s easy to check to see who they follow on Twitter or Instagram which gives us more people to check out. Then it’s a matter of looking into these new batch of people to hear what they have to say. If we like what we hear from this “New One,” we assimilate it and repeat the process. If what they say doesn’t resonate, move on to the next person on the list.

I started collecting virtual mentors when I found podcasts in 2014. It started with a show called Barbell Shrugged and they were interviewing Joe De Sena, the founder of the Spartan Race. Having wanted to run a Spartan Race for some time, I decided it was worth a listen. I LOVED IT! The interview was intriguing, the conversations were fun, and the hosts were interesting and knowledgeable. I felt it was an all-around great show. From this point on I was hook.

Later the hosts of Barbell Shrugged created a second show, called Barbell Business, where they discuss the ins and outs of running a gym business. Since I was currently the admin of a CrossFit gym in the area, I soaked up every piece of information form ever episode. In one episode they shared the business books they believed helped them the most. This is where I found Tim Ferriss, his book the 4 Hour Work Week, and, soon, others who would change my life.

I picked up the book on Audible and blew through the 13-hour recording as quickly as I could but it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more Tim Ferriss as soon as possible. This led me to his blog and eventually his recently started podcast. I subscribed to the show, started from episode 1 and continued to work my way through the list. Each episode was filled with new and interesting people I had never heard of, spider webbing the number of people I turn to for advice and guidance.

It’s not a quick process but, when done well, can lead to a mountain of quality mentors. I’ve found new “mentors” from podcast interviews, blog post mentions, reading lists, social media suggestions, Google search rabbit holes, friends, family, and more. This process, which I unintentionally started when I listen to that fateful Joe De Sena interview, has blossomed into a network of virtual mentors in a variety of categories, which still continues to grow. People who I “know” and trust the information they share.

It’s said knowledge is power but I believe the right knowledge is even more powerful. Finding the right people to listen to and trust can easily set us up and apart from those around us. It is this drive to learn and be better which will eventually help us grow into who we want to become. The best part? It only takes “One!”

*I’m curious to know who you consider your “One.” Let me know in the comments.*

Experimenting in the New Year

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Happy New Year and welcome to 2019. It’s a whole new year of possibilities. Out with the old and in with the new, as they say. We’ve done our past year review, made plans, and thought to ourselves, “but what about all of the new things I want to do this year?” Maybe it’s time to learn a new language, become a writer, or the ever-popular working out. I know I have about a million different things I want to do and I want to do them all at once. Here are just a few:

Start another blog
Write Short Stories
Workout 3x per week
Drop 30 lbs
Meditate for 10 minutes every day
Keep a personal journal I write in each day
Learn another language (because who doesn’t)
Learn to code

You know… just a few easy goals to get me through the year. Right? This isn’t even everything and doesn’t include things I’ll want to do later on in the year.

These lists can be daunting? There’s so much on them and each one is the “most” important one to start right now. How to choose? How do we know which ones are right for us? We could start learning a language and realize it sucks but are we stopping because it’s hard or it’s not right for us?

First, we need to realize “we can do everything we want, just not all at once.” We have to understand we will need to create an order of precedence to figure out what we care about most. If we find a new, shiny object, we add it to the list to try next but don’t stop what we are working on now. One at a time. Slow and steady.

Once we know what we want to do we need to start executing. So what next? We start by thinking about life in 2 Week Experiments and 6 Month Projects. Again, this idea comes from Tim Ferriss (yup I’m talking about HIM again) in an episode of the Tim Ferriss Podcast where he’s being interviewed at Google. Let me explain. In episode 175, he was asked about his 5-year plan or goals. He told the interviewer he breaks things up into 2-week experiments and 6-month projects rather than having long drawn out plans. This allows him to try new things to ensure they are worth his time and to keep an open mind when new ideas or projects come along.

