Without a doubt in my mind the hardest part about writing, at least for me, is coming up with a solid intro. It’s always painful. Building that opening line to catch the readers attention right off the bat… then using the next few lines to be engaging enough that I’ve convinced you what you’ll be reading is worth the time.
Even more so, I’ve taken classes where they give you the “tricks of the trade,” for example: just start writing the body and come back to rewrite the intro. Or, simply start writing down all of your thoughts for a few minutes, and then configure those to form your intro and body.
And yeah, I’m sure there are a few others; but in reality your intro is the beginning.
How do you develop a beginning without the actual beginning?
I do understand that I’m reading into that way too much, and it’s probably not that deep.

But what if it is?

You and I aren’t physically in front of each other. Nor is this a YouTube video or Tik Tok edit. It’s words… lots of words.
So my only way of being engaging and somehow holding your attention has to basically be in those few opening words. Because once you’re reading, might as well keep going, right? Though if I can’t even get you to do that, well this is in some ways useless and a waste of time…

At least that’s what you would think.
In reality, if you were to be the only one to read this, I succeeded.
Because it’s not a waste time. I am conveying my thoughts and understanding to you; which I hope resonate or at the very least spark a chain of thoughts.
Though I do understand that you probably still have no idea where I’m going with all of this.

I’ll explain.
Week after week I write two newsletter articles. Sent out every Sunday and Wednesday; coming up on one full year. I’m about 5 weeks or so from that one year mark, which I will most likely elaborate on more in another article.
Anyway, in the last few weeks I’ve found myself falling into a routine where I’d write out the article, and then have A.I. check over it. At first it was grammar and spell check. Then I realized I was using it to fluff up sections of my writing to be more engaging or convincing. Losing my tone, my words, and without being too dramatic the human parts of my writing.

Now you may scoff at me and unsubscribe, maybe you don’t care, or possibly you’re indifferent.
Whatever your stance is, I do want to make one thing clear before moving on. I proof read even after the checks. Making sure my experience, expertise, and knowledge was all still accurate to what I convey. I wasn’t relying on A.I. for it’s “knowledge.” Though I will admit, it does make some research easier.

What I’m getting at with all of this is two points… Well, two points and a promise from me.

From this article on, everything I send out will be in my own words, thoughts, and experiences. Utilizing A.I. only for basic grammar, spell check, and research tools.
-Stephen

This may not mean a whole lot to you, but I take a lot of pride in the articles and content I put out. I try and be as authentic as I can with you; along with giving out the best information I can. I appreciate you tuning in every week, if that’s the newsletter or YouTube channel. It really does mean a lot.

Now onto the two points:

1) Creating something meaningful to you and others is as important to us as humans, as is water to life itself.
I know… a bold and heavy statement.
Giving yourself purpose is the most important part of living. Because giving yourself purpose will inherently push you to help others. Which is something our society is slowly losing. Finding purpose can be as simple as figuring out what to put for your intro, so it can engage others; or as complex as having a family and raising a few good kids.
Purpose isn’t making six figures or “finding yourself”… It’s doing something that feeds you and others. Regardless if that makes money or not.

2) Learn to slow down, spend time offline, read/write more, and stop relying on A.I. or Google for every question that pops into your head.
I’m not suggesting you meditate (unless you’d like to), what I am suggesting… more like urging, is that consuming slop and being endlessly tuned in is not great for your brain. And don’t get me wrong, I enjoy YouTube and Social Media as much as the next person. I’ll binge a show. Scroll a bit too long.
However, at least once a day I’ll take some time where there isn’t a screen in fornt of me or media guiding my thoughts.
Quick story: I was hanging out with some friends a month or so ago and I mentioned in one of the conversations that I frequently enjoy driving with no music or media playing… Just me, the sound of the road, and other people driving along. They all gave me a strange look like I just said something inappropriate; but to me it’s weird not to live in your own thoughts… at least here and there.
On top of all this, I’ve noticed more and more with the people around me, once a question pops up in their head, they immediately resort to looking it up. Instead of taking the time to think about it, or let it go with the realization that you don’t NEED to know the answer in that one moment of time… not to mention that it’ll be data dumped by the next day.
Live in the moment and relax a bit.

If you’ve stuck around this long, I am working on finding a third day of the week that I will be dropping more philosophical and thought provoking articles.
They should be a bit shorter than this one. I wanted to start this new series off with more of a bang.
They will range from ideas of human and social condition, analyzing quotes, and trying to understand the world.

I get that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. And Sundays and Wednesdays will remain the same format of breaking down and relaying training and nutrition information.
Then either Mondays, Fridays, or Saturdays will be this format.
If you have any recommendations at all, please reach out!

Thanks again for tuning in!
Let’s keep it going.

I am opening up a Discord server where we can chat about these ideas, health, fitness, nutrition, etc. Working to be more connected and using social media platforms to talk real ideas and concepts.
At the very least, I will be throwing up a daily quote.
Click the link below and it will prompt you to Discord. It’s all free!
Hope to see you there; and let’s fill it up!