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30 posts
For 10 years I chased impressive jobs to avoid feeling unsettled. Then I discovered the golden algorithm - the trap of trying to outrun your own emotions.
My 2024 annual review: writing and publishing Good Work, deepening into fatherhood, finding a StrategyU operator, and preparing to leave Austin for Asia.
There are question people who love the uncertainty of not knowing, and answer people who already have their minds made up. Knowing which one you are changes everything.
A detailed look at my actual week as a self-employed creator and dad: writing sessions, podcast recordings, consulting workshops, gym time, and co-parenting.
Seven honest reflections after seven years of self-employment, from quitting alcohol to embracing boldness to threading the needle of parenting and creative work.
My 2023 annual review: becoming a dad, working less than ever while earning more than ever, selling 34k books, and losing a mentor who changed my path.
Mediocre man flows through life. It is his birthright. He is not great man aiming at great results but merely trying to do enough of the right things over a long period of time such that it might lead somewhere interesting.
An excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Pathless Path, on the stages people go through before leaving the default path
My 2022 year in review: publishing The Pathless Path, 2.5x income growth, finding community in Austin, and learning that ambition doesn't have to mean compromise.
I sold my time at a bargain for too long. After five years of self-employment, I realized how unnatural it is to trade most of your waking life for a paycheck.
This annual review reflects on 2021 for Paul personally and professionally and shares financial results from the business
Why do full-time employees think self-employment is so risky? Here's how I think about money, retirement & my future
Lessons on facilitating video sessions & virtual collaboration for team meetings, online courses and virtual hangrouts on Zoom
How do you carve your own path path in a world with infinite options? I believe creators go through four phases that are an inevitable part of the journey
I write for the weirdos who've always felt uncomfortable doing what everyone else is doing. Not for mass appeal, not for the default path. For the curious ones.
What is your purpose? I found that mine had to do with connecting with people as friends as a foundation for doing work in the world...
I went to Asia for a month. Before I left I landed my first remote gig and during the trip was able to imagine a new life.
Lifestyle creep happened slowly and then all at once. I told myself I was frugal, but the numbers don't lie. I've since cut my cost of living by 75%
The split may be a minor tourist attraction, but the real attraction is the incredibly generous family who offers amazing gifts to its guests
I chronicle five experiments operating in the gift economy as a freelance consultant, coach & podcaster and using platforms like venmo and patreon.
At 32, I thought I had taken the steps to avoid this fate. Yet burnout can hit anyone. I ponder if this is just the fate of anyone in the corporate world?
There is a thin line between solitude and isolation. It is in dancing with this vulnerability, uncertainty, and chaos that we often find a new route forward
The deepest experience of this and a profound sense of wonder overtook me last night as I was walking with another friend in the Boston Public Garden
A story about beanie babies, greed, the joy of being a child and doing things that might not make sense, such as traveling the world without a plan...
People are scared of self-employment. While there are some bad parts, I think people underestimate the enormous upsides which help me be a better person.
Instead of blaming our parents, our university, our managers or our friends for failing to tell us what we needed to know, we have another choice.
A gift economy is a different way of engaging than through transactions, prices and salaries. It can help build more connection and generosity in the world
After 18 months battling Lyme disease, my identity built on jobs and credentials crumbled. What I found underneath changed how I think about what matters.
In 2006, Paul applied to over 100 consulting firms, determined to break into the strategy consulting industry. He got rejected from every one...
Paul shares his multi-year journey of recovery from chronic lyme disease and the challenges and lessons he learned along the way.