Personal

Gimmies

Golf is a walk in the park with a small objective. If gimmies are illegal, why are conceded putts common?

What’s the harm in an unquestioned finish? Does picking up that “unmissable” putt really save much time? There are unspoken social factors at play, but so few people are great at golf. Why not relish a satisfying sound of that golf ball dropping into the tiny cup?

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May your feet stay in the fairway.

There’s no harm in keeping things casual to share time however you want, but tacit assumptions do leave room for misunderstandings. The truth is we all give gimmies to be given a break on putts we might miss ourselves.

When we keep score, see how it feels to play without gimmies. Appreciate the missed putts and count those extra strokes. The unequivocal finish feels good and builds confidence for when gifts aren’t up for grabs.

Brewed From Within
#110 📖 Life & Happiness

By Ben McDougal, ago

PolyOmega

Roasted Reflections is a collection
of writings I’ll be proud of forever
and this is the finishing touch…

As I think back, I was never much into reading or writing. I did what was required to play the game of school. Back in 2004, after earning a computer science degree from Loras College and as I started building my career, countless website proposals and client emails had to be where my proficiency with creative writing started to form. This was when the Internet was new, so every business owner began to realize they needed a decent website, even if they didn’t know why. My ability to translate nerd to normal (and normal back to nerd), helped me collaborate with leaders in countless industries. Hearing how people built their companies and helping to compile stories made content creation an indirect, but ongoing element to my early practice.

Writing was also important in my entrepreneurial ventures. It helped me launch The Iowa 3v3 Soccer Challenge and then a global social network for video game enthusiasts. The amount of content I forged into Gathering of Gamers and Tournament Seeker was epic. When I retired from web development after 8 years and  $1M+ in sales, a multimedia marketing move into home building also had me creating a castle of content and with each new side hustle, more words were always required. For instance, I designed everything on FliteBrite, OpenOpen, and Chatty, just to name a few.

I stretch back into the past, because it reveals how writing is fundamental to modern communication. AI and ChatUX is transforming how it’s done, but content creation has enhanced my career in digital marketing and has fueled all of my innovative aspirations. Along with articulating ideas in compelling ways, my writing has been focused on entrepreneurship for a long time. My own creative seasons have been enlightening, but all that I’ve learned from leaders like you, has been monumental in understanding the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Along with career nirvana for myself, I’ve seen how building a business activates an abundance of lasting purpose, shared motivation, and personal growth!

Alright, fast forward to January 1, 2020.

As I started writing my first book by copying the Table of Contents into a blank document, there was never a doubt I could articulate deep understandings into tight spaces. From start to finish, writing You Don’t Need This Book and building Pour Over Publishing to support the publishing process took 1.25 years. Toward the end of this journey, it became clear that BenMcDougal.com needed to be a more prominent place. Thanks to a lifetime of building online, as my personal website came together, I had a stockpile of content. Along with everything on different websites and throughout social media, I had crafted (37,456 words) for YDNTB, which delivered a wonderful well of my very best writing.

Extending my book with a blog was not the original plan. It felt important to make my website shine, but I had never published art on such a rigid timeline. Seth Godin suggests we ship art every day, so while I considered a daily blog, I had to be realistic. Everything I write about are relics for people who mean the world to many, so delivering on a promise was my only option. As I considered how often to publish new articles, feedback kept me grounded and I’m glad I chose to pursue a weekly cadence.

Over time, RoastedReflections.com has become a treasured library. Each writing is a chemical reaction. I thought deeply and challenged myself to write less, but to mean more. The challenge of compressing countless characters also led to many short titles. While my titles may not be obvious for first-time readers, I appreciate the allure of such mystique. Short titles deliver a punch and I’ve enjoyed forcing big ideas into tiny titles.

The organization of this library will continue to pay dividends as well. There are countless links between all 160+ writings. Primary categories kept me focused on timely/evergreen value for the right audience, while topic-based tags were applied for more precise exploration. Thoughtfully associating a unique emoji to each writing was fun as well.

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Listen to WHY I build.

What started as a marketing engine for my first book, soon became a part of my routine. Knowing an email would automatically pull from my blog every Wednesday morning, meant I needed to meet my deadline every week. The occasional glitch had me scrambling once in awhile, but I never missed a week. Such consistency required sacrifice, but significant learning was experienced along the way.

I learned how reading helps us understand the world, while writing helps us understand ourselves. I learned to feel when it was time to find direction. I learned to appreciate the release of articulating something everyone was going to see. As distribution channels grew, I learned how to counter the feelings of self-righteousness. I learned a lot of new words and that it usually took more than one pass to get each writing perfect. I learned the value of indexing my thoughts. I learned how writing helps improve the way we listen and speak. I learned that when we create something we’re proud of, external validation becomes inconsequential. I learned more about how generosity builds trust and what it means to be an author.

There are more takeaways, but it’s clear why I encourage everyone to write. If you’re afraid to write in public, start by journalling in private, but know this has layers of unrealized potential. Writing helps us organize, execute, and release ideas, but it’s not “art” until it connects with those we seek to serve. The best of intentions mean nothing until we ship it.

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“Change is inevitable.
Don’t fall in love with a medium.
Fall in love with the mission.” -Seth Godin

I’ve shipped my art and RoastedReflections.com will live on to nourish leaders who make a ruckus by fueling positive change in our connected era.

This may be the end to an epic streak, but the title of this closing chapter (PolyOmega) reminds us that endings are a beginning to what’s next.

