Oh, so you first want to know what the actual fork is this website even. Great question.
Can I say fork on the Internet? I hope so. Anyway, this page serves as a backstory to explain my motivations in life, who I’m and what I went through.
This is a personal website, and I write whatever the fork I want. I mean… almost. I know y’all are busy, so here is the TLDR elevator pitch version, in just 2 pictures:
What happened in between? Life. I went through a colorful decade and I decided to write all of it down.
So what?
I made this blog so I can untangle what happened. I am not writing this for the sympathy or the money… I am writing this blog for myself. But also, for everyone.
And you know what, I hope to get some Validation along the way. This is a work project as well. After all, I am the head of the product at The SEO Framework — the fastest and most secure SEO plugin for WordPress. Currently just a smidge away from 200,000 active users. Some of them even pay us money.
I am not 🔌ing my business just because I want to sell you something. It is detrimental to the story. TSF is only me and Sybre Waaijer. Since I’m pretty much the next Steve Jobs, we should be killing it, right?
Yes and no.
Sybre does coding and billing while I’m the ideas guy. And support guy. And I social media punch bag… it is a small company.
Here is the thing — I have complete control of the marketing and I intend to go wide & wild in 2024. In the last 5 years, I have done almost no work. Not only because I was in the mental hospital for a couple of weeks. I was lazy & unmotivated. Without purpose. Oh, and I had to take care of my dad who fought ALS bravely for 2 years…
Sybre and I… We stuck together through thick and thin and maybe this will be the year when we 10X TSF and I can finally achieve my dream of fixing my teeth.
I am a man now
The death of my father scarred me for life. Look, I know you have your troubles as well, maybe lost your loved ones as well. I would never discount your experience in life.
But this website? It is all about me and what I want in life.
I was able to defeat depression, alcoholism, and drugs… but not ALS. If you have cancer, they will give you some number: 2%, 10% maybe 20% chance of survival.
With ALS, it is always 0%. You will learn precisely how are you going to die. We took care of my dad together with my Mom. She did 80% of the work, I was mainly the support.
I like being a support, I am a helper. Playing second fiddle is my choice, not the lack of ambition, courage or energy. My skill is helping others thrive.
My values and motivation? Crystal clear.
Still reading?
It means I finally wrote something captivating; took me long enough. Let’s make this quick now, shall we?
This last decade was crazy. I won some, I failed some. I got way too friendly with the bottle and the pills; then I got clean.
COVID came just as my life got back on track. This virus took the remaining shreds of humanity out of people. It is now a new normal to say nazi shit in public and online. Shit that would get me fired from work and school just 5-10 years ago; easy.
Just as COVID piped down, my dad got ALS as I will mention on this website constantly… it took everything out of me and my mom.
If you or someone you know got diagnosed, please, feel free to email me for tips. Taking care of a paralyzed person will completely change your relationship with 💩. Nothing can prepare you for wiping other people’s ass. It will test your mental limits and even if you are just a caretaker, ALS might kill you by proxy.
Do not be like me and my mom. We tried to power through and both crashed into the brick wall. Now I have both a therapist and a psychiatrist. I am thriving. I can help you get there as well if you are man enough to ask for help.
Losing the shit
I lost my shit so badly that I needed to be hospitalized against my will. Fun times! I would like to highlight that Czechia has an amazing social security net and the care I received was a total privilege. I wish every single one of you had that privilege.
That brings me to today. Not all is bad. New Year New Me as they say. I had time to think thoroughly about my life and now I know what I want to be remembered for.
Let there be light
I found my calling. This website is a means to an end. I started working on don.gl/e in December 2022 but had to take a mental gap year, as I explained above.
In December 2023 I rebooted don.gl/e, wrote around 200 pages worth of bad content and from there I have been writing and editing every single day. There is no way this blog won’t touch at least one soul.
You will notice one theme throughout this blog — the death of my dad left me with an actual 0 fucks to give. I heard so much negative feedback about this website… from my best friends too. But that is a story for #later, I learned to say no to the haters and it is the most important skill you need if you want to create something new.
Post Scriptum
PS: I wrote this whole piece in one sitting; took me around 1 hour. I can already see objective improvements in my writing skills after just 2 weeks. English is my 3rd language.
PS2: Respectfully, f**k grammar.
If I can do it, you can do it as well. Start a blog! Send me a link! Or if you already have a blog, also send me a link! I will add the ones I like the most to blogroll and you get a free backlink with it.
Tags, todos:
- Needs more clarity
- Too much ALS talk