The Gift Layer - What You Offer Simply By Being
The Numbers Don't Tell The Story
Most of my subscribers are people I know personally. A few are me testing it.
But some weeks? Hundreds of views globally. Ireland. India. Saudi Arabia. Senegal. Netherlands. Sweden. South Africa. Indonesia. Iran. UAE.
People I'll never meet. Reading my unpeeling process in languages and time zones I can't track.
I didn't hit my 6-month inflection point. The "viral moment" hasn't happened. And sure, it'd be great if it brought in income—but that was never the driving force.
But here's what IS happening:
A friend calls: "I liked this week."
Another: "Great writing. So creative. Maybe next topic try..."
Someone else: "I know exactly who you were talking about in that story."
The gift isn't in the metrics. It's in the invisible ripple.
The Vision I Couldn't Afford Before
Before AI, this vision would've cost thousands. Motion graphic artists. Weeks of back-and-forth. Or I'd simplify to Photoshop memes just to meet the deadline.
Now?
I prompt Leonardo.ai. Sora generates my anamorphic onion covers—sunglasses, consistent brand style. I animate in Leonardo, and sometimes it does whatever it wants.
I'll say "wave hands, have the onion talk, zoom in fast."
Leonardo gives me a man in an onion mask talking to another character I never prompted.
Weird. Wild. Credits burned.
But I keep those renders. Because they make me write humor I wouldn't have written. They force stories I didn't plan.
Veo 3.1 adds dialogue so the mouth matches. Gemini structures my scripts. ElevenLabs gives me the voice. Wondershare Filmora is what I use to stitch it all together.
1-4 hours for a 1-minute video. Every week.
The part of me that's finally visible? The part that doesn't wait for permission. The part that creates, anyway.
The Design Client Who Felt Seen
"I'm super excited that you're seeing my vision and making it a reality. Definitely the right man for the job."
Why did he trust me?
Because I listened. Really listened.
Zoom call. I take notes. What do you love? What logos inspire you? What's in your mind?
And while he talks, I'm already drawing it in my head. I can SEE what he wants before he finishes explaining.
I don't execute his vision. I TRANSLATE it. I bring the invisible into form.
That's the gift. Not the logo. The feeling of being understood.
What My Son Absorbs
He grabs my hand. "Follow me, Dad."
I go. Without hesitation. Unless I'm on a Zoom call.
Everything else can wait.
Sometimes he sits on my lap while I work. Cartoon on one screen. Deadline on the other. No more than an hour. Then we go to the park.
He's not learning graphic design. Definitely not Web3. He's not learning newsletter structure.
He's learning: Your presence matters more than your productivity.
That's the gift I'm giving him by being. Not by teaching.
The Miami Reset
I used to know everyone in Miami. Partied with people who later became mayors, executives at major companies, people in prominent positions now.
But back then? We were all just young, ran in the same circles, hustling.
I was exhausted keeping up. Proximity isn't connection. Status isn't substance.
I reset in Palm Beach area. Quieter. Different energy.
Now? I'm not networking for status. I'm building a tribe of powerful people globally who relate to my path. People who see my struggle-to-strive process and think: "I'm on the right track. Keep going."
That's the gift. Not advice. Permission.
The Alan Watts Question
How many layers can we peel before we're just digging for a core that doesn't exist?
Alan Watts said it: We overcomplicate reality by digging for a solid "truth" or origin. The mountain IS the process—arising from pebbles and dust, but not defined by a simple start.
There's only so much peeling The Rebel Onion can do.
Eventually it evolves. Or it becomes the stepping stone to where I'm going next.
But right now? I love it. Time-consuming, yes. But it's my authentic processing. My creative outlet. My way of showing up.
The Gift You Don't Measure
Someone in Senegal reads Week 18 and decides to finally have the conversation with their father.
Someone in Chile watches my AI video and thinks, "If he can create this weekly, maybe I can try."
A writer in Sweden sees my Sora covers and realizes they don't need to wait for a budget to start their project.
These aren't goals I set. They're byproducts of showing up authentically.
The gift layer isn't what you DO. It's what ripples outward just from BEING you, fully.
This Week's Peel
An onion in the soil benefits neighboring plants just by existing. Its presence changes the environment. No effort. No strategy. Just... being.
Your authentic presence is a gift. Not what you achieve. Not what you produce. Just showing up as yourself—writing, designing, parenting, creating—ripples outward in ways you'll never measure.
Small subscriber base. Global reach. A client who felt seen. A son who learns presence. A newsletter that might evolve or become a stepping stone.
The gift isn't the outcome. It's the being.
This week, notice: What ripples are you creating just by showing up authentically? What gifts do you give simply by being yourself, without trying? And what would change if you trusted that your presence—not your productivity—is the real contribution?
The "Being Coached" Layer: The Courage to Be Seen
This week, Dr. Goodman says, this week centers on the "permission piece" we all spend our lives searching for. He reflects on how we start as children who draw and color without hesitation—until education and society teach us to "color inside the lines." While structure has its place, it often builds the very limitations that cause people to stop creating altogether.
The difference between those who quit and those who thrive is the burning desire to keep going regardless of the "no" they hear from authority figures or fathers. Larry shares his own journey: he became a coach and chiropractor because he refused to shut up, telling himself, "I'll never stop, because one day I'll help many people and make them lots of money." He turned that natural persistence into a global mission.
Bookshelf Peeled - The Economy of the Soul
Lewis Hyde’s The Gift explores how a true gift loses its power the moment it is hoarded or treated like a commodity. It argues that a "gift" is something that loses its power if it is hoarded or treated like a commodity. For a gift to stay alive, it must move.
The most related message for this week is Hyde’s distinction between "Market Exchange" and "Gift Exchange." In a market, you give to get an equal return (the metrics, the invoice). In a gift exchange, the act of giving creates a bond and a ripple effect that cannot be measured. Hyde suggests that "the gift" (your art, your writing, your presence) is what brings the "invisible" into form—exactly like your work for the design client who felt seen.
The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World
by Lewis Hyde
Design Rebel: The Gift of the Ripple
Inspired by using our gifts without knowing the ripples we create, but continuing anyway. We used ocean ripples as a metaphor for the story. Images and videos by Sora and Leonardo.ai. Voice by ElevenLabs. Script structured and tweaked by me and Gemini. Also used Veo 3.1 and edited with Wondershare Filmora.
Weekly Inspired Insights I liked or found useful this week:
Although I couldn't find the mountain reference—and I tried—I stumbled upon this, and it’s just as powerful. Honestly, you can go to any of his clips, find the live ones where you can sometimes hear the drink in his hand, and he’ll hit a nerve. This one on how returning to wholeness is not about fixing something that is broken, but remembering something that was never truly lost... you don't need to become more; you need to return to what you already are. I've saved it at the spot for you to listen—check it out.
P.S. If this resonates with you, share it with someone. I'm dedicated to helping fellow explorers—or anyone who found this page—uncover their authentic self with humor and insight. We're all in this together, finding the courage to truly live from our core essence (or as close as we can get!).
The Resolution Layer: Clarity That Emerges From Depth
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