Why is everything a paradox these days?

So much chaos amidst so much stillness.

So much is ending just as so much new is beginning.

So much has changed and yet so much remains the same.

So much suffering and also so many beautiful gifts and opportunities.

So much death completing the natural cycle to allow for a more fertile rebirth.

These seemingly paradoxical situations surround us every day. They feel even more pronounced these days, but they are nothing new.

Whether we choose to look at the positive side or the negative side, we are still missing half of the equation. Can we hold both sides in equanimity, balancing both the certain and the uncertain, as we begin to take steps forward?

Which version am I?

Two businesses running in-person events in NYC. One is shut down and sitting on the sidelines. The other moved to online events and is busier than ever.

Two versions of John. One shuts down and sits on the couch waiting for sunny skies. The other knows that there's never been a better time to be an entrepreneur, puts on his old shoes and goes to play in the mud puddles.

Neither is right or wrong. One is not better than the other. And sometimes we are both.

Couch creature. Builder.

This is not a one time choice. It's a moment by moment decision.

It's never about perfection, especially these days. It's about doing the best we can with what we got and where we're at. If 80% of the time I'm building, that feels good. 90% feels better. 95%, yes please.

Don't be too hard on yourself, John. When you get pulled into the couch, know that it's part of the process. And when you get up, know that there are plenty of beautiful, undisturbed puddles just waiting to be stomped.

Is it time to build?

On April 18, Marc Andreessen published a piece called "It's Time to Build." I've read it several times and consumed much of the praise and counterarguments that came along with it.

And now, I can definitively answer the question when I ask myself, "Is it time to build?"

Yes, it is absolutely time to build.

It's taken me 10 days to be fully certain because the answer comes with significant ramifications. Not something to be taken lightly.

During this time, I've utilized many forms of distractions to kick the can down the road and allow this decision to breathe. Some of those distractions have been productive like contributing to The $1k Project and Sponsor A Quarantine, deep cleaning the entire apartment and naps in the park. Others, not so productive, but it was all part of the process.

What are the ramificiations of deciding to build?

I'll answer that question with three more questions. Do I really want to start another company fully knowing the everyday rollercoasters that come along with that? And even more so, do I really want to start another company in the middle of a global pandemic? Is now really the time to be inviting more uncertainty into my life when we already have more uncertainty that anything we've ever experienced in my lifetime?

Again, the answer to all of them is yes. While starting a new company right now may seem insane or even masochistic, I truly believe that there has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. The world has a whole new set of problems that didn't exist even a few weeks ago. And that's what entrepreneurs do, they solve problems.

One thing Marc wrote instantly jumped out to me. It's something I've been passionately talking about for the last few years.

"We need to get all the talent we can on the biggest problems we have, and on building the answers to those problems."

I've been calling this The Avengers Initiative for obvious reasons. Bring together the most talented people to solve the problems that bring humanity forward.

I've had a few false starts with getting this initiative off the ground, learned a megaton and have been secretly "recruiting" these amazing individuals for years. I certainly didn't know that we'd be in a situation quite like this, but I knew in every ounce of my being that there would be a time, many times throughout this lifetime, where we need the most talented people to build. It pains me that this initiative hasn't come together faster or that it isn't further along at this moment.

And yet, it's time to look forward and start building today.

Marc suggests that...

"Every step of the way, to everyone around us, we should be asking the question, what are you building?"

My answer to this question is something that I've been experimenting with behind the scenes based on what I learned teaching leadership around the world.

I believe that there is an opportunity to leverage technology to massively improve learning outcomes across the planet. Specifically, I believe the combination of a modern curriculum and experienced based learning can lead to a zero marginal cost education platform with radical improvements in student engagement and retention.

I will be writing more about this as the prototype for this product comes together in the next few weeks. If you interested in experimenting around how we build the future of education, let's jam.

And now we build.

What does my life look like when this pandemic is over?

At the end of a zoom with a mentor, he asked me a wonderful question:

"What does life look like for John at the end of this pandemic?"

Before I get to my answer, let's geek out on this question. The path to the best answers is to seek out the best questions, and this one is dope.

Here's the stream of consciousness for this masterpiece of a question:

• We are making an assumption that the pandemic is going to end. Even though we cognitively know this to be true, it's nice to be reminded of this during these times of uncertainty. This will end.
• We make no speculation around the timing of the end. It will end, but we have no idea when. For purposes of this question, it doesn't matter. We have some finite amount of time, so how will I be intentional with it.
• It is beautifully open ended for the imagination of the answerer to fill a blank canvas. In contrast, see how to "make the most of the pandemic" and "18 ways we can ensure we maximize the potential of every minute of our quarantine." This question isn't that. For some maybe they maximize. For others it might be about maintaining sanity, increasing happiness, allowing for deep reflection, making major life change or keeping things the same. Choose your own adventure.
• We are invited to reverse engineer our time. What is the desired end state? Great, now we have a guiding light on where we want to go, and we can start to act accordingly. This is the proactive vs. reactive framework. It's the intentionality. Do we sit back and respond as things happen or do we take control of our situation and work to move the needle?
• Finally, it allows us some semblance of taking control of the situation. It focuses us. We move away from the victim and towards an active participant in our own story.

Ok. Enough about the question. It's a beauty and one I would highly encourage each of you to spend some significant time thinking about. It helps. Trust me.

My answer is quite simple. When the pandemic has come to and end...

• I have returned to my entrepreneurial roots (either by starting a new company or by taking a leadership position at a very young company)
• I have continued forward on the path of my North Star (more on this in a future post)
• I have adapted my daily routines to be as flexible as needed (the rigidity of my routines in the past has been a source of instability for me with rapidly changing external environments)
• I have strengthened my most precious relationships (in a time of social distancing and quarantining, this one may be the most difficult but I'm ready for the challenge)

Because we are designing the future and I can wave my magic wand to have whatever I want, this is it.

Everything else takes a back seat at the moment. It will be interesting to revisit this list in the future when we return to normalcy. But for now, I'm excited to be an intentional designer of my future.

Entrepreneur. North Star. Flexible routines. Relationships. Let's go.

How can I help from my couch?

This past weekend I participated in a Global Covid Hackathon where over 18,000 people came together to build projects to help in the response to the global pandemic.

It was an energizing and uplifting experience to see so many strangers come together to work on projects with a desire to be part of the solution.

My goals in participating in this were two-fold:

• learn something new that is useful
• contribute to a project that has an immediate impact

There were over 1,500 projects that were submitted, and I read through many of the early projects to find where I could contribute. While there were so many fascinating projects in all shapes and sizes, I ultimately felt that it was best to start my own.

In line with my goals, I built Sponsor A Quarantine.

This was my first time using any "no code" tools which provided a super fun learning opportunity. Very powerful to be able to put together something like this in a weekend. Bonus points that my girlfriend helped me get some key things done in order to meet the submission deadline.

We went from idea in the shower to raising over $2,100 in donations in a weekend, and our first food basket of many is out for delivery today.

Even though the hackathon is over, we're going to continue to keep donations open, we're working with a couple of local organizations in SF and NYC to find people in need and do whatever we can to help with this site. I'm still feeling a pull to be doing more which feels reasoanble, and I've been continuing to both listen and take action towards what's next.

It felt a lot better to build this past weekend than occupy time with distractions, and I'll be looking for more ways to integrate that as we bunker down for however long is need.