I need help

I’ve been at a crossroads for the past few months - or, if I’m honest, much longer than that. Professionally, I feel unmoored. Creatively, I feel dry. Personally, the weight of it all is beginning to seep into my everyday life: my relationships, my sense of self, my ability to think clearly or move with purpose.

There are a million metaphors and analogies I could use to describe my situation - stuck on a loading screen, running on a treadmill with no power, castaway on a deserted island - but none of them accurately capture the nuance of my struggle.

What’s been most challenging is that from the outside, everything looks mostly fine. I’ve worked with big names, led and shipped products that matter, and even built a design agency from scratch. I’ve helped startups raise funding, and worn multiple hats across product, brand, and creative.

Even outside of my career, I’ve traveled plenty, grown deep roots in Austin, built relationships to last, and had incredible personal growth. I’ve also done dozens of odd jobs and contract gigs, been through a handful of final-round interviews, and Uber’d hundreds of people in the back of my car.

But lately, none of that feels like enough. Or rather, none of it feels purposeful. It’s also terribly difficult to find peace in my journey when the world moves at vastly different paces around me. Some are raising Series B rounds in VC funding, some are getting corporate promotions, and others many are proposing on pristine beaches. I know my timeline and story is different, yet I can’t see the path ahead. I’ve tried mapping one. I’ve tried brute-forcing momentum. It’s not working.

In trying to make sense of it, I keep coming back to the Stockdale Paradox - a concept that I read about years ago but never quite understood until now. It’s about holding two truths at once:

• hopeless realism: the confrontation of your current reality, no matter how harsh

• naive optimism: an unwavering faith that you will prevail in the end

That duality is where I live now. I’m trying to look my situation in the eye without flinching, while also keeping a quiet faith that something better is on the other side of this fog.

That’s where you come in.

If you’re reading this, you’re part of a small but lovely community that’s followed my work, thinking, and creativity over the years. And I’d love to ask for your help. I’m looking for anything that might help me find the next step in my career.

Whether that’s:

• A conversation if you’ve been through something similar

• A referral for a role in product design, brand, or creative direction

• An intro to someone building something interesting

• A project or freelance opportunity to jumpstart momentum

• A resource - an article, book, or idea that helped you realign

• A thought on where you could see me adding value

In brevity, I’m a designer and creative. I have a degree in architecture but nowadays I work on the digital side of things: product designer, creative director, brand strategist (some of my previous titles). I’d love to stay within the creative domains but I’m open to any new ideas or opportunities.

I’m not looking for a handout, just a hand forward. If you’ve got something - a nudge, a lead, a light - I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for being here.

I’ll be back next week with more regular scheduled programming, but for now, here’s some stuff that you’re familiar with…

i’m feeling lucky

I’ve recently come across a handful of AI-generated bands and albums… and I’m not sure how to feel about them. Who gets the royalties? Which artists were those models trained on? What about live concerts? Too much to process right now, so I figured let’s stick with human musicians.

This month’s playlist is embodying summer energy: free spirits, consistent rhythms, and sunshine.

[Archive playlist can be found here, and in my spotify bio]

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link dump

• the craziest facebook marketplace story

• a lovely new app that helps you measure the blue of the sky

• a new 3d-printed device that allows you to record and visualize your dreams

• duolingo says it’s an AI company now… “ahead of their time”

• a video essay: if all humans died, when would the last light go out?

• new xiaomi factory projected to operate without any humans (!!!)

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After this letter, Loaf of Thought will be back in action for H2 of 2025 and onwards. I’ve got tons of half-baked essays, ideas, and curiosities that I’m ready to share with you again. Oh, and maybe you’ll see me more on Instagram too - I think my hard-drives are done collecting dust.

See you next week!

have a lovely July, folks.