I Have Exciting News!

I hope you enjoyed the story from yesterday's newsletter!  

In the beginning of that issue, I mentioned exciting news on the horizon.

Well, I'm so excited that I couldn't wait any longer.

During my 5-week newsletter intermission, I took some time to rethink and revamp my platform.

You may have noticed some differences in layout, source, and format yesterday - that's because I switched from Substack to a platform called Ghost.

Ghost is a rapidly-growing, non-profit company focused entirely on independent publishing. Ghost's mission and approach to business is very unique and I am thrilled to house my platform with them (a topic for future discussion - stay tuned).

Which brings me to the big news - I built a personal website!

↗ whit.is ↗

More accurately, I'm building a personal website. It will likely never be finished, but I'm finally to a point where I'm willing to share with others.

So... Why build a personal website? 👨‍💻

Good question.

There are many, MANY reasons. I'll highlight a few.

• Social Serendipity - I love my friends and family, but none of them are interested in all the same things I am. A personal website casts a wider net across the internet to hopefully connect with like-minded people I would otherwise never interact with.
• Faster Feedback Loops - admittedly, I've been on a big self-help kick lately. Likely COVID-19 induced. Social isolation brought on a wave of introspection in my life. The problem with investing in yourself during these wild times is that it can be difficult to test your progress. Feedback - good and bad - is critical to sustainable growth. My hope is this website opens doors to additional feedback loops.    
• Central Hub - switching between platforms for writing, photography, networking, etc. is exhausting and inefficient. Algorithms constantly re-adjust, fluff is rampant, and focus is nearly impossible. Selfishly, I wanted to create a one-stop-shop for everything I'm doing in one accessible location.
• Learning in Public - a concept I discovered while reading "Share Your Work" by Austin Kleon. I now realize my historical approach to learning was completely flawed. Book after book, podcast after podcast, article after article. To use a food analogy, I was Joey Chesnut on the 4th of July with my information consumption - intake as much as possible as fast as possible. The intention was there, the retention was not. In order to fully comprehend new concepts, I've found the best approach is to try teaching those concepts to others. Said differently - learning actively, as opposed to the traditional, passive approach. This is my attempt to actively learn in public.
• Growth - learning in public is scary. This is an exercise in swallowing my pride and encouraging feedback (good and bad) in a broader attempt to accelerate personal development.

Whit.is is a personal experiment.

I'm excited and terrified to see what happens.

Either way... I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Shoot me an email↗

Parting Thoughts 🤝

Before you go, I want to clear up some confusion surrounding subscription tiers.

A few of you asked about the "Premium Membership" subscription options.

Currently, every piece of content on the site is free. The weekly newsletter will remain free indefinitely and each content tab is freely available.

I have big plans in the future to add premium content. For now, everything is free. There is no difference between the free plan and the two paid options.

Having said that... A substantial amount of coffee and time is necessary to sustain this newsletter. If you would like to contribute to my caffeine consumption, or further validate your approval for this newsletter - the paid subscription is always available!

If anything changes, subscribers will be the first to know!

SO DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE! 🙏

Cheers Everyone 🥂

If you made it this far in the article, thank you for your time! I appreciate you tremendously and am thrilled to have you in our community.

Also, if you enjoyed what you read, consider forwarding to a friend or two! 💌

That's it for this issue.

Until next time - be well, be intentional, and be yourself!

Have a week,

Whit