The Power Within You

Originally published June 5th, 2024

Trust yourself.

The power in you is new in Nature. Only you know your own limits and capabilities.

As Emerson tells us: Insist on yourself; never imitate."

Each person has access to an endless source within that no one else can contact directly. Therefore anyone else's opinion of you is always impoverished. No one knows your capabilities except for you. Proper alignment + free time + creative courage will be your heat, oxygen and fuel to power your uncommon fire within.

Courage is key.

Listen again to Emerson and tell me you don't feel the creative courage swell within!

"You is the phenomenon perfect.

What we are, that only can we see. All that Adam had, all that Caesar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth; Caesar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a cobbler's trade; a hundred acres of ploughed land; or a scholar's desk.

Yet line for line and point for point, your dominion is as great as theirs.

Build, therefore, your own world.”

I've spent thousands of hours building my world. A world in which 1) I speak Chinese, and 2) I'm experienced and connected in the world of online courses and communities. At this intersection I am building a Virtual Silk Road connecting millions of Chinese Internet users with the Cambrian explosion of online communities on the western Internet.

I'm thrilled about this project because it is uniquely mine. No one else is attempting a podcast in 100% Mandarin Chinese as a foreigner. Mine will be the first one to exist in the world. And no else one is a Community Hub platform linking Eastern and Western Internet users with shared interests.

If I don't build this, it will not be built. It's intoxicating to work on a project that's the culmination of 10+ years of hard work, that sits at my unique intersection of talents, experiences, and abilities, and will have a meaningful impact on the world.

Emerson has challenged me for over a decade with quotes like the ones above and below. What will you do with your infinite gift? What will you create? My Virtual Silk Road project is my clear-eyes, full-heart answer. What's yours?