I recently needed to refresh some things, and I ended up using an entirely new WordPress theme, so I tore some stuff down, rebuilt it, etc. etc.

I’m getting used to this new layout, but it’s been a helpful reminder that permanence is overrated and that adaptability is the key skill to survive our Brave New World.

After all, between the massive ecological and environmental catastrophes happening (chemical explosion in Ohio, earthquake in Turkiye/Syria, winter storm basically everywhere) and human-made madness (continued war in Ukraine, chemical explosion in Ohio), it’s easy to yearn for some stability.

I assert that stability is a state of mind. Having a job where you’re valued and paid well doesn’t mean it’ll be there tomorrow.

Being in a marriage of 50 years doesn’t mean your spouse can’t divorce you next year.

We often equate stability as long-term patterns, but in reality past performance does not always mean future performance, as much as we might want it to.

Nothing is stable if you take the time period of evaluation and stretch it long enough.

While that might be super destabilizing, I often think of it as empowering. After all, if we can’t count on anything 100%, then we can forgive ourselves with things go wrong and do our best at making decisions as if they were bets, rather than things forged in stone.

And I think it’s worth mentioning that the structure of the blog may shift a bit (if you haven’t noticed the leaning it’s been doing in the past few months).

I’ve been leaning into building in public more and more, and I’ll likely be dropping longer pieces, thrashing in public a bit, and talking about creativity, authenticity, and brand building more than I have in the past.

So buckle up (or unsubscribe if that’s not your jam), and let’s goooooooo!