Its been a weird week. People I have never met are reading about my life. I never anticipated what that would feel like. I released my first book a week ago. It is off to a great start, and many friends are in the midst of reading it. For years, I have been a person who platforms others’ stories and at times share my own, but that is usually secondary to the featured guests. This past week, I shared a bunch of my stories with the world. Here are three things I have learned this week.

1. Tensions that are in my life are tensions that are in others lives.

I have written advertising copy, created brands and gathered people around events. To make these experiences I try to think about what others are thinking and feeling. In this book, I shared some of the greatest tensions I have experienced. The tensions of having enough time for my family and for my passions. Wrestling with my wealth in a global economy and even greater in my local economy. Coming to grips with what makes me unique and why I was created. All of these tensions others think about also. We all think that our big problems are the only ones in the world, but most of our friends are dealing with the same issues on a daily basis. Almost every response I receive from the book, is that the things I feel, they feel. These tensions in my life, they understand. The more we share, the greater our community gets integrated into our lives for shared experiences and understanding.

2. I am loved.

When you first read this statement, it might sound conceited, but its not rooted in conceit at all. It’s actually surprising. It’s rare that we get a glimpse to understand how much the people around us truly care for us. I remember Tim Sanders explaining years ago about what a Love Cat is. In short, love in our new economy is when people introduce their networks to you, it is the greatest sign of love today. The generosity if my community has been an all out love fest. People have shown me in an overwhelming way that they care about me, my creations, and my passions by introducing and sharing what I have created with their friends. We all need moments to step back and realize the generosity and love from people closest to us. The more we introduce the gifts of our friends to others, they greater they will experience our love for them.

3. Long term creations, have long term influence.

I have made many creations that have a short life span. This is the first time creating something that is meant to last. I am use to having instant success/fail ratios to determine how well something did. Writing a book is a longer burn of a project. It took two years to create and hopefully it will impact readers for years to come. Too many of creations in our society are built on short term trends, instant response and immediate returns. Having projects that take a long time to make and take a long time to return make our perspective on time and quality much deeper.

[You can buy the book here or wherever books are sold.]