Dear Family

This one is for you. My bold thinking, courageous moving, faith-driven relatives. The ones who want nothing more than to see all that God has put inside of you. That's what makes us kin. It runs in our blood. And I'm speaking to that spirit inside of us all.

Before I begin, let me show gratitude as we should daily, for the air in my lungs. I’ve learned having gratitude, especially for the simple things,  somehow makes even the largest problems seem insignificant. He's bigger than anything we face.

Ok.

I met a guy online.

Yes, online. We met up. Hit it off. Exchanged numbers. Connected so much that I drove 45 minutes like 3 times just to hang with him. Recently he traveled to the town I'm at, so I hurried and met up with him before he headed back out.

Wait, that sounds kind of weird. (let me be clear)

I sold him my iPad on Facebook. He owns a business and we connected over that. We met up to see if we could work together. Bonded over shared beliefs and how we view our relationships. He's 10 years older than me and fearlessly lives his life. Taking chances, flying in and out of California and Miami. He's made movies, done photography, and has real estate.

Let's call him "Dan."

Why do you care?

Because the last time Dan and I met up, we were going over a pitch deck for a documentary he's doing. The investments he's asking for are north of $50,000 each. He's trying to get to $500K so he can complete his project. And with my history in self-taught design work and the way I carry myself, he wants me to help.

Honestly? I had no idea what I was doing.

But if I've learned any skill in the last (almost) decade, it's this: I've learned how to learn anything.

So I crash-coursed myself, sent him some notes, but was honest that I'd never done this before. Not self-deprecating, just real. Few days later, he's thanking me. Before I know it, we're at a coffee shop and he's adding me as admin to actually help build the thing. After subtly inviting me on the next Miami trip.

And the pay?

It's huge. It's unheard of. It's almost life-changing.

But it's not money. At least, not to me.

We've never even spoken about money. Because the time I've spent with Dan has had a much larger impact on me. Sometimes I meet people in my travels, and where I first would've expected pay, I realize their company alone tends to have long-term benefits that outweigh a dollar amount.

And this last trip? Hit me like a ton of bricks.

He told me about this thing called Summit. It's a 3-day boat trip with speakers, conversations, and parties. Cost? $5,000. We both agreed the value far outweighed the investment.

He told me so much, but here's what I remember most:

"Growing up and still being from our hometown, our ceiling is created by our environment."

He said many times we have plans that end up being just dreams. Because no one around us has done anything remotely close. And because of the invisible ceiling that we can feel but not quite see or make others see, most people don't know the sky even exists.

So, you want 7 figures? The people at Summit have seen it. They've had it. Or currently do.

And being around those environments, suddenly the dreams you have feel more real and turn into plans. Sometimes, he said, you realize you're not even dreaming big enough. The best is when your dreams are the mediocre standard for others. Not to make you feel bad, but to push you to leveling up.

Funny, he never told me to get out of the environment directly, but gave me this hard gaze as if he knew that I knew what he was saying.

I hope you're still with me. This conversation was loaded.

We talked about this belief that's started to birth inside of me. That success may not actually be hard from a technical point, but difficult in terms of challenging our natural human tendencies and moral compasses. (Of course with added environmental factors).

He started talking about his brother. How awesome he was. How capable in business he actually is. But then he said one thing that made the world stop. I suddenly felt cold, like a mirror had been held up in front of me.

He said his brother was so against rules and institutions that the thing that gave him drive and ambition was the very thing keeping him from getting far and becoming a success.

He said:

"I hate rules too. But the idea isn't to fight them. The thing is to learn them. Understand them. And know how to exist and move within them. Because to win, you'll need to follow them. You have to follow them, kind of. You need to know them well enough to be able to bend them without breaking them."

He said: Bend, don't break.

Take your time. Play the game. But, Live on the edge. Be bold enough to follow your heart.

This gave me a lot to think about. Because on one hand, my whole journey is about living life my way despite the rules. But on the other? I'm learning I need newer, mind-stretching environments to reach the promises in my heart.

And my pride? Well, I believe is the thing slowing, if not stagnating, that progress.

Hear me out. I am not telling you to give-in to the world, to give up your dreams, or the very thing that makes you unique.
NO!
The opposite actually. I’m saying -”It’s already an uphill battle. You should try to remove friction and weight from the journey as much as possible. At least then you can focus on what you have to offer the world rather than what the world is taking from you”.

I’ll leave you with two thoughts and questions to ask yourself this week.

#1 Now I'm learning that reaching my goals is becoming far more important to me than getting the credit for doing so. Or even how, given it's within my principles. This means moving forward, I no longer can worry if our cousins think I'm a sellout, or not cool.

To be honest, I resonate now more with the environments I'm walking towards than I do with the environment I've walked away from.

Have you outgrown your current life, and is it now holding you back?

#2: I set rules for myself at the start of my journey. It's been almost a decade. That's a huge issue. Because today's Earl is a completely different person than a decade ago. So setting rules today that I'll have to follow in ten years is like putting a baby shark in the 20 gallon tank in your bedroom. We don't outgrow the tank. Nature tends to do the opposite. We stop growing at all. Eventually our big minds become adapted to the environment, decreasing over time any likelihood we grow.

Have you set standards and rules for your own life in the past that you're still trying to hold up but they are secretly holding you back?

Think about it, write me back, or just reflect with yourself.

Love you.

I know this one is a little different. But I promised not to make them all about me. To allow others to show up.

I'm still finding my voice. How I like to write. How it all connects. It might take some time. I expect you to love me through it. Support me. Give me feedback. Not to be rude, but to help me grow.

That's what family does, right?

TTYL.

— Earl