Where are all my friends at?

Somehow, posting late at night brings on a kind of weariness. Maybe it’s the quiet, or maybe it’s the way reflection sneaks in when everything else goes still. It seems like when you’re down and out, the only way to attract attention is with sob stories or inflated drama. But that’s not me.

Truth be told, blogging isn’t me.
Posting on LinkedIn isn’t me either.
So why am I doing it?

I’d like to say I’m doing it for myself—and in most ways, that’s true. No amount of puffed-up ego, project launches, or shouting into the social media void seems to bring me closer to what I’m actually trying to build. But here I am. Still writing. Still pushing.

Collabs

I’ve always longed to find people who think like me, act like me, care like me. And what I’ve discovered is—they don’t exist. At least, not all in one person. Sure, statistically, someone out there in the 8+ billion might match that mold. But I don’t live everywhere. I live in a small town in the middle of the U.S.

What I’ve always needed—what I crave—is collaboration.
The joy of building with someone.
Sharing an idea. Expanding it.
Brainstorming. Testing. Exploring reality together.

I’ve had flickers of this at work, but those collaborations often end the same way—I do all the work, while others try to direct from the sidelines.

What I’m after is real collaboration.
Not delegation. Not micromanagement.
Actual shared work.

But the timing’s never right. People are too busy. There’s always an excuse.

Maybe I’m the problem. Maybe I want others to show up for my ideas, when the better approach is to show up for theirs. Because when it’s their idea, they show up. And once I’m in, I’m already committed. That’s how real collaboration might begin.

Goals → Tasks

Working with others follows a similar path to working alone. It all starts with assessment—where are we now? What’s the situation? From there, it’s about crafting an action plan. But working with others adds complexity. Coordination becomes the challenge.

The old adages come to mind:
Forming. Storming. Norming. Performing.

And also: Vision.

It’s funny how we only use one of the five senses to define that word. Vision is about seeing, yes, but in a good project, you should feel the wind on your back. Smell the freshly cut grass. Hear the hum of momentum.

That’s what goals are: the markers on the field.
But goals alone aren’t enough.
They’re not actionable on their own.

That’s where S.M.A.R.T comes in—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. Break those goals down into something you can actually do.

A task.

But what is a task, really?

I think of it as a non-pluralized form of action.
Not “pack for the trip,” but “pack my shirts in the bag.”
Tasks can nest, sure—but they shouldn’t split.

It’s a problem of scale—how big is the action? How measurable is the outcome?

What if we had a scaled definition of a task that led to perfect shared understanding? What if two people could look at the same list and know exactly what to do, how it connects, and when it’s done?

The Emergence of Habit

And once you’re working those tasks, moving toward your goals—something emerges.

A habit.

Habits are always tasks.
But tasks aren’t always habits.

There are good habits.
And bad ones.
But hopefully—if your tasks are aligned with meaningful goals—the habits that form will be the kind that help you grow.

So here I am, writing in the dark. Wondering where everyone is.
Still dreaming about collabs.
Still breaking goals into tasks.
Still building habits that point me toward something brighter.

If you’re out there, and you’re reading this:
Let’s build something.