I'm sorry, I got lost

Hi there you sparkling bean,

I haven’t written to you for a while.

And this time away has taught me several BIG lessons, lessons I would love sharing with you - if you don’t mind me sticking around a bit more. 🙏

I have loved reading books since I was a kid - they were my escape.

Immersing myself in the tales of Biggles (a heroic Spitfire pilot during World War I) and the Sioux Indians fighting the “pale-face” (no offense intended) gave me a sense of peace and belonging.

I even adopted the Sioux Indians’ techniques when playing hide and seek with classmates, guess who often won those games. 🤣 

What’s your favorite childhood book?

Home was tech-free

Technology was limited to the radio in my home, my dad is and has always been super anti all things TV, Nintendo, mobile, and now… laptops.

“What do I need that for”, he asks with a big frown on his lips.

“You know where I am anyway”. His standard response to our plea to bring at least a mobile with him when he is out on his 4-hour excursions in the wild.

A walking definition of “old-school” is what he is.

So, reading books and creating vivid stories in my mind were my creative outlets. And ever since, writing a book has been a dream of mine. If I only could find an easy way to extract all on my mind - onto paper.

Baby step

Just start writing, people said.

So, I decided to start sharing my learnings and reflections on becoming a greater version and being more human in a way that inspires, yet challenges with a smile.

I began writing.

This newsletter.

And I loved it, the first editions came to me with ease, and I laughed and smiled while writing (no wonder this edition is still the most read one).

Then it all stopped.

I got sidetracked by all the strategies and techniques on turning inboxes into gold and other tactics (titled below):

I took the focus off the reason for writing in the first place.

And I got stuck.

I didn’t know what to write

Writing became a dreadful routine task.

So, I stopped writing.

Did you notice?

There was no weekly edition of Breaking the Mold in your inbox

And I was reminded about the single most important criteria in life for productivity and greatness…

💡 Design for joy.

Regardless of how much pressure you are under, whether it’s business, relationships, or social - focus on what brings you joy, what brings joy OUT of you, excites you, and drives you.

Our greatest performance lives there, is born there, and expands from there, and with that performance come the greatest results.

None of the “how to make your newsletter stand out” advice mentions that.

Not a single one said, “Focus on living in your strengths”, something I learned long ago when giving speeches:

• 80% mindset

• 20% techniques, strategies, tactics, blueprints and bla bla bla

So here I am, sharing my journey and my lessons, letting my fingers type away at supersonic speed, it’s like they have a life on their own now, it’s messy, oh my, you should see the first draft of this edition.

And I’m loving it.

I’m back.

Sharing my real, raw, and honest learnings of becoming.

Writing this on a train, allowing myself to be carried away by sound of raindrops hammering against the train window, speeding through a mist towards my new home the day my apartment went up in flames- I’m officially homeless.

But that’s a story for next week.

See you then.

And as always, stay marvelicious,

E and little e

P.S. What did you think of this? Let me know, I love receiving your feedback, questions, and stories of your own.