In July of 2011, I had ventured out in the world to search for meaning. And it’s been an eye opening experience.
During which, I decided to create a travel persona called the CouchSurfingCEO. I created a blog and Twitter handle with the brand name. And dedicated significant time and resources into effectively launching the project.
But in that time, a few things became apparent that I did not, nor could not have foreseen. And while I’m still traveling as a minimalist, digital nomad, I have decided to kill the “personal brand” for the following reasons:
1. Legacy
The spectrum of leaving a legacy in the 21st Century is complicated.
I once heard Google’s Eric Schmidt mention that there is more content created in two days, than the sum of all content created from the dawn of man up to the year 2002. So needless to say, there is a lot of noise out there. And remarkable contributions to society can easily be lost in the mix.
In the days of early humans, content was the drawings on the walls of the cave. As papyrus took hold in Egypt, that content was transfered to sheets. With the advent of the printing press, content became duplicatable. And with the rise of the social web, content has taken on many forms.
From the time of hieroglyphs & pottery art to today’s videos, posts, & status updates, content creation is evolving.
Ok, back to the legacy spectrum. On one end of the spectrum we have accessibility. If no one knows you exist, your contributions are meaningless. Think of a monk in a monastery high in the mountains. This man may have the answers to all of life’s problems. Yet, he has no means to spread this message beyond the temple walls.
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