My First Entry: Day 188 - Why I’m Writing (Again)
(And what this Substack is really about)
Besides my first copywriting job after moving to the U.S., my writing has always been inconsistent. Years of self-doubt programmed into me made me question two things:
Why would anyone listen?
What if I run out of things to say?
The weight of nonexistent external expectation (I bet you can relate) is heavy on the soul.
The Turning Point
Enter 2025.
I now write a monthly column for The Laurel of Asheville, interviewing local artists, musicians, organic farmers, and heart-centered humans affected by Hurricane Helene. That monthly deadline of consistency for others meant I lost my last excuse not to write for myself.
Now, six months in, I’m ready to up the ante. This Substack is my personal writing dojo.
Independence, Revisited
As July 4th rolled around, I braaied—South African-style—to celebrate American Independence Day. The word independence carries such a deeper meaning for me.
I recently wrote about how I never dreamed of becoming an author… and yet here I am.
My first book, My Journey Beyond the Summit, is now sold in five countries.
My second, Challenge Mastery, is being written and just had its first 15 pages submitted to a U.S. literary publicity incubator.
And the breadcrumb that led me to Substack? My wife, Jessie, suggested I explore Substack. Because even when we don’t feel “ready,” we often are. Especially when we learn to stop seeing breadcrumbs like these as “external proof” and start recognizing them as nudges.
Writing from the Heart
Ubuntu was at the heart of my year-long climbing challenge called 365 UBUNTU Climbs. My heart helped me connect as a Wilderness Therapy Instructor.
And my heart is (and has always been) in everything I do.
But for decades, I was only comfortable exposing my heart in private—friendships, relationships, and with family. It took launching my blog in 2016 and then climbing a mountain every day for a year to start publicly chipping away at those walls.
Courage isn’t just doing big, bold things.
Courage is sharing the truth—even when you know it might stir the hornet’s nest.
From Fraud to Fire
From 2019 to 2024, I often felt like a fraud when I tried to share what I knew in my bones needed to be said because I was struggling. I felt like I needed to have it figured out. But I’m glad I went through that. Because knowing something and living it are two very different things. I am someone that 100% needs to share from experience. I’ve come to realize the struggle is what gives my writing depth.
Climbing a mountain every day taught me I could do hard things and that I could build community around what we can do. But that doesn’t mean I believe in the current influencer BS of “I did it – so can you! Follow my steps and become [insert probably well intentioned but most likely deceptive lies] successful.”
That kind of messaging is survivor bias. Everybody has their own journey and challenges to overcome. I was like a pupa going into its cocoon at this time —turning into goop and unsure how the goo would turn into a beautiful result. Enter Wilderness Therapy
The Wilderness Called
Wilderness Therapy was the universe’s way of saying:
“Nice job on the year-long challenge. Now let’s see what you really know.”
I lived in the wilderness. I faced my own depression.
I worked with youth aged 10–17, disconnected from their true essence because of things kids shouldn’t experience.
We didn’t “fix” them.
We used relational therapy and loved them.
We met them in the womb of Mother Nature together.
We made fires from scratch.
We rewired nervous systems—not through lectures, but through doing something hard, then learning how to respond to frustration instead of exploding. We weren’t there to prevent “blowups”, in fact we sometimes orchestrated them — we were there to lead the conversations afterwards.
They didn’t walk away confident because we told them they were amazing.
They walked away confident because they earned it. What they did was amazing.
That's why challenges are necessary. Coddled kids don’t grow into high-functioning adults.
Neither do coddled adults.
This Substack Is for You If…
You’re tired of stress, strain, and the lie that life should be easy (and being shamed that it’s your fault when “bad things” keep happening).
You crave honest stories that remind you of your own strength, not manipulate you into thinking everything you need is outside yourself.
You want to walk alongside someone who’s lived through it—not just learned how to market it.
I’m not offering blueprints. I’m offering what real challenge—messy, beautiful, transformative—actually looks and feels like. Somebody that’s tested their thinking and processes in the depths of the underworld and come back with what consistently works.
Polished ≠ Powerful
Here’s a download I had a couple days ago:
“The more rehearsed and polished I am when I speak, the more I become like processed food. The more processed the food, the less energy and nutrients it carries. The more polished I am, the less I speak from my heart.”
I will practice. I will prepare. But I won’t chase perfection. Life is messy—and I would rather connect with one person’s heart than get a standing ovation.
Why I’m Really Here
I think the charlatans are getting exposed. I think people are tired of being shamed about their lives.
But what gets removed must be replaced.
So here I am, offering stories forged by fire—not forgeries crafted for likes.
Moments of truth, not manipulation.
Insights that invite you to act from your heart, not shame you for not being enough.
What This Space Is
This Substack is where I share lessons from challenges, stories that stir something real, and frameworks that help you move through messy life with more ease.
You won’t ever live a life that’s easy. But you can move through life’s seven core challenges with greater ease.
Let go of outcomes—focus on process.
Let go of timelines—focus on your why.
Let go of permission—know that your soul’s journey is enough.
🌀 If this speaks to you—subscribe below.
Let’s walk this journey together—one messy, meaningful, heart‑centered post at a time.
(Growth asks something of us. This paywall does too. It's here for those prepared to turn insight into action—not someday, but now.)