I've been gone for two months. Here's what happened.
Issue 001 — Why "Still Going," where I've been, and what this newsletter actually is.
This issue originally went out by email, before Still Going moved to Substack. Archiving it here so the whole story lives in one place.
Hey y'all,
Welcome to Still Going — the newsletter I probably should have started two years ago.
If you're getting this, you either signed up on your own (thank you), or someone who knows you thought you'd get something out of it (thank you to them too). Either way… you're here. So am I. Let's go.
Why "Still Going"?
Because that's the most honest thing I can say about where I am.
Not "I figured it out." Not "I've arrived." Not "here are my 7 steps to success." Just… still going. Still building. Still failing forward. Still waking up every morning choosing to keep climbing even when the top still feels far away.
That's what this newsletter is. A front-row seat to the real thing. No highlight reel. No performance. Just whatever I'm actually living through, and anything I pick up along the way that might be worth passing on to you.
Some weeks it'll be about entrepreneurship. Some weeks fatherhood. Some weeks raising capital, protecting your business, or navigating something I had absolutely no idea how to handle. Some weeks it'll just be something I saw or felt that I think you need to hear.
Where I've been
You may have noticed I went quiet on social media for a while. Over two months, actually.
No announcement. I just deleted the apps off my phone one day and kept living. And honestly forgot to put them back.
In that time I stood at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland (and tested every Irish coffee I could get my hands on; in the name of research, obviously). I made multiple trips to California. I watched one of my best friends get engaged. I had some personal milestones that reminded me what being fully present actually feels like. I did spring break with my kids (Carowinds, Crowders Mountain, picnics) and now somehow it's already summer.
The best part? I barely took any pictures. I just lived.
And the freedom from not having social media drama on my phone every single day? Holy smokes. I didn't realize how much noise I had been carrying until I put it down.
I'm back now. But not like before.
I won't be posting just to post. Only when something actually matters. Only when I think it might help someone. That's the standard I'm holding myself to — and this newsletter is part of that.
One thing I learned while I was gone
Presence is a choice you make every single day. And most of us (including me) are choosing badly without even realizing it.
When I was at the Cliffs of Moher, there were probably 200 people standing at the same overlook. Beautiful, dramatic, jaw-dropping scenery. And I'd say at least half of them spent more time looking at their phone screens than looking at the actual cliffs.
I get it. I've done it. But standing there watching it happen from the outside was something else entirely.
The version of a moment you capture is never as good as the version you actually felt. The post you write about the experience is never as alive as the experience itself.
I think about this with my kids too. With the people in my life. With the conversations that matter.
Are you actually there? Or are you there-ish?
I'm choosing actually there. Starting now.
What I need from you
This newsletter only works if it actually helps you. So before I get too far into planning out future issues, I want to know; what do you want?
Leave a comment or reply and tell me. Seriously. I read every one.
A few prompts if you need them:
What's the hardest part of your entrepreneurial journey right now?
What business topic do you wish someone would just be honest about?
What's something you're carrying that you haven't told many people?
What would make this newsletter worth opening every week?
No wrong answers. I'm genuinely asking.
Coming up in future issues:
How I actually think about raising capital (and what I wish someone had told me before I raised my first dollar)
The $120 bet that turned into $900K — and what it really taught me about relationships
Why I almost quit entrepreneurship three times — and what kept me going
Fatherhood, business, and the impossible balancing act nobody talks about honestly
Business protection basics that most entrepreneurs skip until it's too late
Still going. Always will be.
Talk soon,
Ryan
Not Quite There Yet Guy
CEO & Co-Founder, Knowledge Perk | Chair, Gravity Center Foundation | EO Charlotte