Remember being a kid and waking up to a winter wonderland? Snow day! Fresh powder means mayhem for many, but all that mattered back then was how quickly we could get outside to enjoy the day’s frosty gift. After a rushed breakfast, twas time to mint snow angels, roll up a snowman, and hit the sledding hill.
As we arrived atop the neighborhood glacier, the interactions of a temporary community began to form. The actors were always different yet played traditional roles. First-time sledders were excited but timid. Action junkies pushed to go faster, with adults on snow patrol.
Among the common players, hybrids presented an interesting twist. These were the children who appreciated exhilarating activity but also united others by creating space to ensure newcomers were safe and having fun too. There was an empathetic maturity in their welcoming enthusiasm.
Extra Shot
Successful adults do not lose their childhood spirit.
Fast forward, and hybrids continue to bring us together. Teachers inspire the next generation and encourage students to think differently. Technologists translate nerd to normal. Intrapreneurs shepherd positive change inside existing organizations. Founders use existing resources to create new realities and community builders act like spiders, weaving a web, tightening its connections, and activating the vibrations of opportunity to proactively push progress.
There are many other types of hybrids who inclusively identify all that may be possible. Leaders like this welcome a full spectrum of interactions between everything. They are nimble, encourage complexity, and mobilize diverse perspectives to facilitate more relevant, long-lasting impact.
For the hybrids among us, thank you. Stay curious, don’t underestimate your limitless value, and bring others along for the ride to avoid obstacles over time.
For those who may not feel such a unifying spirit, continue to lead the tribes you trust but know that fresh opportunity awaits the intellectually humble. Avoid the temptation to simplify everything and invite doubt. This open-minded empathy makes things more interesting and will unlock fresh ways for those you care about to achieve even more.
Brewed From Within
#71 📖 Technology
The original riff, as seen in comments, included this 2021 year-end Tweetstorm and introduced a linked library to explore all that became Roasted Reflections (2020-2025).
2 Comments
Ben McDougal · September 18, 2026 at 12:50 PM
ORIGINAL – 1/17/22
Think back to when you were a kid. Remember that feeling of waking up to a winter wonderland? It’s a snow day! Fresh powder may cause mayhem for some, but all that mattered back then, was how quickly we could get outside to enjoy the day’s frosty gift.
This week we received a few feet of fresh snow. I love the feeling of a blank canvas this provides. I also like to think that one signal for success as an adult, is found in those who have not lost their childhood spirit, so when our little one gets excited about playing in the snow, I make it a priority as well.
After a rushed breakfast, we spent much of the day on a sledding hill. I found myself reflecting on the interactions of this momentary community. The actors are always different people, yet often play the same roles. You have the first-time sledders who are curious, excited, and afraid. In contrast, the action junkies are pushing to always go faster and higher. The adults are on snow patrol, but the personality that I find most interesting, are the hybrids. These are the kids who appreciate the exhilarating activity, but unite others by creating space to ensure newcomers are safe and also having fun. There’s an empathetic maturity in their welcoming enthusiasm.
Fast forward and these hybrids continues to bring things together. We see them in technology, translating nerd to normal, then back from normal to nerd. They are the teachers who inspire our next generation and encouraging children to think differently. Community builders are often hybrids too, as it takes a metaphoric spider to weave, explore, and tighten a collaborative web of actors, factors, and instigators together.
There are many other examples of hybrids connecting dots in almost any environment and they’re all valuable connectors that play important roles. When we think through the lens of complex adaptive systems, hybrids are those who can inclusively identify all that may be possible. They appreciate the entire spectrum of different parts within the system, as well as, the interactions between everything. Almost like chameleons, hybrids have the ability to take different shapes in order to facilitate positive interactions between different perspectives. When this skill is applied through a holistic, positive-sum lens, the effect can be surprisingly wonderful.
For those already hybridizing, thank you, stay curious, and don’t underestimate the limitless value you bring. For those who may not feel such a blended spirit, continue to lead the tribes you trust, but allow intellectual humility to welcome doubt. Such empathy paired with a genuine interest in collaboration, will inevitably unlock fresh ways for those you care about to achieve even more.
As we reach the end of this wintry ride, I’m grateful for snow days that provide an unexpected chance to slow down. These cozy times provide us a chance to rest and have some fun, while also reflecting on all that’s good. Cheers to these mini moments chilled in our memories, but also to allowing the freeze to melt as we let thoughts pass and stay open to next.
Minting - BEN MCDOUGAL · April 5, 2022 at 10:44 AM
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