On Sharing What We Love and Why We Often Don’t

It’s Sunday morning. I’m sitting in my local bagel place, drinking an iced coffee and enjoying a delicious everything bagel with lox.

I glance up at the television and see that one of those baking competition shows is on.

You know the type…

Professional bakers, who’ve dedicated a lifetime to learning and perfecting cake batters, chocolate work, and, for some reason, fondant, compete for fame and glory. Their technique and passion are self-evident. Their task is usually something ridiculous like turning jelly beans and raw milk into the Eiffel tower.

The judges panel is the standard mix:

• one older, bespectacled, bald, white guy who always has something to nitpick (the critic)
• one thin, pretty, middle-aged woman who mostly likes everything (the emotional support)
• one celebrity (the wild card)

As expected, the first two rounds feature public executions. The critic has just ripped one woman to shreds with precision strikes: “bland,” “sloppy,” and the haymaker, “disappointing.”

In the subsequent confessional shot, the ousted contestant describes it as “one of the worst and most devastating moments of my life.”

Wow. What great television. 😐

The Cruel World Justification

There are a lot of shows like this on television nowadays. Shows where we invite people who have a passion for something to compete in ridiculous challenges, and then pick them apart for the world to witness. For entertainment, of course.

Some will cry “it’s not that deep” but I think these shows serve to reinforce a particular narrative.

We are told that “the world is a cruel place,” and that “only the tough survive.” These shows serve as evidence of that “truth.” As a result, these fierce competitions and pointed criticisms subtly but starkly accomplish two things.

1. It elevates the perceived greatness of those select few who do “make it.”
2. It takes special effort to spotlight the failures of the early round losers. This is the evidence they just didn’t have what it takes to be a winner.

By increasing the distance between the winner and the others through tough, blunt criticism, it ensures the end result is not just a victory, but undeniable evidence of superiority.

This is the narrative that our obsession with competition perpetuates: a world of winners and losers, superiors and inferiors.

The False Binary

There’s a lot riding on a population that is docile enough to accept their place in the social hierarchy. Without a sustained push to prove the existence of superiority, people might start to look around and wonder if something else might be going on. They might also take up a new hobby or interest, just because they enjoy it, not because they want to be the GOAT.

So, consider what we’ve been led to believe is the alternative to ruthless competition: Participation Trophies.

It’s a term that has been woven tightly into our collective consciousness as synonymous with a weak, coddled, generation of losers.

We can’t have that.

No, true success must only be possible for those who can push through and overcome all adversity including the world’s abject cruelty. It’s important for everyone to understand that success can only be the product of incredible strength, toughness, tenacity, and intellect. You need a “Mamba Mentality,” a willingness to win at all costs, and a leadership style that can even justify violence.

It’s the most common tool for deflecting scrutiny, and yet, nearly everything that has ever been accomplished by humankind is the product of countless people whose only reward was their participation.

We all stand on the shoulders of giants, are products of our environment, and whatever other luck happens to fall in our lap.

Share Your Best Dish

In a world where we have framed the celebration of participation as something to be reviled, rather than encouraged, I’ve always wanted to challenge that idea.

Imagine a different kind of show from the formulaic race against the clock where people compete against one another to be publicly scrutinized by the standard judges panel.

• What if we simply showcased people’s passions?
• What if we celebrated people’s efforts?
• What if we finally acknowledged that humans are motivated by more than just avoiding humiliation or overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds?

Imagine a world where we give the passionate baker as much time as they need, let them focus all of their passion and abilities toward creating the best thing they possibly can. Then, feature it and we celebrate it.

Take it one step further, what if we didn’t even need that passion or knowledge to be “useful” to be valid and worthy of celebration?

Well, that’s my idea of something so good I might even call it…

Shareable.

Back in 2017, I started a podcast called Shareable.

The first season was an exploration of the impact of people and technology on our lives and careers. This has long been one of my special interests and I wanted to talk to people about how those two factors impacted them.

In the second season, I brought people on to teach a Masterclass. People who’d developed abilities came on to teach others how to do it.

Then, for the next 200 episodes, I just talked to people about their stories. I heard about the businesses they started and/or quit, the careers that changed direction, and the ways they sought to help people.

In 2024, the show went dark. Now, I’m turning the light back on.

I want to know what you love

I find people fascinating.

• I love knowing what makes people tick.
• I love hearing about something that someone is passionate about.
• I love when people share with me their unique and special interests.

And so Shareable is returning as a show where people are invited to share their passions and interests. I don’t care if that is marketing and sales, or Star Wars and Tulips. I just love talking to people who care so much about something that they could talk about it for hours.

No sales pitches, no calls to action, no judges. Just a conversation about what we love, what we have taken an interest in, running entirely on curiosity instead of judgement.

What could be more shareable than the things we would willingly tell others about because we love it so much?

If you want to know when the first episode drops, just sign up here:

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