I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to share that events transpiring all around us are making me feel a whole lot of emotions. (This may include rage, despair, anxiety, frustration, angst, gloom, anger, helplessness, ennui, listlessness, and many others.) And that’s all very understandable — the rule of law is being shredded, the fabric of American Society feels to be unraveling, there is genocide happening in our time, it’s becoming increasingly impossible to make a comfortable living, AI slop is replacing thinking, we are inundated by ways to doom-scroll our one wild and precise life away, the worst actors seem to be becoming ever richer and more powerful, our beautiful natural environment is further degraded and out of whack every day at a pace that only seems to be accelerating despite all the clear scientific evidence  and available technology that could allow us to reverse that trend, they stopped making the Choco Taco… the list goes on. 

And I think those emotions are especially heightened for those of us in the United States, who don’t want to see our country take a hard-right turn into Fascism and who may wake up some mornings wondering if we are essentially living in early 1930s Germany. 

It’s in that spirit that I can very easily understand those who are agitating for the rest of us to DO SOMETHING!!!! “What would you have done when Naziism was rising in Germany in the 1930s? Because whatever you think it was, you’re doing it now!” Etc etc. 

And yes, while I understand that feeling (and it’s a question I ask myself in the regular), it’s not helpful. The reality is that most of us have people who depend on us, lives we were feeling overwhelmed by trying to just keep in equilibrium BEFORE all this started going even further off the rails, and we are all of limited time, attention, resources, and other means. 

But that also doesn’t mean we should do nothing. 

I’m writing this as much for myself as I am for you, dear reader, to remind myself that just because we can’t do everything, doesn’t meant mean we have to feel like we are doing nothing. 

So, below is a short and non-comprehensive list of 11 steps you can take to start making the world a a better place, to Make Action:

1. Stop Beating Yourself Up

See above. The world will do it for you, so why offer it a hand? Be your own champion, love yourself, and get some rest. Put on your own mask before helping others. You can’t go very far or carry anybody with you if you’re running on an empty tank. 

2. Do What You Can

Which is also to say, if you can’t do it, then don’t. It’s ok. No one can do everything. But if there is something you know you can do, then do it. That can be as little as liking a post, sharing it with a friend, joining a protest, founding a movement, or just eating a healthy meal. Action Absorbs Anxiety – so do something, even if it’s just for you. 

3. Build Connections

Stay in touch with friends. Try to make new ones. Have a real conversation with someone at the grocery store. Send on of your favorite artists, influencers, or some other type of creator a genuine message about what their work means to you. Reply to the cold marketing email with a genuine note of “no, but thanks” instead of just deleting it. Call your mother. 

4. Join a Movement 

Choose a cause that matters to you. It’s nearly guaranteed that there are people out there fighting to make it better. Sing up for the newsletter. Sign a petition. Like and follow what they’re doing on social media. Show up to a meeting. Every avalanche needs a lot of snowflakes.

5. Live Kindness 

Be kind to yourself. Have patience with others. The world is always in desperate need of more kindness — there can never been too much. Caring and kindness are our greatest strengths. Empathy is never weakness. Those without hot are lonely, lost,  and full of longing. Pity them. God damn it, you’ve got to be kind. 

6. Support Others 

Every one of us struggles. If there is something you can do to ease the burden of another, then do it. Again, even something as small as liking a post, leaving a supportive comment, or sending a positive email can transform someone’s day. 

7. Care For Your Loved Ones 

At heart, we are nurturers. Grow your own spirit and add grains of sand to your mountain of purpose by showing care for the people you love, and who love you. Feed your cat. Play with your dog. Read your child a book. Call your parents. Call up an old friend. Send a song you can’t stop listening to to your sibling. Cook dinner for your partner. (Or even better, do the dishes.) 

8. Spread The Word 

Movements aren’t built alone. If there’s a cause you believe in, say something. If you think someone is doing great work in addressing it, tell others. Share an article, even if it’s just because you’re irate. Raise awareness of the things you care about, both the problems and what you see as the solutions. Get fired up, inspire others, and build momentum. 

9. Give Money, If You Can 

This is low on the list because for some of us it’s the biggest ask, and there is so much more you can do. But it definitely doesn’t hurt. Even $1 makes a difference, and adds up. 

10. Be Visible, and Be Vocal, and Act, if You Can 

Exposure brings risk, and for some of us that risk can be great. It’s also true that nothing will change if we all stay home. If you want things to change, sometimes the best thing you can do is simply to show up, speak out, and been seen. Non-violent protests can work — but only if enough people show up. (See: 3.5% rule) 

11. Don’t Despair

Some days it’s easier than others. We all have our dark days, myself definitely included. But the dark days don’t last forever. Go back to Step 1. 

Final Note: One thing I tell myself on those dark days is simple: Everything Will Change. It’s a double-edged sword — the darkness will fade. Things that are terrible now won’t last forever. But the things I love about now, the joys of today, will also not last forever. It’s a mental memento mori to celebrate, practice gratitude, be in the moment, and seek out the light. 

