# It's in the act of making things we discover who we are Everyone steals in one way or another. We steal genetics from our parents, perspective from our surroundings, and parts of who we are from what we work on. In the act of writing this, I am changing myself. In the act of reading this, you are too. We may not want to admit it, but there is nothing truly original. But! We can turn the old into something new by taking uniquely from different sources. I write what I write because of the cumulative influences on me over the course of my lifetime. Nobody else has had those same set of experiences, and therefore I can draw from a unique pool to craft my own version of what I care about. This is where the magic happens, and why everything matters. Who you choose to associate with, the music you listen to, books you read, business you engage in - it all adds up to mold and shape you. Think nobody caught you smoking pot under the bleachers? Maybe not in real time, but that experience stuck with you and affects you even if you aren't aware. What you work on works more on you than you on it. Never forget, or else you may end up pouring something you hate into yourself for a huge period of time. Curate your experience and you curate your character.