Today is a Friday. Morning to be exact. 9:19 AM to be precise. Good. Starting out the day practicing awareness. I like it. Off to a great start.

I wrote the following post yesterday. I was going to post it yesterday however I got in my own way. I got caught up finding the absolute best way to build this blog in the age of AI. Rather than simply posting my second article.. I instead spent hours researching agentic workflows, the best way to build a blog AND any kind of software for technical founders who aren’t quite full software engineers.

I’ve known for a while now that this is a trap. Yet, I still do it. No more. Once it makes sense and over time as I continue to write posts.. only then will I start to think more about what makes sense going forward.

Before I get to the post, I want to be clear about how I use AI. Everything I write on this blog are my own thoughts, experiences, and emotions.

I do use Claude, ChatGPT and other tools to help me brainstorm, organize, and draw insights from the dozens of writings I’ve already written.

I will clearly state when I’ve done this and when the writing is 100% mine without the use of any tools.

Who knows, this may change in the future, however right now this is what I enjoy. This is my workflow. If you don’t agree, this blog may not be of interest to you.

The above was all written by myself without the use of any AI tools.

The following is that post I mentioned above which draws from some of my recent writings. Then refined further by me.

The Puzzle

From my perspective, a lot of people see life as it is akin to a game of chess. Opponents, strategy, winners and losers. I used to think that too. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not ignorant to the fact that there is real struggle. Real problems. But chess never quite fit. The war energy. The zero-sum thinking. I don’t want to outmaneuver anyone. I want to build something.

So I started thinking about puzzles instead. A puzzle has pieces. Some days you find the right one and it clicks into place. Most days you don’t. You pick up a piece, try it, set it back down. No drama. No opponent. Just you and the picture you’re trying to make.

Seven years ago I started picking up pieces I didn’t even know were missing. Mindfulness. Toastmasters. West Coast Swing. Stoicism. New friendships. A blog I thought about for over a decade before I finally started. None of it happened fast. Puzzles don’t work that way.

The piece I kept avoiding was awareness. You can’t place what you can’t see. For a long time I couldn’t see the puzzle at all. I thought I was doing okay. The picture looked fine from where I was standing. It wasn’t.

Recently a friend sent me an email. It didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know somewhere deep down. But it laid it all out at a glance. Something clicked. Not a solution. Just the beginning of being able to see.

That’s the thing about puzzles. You don’t always solve them in one sitting. You come back. You pick up a piece. You try it. Sometimes it fits. Sometimes you set it back down and try again tomorrow. The picture is still coming together. That’s okay.

We’re all in motion. We all have a story. Each of us is the main character in our own world. I can say with some confidence, that your picture is coming together as well.