The Surface Area of Me

OK so here it is. My first “blog.” My first essay. My first word vomit of thoughts and ideas. Whatever you want to call it. I have no goal for what I want out of this, what I want this to become, or even what I am going to write about. But in some ways that is the beauty of writing things down. Paul Graham wrote about it best when he said writing is thinking and if you stop writing, you stop thinking.

“If you’re thinking without writing, you only think you’re thinking.”

So, here is the beginning of what I am thinking about. My head, inside my thoughts. If anybody ever actually reads this, you will realize I start most of my sentences with “I think.” Some of it is fact, and in that case I won’t clarify my thoughts. But if this is what I think, then it won’t be true for everyone, it’s just what I have come to experience and believe based on events that has shaped my life. And honestly it’s not going to sound proper, it won’t sound like a professional wrote this, but the idea is these are my thoughts thrown down on a paper. I am not a professional writer, but I can become a professional thinker.

The point of these posts are not to be perfectly grammatically correct. Nobody will be reading drafts or seeing the content. Nothing will be promoted or SEO optimized, I don’t even want anybody to read it. I simply need a place to put my ideas on “paper” and stay exposed to creative ideas. Working has caused me to go numb, lose my creativity and I need to dig it back up. So here it is, revived from the dead.

I’m 22 years old, starting my career, and trying to gain as much insight as possible. I’m not somebody who has already made millions or “made it” so this will provide a different look into the life of trying to find success in a world full of digital bs, fake people, and terrible advice spreading like wildfire.

Here’s one quick thought before I go, something that has bothered me since I thought of this idea to start writing.

I think there is a tragically common misconception that gets told time and time again as “advice”. Growing up, I was always told you need have a clear goals throughout your life. In school, I used to learn about S.M.A.R.T goals, whatever the fuck that really means. Every guru on podcasts write about being clear with everything they want, mapping out there entire life, and knowing what they want. But you know what, that’s bull shit for the average person. I would venture to guess that 99% of the podcast millionaires had no goal when they started making money. They discovered a problem, started building a solution, and made it work. But it was not because they had SMART goals laid out at every turn or because they had a fantastic morning routine. It was only after their company found success they realized they need some structure, and where tf do they go after they have fuck you money. So it’s causing the up and coming entrepreneur, like myself, to focus more on things that don’t matter like cold showers and making your bed instead of doing. Just doing. Build ideas, ship ideas, and try different ideas.

I think the goal idea, even the SMART goals, is a good framework at a beginner level, but not everything in life can fit into any set framework. And not every situation needs to have a goal. Forcing goals and reasons into every decision, intention, and idea will cause people to not start. And the most difficult part is simply starting. Start first, figure out the goal second. Take writing for example. I have no end goal for this, I just want to put my ideas on paper and write about concepts and thoughts that interest me. And not having a framework for my ideas does not mean I’m wrong or I’m doing it wrong. Start first, figure out the goal second.

I realize after finishing this up and reading it over, I forgot to explain the name of this blog. I heard about a brilliant idea called the “Surface Area of Serendipity” on the MFM podcast. Forgetting about the serendipity aspect for a second (because next week I’ll go in detail on that), it got me thinking what else can be merged with the surface area concept. And I think, if done right, almost any idea or thought in life is about increasing the likelihood of that idea working, happening, or being achieved.

Oh, and one quick thing. I want to end this with a couple quotes I heard throughout the week which I found fascinating. But, my one stipulation is please be careful reading quotes. Take them at face value because people tend to just read them, think they are interesting, and not really think about them. The brilliance of a quote is realizing how applicable it is to your own life. Really think about it, let it simmer, and just thinking about each quote that you find applicable for a minimum of 5 minutes. While this isn’t much, it is enough to at least make you think how you can apply the thought. Because many of the greats of our time have come up with quotes that took them their entire life to develop the idea, and you reading it in 10 seconds invalidates their entire thought process.


“The less confident you are, the more serious you have to act.”

– Tara Ploughman

One useful trick for judging different kinds of work is to look at who your colleagues will be. You’ll become like whoever you work with. Do you want to become like these people?

– Paul Graham