To My LinkedIn Audience

Writing for LinkedIn is a bit of a trip because I know that this audience is much different than any other audience I've written for.

Most of you have jobs that are more prestigious than mine right now. Most of you work out of offices where you can afford to take a little break and read this. And most of you live a life that is comfortable enough that you don't have to worry too much about whether what you do for a living aligns with your purpose and calling - you don't need that extra pressure to motivate you to do something difficult.

In a lot of ways, I still envy you.

I threw my life away by not positioning myself effectively in the job marketplace, by not being responsible with my finances or my professional career, and by not taking my life that seriously. And I seriously do not want people to follow in my footsteps when it comes to those areas of life, I really don't. But I think that one of the few benefits I've experienced by throwing my life away is developing a deeper appreciation for what I lost. I value everything that you're blessed to have precisely because I don't have them anymore. And I think this will help us both, because I can emphasize aspects of professional experience that you probably already know about but might benefit from appreciating and acting upon just a little bit more.

I'm not asking anything of you except a bit of your attention. I know how busy we all are. If that attention compels you to reach out to me, I of course would appreciate it. But that's not something I'm expecting any of you to do.

But if you are reading this right now, just know that I'm grateful for you and hope that everything works out well for the both of us.