What does this mean for us? It means we get to be both the scientist and the test subject. We are both dart thrower and dart board. We are putting ourselves in control with our own destiny and giving ourselves a nice, easy window for testing. Want to start a blog but haven’t written in years? We can start journaling every day for two weeks to ensure we want to continue writing. How about completing a Spartan Race? We can try HIIT training for two weeks to see if it’s something worth pursuing. After the two-week experiment is over, if we are still excited, we can turn it into a 6-month project. Go out to get a free WordPress website (*cough* *cough*) to start a blog or sign up for a gym membership to take their free classes to move forward. If, however, after the two weeks are over, we don’t want to continue, we quit. No harm, no foul.

There are two important things to remember when starting these experiments and projects. First, there needs to be some criteria for success or failure. Something specific and attainable. Start by journaling every day for 10 minutes instead of planning to write for 30 minutes or an hour. Try this 20-minute bodyweight beginner’s workout by Nerd Fitness 3-4 times a week instead of paying for a gym membership and planning to be there every day for hours. Specific but attainable.

Second, develop a plan before each experiment. We have success criteria but now we need to figure out how to execute. It’s important to carve out specific time to work on our experiment and not assume (it makes an ass out of “u” and me) we’ll get it done. Figure out when we have the most energy to help ensure success. (Some people are morning people while others get there second wind in the afternoon or evenings. We know ourselves better than anyone else.) Also, ensure consult plans with spouses or children whenever necessary to increase the possibility for success. As Ben Franklin said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail!”

Remember the idea is to figure out what we want to learn or do, then break it into two-week tests for ourselves. This is long enough to either start building a new successful habit or realize it’s not our cup of tea. Then if a new shiny object does come along we don’t feel like we are giving up anything to try something new. This way we aren’t trying to pull ourselves in a thousand different directions and instead, working to be more productive with our time. Sure we might experience bumps in the road but with some practice I know we’ll get to do everything we want in life.

Let me know what experiment you are looking to try first this year. I’d love to hear from you.

A New Year and A New You: Past Year Review

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It’s that time of year again when we say, “Fuck you!” to the previous year and warmly embrace the new one. It’s a time when we look at our past failures and try to fix them in the year ahead. It’s a time when we set goals for ourselves with milestones to hit to become a better person. It’s a time for New Year’s Resolutions.

Except, should it be? Should we be setting goals for ourselves for things we don’t necessarily want or won’t to do? Is there a better way to make next year better than our last? I think so thanks to Tim Ferriss. (What can I say? I’m a huge fan).

Tim recently posted his article called “Forget New Year’s Resolutions and Conduct a ‘Past Year Review’ Instead.” It’s a quick article describing the five steps for a successful PYR (Past Year Review), which you can find in the link. Basically, you go through the past year and write down, in two columns, all of the Positive or Negative people, activities or commitments you dealt with. Then you find the 20% of people and things you enjoyed and schedule more time for them now, today. Plan trips, activities, or events now to avoid the last minute “what the hell do I do now?” Then take the Negative column, write “NOT-TO-DO-LIST” and keep it in a place where you can look at it regularly. This helps avoid “forgetting” how much frustration was caused.

There you have it. Do more of the things we enjoy and less of the frustrating stuff. Simple right? Now we can be unencumbered of our boredom and monotony to start living a life of adventure and freedom! So good luck and have fun on your life of leisure.

“Hey, Joe… Aren’t you forgetting about a little thing called life? It kind of gets in the way.” Sure, life can be unpredictable and chaotic at times but why is that the case? Why do we tend to feel like we are a first class passenger on a runaway train with no time for fun? If you’re anything like me it’s because we tend live life by the seat of our pants. We don’t plan anything and become wishy-washy with commitments. Then when something comes up we don’t want to do or it’s someone we don’t want to hang out with, we get frustrated we aren’t doing something fun.

Thanks to Tim’s article, I’ve come to realize I need to be more assertive with the things I want to do and deliberate in the planning. I know things will come up and plans might change but if I don’t make time for the people and things I want to do, I’m headed on a one-way trip to miseryville. Here is a list of some of the things I’ve realized I need to add onto my calendar for the upcoming year.

