- Man In The Arena
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- The Man In The Arena
The Man In The Arena
Teddy Roosevelt in a fighting ring, surrounded by a crowd. Photo generated by AI.
On being more intentional with content and leveraging media:
In a blog post I wrote in December 2022 called Opening Remarks, I talk about my reasons for starting this blog.
In it, I described the benefits of starting a blog, but I did not delve deeply into my 'why' because it was not fully formed then.
My ‘why’ for producing content has become more apparent to me in the last six months, which has been a unique period for my professional and personal development.
As I grow older (I just hit the big 3-0 this month), I realize that I need to be much more intentional with my life and find ways to leverage my time.
I’ve come to several realizations that have led me to re-evaluate how I want to approach living my life. This also changed how I want to approach building content.
The original reasons I previously cited for starting a blog still hold; I think blogging is great for refining thinking and communication skills.
But how I view things has changed, specifically related to leverage.
I am seeing the ever-increasing importance and value that media has.
Media is a truly scalable ‘tool’ that has been used for centuries to leverage time.
It can be used on the demand side for recognition, promotion, and branding.
It can also be used on the supply side to improve the management of any activity.
This concept applies to any level of activity, from an individual level to the level of a large organization.
So my realization around media was, “Why wouldn’t I leverage media to a fuller extent, so that I can build a vehicle that allows me to meet and talk to all the people I want to have in my network? At the same time, I can provide value to myself, to my audience, and (hopefully) to my network."
That’s why I’ve decided to start a podcast called The Man In The Arena.
I’m also renaming the blog to The Man In The Arena so that it acts as an extension of the podcast.
What is The Man In The Arena?
The symbol of the man in the arena was created by Theodore Roosevelt in a speech he gave in Paris in 1910.
In an excerpt of his speech, Roosevelt perfectly describes the type of person who dares to do something great.
He compares this with their critics, who never did (and probably never will do) anything of significance.
The man in the arena is depicted as the determined stoic doer who persists despite difficulty.
The speech is powerful.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming.
But who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
The man in the arena is the type of person I want to champion in my blog, podcast and my life.
The entrepreneur, scientist, athlete, or any person who dared to dream big and began his or her journey of turning their dream into reality.
I want to put a spotlight on this type of person and want to inspire and help others who are at the beginning of their own incredible journey.
I want to help share the stories, wisdom, and tactical knowledge around accomplishing something remarkable.
To do this, I have to share what it takes to accomplish something great. I also have to share how it was done.
My goal is to have this podcast become a source of sharing ideas on how to execute difficult and seemingly impossible tasks, while exploring the human aspects and side effects of doing something great.
The highs and lows, failures and triumphs, and the emotional roller coaster of a ride that comes with a big vision and action.
The man in the arena is who I want to champion.
His story and playbook are what I want to document.
And he is who I want to write about and learn from.
Because of this, my podcast’s format will primarily be in the form of interviews with people who have or are in the process of, achieving great things.
The interview format is largely inspired by a quote about the value of a conversation with a wise man.
“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.”
I know that there is an abundance of podcast interviews with successful people that are available. I have personally benefited from them.
However, my target audience is primarily located in the Greater Middle East region, where there is relatively less content for that demographic.
I also plan on synthesizing my learnings, personal experiences, and lessons gained from the interviews, into bite-sized content.
My blog will likely have more tactical content that can help entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs be more successful on a professional and personal level (in areas like mindset, health and wellness).
I do plan on doing this in the hope that my content can benefit current and aspiring entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and anyone who dares to dream big.
If you are interested in joining me on this journey of learning from the men and women in the arena who are making things happen…welcome.
I’ll work to get out content that inspires thoughtful action.