Clarity of message for a target audience. Now, that's one marketing prescription to which I most certainly fail to adhere when presenting myself! This post is not about "self-marketing" and I have no intent here to sell anything. Are you are still reading? I am still breathing.
The purpose of my personal website to give a sense of who I am, to anyone considering working with me. It's also a window for sharing my exploration of life with any who may be interested. I, too, would like to know who you are, beyond that role you were assigned to in last season’s theatre performance. Pulling together the parts of oneself into a presentable whole is not a simple task, and there is no name for it all other than human (or man, as a particular expression of human);
"Boundless" is what comes to mind when I chip away at all the other possible "man" descriptors with their specific limitations:
Renaissance man. I like the idea, albeit anachronistic, but can't compare to Leonardo.
Systems thinker. Outside of any tank, I strive to understand any phenomenon from a holistic perspective. I am weary of experts.
Ecologist. Same as above, except that most ecologists do not seem to be systems thinkers, which often puts me at odds with them. I do hug trees, though.
Interculturalist. I have always been drawn to foreign cultures and am fascinated by what makes them different and why. I have lived the intercultural experience at the deepest level through deliberate emigration. My book entitled EXQUISITE is all about my affair with French culture.
Visionary. Sounds pretentious, but I do dedicate considerable time to thinking about a better future and how to manifest it. It is the subject of some of my books in progress.
Futurist. I did study scenario planning but have never been asked by a government or company to use that skill. In the course of my MBA, I did write a thesis called A Strategic Fit for Tomorrow’s Eco-Efficient Service Economy that would someday serve as an obscure bibliographical reference for a book called Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution. But now I join the ranks of the failed futurists.
Father. Like the title “man”, this one I can’t escape, just as I can’t escape the feeling that I should have done things differently. I open my arms and my humanity to my two sons who have ventured into their own grand life experience.
Spouse. Requires more than one book.
Dreamer. Such a derogatory label in our world of action.
Pathfinder. True, but neither do I spend all of my time hiking.
Here are some of the things I actually do:
Write books, poems, and essays.
Play the violin. As a member of a symphony orchestra, occasionally in a quartet, for other people’s weddings (playing for my own was a bad idea). Alone, I sometimes play beneath the bridges of Paris, but most often in the bedroom dressed in a yukata.
Take photos. I have never called myself a photographer, but I appreciate some of my own photos, and others have told me they do as well. If there is any photo on this website that you really like, in spite of some technical shortcoming, I am generally happy to offer it.
Renovate and beautify homes and gardens
Practice Ashtanga yoga, quick swims in icy lakes, and long hikes on rough terrain. My once respectable tennis and basketball skills have been reduced to once-per-decade events for lack of a partner.
Cycle everywhere, and as fast as I can. Slowness has its place in other activities.
Cook up new dishes and taste new wines.
So now you understand what it is to be "just a man"