I did my homework.
I sat in my chair.
I lined up.
Today I'm no longer in school.
\nHowever, sometimes a \"teacher\" will tell me I need to follow the rules in the comments:
\n\"Using profanity or inappropriate language can reflect poorly on your personal brand and may make it difficult for you to establish a professional reputation on LinkedIn.\"
\nFuck that.
\nRules are guidelines, not objective truths.
Breaking the rules doesn't mean you're breaking the law.
You don't have to send a cover and resume when applying for a job.
You can be whatever gender you want.
You can write what you want as long as you're not causing others harm.
Create outside the lines.
Break the rules.
\n
\n
\n\n","recentPosts":[{"id":9055455,"title":"Tea","slug":"tea","status":"published","readingTime":1,"campaignCompletedAt":"2025-05-13T07:56:43.000Z","publishedAt":"2025-05-13T07:56:43.000Z","orderByDate":"2025-05-13T07:56:43.000Z","timeAgo":"6 days","thumbnailUrl":null,"thumbnailAlt":"","path":"posts/tea","url":"https://josh-braun.kit.com/posts/tea","isPaid":null,"introContent":"In a quiet tea room in Tokyo, a phrase caught my eye before the ceremony even began: Ichigo Ichie “One time, one meeting.” A once-in-a-lifetime encounter. It’s a guiding principle of the Japanese tea ceremony. A reminder that no two moments are ever the same. Even if we sit with the same people, in the same room, drinking the same tea, the moment is already different. The weather. The mood. The version of ourselves we bring. Everything shifts. That’s why nothing is rushed. Every gesture is...","campaignId":19443890,"publicationId":16010494,"metaDescription":""},{"id":9032236,"title":"here and now","slug":"here-and-now","status":"published","readingTime":1,"campaignCompletedAt":"2025-05-10T16:27:15.000Z","publishedAt":"2025-05-10T16:27:15.000Z","orderByDate":"2025-05-10T16:27:15.000Z","timeAgo":"8 days","thumbnailUrl":null,"thumbnailAlt":"","path":"posts/here-and-now","url":"https://josh-braun.kit.com/posts/here-and-now","isPaid":null,"introContent":"Like a lot of people, I searched everywhere to get better at sales. Books.Courses.Seminars.Podcasts.Conferences. Always chasing the next big unlock. And yeah, I learned plenty. But the most profound shift? Tune in to what you control.Tune out what you don’t. Do your best,and let the rest unfold. Because no matter how skilled you are,there’s only so much in your hands. When or if people buy?Not up to you. Deals stall.Priorities shift.Territories get shuffled.Quotas go up. The urge is to grip...","campaignId":19415706,"publicationId":15982328,"metaDescription":""},{"id":8934758,"title":"The weight of maybe","slug":"the-weight-of-maybe","status":"published","readingTime":1,"campaignCompletedAt":"2025-05-01T14:58:18.000Z","publishedAt":"2025-05-01T14:58:18.000Z","orderByDate":"2025-05-01T14:58:18.000Z","timeAgo":"17 days","thumbnailUrl":null,"thumbnailAlt":"","path":"posts/the-weight-of-maybe","url":"https://josh-braun.kit.com/posts/the-weight-of-maybe","isPaid":null,"introContent":"We hired a handyman. He was kind. Respectful.Had been with the company five years. After he left,my wife noticed some jewelry was missing. Her heart sank.She thought maybe he took it. I felt it too.That flicker of suspicion.That tension between trust and accusation. And yetI also remembered how polite he was.How carefully he worked.How much of the story we don’t know. Maybe it was stolen.Maybe it was misplaced.Maybe we’ll never know.But here’s what I do know: Jumping to judgment closes the...","campaignId":19299909,"publicationId":15865532,"metaDescription":""}],"newsletter":{"formId":3695322,"productId":null,"productUrl":null,"featuredPostId":null,"subscribersOnly":false},"isPaidSubscriber":false,"isSubscriber":false,"originUrl":"https://josh-braun.kit.com/posts/rules","creatorProfileName":"Josh Braun","creatorProfileId":43095}When I was in elementary school, I followed the rules.
I was a good little boy.
I did my homework.
I sat in my chair.
I lined up.
Today I'm no longer in school.
However, sometimes a "teacher" will tell me I need to follow the rules in the comments:
"Using profanity or inappropriate language can reflect poorly on your personal brand and may make it difficult for you to establish a professional reputation on LinkedIn."
Fuck that.
Rules are guidelines, not objective truths.
Breaking the rules doesn't mean you're breaking the law.
You don't have to send a cover and resume when applying for a job.
You can be whatever gender you want.
You can write what you want as long as you're not causing others harm.
Create outside the lines.
Break the rules.
In a quiet tea room in Tokyo, a phrase caught my eye before the ceremony even began: Ichigo Ichie “One time, one meeting.” A once-in-a-lifetime encounter. It’s a guiding principle of the Japanese tea ceremony. A reminder that no two moments are ever the same. Even if we sit with the same people, in the same room, drinking the same tea, the moment is already different. The weather. The mood. The version of ourselves we bring. Everything shifts. That’s why nothing is rushed. Every gesture is...
Like a lot of people, I searched everywhere to get better at sales. Books.Courses.Seminars.Podcasts.Conferences. Always chasing the next big unlock. And yeah, I learned plenty. But the most profound shift? Tune in to what you control.Tune out what you don’t. Do your best,and let the rest unfold. Because no matter how skilled you are,there’s only so much in your hands. When or if people buy?Not up to you. Deals stall.Priorities shift.Territories get shuffled.Quotas go up. The urge is to grip...
We hired a handyman. He was kind. Respectful.Had been with the company five years. After he left,my wife noticed some jewelry was missing. Her heart sank.She thought maybe he took it. I felt it too.That flicker of suspicion.That tension between trust and accusation. And yetI also remembered how polite he was.How carefully he worked.How much of the story we don’t know. Maybe it was stolen.Maybe it was misplaced.Maybe we’ll never know.But here’s what I do know: Jumping to judgment closes the...