Category: My Life

I remember when i was in elementary school (mid-1990s) and my dad pulled me over to the computer. He’d just connected to the old Internet protocol Telnet through the Michigan State University (MSU) Library System. Within seconds, we could explore the card catalog and corresponding applications from not just MSU but most major libraries in the world.

I know what you’re thinking. “Big whoop you connected to card catalog from a library.” But that was the mid-1990s. No one was online at that point. I was maybe 12 and my computer was bouncing around the world.

In that experience, I had some kind of aha moment that affected the rest of my life. I realized that the Internet was going to connect people in ways that’ve never happened before. From that point on, it’s been a non-stop fascination… and possibly even an obsession.

And I’ve seen it work. I’ve seen people connect via technology to build communities that have since gone on to change the world in a way that they wouldn’t be able to do on their own. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of some of those movements. Excited to hopefully be a part of A LOT more.

But it all started with a moment. Do you have a moment that was an infection point in your life?

I admire people like investor Fred Wilson who pushes out new content on his blog everyday. I aspire to write something on my blog everyday. It’s really hard though.

We read things. We experience things. This causes us to have thoughts about the world. It’s hard to turn those thoughts into something that you want to share with people.

The discipline of writing everyday and articulating those thoughts brings a certain level of clarity for yourself (and ultimately for your readers). It’s an amazing mental exercise.

But building the habit is hard. There’s something about, at least how I’m wired, that makes me want to passively consume information without thinking about it. BUT that’s bad. As I wrote previously, taking notes on what I’m consuming has helped a lot. Now to just turn that into thoughts that I want to share.

I’ve been using the app Coach.me to prompt myself to write everyday, along with some other habits that I’m working on. I’ve found it pretty helpful.

What tips have helped you develop a daily writing habit?

I love the Web. It allows me to read whatever I want and feed my never ending intellectual curiosity. It’s too easy for me to fill up my Instapaper queue with hundreds of articles.

When I read, it’s easy for it to go in and out of my brain quickly. If you were to ask me what I read and how it contributed to my worldview, I’d say very little. It’s easy for me to flip through news feeds and get nothing out of it. Skimming is an easy bad habit.

So, I’ve started taking notes on everything that I read. I have an Evernote notebook. Each note is on a different topic. When I read something on that topic, I take what I took from what I read and add it to that note.

I really enjoy reading news about the election. It’s easy for the barrage of stories to cause you to grow numb. But if you intentionally take what your reading and see that coverage next to all the coverage for a particular candidate, you start to get a bigger picture view.

If you’re fascinated by a particular topic, like autonomous vehicles, jot down every time you see a story about it. Add a couple sentences from that article. You’ll really start to get a sense for the evolution of autonomous vehicles.

Holidays make me contemplative which makes me thankful. I’m so thankful for so many things but wanted to use this time to say thank you to all of you. 

There are so many writers and creators out there that are looking for an audience. The fact that you have chosen to pay attention to me across one of my different social and email channels is a HUGE honor. 

As we head into 2016, I hope to dive more into what it means to be a human being, husband, father, marketer, entrepreneur, and St Louis-ian in the digital age, as well as sharing my normal stuff.  I hope that you find all of it useful and thought provoking. 

If you have thoughts, concerns, or ideas, don’t hesitate to hit me up — jthorp@gmail.com

Happy New Year! 

The kid is starting to sleep in a little bit longer. So, instead of sleeping in, I’ve been trying to get up before him. I can use that time to make a cup of coffee, read the Bible, skim the NY Times and just generally reflect on the day ahead of me. 

It’s hard to get up early. It’s hard to build that new habit or routine. Time is so precious and mornings are some of the only places in my daily schedule where I can adjust things to make for more time. And that time can be just for me. 

I wish there was a way to stretch a 24 day hour day into 28 hours. It never feels like there’s enough time  or energy to get things done.  Time is the most precious resource. 

The morning time is the easiest place to reprioritize. I know some people that just hurl themselves out of bed and rush right into their day. That stresses me out just thinking about it. I need to ease into the day. So, I get up early. 

So yeah… it gets really hot in Las Vegas.  I think it was 110 degrees out when I went to bed last night.   It makes night swimming pretty wonderful but during the day, you just don’t wanna go outside.  It’s a dry heat in Las Vegas so it’s definitely preferable to 90 degrees with 100% humidity that we would have gotten on the East Coast.

Over the last couple weeks, I’ve had a number of business meetings with non-startup people.   If you’re a woman, you can wear a skirt and still be in “business attire.”  For a guy, you have to wear pants.   You don’t look very business-like when you’re rockin’ a pear of shorts, even if they’re nice shorts.   BUT it’s hot.

Men of the Las Vegas business community, can we all agree that it’s crazy hot outside?  If we need to go to a business meeting, it’s okay to rock a pair of dress shorts and not be judged.  Cool?  K, thanks!

As much as I want it to be, you don’t get thinner or healthier just by wearing a Nike Fuelband.  Wearing a computer on your wrist doesn’t magically change your behavior. What’s made the difference has been being intentionally conscious about what my Nike Fuelband is telling me.

Everyday, in the afternoon, I make a point of seeing how many steps I’ve taken.  At night, I’ll record how many steps I’ve taken in a notebook.  I usually shoot for around 5,000.  I’ll also record what physical activities I’ve done that day.  Like, did I take the dogs for a walk or did I walk to the farther Starbucks from work?

I noticed that I walk  A LOT less in Las Vegas than I did in DC.  In DC, I’d be walking to the bus or from the subway to the office.  I’m just not doing that here.  I’m spending much more time in the car.

It’s too easy to be sedentary.  All of a sudden the day slips away and you really haven’t moved around at all.

 

Dad, thanks for being such an amazing mentor & friend.   You taught what it means to be a man and a husband.   I cherish the memories of our amazing adventures and I’m excited for the ones to come.

Thanks so much for being my dad. I love you so much!  Happy Father’s Day!