Go forth! Make Action. 

(I started an apparel company to try and put more positive reminders into the world. Buy a Make Action shirt here.)

Everyone’s jumping on the AI bandwagon, so I figured, why not? 

But it’s really more than that. 

Partially, of course, yes, it’s just to be cheeky. But I wanted a place to emphasize my human ability to do the opposite. What will AI never be? Authentic rather than Artificial, able to prioritize Instinct over Intelligence. 

It’s also a pushback against another kind of intelligent blindness that clouds our culture. 

One of my favorite books is Ian McGilchrest’s The Master and His Emissary. The extreme summary is that based on well-founded scientific observations, our mind really is divided into two hemispheres that operate differently; the right, which sees the forest, the gestalt, the big picture, and the left, which sees the trees. It grasps, it’s shaped my the mechanics of our hands, to go out into the world and change things. The right sits at home, thinking big thoughts and putting things together (The Master) and the left gets shit done (The Emissary). And in the course of western culture, the left has become strongly dominant. In many ways this has been great — it could be considered responsible for the scientific revolution, for the ‘golden age’ of enlightenment, for the primary of rationality over superstition, and more. 

But there is much the left brain never sees, or devalues, which are crucial to being complete beings in the world. I see this every day in the tech industry as people increasingly forget that the numbers we see in our analytical engines, trackers, and digital funnels are not just numbers, but people. 

This manifests as an over reliance on dashboards, numbers, projections, statistics, and ‘evidence’ — when the reality is that those things, while useful, can only go so far, as they only can tell you what happened, and inform you about the past — but not what could happen in the future. 

(And the great changes that have swept our civilization and culture tend to come ‘out of nowhere’ 

In the world of Corporate Poetry, er, “Marketing,” in which I live, this means that is increasingly difficult to get people to take risks, to venture forth, to try something that is truly new or different — if you can’t prove that it’s going to be successful, it’s too risky to try in the first place. As a result, too much of my workdays consist of trying to find, find, formulate, or fabricate “evidence” that the new thing I want to try will absolutely work and be worth the investment. 

This blog is a stake in the ground to try and change the conversation to start making more room for Instinct — the deep seated sense, from lived experience and the Right-brained sense of the forest, that better ways of communicating and decision-making are out there, if only we are open to trying truly new ways of doing things. 

The topics I cover here and the thoughts that I share will always be an expression of what I think matters — which will come from my instinct. 

So that’s Instinct — what about Authenticity? 

I’ll be the first to agree that it is a painfully overused word lately, especially in the world of marketing and communication. But the reason that it is so overused is that it is deeply misunderstood. If the point of being “authentic” is to find a better way to sell one’s self to more customers and readers, how on Earth can it actually be considered authentic? Unless that authenticity comes from a deep desire for approval and validation from others. Which is really the opposite of what qualities it takes to act with true Authenticity. 

Authenticity is a concept that grows out of Identity — the unique, immutable qualities that make you you (and your own ability to see it). And seeing that in oneself clearly is really the hardest part. The first part is natural, and can’t be helped, but the second part, seeing it and understanding it clearly, is becoming increasingly difficult in a world where we are constantly surrounded by noise, stimulus, distraction, and then simultaneously pulled towards the vapid, bottomless cacophony of news, social media, popular culture, and anything else that’s [shudders] “trending”. 

So if the ability to be Authentic comes from your understanding of who you are, the distorted funhouse mirrors of our culture have made that increasingly difficult for all of us to do. How can you be true to yourself if you aren’t clear on who you are being true to? 

That is the other half of this blog’s purpose — not for you necessarily, dear reader, but for me. It’s a space to go deep, to turn writing into thinking and back into writing again, to continue the search for my truth. As I find it, I will strive to be honest, uncensored, and true to it. For any readers that care to join me, or also find it illuminating, the doors to my souls are wide open to you — and I sincerely hope you enjoy and find value from sharing my journey. 

(ChatGPT could never.)

The poet Tom Petty said that the waiting is the hardest part, but for me it’s always been the starting.

Taking the step from zero to one requires a single first step, and in the realm of creation, I’ve always tried to remain humble. I don’t think it will be news to you that the world is full of people for whom the starting is easy — they are convinced they have lots to say, and they don’t hesitate to share it, endlessly, even if it contains little insight or anything new. And there are others who, despite maybe having something very valuable and deeply thoughtful to contribute hold back unsure that anyone would notice, or even care.

I’ve spent too much time wandering around the latter camp.

Life is short, time is precious — and i’ve never wanted to waste anyone’s with something that wasn’t worth their attention.

I’ve also learned that it’s something for others to decide.

Humility can obscure insight, reticence withholds connection.

So in that way, this blog, and when I’m feeling self-inflated, this project, is not just for me. It is for everyone who is holding back their inner brilliance, afraid to let their light shine on others.

There are a trillion ways to be a person, and ten thousand trillion more ways for us to find connection, validation, and inspiration.

If even one reader, myself included, finds value from this, it will have been worth it.

I thank you humbly, in advance, for your time.