All Right, STOP. Collaborate and LISTEN.

Last updated on March 17th, 2021 at 10:57 pm

If you read my last post you’ll know that I’m at a crossroads with the blog, feeling like I’m going in circles when I try to produce amazing content. It’s not for a lack of ideas—my desk is like a mad scientist’s secret lab, with me tinkering about to perfectly combine these notes, scribbles and sketches into things the world’s never seen. No, rather one can have too many ideas, and what happens when you try to tackle them all at once and not having some patience and conquering it all naturally with a well-thought plan.

These are the musings of a man crawling from under the weight of a million ideas, trying to find the one that’ll buy him the time to handle all the others.

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

My Myers-Briggs personality test would tell you I’m an ENTP type—enthusiastic, energetic extroverts who are big dreamers, always starting one grand scheme after another—they know no limits; the world to an ENTP is one big oyster!

But too often, these plans are short-lived—while I might come up with ideas I love that one day help in making a better world, my follow-through needs work.

That aforementioned desk I work at in the corner of my dining room has papers stacked high with half-formed thoughts and the openings to hundreds of blog posts. It has comic scene sketches, pieces of inspiration, and more art supplies than I’m ever likely to use. There’s stacks of books to read, things to learn, and the tools I need to get all those household odd jobs done.

My desk is a physical embodiment of my ever-growing to-do list, constantly reminding me how much I’ve yet to complete in my life.

An Empire of Clutter

I’ve spent my first few decades relentlessly creating. I’d often be that kid in the corner scribbling furiously in a notebook, not coming up for air until getting my work exactly where I wanted it.

At 31, I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes just as long to clean it all up.

As long as I’ve blogged, I’ve tried to clean up the clutter in my life, always up late with the night’s silence to put my thoughts together. There’re times I feel like I’m making progress—where, for example, I shave my number of draft blog posts to 90 down from 200—but more common are the times where for every idea I see to completion, two more instantly arrive to take its place.

In an Internet Age where content is king, it’s a gift and a curse, providing plenty of ideas for excellent content, but muddling things up in the execution stage. I dream of a day where it all comes together, freeing me up to pursue some of the other areas in my life.

The name of the game is growth, and that means taking a long look at what you contribute to the world, and whether you’ll eventually like what you see looking back at your legacy.

And that’s why for me less really is more, destroying distractions to reach the heart of the matter—the stories held deep within that I’ve always been trying to tell…

…I just never found the words.

Some is Often Better Than One

So you’ve made it to this last section, wondering why you spent your time having me wax poetic on the things that slow me down. “It’s great that you have ideas,” you say, “But as long as they’re in your head, why should we care about them?”

I firmly believe that you’ve no right to ask anything of the world until you’ve proven that there’s something you can give in exchange. I could ask for all the help in the world, lamenting that everyone could see my ideas the way I see them, and then they’d line up ’round the block to be part of what I have in mind.

But if wishes were fishes, we’d all cast nets, and last I checked the harbour’s pretty sparse!

Instead, I’ve taught myself a valuable lesson about ideas, my time on the Internet showing me that things don’t have to be perfect on your first try to eventually be amazing. Though it may not seem it in the urban blogopshere, the digital universe’s rife with collaborative opportunities, and the skills of many always eclipse those of one.

It’s time to give up the reins—it’s time to put my cards on the table and see who else wants to play. Though it’ll take ages before I feel like my house is in order, reality’s nipping at my heels, reminding me I’m not getting any younger, and perhaps I should trust in the abilities of others, lest the ship go down with the captain.

So don’t be surprised if an idea or two make their way here, inviting you to come out and play, showing what you’ve got to add to the equation, potentially leading to things that benefit us all.

Come find me on the playground—I’ve already saved you a spot!

See you there,