Why Did I Become a Nobody?
As I wrote 12 months ago:
“I’ve spent years advising businesses from startups to the Fortune 500 on how to avoid common pitfalls and create better systems, products, and strategies for innovation and growth. Along the way, I’ve built a business and brand through extraordinary collaborations and meaningful partnerships with you all—ones I could scarcely have imagined many years ago.”
Having started and successfully scaled my advising business, I began asking:
- What do I really want to spend my time on?
- What gives me the most energy for the effort I put in?
- Where do I believe I can leverage my skills and capabilities most?
- How can I help the most people exceed their boldest ambitions?
And through that inquiry process, I worked with coaches and talked about it openly with my personal board of directors, Melissa Perri and Gibson Biddle. The answer became clear: I missed my love of building something from nothing.
Don’t get me wrong, I get a lot of fulfillment from advising startups, coaching executives, and helping companies succeed. I’m proud of the advising business I’ve built and everyone that’s helped me do it.
And I’ve had a hand through this role in advising, investing in, or being on the board of other companies such as AgileCraft, Just3Things, and Angel Squad. But I missed building and owning every bit of the process and results—facing the blank canvas and figuring out all the bits needed to create something new. I wanted to roll up my sleeves and get my hands in the dirt.
So I began thinking, “What’s my next bet on me? What’ll take me outside my comfort zone?”
Fortunately, I was introduced to our Chief Nobody Mark S. McNally, and the path appeared before me. I feel very lucky and blessed that the opportunity for Nobody Studios showed up. It’s the most challenging and invigorating initiative I could ever have imagined: to build a business-building machine from nothing.
It’s been hard, frustrating, and fun. I feel fully alive and dialed in. I bounce out of bed for 4 AM calls because I love what we’re doing so much. So I know it’s been the right move. And yet, there have been challenges and powerful lessons all along the way.
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