After several months on my Listening Tour, I have launched Kraftisms, a weekly newsletter as a venue to share the insights pieced together from different people's perspectives into a 360-degree view of the industry and challenges we face. And to kick it off: an Origin Story. -- “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it” —Ferris Bueller Kraftism of the Week: Origin Story Back in late 2002, over the span of just three months: I lost my job. I lost my house. My wife left me. I had no place to take my kids, so I felt like I lost them, too. And because of all that, I lost my faith (in everything). And while a lot of people in this world have far less than I was blessed with, from my perspective at the time… I felt like I had lost everything. That I had nothing. And so I sat there in a bathtub. With a razor blade. Contemplating ending it all. I was at a standstill. I had no idea what to do next. I was ready to give up. I had spent my entire life on a path - every move I made was putting one step in front of the other. I didn’t make decisions based on what I wanted or didn’t want. I took whatever was the “next step” on the path set before me. I had blinders on. All I saw was the path. But because I had “nothing,” I had come to a complete stop. And because I wasn’t moving, it was far easier to take a moment to look around… That’s when it hit me. I realized I was not actually on - nor had I really ever been on - a path. I was in a clearing. I could look in any direction. I could step in any direction. I had only seen it as a path, as if I had blinders on, because of how quickly I had been running along it. The idea of taking responsibility for my next step in any direction I could choose was inspiring. The accountability that comes with that full responsibility - that because I was not on the path, I was accountable for anything that happened - was terrifying. But I thought back to something I had once heard: In every single moment, you have a context (inner monologue/reason for your action). Either you pick it, or it picks you. I put down the razor blade and committed, in that moment, to be the person who picks my context. To be the person in the clearing - not the one on the path with blinders - and make every choice thoughtfully. Purposefully. To commemorate that transformative moment, I changed how I referred to myself. Everyone who knew up until then had called me Andy. And so, to make the change in me clear - even if only to myself - I let Andy “die” - and let a new me be born. “Andrew.” Ever since then, I’ve spent my life focusing on looking around, getting as much perspective as I can… and then purposefully choosing where to place my next step in that amazing clearing of opportunity. Instead of reacting to a world “happening” to me, I choose to “happen” to the world, instead. To make a difference. More... https://lnkd.in/e-WjaJVj for the rest of the story!
Glad I met you, my friend. I still appreciate Darren Herman for making the original intro back in 2014 that led to our first lunch when you were at AppNexus. Congratulations on launching “Kraftisms”.. No doubt it will join the great “must-read” industry newsletters like The Operating Partner. Thanks for sharing your insights over the years and for this story. Your resilience and perspective are always super motivating.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. It’s a testament to incredible strength. That’s a lot to lose all at once - and I have a lot of experience with loss. It is so hard to pick up the pieces when you feel like you can’t even see them. Excited to subscribe to your newsletter.
Mark Risis
2w
Inspiring raw honesty Andrew Kraft . The inner voice is tricky, sometimes there are a few and the real you is often downed with phantoms of all kinds. Hearing it through the noise and acting clearly is an ongoing challenge as context changes, I look forward to learning more from your experiences.
Just another data point to confirm for us all that you are the best of the best of #thesame300
Amazing story buddy. Thanks for being so open and honest. You have come a long way and I am proud of who you have become and what you have accomplished. Keep up the great work.
Publishing this story is other levels leadership. Massive gratitude for you and this.
Strong show of leadership and vulnerability. ✊
Thank you for sharing. We're so glad to have Andrew here ❤️
Zach Rosen
2w
Thanks for sharing this, Andrew. We are so lucky to have you here 😊
Generative Leadership Business Consultant
1wAndrew, I remember you from before that time. I know you after. Knowing the story adds so much to my experience of you. Thanks for being bold enough to give it all up. Your message about "choosing context", is an incredibly powerful one.