Author: MAÔ

Cost? Everyone knows it’s free.

Well, maybe not the blue check on twitter… err, X. But, free signups. Free skating. Free use.

Of course, it’s said – if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.

These platforms sell ad space – with rapt eyeballs ready to belle, and maybe click.

They sell our data. and that’s a vague space where data can be used for a number of functions.

But what if there’s something else?

What if the true cost of social media INT what these platforms are monetizing, but rather how the users’ perceptions and understanding of the world can directed in focused ways by shadow players (maybe Russia or China or other countries; or PR firms and PACs right here in our country)?

Who is really considering how you interact with those social media platforms?

I’ve been thinking about Adam Grant’s observation that “articles fade after a week; people keep books.”

Articles are like rainfall – they come quickly, nourish briefly, and then fade away. But books? Books are more like slow-moving rivers, carving deeper channels in our thinking over time.

An article might change what you think. But a good book? That can change how you think.

Trust is such an easy thing to lose, and a difficult thing to gain.

We don’t even think about it. Not really.

What did they do to earn our trust, the people that have it?

And how are we earning trust in return?

There’s something about being in an unfamiliar place that wakes up parts of your brain that have been on autopilot.

Maybe that’s the real magic of travel – not the destinations we reach, but the way it reminds us how to be curious again.

Disappointment has a way of making time feel different.

In a single moment, not only do you lose what you were hoping for, but also you fret over all those future moments you’d already imagined.

The good thing is, those empty spaces where our plans used to be? They’re not endings.

They’re blank pages on which we get to write our future.

What is the purpose of retaliation? Is it justified? Is it necessary?

Are we acting the way that we want to act?

Are we supporting the people who are exemplifying the ideals that we say we adhere to?

What is the rule we should adhere to?

If it’s disagreeable to us, does it make it wrong?

If the majority feels a way, does the minority have a say?

There are those who extol individuals that answered those questions with resistance: i.e. Jesus, Gandhi, MLK Jr, or even William Wallace.

There are those who demonize individuals that answered those questions with resistance: i.e. Jesus, Gandhi, MLK Jr, or William Wallace.

These are thoughts that have been plaguing me of late.

We can’t always be certain about our path. It can be overwhelming.

But if I can ask myself: Am I doing the that thing that i can do to the best of my ability?

If I can say yes, then that’s all I need to do.

Here’s the thing about early mornings that nobody likes to talk about: they start the night before.

That 5am wake-up call sounds great in theory, but it means saying goodbye to late-night Netflix binges and “just one more” scrolls through social media.

But honestly? Trading those distracted evening hours for clear-headed morning ones might be the best deal you’ll ever make.

There’s something deeply satisfying about heading into a 9am meeting knowing you’ve already knocked out your most important tasks – like you’re playing chess while everyone else is still setting up the board.