“What the hell am I doing here?” I thought to myself. “This place isn’t for me!”

Cigarette packs, coffee cups, and manilla folders were everywhere. I felt like I’d just walked into the set of a bad sales movie. The year was 2003. The place was Baltimore. The people who weren’t screaming into their phones were yelling at each other about how many deals they had going.

Just as I began to think about making a run for the back door, the corporate trainer stuck his head outside the conference room and shouted, “We’re in here, Mike! Let’s go!”

I…

The phone rang. This was it, I thought. At last, all the years of struggle I’d endured were about to be worth it.

Growing up with a severe speech impediment and social anxiety, I had a very limited view of what I was capable of accomplishing. But as I grew into adulthood, I began to push myself far beyond my comfort zone. I hired a communication coach and threw myself into a sales job, where I’d be forced to talk to people every day. And I became good at what I did, working my way up to managing a sales…

2:58.

I looked at the clock again.

2:59.

Fumbling. I logged into email and clicked on the Zoom link and was immediately met with 53 faces who scared the breath outta me.

My assignment was simple: for 30, I’d share my story and provide some tips to help already-tall writers grow in a new field.

If you’ve read anything from me in the past, you’re probably aware I’m not a big fan of groups larger than two. You may have also read that I’m definitely not big into Zoom. …

“I hate podcasts and I hate poetry! There’s no way I’m doing a podcast about poetry!”

“That’s exactly why it will be so much fun!”

And with that sales pitch, my friend and mindfulness coach Justin Caffrey, roped me into starting a podcast where he drops Rumi bombs and I try to make sense of what in the hell he’s talking about.

“Two Dudes and a Poem” probably won’t be a hit.

I can say that with a certain level of confidence.

But I’ll be damned if recording the first few episodes these last weeks before our launch hasn’t been…

My wife once told me that when she was in her twenties, moving away from her hometown in Spain helped her to get clear on who truly belonged in her life. She only had so much brain space to spare as she adjusted to a new city, so she only made an effort to stay in contact with a select group of people. She also realized that only certain people from her past made an effort to stay in touch with her.

It’s like what Nike co-founder Phil Knight wrote in his book Shoe Dog: “The fastest way to know…

My biggest challenge isn’t coming up with ideas, it’s fighting to find the best ones. When I started writing four years ago, I never thought this would be the case as publishing 10 posts felt like it might as well be 8,732.

But it’s true what they say — “The more you write, the easier it becomes!” — as much like our verbal conversations, the doors our written word open can take us down endless rabbit holes.

The key is starting.

And then waking up each day and starting again.

I’m a big believer that my friend Jake Daghe is…

Each week, for the last three years, I’ve gotten on at least one phone call with someone who I think is doing something pretty cool.

I began by reaching out to people who were playing around the same level as me or those who worked in and around my same lane. But over the years, these calls have evolved. Today, depending on the week, I can be speaking to a recent college grad who’s got a knack for building stuff or a well-established creative, business leader, or entrepreneur.

I was nervous to build this habit, but I’m glad I did…

Over the last year or so, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and get to know professional editors on this platform.

At first, when Medium made the announcement they’d be growing out their own pubs and bringing on outside writers and staffing up, I didn’t understand why platforms always felt the need to pivot when something’s already working.

“Are we not good enough?” I thought.

“If people clearly like what we’re doing, shouldn’t that be embraced?”

“Do they think we’re not strong enough thinkers and writers?”

“Am I too simple?”

But the more I got to know the “new”…