Finding my Grit
Or why I am on Substack and what I'll write about
What am I doing here?
This week the owner of Outside Magazine announced the end of the print magazine. It’s the latest bad news from the magazine industry and for my career in it. I love writing and I love magazines. But it’s increasingly hard to make a living combining the two. That was obvious, but what to do next wasn’t.
For Christmas my brother gave me Grit, by Angela Duckworth. In it, Duckworth, a psychologist, picks apart the difference between talent and success. Mostly it comes down to grittiness, the combination of passion and perseverance. She argues grittiness is trainable and one of the first steps is to develop a personal philosophy or career goal. So I did and this is what I came up with:
Make the world a better place by showing the value of outdoor recreation and nature.
1. Now what
There are a lot of things I can do, but I know too many choices makes decision making harder. With a philosophy written down it’s easier to see what opportunities to pursue and which ones to ignore. I simply ask if whatever I’m considering works towards my billboard goal.
2. How a Substack fits
I purposefully left my career goal open ended. I could pursue it through magazines. I could pursue it through writing. But I could also pursue it through something completely new.
One area I’m interested in exploring is writing books. To that end I’ve developed a proposal for a history of skiing in Canada. I’m also working on a proposal for a shorter book that will highlight the multitude and multi-facetted benefits outdoor recreation creates.
3. Building my own something
Writing a book isn’t totally new. I self-published a cookbook, HABIT, with my wife. Working on it showed me the rewards of working on something that is entirely mine. A book will be mine. But I also have more to say than will fit in a book. That’s why I’m here.
4. What I will publish here
My plan with this Substack is to share some of my work and projects that lead towards my philosophy. Every two weeks I will post a new article that digs into different aspects of the outdoors and adventure sports. One post my be an intriguing aspect of skiing history. Another might highlight a hidden value of trails. I’ll probably talk about outdoor gear, tequila, and adrenaline. I will analyse trends and provide a thoughtful opinion.
I promise to keep it all relevant, unique and original. I hope you’ll subscribe, share and comment.