I’ll continue to lead by speaking nationwide, over 5,000 copies of You Don’t Need This Book have been sold, You Don’t Need This Podcast is in full-effect, BEN BOT is online, fellow leaders are collaborating on Discord, community events are happening, and ecosystems are evolving.

Cheers to all who make work look like play and as we each pursue career nirvana, let’s keep building and stay connected in all that we do ▯

By Ben McDougal, ago

Horizons

While the foreground of daily activity occupies so much attention, our cumulative culture has always looked to the edge for answers. Whether it’s cresting through the clouds on a flight, an inspiring rooftop view, or a simple walk around the neighborhood, we love the view of hope-filled distance. Beyond momentary charm, how can we embrace the edges of any horizon to stay sharp?

Action is obviously required, but staying wild and thinking big takes practice. Being busy can be addictive, and limited resources often make everything feel pressing. The closer the deadline, the more attention it’s given. This means devoted attention needed to analyze our own thoughts can easily be replaced with yet another task. If busy is boss, perhaps it’s time to meditate, to thoughtfully think. This mental exercise nurtures awareness and guides exploration. To avoid exercising in isolation, collide more wild ideas into weird conversations. The edge awaits explorers who have clarity, thanks to honest self-reflection, and then show up geared to get interested.

As boundaries come and go, avoid energy drains, shortcuts, mind-melting media, debt, addiction, and jail. There’s also no need to rush. Skyline views await us all from anywhere.

As boundaries come and go, avoid energy drains, shortcuts, mind-melting media, debt, addiction, and jail. There’s also no need to rush. Skyline views await us all from anywhere, and horizon hunters will remain indispensable. We go beyond the circular talk of brainstorming, and instead, edgecraft ideas into reality. We flirt with action, lean into Playforce Principles, and continue to ship on the timeline of now. As we poke the box, trust takes time to flourish but can be lost in an instant. Those who thrive on the edge adhere to prerequisites but see rules as suggested guidelines, while maintaining an extended range to see momentum that converges toward the next horizon.

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Elevation makes us all feel successful.

This riff is abstract, but the thesis is explicit: Opportunities await leaders who find answers on the edge. It’s also a reminder that one horizon is not the only endpoint.

From the ground, our view to the horizon is three miles. Peering atop the highest observation deck in the United States, humans can see up to 50 miles on a clear day. Each extent is just too cosmic to ever be the same, and gratitude ensures we don’t become numb to the raindrop of time we have.

This awareness creates a capacity to observe, trap, and sequence distant views as we hug curves and find the edges to appreciate all the horizons that keep us wild.

Brewed From Within
#95 📖 Life & Happiness

By Ben McDougal, ago

Winds of Outrage

Outrage is a waste of time.

Anger is instinctive, and there’s purpose in standing up for what we believe, but little is accomplished when the two are combined. Lashing out rarely makes us feel better, so why is abusive fury so common?

The winds of outrage get stronger as isolation increases. We live in a connected, but lonely time. Anything is a click away but a thoughtful conversation is increasingly rare. As we age, we spend more time alone, which further reduces diversity of thought. This social isolation causes the overproduction of neural chemicals in the brain, which increases fear and aggression. The mental instability swings us away from center. Instead of curiosity, empathy, and patience, a hardened state feels like the only way to be heard.

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Why must humans unite against things we don’t like so much faster and louder than rallying around those we do?

Without an intrinsic appreciation for the complexity of constant change, simplification is natural. This polarizes any position. When the answer must be yes or no, there’s no room for maybe. If one’s identity is defined by unconscious polarization, it is innate to assume that a threat must be met with force.

When leaders get loud in an aggressive way, does it strengthen their position? No. It looks desperate and detracts from the debate. The increased volume may attract attention, but more of the same only deepens close mindedness. When truth becomes personalized, it shortens the fuse that ignites outrage. How then can we calm, even harness the winds of outrage?

Imagine the serenity of a sailboat. Next time it gets windy with outrage, let your mainsail catch the gusts to move forward. Stay connected to the centering mast by leaning into your understanding, but invite pure wonder by allowing the jib to wave in appreciation for the intensity that comes with outrage. It can feel like strengthening the storm, but a thoughtful question can reduce tension. Our goodwill of active listening creates space for outrageous energy to dissolve. Even when there is little to agree on, as people feel heard they are more willing to listen, and when storms blow over, common ground can be found.

Brewed From Within
#44 📖 Leadership

By Ben McDougal, ago

Blocked

“How do you write every week for three years?”

Endless community-driven experiences, the privilege of time, building into connecting things I care about, metrics beyond money, publishing YDNTB, staying curious, finding comfort in uncertainty, and an efficiency that comes with consistency helps me continue to articulate written relics I’ll always be proud of.

Writing has become a part of my practice, but it’s not easy and never will be. Life is beautifully busy and what happens when there’s seemingly nothing to write about?

Can I call it writer’s block and hope nobody cares when Roasted Reflections doesn’t land in their inbox on Wednesday? No. Writer’s block is an illusion. An excuse not to ship. This paralysis is a symptom of prioritization within our practice.

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Don’t wait for inspiration.
Let the work inspire you.

Whether you listen to yourself in private (journalling) or share your heart in public, when you know you’re going to get it done, you become more consciously introspective. You stay more in-tune with what needs to be synthesized, while recursion and the indexing effect helps sustain a healthy obsession. Even when the moment’s thesis is not obvious, you’re strong enough to explore what needs to be said. This becomes a habit that invites anyone to reach higher without fearing the generous act of making a ruckus by shipping the art.

By Ben McDougal, ago