“I can’t see the view because I’m in the view.”
One offhand comment can displace us from our own joy, turning us into critical observers sitting on the sidelines of our own lives. When we feel left behind, the business world often tells us to figure out our “Why”. But we are not reliable witnesses to our own stories. We are too wrapped up in our insecurities and biases to see ourselves clearly.
This episode flips a classic business trope on its head. Instead of reaching for more mental models and internal frameworks, we explore why you actually need a mirror. Through a profound conversation with a barista, the creative rhythm of a stand-up comedian, and a highly practical exercise involving five text messages to your closest friends, we uncover how your community holds the key to your inherent Majesty.
Whether you feel disqualified by a fractured career path or you find yourself dismissing the exact gifts that make you uniquely valuable, this chapter is an invitation to stop deducing your purpose in a vacuum. It’s time to step out into the wild. It’s time to start with WHO.
00:00 - Welcome to Start With WHO
02:38 - The Displacement We All Experience
03:15 - Start With Why vs. Start With Who
04:32 - The Comedian’s Secret: Noticing and Creating
06:39 - Five Questions: The Mirror to Your Majesty
10:33 - The Mirror That Changed Everything (Path vs. Map)
What we cover in this episode:
The Curse of Comparison: How an offhand comment can rob us of our joy and recast our worth in the shadow of someone else’s success.
The Problem with “Start with Why”: Why searching internally for your purpose often fails, and why we are ultimately unreliable witnesses to our own stories.
The Comedian’s Rhythm: How to stop trying to invent brilliant ideas out of thin air and start noticing the friction and joy in your daily life.
The Five Text Messages: A tactical, highly uncomfortable, and deeply necessary exercise designed to reveal the hidden parts of your map.
Path vs. Map: How viewing your messy career history as a rigid path creates shame, but viewing it as a map reveals possibility, agency, and resilience.
Notable Quotes: * “I can’t see the view because I’m in the view.”
“My career wasn’t a path I could fail, it was a map: a landscape of trails, elevation, risk and wonder to experience.”
“Right now, there are two versions of the truth available to you. One is that you’re broken, incomplete, too far behind to matter. The other is that you are standing on the very edge of something beautiful, waiting to experience it all for the very first time.”
Read the full written version of this chapter and join the campfire over on Substack: unremarkable.co
#SelfWorth #CommunityBuilding #StartWithWho #ImposterSyndrome #TheUnremarkableEntrepreneur
Where We Are:
This is Week 10 of a year-long practice.
Movement 1: Presence - eight weeks, eight stanzas, exploring how to show up as yourself.
Start with WHO ← You are here
The Increment is the Way
Invite Like an Artist
The World is Abundant
From there we’ll explore Movement 2: Empathy - eight weeks exploring kindness and respect for self and the power genuine connection.
