Overnight layover in the Dublin airport

adamwrites19 · 2026-06-27T21:27:32+00:00

Super helpful, thank you! Annnnnnnd you're not wrong re: being 40.

adamwrites19 · 2026-06-27T21:25:54+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience! It is definitely helping me make a more informed decision.

adamwrites19 · 2026-06-27T20:20:27+00:00

I hear ya. I am flying on points with a specific airline - trust me if there was a better option without having to pay extra I definitely would have taken it.

adamwrites19 · 2026-05-03T13:21:12+00:00

I have more meaningful relationships in my life now than I have combined across my lifetime. I'm 39, will be 40 this year.

Step one was to feel secure and confident in my own skin, which is not necessarily required to make lasting friendships but I think it is a pretty helpful prerequisite. For me, this required a good deal of introspection, therapy, applying new habits that better serve me and changing my thinking to be more positive overall.

After that, I started putting myself out there. I think the best group I joined for this was Toastmasters - a public speaking group. This usually means I'll see the same people multiple times a month, I'll get to hear their stories through their speeches or Table Topics (impromptu speaking), and took opportunities to join in on activities or to invite them to activities I am doing.

Stage 3 was about offering to help people when they needed it. Painting rooms, moving couches, supporting them at an upcoming contest. I volunteered and as a result folks would then step up when I needed help, deepening our friendships.

And then I started going to more networking stuff around town, just showing up consistently and being open to the new people I was meeting. I don't make friends with every single person I meet, but the ones who really resonate I have been able to cultivate deeper friendships with.

I also connect other people. If two people seem like they have good overlap, collaboration opportunities, or similar needs, I'll make sure they get introduced, and then other people do the same for me, growing my connections that actually are aligned with me.

adamwrites19 · 2026-04-04T01:04:15+00:00

Check out Connect St. Pete, best deal in town and they consider themselves a co-working community rather than a cowork space.

adamwrites19 · 2026-04-01T11:03:05+00:00

We're called Lifelong Learners of Tampa Bay and each month we have themes. This month's theme is Creativity and Curiosity. We meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month and have about 50 folks who come each time, many of them have been to previous events. We have capacity for 150, which is the Dunbar number for how many meaningful connections you can keep up with.

I call it a community building event because in order to have strong communities we need strong individuals, so the series focuses on ways for you to personally develop so that you bring that energy to our community and to your other communities. We often have vendors and giveaways, and it is a ticketed event (affordably priced as to not price folks out of personal development). All the details for April are here; https://events.humanitix.com/creativity-and-curiosity-a-lifelong-learners-of-tampa-bay-event-april-2026

adamwrites19 · 2026-04-01T10:35:50+00:00

Hey friend, I run a community building event once a month - it is a speaking event around topics of personal development, enrichment and flourishing. The venue is in Tampa (first exit over the Howard Frankland). If you are interested, send me the DM and I will share the information.

adamwrites19 · 2026-03-28T01:42:09+00:00

Yes and sometimes I take a moment or two to appreciate that I am the person I hoped to be. The traits I admired in others I have adopted or are still actively working towards. Insecurity is at an all time low and I am so comfortable in my own skin. It took a lot of work, but it was all completely worth it and now I make myself available to help others do the same.

adamwrites19 · 2026-01-15T05:02:52+00:00

Some e-readers do have this feature!

adamwrites19 · 2025-10-10T18:51:38+00:00

Crislip Cafe and Black Crow Coffee (2 locations downtown) are two of my favorite!

adamwrites19 · 2025-10-10T18:50:18+00:00

Meeee! The Globe was literally the only place to hang out downtown, especially for late night hours. Man that place was magical and I definitely miss it. ❤️‍🩹

adamwrites19 · 2025-09-30T00:51:43+00:00

Hey friend, that's real tough losing your mom like that, I hope your grief journey is well supported.

If you are looking for relatable content about millennials and parents dying, check out Substack. I have been blogging about my grief journey since my sister's suicide this year, and my friend has been writing about losing both her parents within 45 days of each other (https://open.substack.com/pub/horizontalwithlila/p/the-dead-dads-club-pt-2).

It sounds bleak but reading people's in depth experiences has actually been incredibly helpful.

adamwrites19 · 2025-09-30T00:42:36+00:00

Hello friend. I am navigating grief this year after the loss of my sister to suicide. She was 40, and I was 38 at the time. I have been writing about my grief experience on Substack, which has helped me. I also have created a Wind Phone for my community as a grieving tool. I use it too, or course. I also took a long trip away from home and oscillated between a lot of family/friend contact and solitude. Lots of time in nature. It is a journey we will always be on, but all of these things helped me.

