Introducing Two Feet In The Boat
I've always had the impression that regardless of whether they're an expert in their field or a talented writer, most people who start writing a newsletter suffer from overly inflated egos. There's nothing less interesting than a person who thinks they're super interesting and proceeds to talk about how super interesting they are to everyone they meet, and a newsletter is just the Internet equivalent of screaming "I'm interesting, pay attention to me!!!" into the void.
Naturally, I started to write one.
So, why start writing a newsletter - specifically one that includes "trying to be a better person" in the tagline - when I think writing a newsletter is tantamount to being the obnoxious person who injects themselves into the center of conversation at a party even if they know nothing about the topic of discussion?
This newsletter is primarily intended as a place where I can answer the questions I get about my life choices and also share my reflections on said life choices. I've fallen in love with a spiritual tradition that holds as its highest examples individuals who left everything in the search for knowledge, inner peace, and happiness. And when I say everything, I mean everything - these people gave up life in a palace and ended up living in a forest, sleeping under a different tree every night!
As someone with every intention of living a seemingly normal life (wife, kids, job, house, etc), figuring out how to integrate this ideal of constant, complete, and full absorption into my life is a HUGE struggle, and something I'm questioned about frequently and think about often. I might occasionally sneak some insights I have about the world of business and technology (my professional expertise) into this, but mostly I'll write about topics like:
- Renounced indulgence, or indulgent renunciation?
- Transience vs transcendence
- Resetting your internal scale
- The epistemological crisis of society
- Why most people bore you
I don't really think that what I have to say is so riveting (you should listen to what my friends have to say, they're way more interesting!), but I'm just thankful that you got this far down reading this thing. I'll try to have something written every week.
Happy to be here,
- Sid
For those curious, the title comes from the old saying "One foot in the boat, one foot on the dock". Putting two feet on the boat forces someone to abandon their doubts and uncertainty and leave the harbor's safety to journey to their destination. Basically - don't half-ass it.