Build a thought leadership web platform, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Well, fun isn’t the word I’d use. Fulfilling? Yes, that’s it. Wrapping up week 3 has me feeling like my dream is still pretty big and requires a lot of work. But I’m not backing down. I’m too in love with it. If it’s your first time here, feel free to go back to the first post in this series and catch up.
Epiphanies
A few days this week, I either went to bed with an epiphany or woke up with one. Thanks to Siri being able to access my Notes app, I was able to get them out of my head quickly.
The first epiphany: I’ve carried a 23-year tension about whether my work contributes to good or harm, and I’m assuming I’m not alone in that, making my platform an authentic offering, not a fussy mandate. We don’t have to abandon our jobs or the systems we work in; we can notice small moments and find whatever agency we actually have. Whether that leads to something big, something small, or just a shift in how we see things, all of it counts.
The second epiphany: The shift doesn’t have to happen out in the world, inside a system, a job, or a project, just because we’re “on the inside” of one. Shifts can happen entirely inside us, as a person, and that’s still something. This surfaced a third meaning of “inside” in The Inside Shift: not just the systems we work within or our individual roles, but the self we carry into both.
Why The Epiphanies Mattered
I’ve been carrying another nagging feeling along with me. Is this just going to be more noise in an already noisy environment? Will anyone think it’s meaningful, aside from my mom? How can I make this as grounded in real experience and humility as possible, while still contributing something important AND actually useful? These two epiphanies folded into my platform’s philosophy/statement of purpose and the framework I’m building.
I believe that by keeping this platform grounded in real-life experience and perspective, with a dash of humble, I might actually reach others who have been brushing against the edges of ethical comfort and not known what to do about it. And do so on a real, human, and practical level.
What Was Created in Week 3
Along with all of that epiphany-ing, I was able to draft a boatload of artifacts this week. This revealed the reality of what I’ve asked of myself. With the help of Figma Make, I drafted the platform’s sitemap and wireframes as well as played around with some interactivity ideas for a widget on my Framework page — which is probably dreaming TOO big, but we will see.
I also drafted the outline of my foundational essay with the working title: The Inside Shift: Change from the Inside Out, as well as wrote the introduction. I also scoured for more targeted sources now that a direction is taking clearer shape. Along with that draft, I did some deep work on my Framework, workshopping scenarios with Claude AI, and asking myself tough questions, like the ones mentioned above.
I read from many sources, mainly James Williams’ Stand Out of Our Light, which sparked epiphany 1 and the idea for my interactive widget. The widget allows users to cycle through examples of industry jargon versus the real meaning and impact, meant to demonstrate the need for the framework and the platform as a whole.
Finally, I developed the platform’s logo mark and visual theme, choosing soft gradients and interlocking shapes that intentionally defy physics, as well as choosing fonts and a color palette. The overall feel is calm, credible, artistic, and editorial, setting itself apart from similar platforms and tech products. Below you can flip through the full collection of deliverables.
Coming Next Week
The work I did this week was extensive and foundational and will carry real weight for the remaining weeks. I believe I’ve set myself up for success. With the visual theme, sitemap, wireframes, and drafts of the main pieces of content for the platform underway, I can focus on research, writing, and actually building the platform. Next week I’ll have the first full draft of the essay as well as a partial build on the platform website, essentially the bones and structure.
I am looking forward to continuing to bring this to life and can’t wait to see what new epiphanies will arise.
AI tools supported proofreading and editing for this post.