Our Story
About us
We have access to the sum of human knowledge on the phones we carry every day. We’re going to try to leverage all that shared experience in the pursuit of happiness.
We’re a Midwest Gen-X couple. We don’t possess extraordinary talents or any superlative skills. We’ve followed the standard path of school, college, family and career. We’ve always liked learning. With the nest empty and retirement on the horizon, it seemed like a good time to see what the internet can teach us.
Our Story Starts in early 2020
It was February on my 55th birthday. I made a video as a joke for my friends. In it, I address the camera; “Today is my birthday. I just turned 55. I guess it is time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.” That was the seed. A few weeks later, COVID-19 triggered months of lockdowns and a quagmire of instability.
The company we worked for was based in entertainment and live events. None of these events were happening, so the business was hit hard. Fortunately, our roles were some of the few deemed “essential” so we were able to continue work all summer as we pivoted to turn our tools and talents toward more non-contact-oriented products and services.
It was a struggle, but we were able to scrape by and just before Christmas we seemed to be heading in the right direction.
Then Our Office Burned Down
That’s when a pair of teenaged Tik-Tok wannabes broke into our office building and burned the entire thing to the ground. We were starting from almost zero, again.
We got COVID-19 for Valentine’s Day in 2021. We got the one sponsored by Netflix. It didn’t come with fevers or discomfort, just some achy joints, the inability to focus and intense fatigue. We spent 10 days sleeping, napping and binge-watching “Chuck”. I remember actually saying “Eating soup is exhausting.” From time to time, I would feel fine but as soon as I opened my laptop and tried to actually accomplish anything, I’d feel wiped out.
We recovered. The company found a new building and began clawing its way back. It had been close to three years for everything to reach the new normal. The entire time, I kept thinking about how the context of my video had changed.
The safe path didn’t seem all that safe. I felt we needed to explore some alternatives.
The Internet, Artificial Intelligence and an Idea
Maybe it was the turmoil of the last few years. Maybe it was my age. Even though I love the work that I do, I began to resent the number of hours I spent in the office. The question, “What do I want to be when I group?” was always on my mind. I decided to pose that question to the World Wide Web. It seemed like an exciting prospect to see if there was any science and online advice to help answer that question.
How do you start to figure out how to figure it out?
The Big Picture is so big that you really need to step back to begin to see it all. The idea was to try to take a scientific approach to answering the What Do I Want to Be question.
It’s philosophical, it’s existential, it’s economical, it’s spiritual. Is there a mathematical formula or a series of experiments that will point us in the right direction?
Online Resources
There is a tutorial video for just about anything. There are virtually endless resources available. There are so many books written by people who have accomplished and are willing to share their knowledge. We’ll see what they have to say.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is certainly not infallible, but it still can be an amazing resource. We will dive into the tools and techniques that will make AI a valuable component.
Globally Connected People with Tools, Talents and Experience
There are people and companies all over the place that can design things, build things, ship things. The barriers of production and fulfillment can be incredibly manageable.
Start Getting New Knowledge and Experience, Together!
I have no idea where all of this will lead. If you are in a similar situation or are just curious about how things will turn out, join us.