Spend time with my family (both immediate and my extended family)
- Visit my parents and sister/Brother-in-Law/Nephews more
- Have more “Date Nights” with my wife
- Spend specific time with my kids but together and individually
Spend more time with my friends (other than the monthly poker game)
Play more Dungeons and Dragons (Yes, I enjoy Roleplaying Games)
Invite out of town friends for the weekend
Take more trips to my in-law’s cabin in Boone, NC
Have more get-togethers at our house.
Make time to write
Make time to play video games

At first glance it feels a little overwhelming but by understanding the things I want to spend more time doing, the more I can do. By planning fun things ahead of time I can ensure I am more deliberate with the necessities as well. I also believe it will allow me to be more present in my life which is something I desperately need to work on.

“Joe, I’m not going plan every minute of my life.” Of course not. The idea is to be more deliberate with our actions and time not to ensure we schedule our life completely. We want to ensure we add more positivity into our lives and avoid as much of the negative influences weighing us down. We want to get away from the feeling of being out of control. Stoic philosophy explains the only thing we have control over is our emotions and our actions. If treat our lives with ambivalence, we will continue to repeat the same shitty patterns each year. When we take time to care about who we are spending our precious time with and how we are using our time, our lives will improve.

Life will throw us curveballs and things won’t always go as planned. We may miss out on fun, spontaneous opportunities which come about but in the end, I believe, we better in the long run. So this year, let’s take some time to think about the positive and negative in our lives and be deliberate with what we want for the upcoming year. Make a plan, schedule it out, and defend it at all cost… especially from ourselves. Happy New Year, Everyone.

What Would It Look Like If It Were Easy?

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Life is hard. It’s difficult, complicated, and messy. The funny thing is we tend to complain about the hard times but we seem to like it. It’s something we live for and wouldn’t know what to with ourselves if it wasn’t hard. Hell, many of us out there spend their entire lives dreaming about retirement only to get bored within 10 minutes and look for another job.

Don’t get people started on easy money or “get rich quick” ideas either. They are scams. No one EVER got ANYTHING the easy way and most people don’t get things handed to them. Those who do get things handed to them are lazy, immature, and worthless. Easy is dumb and NO ONE should ever want things to come the easy way.

Then Tim Ferriss wrote the 4 Hour Work Week and a small rebellion started. These followers of Tim realized there was a better way to do things. We could work smarter, not harder if we took the time to think creatively. The old, direct way may work but is it the most effective?

What if “it” was easy? This is a phrase I’ve heard from Tim several times but it didn’t seem to click. Several months ago, however, Tim did another round of his “Drunk Dial” episode and I was lucky enough to finally make the cut. (Basically, his fans sign up to receive a drunken phone call from him and he’ll answer any question he is asked. Then he compiles the audio, he’s record, into an episode or two for his podcast.) I received a ton of good advice from this phone call but what stuck with me was “what would [my project] look like if it was easy?” Basically, what was the bare minimum I would need to get my project off the ground. No bells, no whistles, just unbridled minimalism.

If you are anything like me, we have a tendency to overthink and overanalyze the world around us. We have an easier time thinking about where we want a project to go but not where to begin. We think about all of the bells and whistles and think they need to be a part of the project in the beginning. If I don’t do A, B, and C right in the beginning then there’s no point to starting anything, right?

This is where we go wrong with most of the things we want to do in life. We over complicate things to the point of overwhelm and inaction. We want to get certifications, build apps, and need tons of money instead of seeing if there is an easier way to get started. We make 12 step plans when a 3 step plan will do.

I have a friend who would love to be a personal trainer or own a business in the physical fitness space. Unfortunately, they don’t have time to become a certified personal trainer, go out to find people to train, or start a business. What could they do instead? What would it look like if it were easy? “They could start a personal fitness blog, Joe.” Think easier. “How about posting workouts and fitness articles on Facebook?” Exactly! They’re already working out regularly and reading health and fitness articles, why not share them? They’d quickly become seen as an expert people could turn to with questions.

I went through a similar process with this blog. For years, I’ve wanted to share the things I’ve learned, with those around me, but it never really stuck. I made every excuse in the book as to why I couldn’t start. I had to create a name. I needed a website. I needed to write at least a dozen posts to ensure I had material in case I wasn’t able to write. On October 22 I got fed up and did something about it. I set up a free blog and now I’m posting regularly. “Look, Mom and Dad, I’ve got a blog!”

