Let’s All Join The Walrus Cult

It’s been another minute since posting. That’s because I’m stationary in Denver and not on permanent vacation anymore. It’s been good and necessary. But I also haven’t had the feels every day like I was getting traveling around, sleeping in jungle hostels or an old Land Cruiser. See my previous blog for that list.

The other day I got goosebumps again for the first time in a while. It happened walking out of an attorney’s office with my official Articles of Organization filed for Mahoney Hospitality, LLC. While I still have so much to do before I’m officially open for business, I’m officially IN business. It’s a huge step both for actual progress and for my own morale.

Let’s recap to where I’m currently at. I’ve pivoted a bit from the food truck and am going to go bigger. The concept felt right as soon as I gave it real thought.  Cosmic breadcrumbs, let the universe help with your decisions if you let it and all that.  Some time around 2008 I mentioned in passing to my buddy Dave Slocum that I’d love to open a hotel one day. This was in front of the Dana Hotel in Chicago. He said “do it” with a tone that also said “I believe in you.” At the time it was a quick thought with any tangibility passing quickly. After all, I had a good career at the time as a sales bro slinging statistical software. My memory sucks, but I still remember that casual conversation with Dave 10 yrs ago, always have. Fast forward to traveling for a year, staying in many a hostel, not realizing at the time that I was seeing and experiencing first hand what is being proven as an emerging market with solid growth projections. The boutique, design focused hostel. With the concept feeling right and having not worked regularly for over a year, I needed to jump start this thing and get some professional guidance. So in August I registered for the 10 week Leading Edge program through the Denver Small Business Development Center. In short, the goal is to teach you everything about entrepreneurship while building a complete, investor ready business plan. The course has been invaluable. It’s given me goals and milestones to work on week after week. My sense of purpose is back and I have something to devote all of my time to. The structure of this course was the missing piece to really light a fire under my ass.

So that’s it. Mahoney Hospitality, LLC will be opening a boutique hostel. I’ll go more in depth on the concept, location, and design later. I’ll need to raise significant funds on top of what I’m putting in for real estate and start up costs. So far I’m confident I can do that with a rock solid business plan, which is underway. My data driven confidence comes from my market research so far on the industry and the projections for growth, along with data specific to Colorado. My qualitative confidence is in myself being the face of the business. Impostor syndrome is a constant struggle. And maybe I am an impostor and don’t have what it takes. That’s okay though. Because I do know for sure that I’ll give this everything I have. If this fails and I light a significant amount of money and time on fire it’s still a win cause I’ll know I put in the time and effort and gave it a chance. Here’s a quote from my notes app, written when I couldn’t sleep one night.

“Life’s too short to not try something fucking outrageous”

To elaborate, so much of our model for livelihood and how we live is fiction. We made it up. Even the concept of time and sticking to a schedule is a human invention. 9 to 5, Monday – Friday. Really? I highly doubt there is any real research that says that works. It’s just how things evolved. Marijuana is taboo and a criminal offense in most places. But a medicine cabinet stacked with 25 pharmaceuticals to handle the anxiety caused by working a passionless job from 9 to 5, Monday – Friday? That’s A okay. I could go on but that can be the focus of another, more existential blog. My point is that, sure, we need to support ourselves and, more importantly in cases other than mine, our children. The easiest path to do that is a 9 to 5 with health insurance for all and a retirement account. It’s safe. But to wrap up this ramble, we’re the only animal on this planet with the cognitive ability to pursue a passion and a meaningful life as a means of fulfillment. Every other animal is okay just re-producing. Yet for some reason, which can probably be explained by crunching very predictable human behavioral data, we don’t do it. So I ask everyone to consider doing something fucking outrageous, because we can. Even if you have a family that needs to be supported through a 9 to 5 job. This task doesn’t have to be a new business or career. You can join or start a cult that worships walruses for all I care. Just do something outrageous. If you do, or are considering and need a push, let me know in the comments or a PM.

I am writing most of this sitting in the crowded Central Market. Everyone is conducting their days around me. Catching up with friends, working on their laptops, living The Matrix life. I sit here, alone, blasting Pretty Lights in to my over ear headphones, planning my future, feeling like I can now break the social rules of The Matrix. I am Neo.

Thanks for reading, here are some photos, followed by a video of me drinking whiskey to the Eddie Vedder soundtrack from In To The Wild at 12,000 feet.