# Focus (and other recent concerns)

*Hello friends! You likely signed up for this after reading* [*one of my
essays on
Medium*](https://medium.com/@SeanBlanda?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-brand-new-shuffle-editiontm-aka-8-questions-as)*,*
[*my personal
website*](http://seanblanda.com/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-brand-new-shuffle-editiontm-aka-8-questions-as)*,
or seeing something on*
[*Twitter*](http://twitter.com/seanblanda?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-brand-new-shuffle-editiontm-aka-8-questions-as)*.
I send this thing every few months, mostly a wrap-up of stuff I’m
working on and thinking about. See past issues*
[*here*](https://buttondown.email/Blanda/archive?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-brand-new-shuffle-editiontm-aka-8-questions-as)*.
There are always typos. Now, to the newsletter…*

![IMG_8609.JPG](../images/f19cd651ffee.jpg)

*In February, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Park City for my
second-ever west coast skiing adventure. I only fell once.*

—

For most of my adult life, my favorite band has been The White Stripes.
I fell in love with the two-piece garage rock bank out of Detroit
because of their music. But as I get older and make more stuff, I
increasingly admire the execution of the group.

I’ll spare you the fanboy details, but the basics go like this: singer
and guitarist Jack White believed that most musicians are distracted by
excess. By 100 tracks in Pro Tools. By endlessly rethinking their look.
By a revolving door of collaborators and bandmates.

The White Stripes were there to make blues music. That’s it. There would
also be just three components (guitar, drums, vocals) three colors
(black, white, and red), and two members.

As Stephen Covey would put it: They kept the main thing, the main
thing. 

Lately, I’ve been ruminating on the value of a White Stripes-like ([or
Giannis-like](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qLchg4xkOY)) focus — of
knowing who you are and what you want to do. And then just going out and
doing it every day. If you’re lucky enough to know what you want, it’s
immensely satisfying to operate this way. There’s no need to explain
yourself.

![Screen Shot 2022-04-13 at 8.57.14 PM.png](../images/ce732f414e38.png)

\
I haven’t written many things on the internet lately, mostly because,
um, what I’d say wouldn’t change that much. I also think it's a kind of
burnout from COVID turning everything into a screen and how the air
feels sucked up by the never-ending culture war. I'm in a bit of a
cynical moment when it comes to the power of communicating ideas online.
I don't like that about myself, but it's true.

So, I've been heads-down hacking away for a while at the same handful of
things. And with any luck, the next time I send this — it’ll be the same
handful of things. (**I'd love to hear what you're focused on. Hit
reply! Even if we haven't spoken in a while.)**

The things:

### **Trash Pickup**:

Like most American cities, Philadelphia has had a rough two years. The
murder count is at a 30-year high. Our transit system is comically
neglected. And, perhaps the most visible malady: There is trash
everywhere.

But, there is some progress. Center City is humming back to life and
more people = less litter. The city is finally instituting street
sweeping. But in my neighborhood of Point Breeze, there are still
pockets of neglect where trash piles up and jaded citizens, feckless
leaders, and craven businesses shrug their shoulders and allow it to
pile up.

That’s why I started [Point Breeze is Beautiful](https://pbib.org/). An
organization that takes donations from the community (and anyone else
interested in solving the trash problem in Point Breeze) and then uses
that money to pay returning citizens a fair wage to sweep the streets.
No “studies” or “awareness” - just taking the cash and removing trash.
The last time I sent this in September, we removed 520 pounds of
garbage. Now, we're up to 3,700.

However, I know working off of \$10-\$100 donations isn’t a long-term
solution — and I’m working to help structure PBIB to receive grant money
or some other renewable revenue source. If I was an eccentric
billionaire I’d create a new streets department to patch potholes, clean
the garbage, and plant trees. One day!

### **Washington Ave:**

Washington Avenue is an arterial that acts as the northern border of
South Philadelphia. It’s two blocks from my home, and I cross it several
times a day either on on foot, bicycle, or car. It’s also a chaotic road
with massive potholes and double and medium parking as it’s lined with
industrial warehouses, car repair shops, apartment buildings, retail,
and restaurants. 

So when the city announced it would be “reimagining” the avenue there
were many stakeholders and layers of grievances from past processes and
injustices. I’ll spare you the details (though you can read them
[here](https://www.inquirer.com/transportation/washington-avenue-improvement-philadelphia.html))
but I’ve spent a good deal of my free time helping to organize and
advocate for a pedestrian-friendly version of the avenue. I’ve sat at a
bar to collect petitions, knocked doors, and attended several
closed-door community meetings.

I’ll write about this more soon — but even after all the community
meetings, endless Zooms, and thousands of petitions, the avenue is
exactly as it was a decade ago. [The city is cynically using “equity” as
a shield to abdicate any
responsibility](https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/washington-avenue-traffic-safety-equity-20220214.html). 

Candidly, the ordeal has reshaped my politics as I find myself just
hoping for a competent city government that can build and improve
things. Anything!

### **Crossbeam**:

In January, I was promoted 🎉 to VP of Content at
[Crossbeam](http://crossbeam.com), a B2B SaaS start up based here in
Philadelphia. In August, we raised \$76 (trust the process) million from
Andreessen Horowitz and others.

[I wrote about our progress in September
here](https://www.seanblanda.com/7-lessons-learned-from-scaling-a-content-machine-at-crossbeam-in-18-months/)
— but working at Crossbeam feels like the final exam, it’s a use of all
of the skills I’ve been able to pick up at past jobs. It’s been chance
to take many of the things I believe in building audiences online and
focus on them relentlessly. As a result, the success we’ve seen has been
especially gratifying.

I’m not going to pretend that the graphs are always up and to the
right - but I’m trying to enjoy them when they are!

### **Supernode**:

Our next big effort is [Supernode](http://crossbeam.com/supernode),
Crossbeam’s first conference here in Philadelphia on May 17-18. It’s the
first corporate event I’ve helped create from scratch. Which, again,
feels like using all of the experience I’ve picked up organize things
like [Pilcrow House](https://pilcrow.house/),
[99U](https://conference.99u.com/), and [Philly Tech
Week](https://phillytechweek.com/). Mainly, the belief that an event is
like editing. You are curating ideas and experiences like any magazine…
but in a physical space — and as the organizer, it is your highest
responsibility to respect the time of the people that left their homes
to attend. I hope we do it justice.

For Supernode, we’re expecting around 200 executives from major B2B SaaS
companies to attend, it’s one of those fun but exhausting projects that
make a career enjoyable.

### **Baby Quinn**:

Earlier this year, my daughter Quinn turned one surrounded Allison and
I’s family and friends. My father [once told
me](https://www.seanblanda.com/my-dead-dads-journal-how-i-finally-met-a-man-i-knew-for-my-entire-life/),
“Your children are nothing more than the memories they spend with you.”
And being with my daughter is the best part of my day, every day. It’s
difficult to write about one’s children without veering into the cliche,
but cliches often exist because they contain truth.

I was having a conversation with someone ten years younger than me that
I didn’t know very well, and they volleyed over a conversation starter:
“How do you relax?” 

I responded, “I spend time with my wife and daughter exploring the city”
I could tell he found the answer unimpressive and predictable. And he
could tell I didn’t care what he thought. And we gracefully moved on.

I think that's what focus feels like.

—

Just like the White Stripes, who broke up after 14 years of making
music, one day my focuses will change. 

But for today, we continue to rock out. Play me off Jack.

[![Screen Shot 2022-04-13 at 9.23.30
PM.png](../images/6c342c75267d.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMFqBK6rtXg)