I’m not trying to say there won’t be work involved. Anything worth doing will take time and energy. There will be PLENTY of work. The idea here is to bypass the “paralysis by analysis” and get started by figure out if there is a better way. What is the least amount of energy we can expend to get the most results? Then we can take the energy we’ve saved to work on something else or take some much needed time for ourselves, guilt free.

The best part about this phrase is, I believe, it can be applied to everything we do. We spend much of our lives thinking and overanalyzing every little decision we have to make instead of doing. We need to stop. Stop waiting and start doing. I almost guarantee, not matter what you want to do there’s an easy way to start. So start… NOW.

The Positives of Being Negative

When you think about a pessimist, who do you envision? My typical pessimist looks like an emo kid sitting alone in the dark. They tend to focus on what could go wrong instead of what could possibly go right. They are the boo hooers, the naysayers, and the negative Nancys (or Nathans… Happy Mom?)

These doom and gloom people in your life can be exhausting but what if you could harness their powers for good? What if you could take this focus on the negative and use it to make your life better? Would you be interested?

“But, Joe, what kind of devil magic is this in which you speak?” you might ask in your best Yoda impression. “Surely, there’s no positive about being negative.” Well, you’re wrong… and don’t call me Shirley. The answer is a little something called fear setting.

The first time I heard the term Fear Setting it was while listening to the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. This book is a manifesto about getting out of your own way to have the life you really want. This means figuring out what you want out of life and taking steps to get it. Though, at first read, it can feel like the slacker’s guide to becoming a millionaire, there is more to it. It’s about challenging societal norms and realizing just because it’s been done “the same way for years” doesn’t mean it’s the right way. For some reason, as human beings, we tend to make life harder on ourselves even when we want to make things better.

One of the exercises Tim prescribes in this book is called Fear Setting, which he got from the stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger. (I will talk more about Stoicism in another post because I find it extremely fascinating but this is all you’ll get here). Basically, this exercise has you visualizing on your worst case scenarios to find out if what’s holding you back is really as bad as it seems. If you lost your job tomorrow would it be the end of the world or would you recover? How about breaking up with your girl/boyfriend or getting a divorce or becoming paralyzed? Will your world end if these things happened to you or could you recover?

What this does is takes all of those scary thoughts you have bouncing around in your head and puts them out into the open. Out into the light of day. When you take the time to word vomit your problems, fears, and worst case scenarios onto “paper” you find they aren’t as scary as you thought they were. You find the worst case scenarios aren’t so worst case, there are things you can do to prevent your scenarios from happening, and finally you can plan on ways to recover from your personal apocalypse. It becomes less doom and gloom and becomes temporary pain and suffering. You’ve planned for this and now you know how to fix it. (To read the full chapter about fear setting from the 4 Hour Work Week click here. The exercise is at the end).

After you’ve put down on paper your worst case scenarios in vivid detail you can practice them. Once or twice a month, a quarter, or a year you try to approximate living in these scenarios to inoculate yourself when the real shit hits the fan. Afraid of losing your job and not having any money? Spend a week only eating rice and beans or sleeping your car and showering at work. Afraid of losing a hand or arm? Go a day or two with your off hand tied to your side. Afraid of getting a divorce and being all by yourself? Take a solo trip out of town for a few days to see how it feels.

The fears and practice scenarios are up to you and can be as creative as you want them. The important part is finding ways to take the fear setting one step further by applying a practical application to them. Now not only do you think you can live through these scenarios but you know because you’ve done it. Every time you feel the fear start to creep back in you give yourself another “injection.”

That’s what I’ve done here. I worried about what people would think about my writing for so long I knew I needed to take action. When I started the blog I felt good but it wasn’t enough since I was still afraid to have the world read it. Then I shared I started a blog, on Facebook. I learned it wasn’t as bad as I imagined and was something I needed to continue. Even if the feedback was mostly negative, it was still worth doing because I could easily recover by moving forward anyway or finding a new project.

