I have no idea what I’m doing

Create a blog, they said. Build your personal brand, they said.

What in God’s name am I going to write? I asked.

*crickets*

Welp.

I’m going to be honest. Really honest. Like, politicians two states away are going to twitch every time someone reads this.

In my almost 35 years, I’ve learned a little about a lot. I’m not an expert on anything. Not even close. But let me explain.

When you’re a kid, everyone tells you to be well rounded. Play an instrument. Go out for the team. Volunteer. Learn a language. And, oh by the way, make sure to get good grades and get into a good college so you can get a good job.

I checked all the boxes, and yeah, it’s mostly good advice. I’ve been blessed with a career that has broadened me further in important roles like sales, service, and finance. I’ve particularly enjoyed the opportunities to help small business owners, as they are so vital to our communities, and have taught me so much.

I spent nearly ten years in banking, learning as much as I could about how it worked, and how it affected real people. Acting as my clients’ advocate in an industry regarded by most as a necessary evil, I was able to do what I do best.

I then moved into a role where I get to connect people to the new world that awaits on the other side of a language barrier. The clients I meet at work are from myriad different places, or have a need to connect with those places. Having spent a considerable amount of time in school learning Spanish myself, it’s really gratifying to see someone begin to break through.

The fact that I didn’t put all of my eggs in the basket of a single job type used to bother me. I felt that everyone else was more successful because they were “experts” or had a “specialty”. I would lay awake at night thinking that I needed to find a career that I was so passionate about that I’d be willing to chase it down with the dogged resolve of a crazed Disney villain.

(She ultimately fails in her pursuit, of course, but for single-minded focus I’ve always pictured Cruella de Vil in One Hundred and One Dalmatians, just before she and her Panther Deville are broadsided by Horace and Jasper.)

Over time, however, I’ve noticed that people are relying more and more on their transferable skills, and simply applying them to the area where they can be most useful, and most fulfilled. For me, the transferable skills seemed to be empathy, relating, and writing, of course.

Stepping back, though, I see why I didn’t latch on to that “specialty” that would tempt me for so many years.

I probably didn’t recognize it before college, but it turns out that priority one in my life was to find and marry a beautiful woman who wanted to raise a beautiful family together, and this actually happened pretty quickly for me. I say that to point out something I’ve noticed. A life principle, if you will.

People usually achieve the thing that is actually a priority for them. The proof is in the pudding. Take a look at what you do daily, your habits, what gets done and what doesn’t, and you’ll find that you’re moving towards exactly the thing you want most. It’s a mean realization sometimes, when you find that you’re surprised by your priorities, but they’re hiding in plain sight.

In any case, I’m a pretty happy guy because I love my little family dearly, and the more time I get to spend with them, the better.

Now. What to do about this blog. Like I said, I still don’t consider myself an expert, but I know I like helping people, and I know I like to write. It’s going to be a journey, not a destination, because right now I don’t know what I can write about that will bring consistent value to your life. It may be a while before I start posting anything titled, “10 easy steps to…” Or, “How to blow away the competition in Industry XYZ”. I hope that’s okay.

Meantime, I’m going to be as real as I can, and not a little bit because I absolutely love making politicians uncomfortable. I’m also going to write as much as possible, because I love it, and maybe someday you’ll love reading what I write.

I’m going to drive this wagon as hard and as fast as I can, and no one, least of all a couple of animated buffoons, is going to run me off the road.