Welcome to my little corner of the blog where I share my dreams, projects, struggles, and occasional reading list. This has been inspired by Derek Sivers’ /now file and please reach out to chat about anything on this list. Keep it rad, fam.
April 2018
What’s exciting
What’s excitingLA-bound. After talking about it for close to a decade, we’re finally doing it this September (for a 2 year trial). Surfing, good public schools, and being close to the creator community (and SF) are all exciting. But it’s bittersweet to leave our families, friends and community in NYC, it’s very much a pull to LA vs. a push from NYC.
Creativity ?. Between writing, podcasting and videos, I’ve felt so fortunate to feel this extreme rush of creativity pulsating through me. It’s been a true flow state (touch wood) and excited to see how to bring together writing, audio and video. I’m also pushing out of my writing comfort zone (hacks, productivity) and working on more difficult pieces on mortality, individualism, gender equality, and masculinity.
Rad.family infrastructure. After a few rough starts with WordPress, it’s all coming together. The branding/design assets, plug-ins, payments, and integrations with the email list are starting to pay dividends. Finally, I hit the tipping point where the infrastructure is accelerating things (vs slowing them down). And damn that feels good!
Sponsorships. Definitely picking up, particularly on the email newsletter side. Q1 was the best one ever!
Where I’m struggling
Ships passing in the night. I have refused to pare back my work (in fact, probably increasing it) and it’s definitely put a strain on Lisa and I. It’s that weird sensation, as things start to go better professionally, you can’t pull back. There’s definitely some scarcity thinking here.
Phone hygiene. With the above, I’ve violated two key rules: phone off before bed (1 hour prior) and my long password + gray screen. Hopefully in the next update this will be resolved.
Sleep. Yes, we’ve regressed with the two 🙁
Where I could use help
Sponsors. Always looking to add new sponsors for both newsletter and podcasts. Can’t sell against a CPM, but the demographic is driven, professional, and passionate about self-improvement.
Speaking gigs. I’ve been having some success (particularly in Financial Services Industry) discussing ambition, the power of reflection, workflow/productivity, and alternative career paths.
Work I’m proud of
- Why are successful people so scared of being broke – This got picked up by Bloomberg!
- The trouble with optionality – A nice “finance as a metaphor for life” piece
- How to manage up with your boss – The first YouTube video I felt proud of
What I read
- [amazon_textlink asin=’0812986679′ text=’The Rules do not Apply’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’khemaridhhy0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5c4ad37b-4027-11e8-b4ad-3d2f9aaf5f99′], Ariel Levy – An early candidate for my favorite book of the year. Highly recommend
- [amazon_textlink asin=’0143129252′ text=’The Artist Way’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’khemaridhhy0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’fda0b5aa-4027-11e8-a24b-cfb522436a55′], Julia Cameron – Doubling down on the creative inspiration.
- [amazon_textlink asin=’054491113X’ text=’The Wisdom of Finance’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’khemaridhhy0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’519d8587-4027-11e8-8d3d-5d23f9163e2d’], Mihir Desai
- [amazon_textlink asin=’0062456482′ text=’The Heart is a Shifting Sea’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’khemaridhhy0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=”], Liz Flock
March 2018
What’s exciting
We just got back from Winter Break in the Bahamas. This was the first vacation that we did “for the kids” (well, Soriya that is) and though we traded some of our own indulgences (food, coffee, service) we definitely rev’d up the memory-making machine.
On the RadReads side, I’m most excited about two things: creative flow and sponsorship. I’ve really found my voice and consistency, mostly in my “essays” (in part thanks to this process) and have been able to thread my familiar topics of ambition, anxiety, identity, mortality, masculinity, spirituality, and performance in a way that is fun and is resonating with readers. I’ve been fortunate to find work with some exciting sponsors, notably IEX and a few others in the pipeline. In this “sales” process I’ve realized that this is not a CPM-priced product (duh) and have been tailoring my strategy accordingly.
I’m also continuing to push forward RadJobs, as a lightweight MVP thanks to the hard work of Patrick South and Nate Costello. More to come here. And on the product front, launched Rad Coaching – which has already had a nice pick-up in activity.
Where I’m struggling
Definitely not used to the demands of two young kids. Even though the sleeping is much better, I still feel the need to cram every moment of the day with a new activity. I’ve been really focused on saying no, particularly to meetings (this is really hard for me to do, but people understand) and new commitments (also hard). But it’s just a phase and this strict time discipline has been necessary. Each day still ends with me wiped, needing a drink (or three) and fighting really hard to resist the temptation of mindless web surfing (mostly to give my brain a break).
How you can help
I’m always looking for sponsors (again, unlikely to work in CPM-driven model) and speaking engagements. And anyone can share this subscribe link on Facebook and on LinkedIn.
People to shout out
Celso White really helped me with the inspiration on this site; Patrick South and Nate Costello helping on RadJobs; Taylor Pearson, for teaching me how to grow subscribers; Mathew Passy, who continues to provide endless encouragement as my podcast engineer. There are so many more, you know who you are, so thank you.
What I’m reading
Finished [amazon_textlink asin=’054491113X’ text=’The Wisdom of Finance’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’khemaridhhy0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b731ec40-2181-11e8-a6fe-45aa9ae6ac14′] and enthralled by [amazon_textlink asin=’0060928832′ text=’Dawn to Decadence’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’khemaridhhy0a-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d03238ac-2181-11e8-9064-7d1959992582′]. Check out some of my other book reviews.
Work I’m proud of
My interview with Frank Ostaseski, founder of the Zen Hospice Project and post on what meditator mean when they say “Thoughts Think Themselves”