A year ago, I participated in a creative challenge that asked participants to commit to an authentic creative challenge.
I listened to the audio lessons and did all the prep work, even getting so far as to set up this new Substack, and then… did nothing with it.
It felt frivolous.
We’d just purchased our first home, I was drowning in renovations and client work, and I could barely keep up with my own marketing.
“Indulging” in another creative pursuit that would take up even more time with seemingly no connection to profit didn’t feel like a smart decision.
Obviously, I was wrong.
Because in doing the pre-work for that challenge, I felt the most alive and invigorated and excited to create I had in a long time.
Instead of recognizing and nurturing that, I squashed it like a bug.
I put it in a box and shoved it in the corner of the closet with the rest of our still unpacked moving boxes.
Spoiler alert: that didn’t magically make me more motivated or push creative juices into what I thought I should be doing.
If you’ve ever been through creative burnout, you’re probably thinking duh right about now. (Me too.)
It’s taken over a year and a half to come back to this idea and finally allow myself to just create without agenda or strategy or monetary goals in mind.
The great thing is I still stand by my original creative concept. I’m still just as jazzed about all the meaning and intention behind this publication. And of fucking course, I want to share it with you.
So… what is The Whyline?
The Whyline is a collection of occasional notes from a professional observer (hi, that’s me) on business, culture, and identity.
It’s a home for kinetic thinkers, pattern spotters, and relentless researchers. It’s for anyone who never stops asking “why”.
I’m not proclaiming to have the answers. But I certainly have questions.
I want to share the things I notice, why I can’t stop thinking about it, and what I think it ultimately means.
In some ways, it’s quite a selfish endeavor because quite frankly, I’m not writing this for you. I’m writing it for me. I want to share something, so I’ve given myself the container to do so.
If that so happens to spark connection and conversation, even better!
Why “Whyline”?
For obvious reasons, asking “why” is at the core of what I’m exploring.
I’m also following the lines of thought and patterns wherever they lead.
And, as someone with an English degree and a journalism background, I can’t resist a pun with “byline”.
What is your whyline?
But first, let’s define what whyline actually means in this context.
A whyline is the thread of curiosity you can’t stop pulling.
It’s the stuff that gets you super jazzed, that keeps you hooked, that just won’t leave your brain. They’re things you’re bursting to share, so much so that you can’t help but to talk about them with someone, anyone — even the online void. They’re the questions, patterns, and obsessions that pester and nag at you until you find some way to temporarily satiate your insatiable curiosity.
There are lots of little things that tick those boxes for me, some of them related and some of them not.
Broadly, here are some of the topics and ideas that make up my whyline (and what you can probably expect to read more about in future articles):
Marketing
Communication + language
Business
Interior design
Psychology + human behavior
Pinterest
Random pop culture moments
Literature
Metaphors
Identity + belonging
Design
Don’t be surprised if something not on this list shows up. My whyline is fluid and flexible, and yours can be too. There’s nothing wrong with not just being a multipassionate curious person, but indulging that multiplicity.
So I’m asking the question — what’s your whyline? And will you stick around to listen to mine?