Contemplations of a Strange Mind, Day 7

Comparing is a hard-to-drop Addiction… this one is…

Why are you so awesome Joshua VanDeBrake?!

You are the type of 22 year old that make other 22 year olds like me feel really insecure… you make it hard to not feel rushed.

Its because of superstars like you and unicorns like the SV-folks-who-shall-not-be-named that I constantly feel like I am just not doing enough… not nearly enough…

But alas, I aint gon hate. Yall are some awesome folks and I commend your drive, your confidence, and your achievements thus far.

You inspire me.

Let’s be friends!

Though I dont feel like I ‘stack up’… Im slowly but surely finding the confidence in myself to not feel like I have to compare myself to others.
So here goes:

I did not go to college. First because I couldnt, then because I didnt want to, but I learned at least to finally not feel bad about it.

In fact, I found some great opportunities outside of the ivory towers I dreamt of so much when I was younger… like working at two Fortune 500 companies. So very eye-opening, for better or worse.

I am helping the love of my life write a huge web novel and build a storyverse that we plan to inspire the world with. I am also doing my damndest to make make her happy. (Cant wait to marry her soon too!!)

I am starting several projects that’ve been simmering in my mind for months or even years now.

I am working at an awesome startup that is set to change a major industry that I cant wait to talk about soon!

I am building amazing habits (writing, time management, executing, breathing;) and breaking other habits (procrastinating, insecurity, comparing, sitting up straight;) to forge myself into the type of person that makes world-changing companies and initiatives habitually.

I am writing everyday (or at least getting there) to get all this incessant chatter out of my head; to share all the stuff I ‘have to’ say over in my corner of the interwebs.

I am learning cool skills and gaining valuable experience in order to prototype, execute, and lead the development of my more experimental ideas.

I am getting in the swing of connecting with cool people like you to ensure this change the world thing is indeed a collaborative and communal action (Ooh! That would be a great topic to broach in an extended essay later too).

With all that being said… I hope you’re ready, I’ll be up there with you fast-moving folk soon enough! I too am so exasperated beyond belief how unnecessarily difficult it is to make a difference, and Im working on that too! (launch article pending)

I have so many ideas (even more than when I was overly obsessed with hovercars) due to practicing James Altucher’s ideamachine tips…. and so many of ‘em seem plausible…

I have so much to say… I thought I was weird in that regard. I figured it was a symptom of my not having anyone to talk to on that level anywhere near me, of consuming too much information without producing much, and so I end up expositioning at every chance I get online…
But no, seems I’ve simply been around the wrong twenty-some year olds!

But wow, you are cool person Josh, and I hope you dont mind me being too direct if I ask whether we can talk and collaborate (dont worry, I’ll get my sh*t together soon so it wont be one-sided :P ).

Is it cool to ask in such a Medium if we can Hangout sometime?

:}

Bad puns aside… I would really love to finally trade thoughts with another 22 year old (besides myselves, weird Council of Eli is weird) about how to change the world.

And to prove I’m not just out here tryna get free pickings off a young “yuppie’s” brain, here are 10 ideas you may find helpful. If not all 10, hopefully just one of these can provide some aid in your journey.

• Share more of your SME-like thoughts in a consistent blog (could be just one a month)… or a podcast!
• Create a course to teach what you’ve learned (best way to show your expertise, gain even more respect, and find clients)
• Distill your knowledge into stories like this one you wrote, but have some for different audiences (one for non-experts and another for ‘experts’)
• Look into Data Science (particularly being a Data Artist) to give yourself more superpowers in your marketing niche
• Apply more magic sauce to your website (which is already super cool and waaay cleaner than mines, too ashamed to even link it right now haha)
• Start a meetup in your area to find and talk to local folks as ambitious as yourself, both in terms of marketing and in big goal in general
• Take a fieldtrip to SV and other areas of CA to see if you can bump heads with all those folks changing the world right now. (Diamandis, Elon, Andreessen Horowitz, etc… course it wont be so simple, but far easier than if you were across the continent, here in Atlanta!)
• Share your thoughts/insights/experiences with non-career related stuff like how awesome it is being married at 22, travel destinations, etc
• Begin studying, planning, and sharing how you predict marketing and your niche will change in the future (VR/AR disruptions are inevitable!)
• Listen to Tim Ferriss, John Dumas, a16z, and Peter Diamandis (at the least) if you dont already.
• Bonus: Have fun! Changing the world is a sport, the most enriching, meaningful, empathic, fulfilling, and exhilarating sports ever. So have never forget the fun!

And I suppose I should stop here before I exposition again, hehe.

BOOM! Networking! Am I doin right?!

:P

And yes… I just made this comment-to-a-comment a full ‘story’… as a part of my ‘series’ haha. You win this one Medium … with your ‘every comment a story’ despotism. Heh.