Welcome to a free post here at the “Sports Renaissance Man” newsletter. There will not be many of those, but there are rare exceptions like the one below. It is my sincere hope that you enjoy my pieces and become a subscriber below so you never miss a future issue. This newsletter is delivered to your inbox, not your doorstep, daily, with all sorts of fun pieces splattered throughout. Happy reading.
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I have always had two competing thoughts when it comes to writing. On the one hand, my primary goal since I was 7-years-old was to grow up and work as a professional writer. On the other hand, I have never been all that comfortable with getting paid for it. However, you cannot really have one without the other. If you remove the latter, writing is your hobby. Writing is more than a hobby for me, though. I feel the need to write, daily, deep in my bones. In my perfect world, I would be able to write professionally, be paid decently for it, and never know the specifics. All I would want to know is that I earn enough to write about what I want to write about everyday and still be OK.
I long for a simple life. I would like to read my books, write my stories, record my podcasts and spend the rest of my time with loved ones and Khaleesi The Dog. With graduate school over the past two years here in Knoxville, my life has not been the least bit simple. My decision to leave Atlanta for Knoxville was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Without that decision, I would not meet the woman of my dreams. Some of my favorite moments over the past two years have involved simply sitting on the couch and just talking with the Sports Renaissance Woman about all sorts of things.
The last several months have been extremely stressful, though. In the last seven months, I have juggled a full-time job, graduate school, and the podcast that added up to over 60 hours a week of work. It was a lot. I was stressed. I had a lot on my plate. What you’ll find when you’re swamped is that the only way you can keep your head above water is to take things a day at a time. Nothing more. My daily planner was a god-send.
Now, though, things have changed. The full-time job is no longer on my plate. But the gratitude that I have for that job and that company remains. In the end, it did not work out, but man, I am thankful for the time that I had. My bills were paid, gifts were able to be given and I am a better writer and digital content creator because of my time there. My plate was filled, but there is something to being that dang busy. Every minute mattered and I had to be so careful with my time, all the time. You cannot wander your way through two full-time jobs, graduate school and a serious relationship. It takes careful planning. I joked that I sometimes felt like Nick Saban with how careful I became with how I organized my day.
But that chapter in my life closed last week. It’s interesting, though, when your schedule gets thrown for a loop. For me, my mind has drifted all over the place. Ideas you placed on the backburner are brought back into frame. A large block of time opened up last week that I am working to figure out how to manage. For the first time in a long time, I have some hours to play with. Granted, graduate school and the pod still occupy quite a bit of time each day, my schedule is going to be a bit different moving forward. When one door closes, another door opens.
For me, that’s the newsletter. This is the space I want to occupy moving forward. In this space, I can write about what I want to write about. What inspires me and what moves me to the park my butt in my office chair each and every day. The way I see things, the opportunity is here before I graduate from the University of Tennessee this December, to build this space out. The dream is for this blog, along with the podcast, to be the two things that allow me to live this simple life I crave after graduation.
A common phrase you hear and read a lot more now in work is that you should always “bet on yourself”. It’s a sentiment I know all too well. A fellow writer told me this very thing on the phone last week. He believes in me. My family believes in me. The Sports Renaissance Woman believes in me. What more do I need to dive into this?
We get one shot in this life to really work to create the world in which we want to live. For me, it’s to write about what I want to write about every single day. To podcast about what I want to talk about every single day. To get better at both every single day. I have joked that I have a simple dream for a simple life. And yet, the path to getting there has been anything but simple. But I still want to create that world that I can delight in with the SRW for years to come.
So I will be writing in this space often moving forward. Daily, actually. In this newsletter, you will get pieces on what I’m watching right now, columns on everything from college football to the NBA, increased coverage on the Vols and high school football, and all sorts of other fun directions that I choose to take this newsletter in. The content calendar is in and I am going to bust my tail making this newsletter work alongside my podcast for the foreseeable future.
This starts with your support. So, if you’re reading this and you want to support me making this work for the long haul I highly encourage you to become a paid subscriber today. There are different tiers for whichever you are most comfortable with. However, if you want to continue reading all my work this is the best way to do that. Like the slogan says, “Think Sports Illustrated with one Sports Renaissance Man.” I can make this work, and I believe that I will. It is my hope you share that same belief and show your support below.
Let’s get to work.