Levi, why do you bother with this blog? 

It’s a legitimate question.

Let’s face it. The internet is saturated with information. 

Subscribe to my newsletter, follow me on twitter, see link in bio…..the noise is never ending.

So why add to the noise? This blog has a small audience, and most of the things I write about can be found elsewhere on the internet. (And are often better articulated there)

My chances of internet fame as a blogging kingpin (is that a thing?) are pretty much zero, yet I post on here more frequently than bloggers with 50x my audience.

Why?….. Despite my negative tone, I actually get a lot of value/personal enjoyment out of blogging. Here’s why…

1. Sort out my own thought/beliefs: If you can’t articulate what you believe (in writing), do you really even know what it is you believe? Putting our thoughts on paper is one of the greatest tools in debunking our own biases.
2. Improve my writing skills: Writing is a muscle, and in a world that relies more and more on written correspondence (remote work being on the rise and other factors) the exercising of the “writing muscle” is becoming more and more valuable. If you don’t use it you loose it!
3. Creating an archive of past research/musings: When I go down the rabbit hole on a topic, I want to be able to recall what I learned down there. Being able to share past articles I have written to friends (when they ask for my advice on that particular topic) leaves them with something more substantial than the conversation we had in that moment.
4. It gives me joy!!: In the chaos of my own head, creating order (on at least one topic) gives me great joy. This is similar to the good feeling you might get after cleaning your room, looking back at your work and enjoying the state of order you have created. (Hat tip Jordan Peterson) When I hash out even the most arbitrary topic through a blog post, I feel I have created order from chaos within my own brain. (Even if it’s only in a small corner)

There is a lot of power in doing things for their own sake, and that is largely what keeps me logging in to WordPress and writing blogs. I also believe this mindset can actually work in our favor in achieving success, as the fuel to keep going is not dependent on anyone else. 

I don’t know if that will prove to be the case with this venture, but I’m sure the concept will pay off for me at some point, or in some way.

This is not (at all) to say that I don’t care about readership. Every like, comment, and view means a lot to me; and I appreciate all of you (my readers) deeply and greatly.

Beyond that, you (the reader) and I “comparing notes” as we navigate through this life can be highly valuable. You might consider starting your own blog knowing that your (however narrow) area of expertise could be life changing information to someone else. And if you do, please let me know here so I can check it out.

That is, after all, what Comparing Notes is all about.

Thanks for reading!

Levi