My point here is many times thing feel horrible, debilitating, or even the end of the world but can be recovered from. Sometimes pessimism is practical. So what are you waiting for? It might just change or save your life!

The 3 Reasons I Write

When I originally decided I wanted to start a blog, some months ago, the idea was to be a repository of “wisdoms” I wanted to share with my kiddos. Things I learn throughout the years and wanted to let them know. This was to prevent me from shot-gunning advice to them all over the place. I have a tendency to be inconsistent at times and it can feel like I’ve put zero thought into what I’m saying or why I’m saying it. I worry they feel I rant because I’m a crazy person. The problem is I don’t always do a good job articulating why I say or do things which, I’m sure, feel unfair.

Instead of writing for the kiddos, I decided to write for me. I’m writing things down I want to remember. I also hope there’s the secondary benefit of helping you, and, eventually, my kids.

Those who know me know I’m a very anxious person. I worry about my life, my future, my wife, my kids, family, and my friends. I worry about how people think of my now and how they’ll think of me in the future. I fear being irrelevant and going my whole life with little to nothing to show for it. It’s something I’ve been dealing with all my life, often extremely poorly. I’ve let it become debilitating and hinder much of my personal growth over the last 36 years.

I’ve spent most of my life thinking about the future and what it held for me. Being a science fiction fanatic, I’ve always looked towards the future in anticipation and fear. I remember when I was 18, my parents asked me to write down where I thought I would be at the age of 25 and 35. Back then, I thought I was going to be a GLORIOUS day trader who had a million dollars in the bank by the age of 35. Well, I’m 36 now and I’m lucky if I have 2% of that million in the bank at this moment. Most days I just feel like a complete and utter failure. My saving grace is I’m not giving up and I’m continuing to fight, especially for my kids.

Over the last year, I embarked on a period of rediscovery. While most of it has been a colossal failure, I found writing, starting with the desire to journal. Many successful people say they journal every day, and wanting to be successful, I thought I’d try it. It was never a regular practice but I found I would write during periods of deep anxiety. Writing what’s on my mind seems to take the pressure off and it relaxes me. I found it cathartic.

When I was a kid, I thought writing was girly and dumb. Girls had dairies to write down their feels and hide them under their pillows. Boys didn’t need to write their feelings down, they just needed to swallow hard, and “Man Up.” Clearly, this line of thinking has been SUPER helpful for all these years (this is sarcasm). So now I write.

Since I’ve started writing I’ve learned three important things:

Learning how to write effectively helps you to become a better communicator in your own right. You don’t have to be a “writer,” whether it’s a blogger, journalist, author, etc., but just need to a dude/dudette with a journal. Either way, you will need to communicate with others on a regular basis. The more you practice writing, the better you will be at getting your point across by organize your thoughts into a logically cohesive way. No matter who you are or what you do, being an effective communicator helps in all aspects of your life.
Coming back to the catharsis of writing, I believe it helps with something called fear setting. Tim Ferriss has talked at length about fear setting and writing down your fears to make them more manageable. (I’ll talk more about this in another post). While I think his fear setting exercise is excellent, sometimes you just need to write down what you are thinking to get it out of your head. Your head is a nebulous place where fear, doubt, and anxiety enjoy living and need the darkness to grow. Writing shines a light on fear so it can no longer sustain itself. Taking away fear’s power will help make you a better, more balanced, less angry person.
Writing helps create better ideas by developing your analytical side. If you’re anything like me ideas get into your head like a brain bug and infect you. They swirl around all day making it difficult to focus on anything. Maybe it’s a problem you are trying to solve or an idea for the next lifesaving widget. Much the fear setting, this exercise provides a safe place to problem solve and figure out next steps by looking back, ordering, and reordering thoughts until they make sense.

Can you do these things without a regular writing practice? Sure, you can. Is this the best way to work on these skills? Maybe not. What I do know is writing is the first thing I’ve found to work, and Lord knows I’ve been trying. Now I’m here writing every day to become a better communicator, build a defense against my anxiety, and become a better problem solver.

So, I encourage you to join me by starting to write now, today, and often.