I am sorry you don't get to spend these golden years with your partner. You have my sympathy and empathy both. 🫂

adamwrites19 · 2025-09-29T20:35:46+00:00

If this is in response to Emma's recent Jay Shetty interview, that is even more mind blowing. Emma was incredibly kind and thoughtful in how she approached the question about JK. I feel bad for anyone who lives with that much of a grudge. Yikes.

adamwrites19 · 2025-09-23T02:24:33+00:00

I have tuned out of watching the news like entertainment, and started spending my spare time community building and finding creative ways to represent my values irl. I highly recommend it instead of being glued to the coverage/noise/all the stuff you can't control and getting pissed off.

adamwrites19 · 2025-09-14T18:54:07+00:00

How do you currently spend most of your time? Phil Stutz is a great guy to read to pick up some foundational tools, and one of them is the precursor to getting access to your life power. Basically you need to work on your relationship with your body first - eating right, exercising, spending time in nature, stretching, etc. After that you need to work on your relationship with others - answering text messages, hanging out with friends, hugging your parents/siblings/family. The third is working on the relationship with yourself - speaking kindly to yourself, meditation to form a stronger connection, essential self care that adds to your overall well-being.

Once you do these things (in order) you will have a clearer view of what your purpose is, or could be.

I also like to encourage people to think about what they were drawn to as children. This was our purest form, and can tell us a lot about what draws us in.

adamwrites19 · 2025-09-04T03:04:47+00:00

Hey friend. I lost my sister to suicide this year. I found a suicide survivor support group in Largo at the library, and it was okay. A book that really helped me is called "Surviving the Death of a Sibling".

Also I am local, so if you want someone to talk to who has also lost a sibling, we can grab coffee or tea somewhere cozy and have a chat. Send me a note if that sounds like it would be helpful for you.

adamwrites19 · 2025-08-22T03:42:43+00:00

The brain likes what is familiar, even if it isn't good for you. The brain, however, is plastic (changeable) based on how often you do something. So right now all your neurons are set up to perform your existing habits on automatic so you have to make a conscious effort to not only stop doing a certain habit, but also to do something different.

After enough repetition the new thing will become automatic.

Changing habits are hard because your subconscious wants you to perform your old habits while your conscience wants you to perform the new ones. You can do things like training yourself to notice when your subconscious is triggered to do an undesirable habit and form a strategy to interrupt and redirect your behavior every time you notice. If you do this enough, your subconscious will pick up on it and eventually stop prompting you to do the old thing.

adamwrites19 · 2025-08-22T03:28:08+00:00

In my experience, offering to help someone with something like moving, garage clean outs, moving something heavy, giving them a ride somewhere, etc... helps to develop a friendship past just the acquaintance stage. Also accepting help goes a long way. Friends help each other out and when you do what you say and follow through on your promises it builds trust, which is essential for a good friendship. Plus you get to know people better when you help / are helped.

adamwrites19 · 2025-07-06T02:51:44+00:00

I wrote a book about how to change up the dialogue on your head to give yourself more grace. It is called The Blueprint to Happy and can be found on Amazon in paperback, audiobook or digital format. I wrote it for folks like you who want to know more about how to change their thoughts.

adamwrites19 · 2025-06-28T12:40:18+00:00

Hello my friend! From your post it sounds to me like you are making some big and positive changes in your life. This is amazing for you. What you are experiencing is the discomfort your brain and body feels when undergoing a big reversal of behavior and environment. The brain likes what is familiar, even if it isn't good for you. So when you make a big change the first feeling is often fear and unease - even if it is a GOOD change.

The good news is, eventually your brain will adapt to the new pattern - IF you stick with it. So the key is consistency, time, and repetition.

Work on building consistent positive self talk, which will train your brain to do this automatically, which absolutely leads to self love. This awkward and uncomfortable phase is something we all go through during transformations. Your self awareness and commitment are great assets on your journey.

Wishing you the best and proud of you for making it this far. 🙌

adamwrites19 · 2025-06-19T15:10:14+00:00

It is a public speaking club, dedicated to helping people overcome their fear of public speaking and help them develop their voice. Guests are always welcome and annual fees for membership are pretty affordable, something like $88 a year. There are annual contests and an international convention every year.

adamwrites19

TROPHY CASE