issue 1

From 1640s, "regard as the same," from French?identifier,?identité.

I had a teacher who informed me I'd never learn a foreign language. Her name was Frau Crist and she taught German. She was a gangly, bushy haired woman who laughed a little too loudly when the French teacher came by to tell jokes.

I approached her one spring afternoon in Ohio to get the pass off for German III. That was a no. In her words, "I just didn't have it." She didn't even look up from her test corrections to tell me and I saw myself out of her classroom.

Was I good enough?

She wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last of a long line of people who made definitive statements about my intellect, physical ability, musicality, spirituality, personality — my identity.

"You have ADD and will probably need to take medication the rest of your life."

"Why are you doing [insert thing]? That won't work."

"You know Morgan! He's not like that!"

You've heard about how our environment, people, and situations don't define us. They shouldn't take up our headspace. We should have the strength to 'shake it off', letting opinions roll over us like 'a duck in water.' Come on! Be strong!

But it's tough.

Haters and naysayers are everywhere. Unlike toilet paper at during COVID, there will never be a shortage. And, they'll never bring you comfort quite like a Charmin Mega Roll. Ahhhhh. There's something magical about those bears.

So we're going to do an exercise:

Think of these people. Flush them from your mind.

Good. That feel okay?

No one can limit or define your identity and what you're capable of. That's your job. You have the power and energy to carve out your path in life, regardless of what anyone says.

But Morgan, how do I do that?

Glad you asked. That's what this authentic life is all about: a community of people who want to become the best version of themselves. We're here to support each other in that adventure.

My weekly writing is going to cover the professional (skills, technology, news) as well as the personal (relationships, planning, personal development), to help as many people as I can realize their unique potential. That is the identity of this newsletter. That is my purpose.

That's not to say I won't stray from the framework. I'm good at that. Sometimes too successful. (I have to talk about startups, web3, fundraising, music, and tacos, right?)

But I want to show people what's possible and hopefully open some eyes.

As you read my each issue, I invite you to reach out to me and ask me questions. Let's have real conversations together about where we're going. If it's alright with you, I'll do my fair share of bugging you about things too. It's my profession, really.

Can I make a couple of final requests? Por favor y gracias.

• Come to my page and hit the bell in the top right. That way you know when I'm posting and we can continue the open communication.
• If you do have an idea you want to launch, think it'd be worth working together, or just want to chat, send me a DM pronto. I would love to hear your thoughts.

I hope that this first issue finds you well and you're able to finish out the first few days of February in style. ??