Sometimes I crave one-dimensionality

Now that I have a presence on multiple internet platforms, I am continually trying to figure out where to say what I want to say.

I have a lot of interests. My background is as a software engineer and leader, but I’m also fascinated by consciousness, meditation and awakening. The main way I earn money is as a coach and consultant to techie folks, but I also teach people how to shake to release tension from their bodies. When left alone, I explore the edge between psychology, philosophy and spirituality. I’m also passionate about the therapeutic power of writing itself, drawn to cultural critique, still obsessed with running and still reading obsessively. I usually sum this up by describing myself as a geek, mystic and malcontent.

Do I just “be Dan” on the Internet and share what I want, when I want? That’s what I’m doing now in this publishing challenge, on this website. It’s fun for me, but it’s 1) jarring for readers when I jump between topics and 2) hard to go deep on one theme.

The geeks want the geeky stuff. The mystics want the mystical stuff. There’s not a lot of overlap.

And so I share different parts of me in different places.

There’s this website, my Substack newsletter (Not out but through), another newsletter called Code & Compass (targeted at the Tech folk I coach), X, Bluesky, Instagram and LinkedIn. I’m also writing a book on meditation.

It is, in short, a mess.

But instead of just throwing my hands up and starting again (my happy place), I’ve been patiently testing and revising this setup. Seeing what works in one place and adapting.

Publishing something every day has accelerated this uncomfortable learning process and I feel like the ideal setup has been falling into place this last week.

1. My coaching practice will have its own brand and website (TheTechCoach.io). Code & Compass is a newsletter that offers value to those folks. LinkedIn is 95% focused on that audience. My startup consultancy and advisory work also sits firmly in this segment.
2. NOBT is going to lean in a very particular direction, exploring the art of attention and the many ways practice transforms our sense of self and world. I’m going to give this a more pointed brand too, based on a unifying idea I’ve been playing with for years: Full-Contact Living. My book is going to focus on insight meditation and awakening, so it will have some strong overlaps.
3. My TRE practice already has its own website, which makes sense considering I’m offering targeted treatments to the general public. But shaking, self-regulation and embodiment strongly overlap with what I’ll be writing about on NOBT.
4. My personal website, where you currently find yourself, is my base camp. It’s where I can just be me pointing to all the weird things I do. It’s also important that a lot of people find me organically here.

All of this is subject to change. Sometimes I crave one-dimensionality.