I am taking this blog slightly differently, moving forward into the future. I enjoy writing a new post every week. It is a labor of love. Unfortunately, it takes more time than I can dedicate due to other commitments. With that thought in mind, I am simplifying how I generate new content. I will be sharing what I call “billboards to me.” This post explains what that means.
My life was less than rosy a year ago.
A year ago, my life was not going well. A string of events put me in a bad place. My old girlfriend and I broke off our long-term relationship. Opa was in the middle of a health crisis. My college basketball team, UVA, experienced the worst loss in NCAA tournament history. These three things had me in a funk that I couldn’t shake. I was not sure what to do about it. I decided to try something new and started writing “billboards to me.”
What in the world are billboards to me?
Simply put, they are PowerPoint slides with sayings. Every month, I take some time to ponder what I learned. This occurs when I conduct my monthly personal PMR. I want to improve over time and learn life lessons along the way. I decided to add “billboards to me” to this process. It is not complicated. After reflecting, I write the billboards. It is always three. I tape them on my bathroom mirror. They are visible and one of the first things I see every morning.
Where did the Billboards to Me idea come from?
I mostly blame Tim Ferriss. If you are unfamiliar with Tim, I recommend you visit his blog. He is one of the more creative thinkers in the digital domain these days. He has written several books. Tim sends out a weekly email called Five Bullet Friday. It usually contains a few intriguing points to ponder. I also enjoy Tim’s podcast. They are long-form interviews of high performers. Toward the end of each podcast, Tim will ask his guest a standard set of questions to include: what would you put on a billboard for everyone to read? It is a thought-provoking question. I often wondered how I would answer it.
Why limit yourself to just one billboard?
Rather than creating only one billboard, I write three each month. The more ideas, the better. I will confess that the concept of three billboards is also taken from the movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, although I have not actually watched the movie. It is worth saying that some of my billboards are relevant only for a specific season of life, and I really don’t have anything profound to say. Most of them are rather simple.
What should you expect to see?
Moving forward, I will start sharing these billboards with me. In each blog post, I will describe what prompted me to write the billboard. I will include a short explanation regarding
You are the average of the 5 people you associate with most.
Tim Ferriss’ own billboard answer