This issue is shorter, not because the weather got me down (it’s been rainy and gloomy in the New York area) but because I’m preparing for a free training I’ve mentioned recently. If this interests you:
From Expert to Author: The Strategic Blueprint for Writing a Book That Builds Your Business
Wednesday, Nov. 6th
1pm ET / 12pm CT / 11am MT / 10am PT
Register on Zoom here »
Ok, onto my share for this week:
Just because the work is quiet doesn’t mean it’s not important.
This really just boils down to a fight we all face: foundational vs. frantic.
We get so caught up in busyness that we fail to realize the tread on our tires is wearing thin. I start year-end reviews in November and as I look back, 2025 has been pretty wild. Some personal things (death in the family) pushed work timelines, which then crunched things together. For me, it’s looked like this:
- Launched an AI summit back in August (originally planned for June)
- Rebrand on the org I run with Mary Valloni, including reshooting our course later this week
- Book launch in September with Andy Storch for Own Your Brand, Own Your Career
- A thought leadership assessment I’ve been working on since May with Maeve Ferguson, due out in November
To make room, I cut travel for the rest of the year other than my live mastermind in LA and let go of 80% of my private clients. Next year is open… I just received word that I’ll be speaking for the first time at the acclaimed South By Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin this coming March.
Just like the autumn season here in the Northeast U.S. has a purpose, it’s vital to define the purpose of the season you’re in. You define it. Take agency over it.
My definition for Q4: depth of execution, not volume of activity. You might be in a different season. Good. All I’m saying is: define it.
***
One of the loudest sources of frantic energy these days? AI, of course. Earlier this week I was interviewed on The Money Shop podcast and the host, Bobby Hoyt, asked me what I really think about AI.
One point I made is that when we experience the world primarily through a small screen, the world we experience can feel big… in the wrong way.
Not sure about you, but my entire feed is filled with AI headlines. Very few if any of them are good – they’re almost all about how jobs are gonna disappear, how behind we all are on the latest tools, and how the world is going to end. This is intentional, of course. It’s part of the “Attention Economy” I wrote about in issue #05, The Economy of Meaning.
Somewhere in all this noise, my humanity is trying to claw its way out. Without realizing it, I’ve been trying to live more outside of screens.
Growing up and living just outside New York City, I’ve rarely seen an unbroken view of the sky. When I went on safari in Uganda earlier this year, I was stunned by the views of the horizon and landscape. Not a shopping mall or skyscraper in sight. It just went on forever.
The real reason I was in Uganda was to see the work my friend James Harrington and his organization, Ugandan Water Project, do there. One day, we visited several schools that needed clean water systems. When I saw the computers the kids were using to learn from, they were the kind I used in high school. Heartbreaking. I thought about how much AI could help education there if used properly.
The contrast was striking. Here I am, doomscrolling YouTube about AI apocalypse scenarios, while literally none of the videos I’m shown on my feed are about the potential benefits. (I hate my algorithm sometimes.)
Yes, put AI in its proper place. The tools are real and they matter. But the hype cycle moves faster than the actual impact on your everyday life. All that noise will only make you more frantic, which then distracts you from the real work you need to do.
(I’m going to dive deeper on some of these thoughts at an upcoming summit hosted by Navid Moazzez, alongside Stu McLaren, Ryan Levesque, and others. You can check it out here.)
Concentration is Better than Focus
I heard something recently from Regina Sweeney, a client whose website my team just designed. Regina comes from a Montessori education background and has carried her expertise into working with executives and teams on principles of concentration.
Regina makes a distinction between focus and concentration that I really like:
Focus is tuning out and removing distractions. Concentration is working outwards from within.
(I may be butchering it, but that’s how I heard it, haha.)
I think that’s the journey a lot of us are on right now. Don’t be afraid to focus, concentrate, and define the season you are in. It’s so noisy out there.
Also, one last reminder: if you’ve ever been interested in writing a book, join me for this week’s training.