About

On Writing

When I was young—maybe 13 or 14 or so—I remember my father telling me about someone who had come to him asking for life advice. I remember this being an interesting moment for me because it made me realize there were people in the world who wanted my father to tell them what to do. Huh, I thought. Weird, I thought.

I also remember my father telling me that he generally always gives the same advice to everyone: Learn to write. “Learn to write,” he would say. “If you know how to write, you’ll always have a job.”

As it turns out, the guy he was advising ended up writing a screenplay for a movie any of us could have seen in the theatres. So, that’s cool. But what about us normal people?

Oddly, I took his advice to heart and worked hard at perfecting the art of writing. And I didn’t just learn how to write a coherent sentence with decent grammar—I learned how to write from different perspectives and with a variety of tones and voices. I learned how to listen, step into new shoes, and imagine. And a strange thing happened: I found myself being needed, not just for the fun stuff, but primarily, for the ability to write a coherent sentence with decent grammar.

I piled marketing strategy and copywriting best practices on top of this skill, and before too long, I knew how to use writing to get people to take action. It’s not magic, but it is an artsy sort of science. And by that I mean, it’s half data, half gut. And anyone who gets after you for the gut part is full of it (and also boring). All good marketing involves some level of instinct. But it’s also more formula than people think.

I’ve been writing marketing copy now for 10+ years, and I train others, too. I wholeheartedly believe messaging, positioning, and turning a brilliant phrase are the heart and soul of great marketing. And that’s why no matter how big my team gets, how many other projects I tackle, how busy I am, or how “in the weeds” executives may consider it, I watch this part like a…cliche. The words you use can make or break you, and they matter for people and for companies more than we tend to think they do—that is, until something goes wrong.

On Excellence

“What’s good is difficult; what’s difficult is rare.” —Robert Farrar Capon

On Influence

As an ex-school teacher gone marketer, I have an unusual sphere of influence, perhaps. But I like to think of marketing as education at scale. Education is not only about imparting knowledge, but it’s also about ensuring people have the context for that knowledge so it will be both sticky and meaningful.

I’ve been a part of more than one venture where the marketer’s task involved educating the market about a pain point they didn’t know they had. And I credit my ability to create that sort of context as a marketer to my having taught junior high for eight years.

Our backgrounds have a way of shaping us in ways we usually don’t expect. And God has a way of orchestrating truly intricate and elaborate paths. Have you been paying attention? If you have for even a little while, you’ll know what I mean. Think about the people who have been put in your life. Think about how your oddest interests have had moments to shine. I know I’ve certainly had an eclectic past full of experiences and connections that have made me both who I am today and uniquely equipped for the work I do now.

As for reading, I do it sometimes. Some of the most powerful books that have influenced me are:

• Supper of the Lamb
• Antifragile
• The Obstacle is the Way
• The Book of Common Prayer
• The Great Divorce

I tell people I prefer my stories on the screen. I read mostly nonfiction, but I spend a good amount of time in the theatre (follow me on Letterboxd). We can debate all we want about the merits of reading fiction, but I don’t do it much. As for films, here are my faves:

• Rushmore
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• JoJo Rabbit
• I Heart Huckabees
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

We might as well do music, too. I have a thing for artists who can weave deep and meaningful conversations into the everyday experience in a way that makes my brain feel both understood and challenged. Here’s a top-five artists in no particular order:

• Belle & Sebastian
• Radiohead
• Anaïs Mitchell
• Pedro the Lion
• Sufjan Stevens

But more than books, films, and music, it’s people who have shaped my thinking and life in incredible ways. There are too many to list here, and I don’t want to run the risk of leaving anyone out. But people matter. They’re placed in our lives for a reason, even the bad ones. I am beyond thankful for the people who have taught me, corrected me, mentored me, and given me opportunities to shine.

On Civilization

“I want to overhear passionate arguments about what we are and what we are doing and what we ought to do. I want to feel that art is an utterance made in good faith by one human being to another. I want to believe there are geniuses scheming to astonish the rest of us, just for the pleasure of it. I miss civilization, and I want it back.” —Marilynne Robinson

On Hobbies

I love building things and taking them apart to see how they work. I’ve dabbled building furniture and making cheese, and I was an avid gardener before leaving California. I’ll ferment basically anything.

But the underlying curiosity that drives all of this stretches into most parts of my life. I love dabbling with technology, and words, and org charts, and processes. And I have a wicked Lego collection…er, or I used to—I just donated quite a few sets to a good cause.

As for collaborative hobbies, I love playing board games, chatting theology, and traveling/exploring new places with friends. An afternoon theology chat at a brewery while playing board games and watching the pouring rain is a near perfect Saturday afternoon.

On Learning

“Only the autodidacts are free.” —N.N. Taleb

On Life

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say the answer isn’t 42. It’s just not.

On Pain

“Just because your mind tells you that something is awful or evil or unplanned or otherwise negative doesn’t mean you have to agree. Just because other people say that something is hopeless or crazy or broken to pieces doesn’t mean it is. We decide what story to tell ourselves.” —Ryan Holiday