Presence Is the Revolution

The Bridge Back to Each Other Isn’t on Your Screen

I’m at the point where I’m no longer mincing words about our relationships and how phones are impacting them.

Social media sold a story of connection and sharing and caring…

And while we certainly can find more of all of those things — the shadow side of it is dark.

It, through its drive to generate revenue, began placing the extraction of attention over its original purpose to contribute to humanity.

This is quite the foreshadowing of AI… letting technology determine what is most effective and efficient, without any guardrails to protect us as humans.

We are creating what is both possibly the most transformative and potentially abundant technology for humanity ever seen, and also the most destructive.

There are so many movies and tales of man’s willingness to sell out his soul and leave his integrity behind in the name of MORE.

And the truth is, if you do not have a healthy relationship with your phone and technology, you are part of that abandonment…

Because if you truly want change and revolution, it must begin with you and I revolting against the devices that program our minds, determine what we believe, and bury us into ideological bubbles.

The bridge back to one another will not be found in posting more or surfing the internet more… it will be found by putting our phones down, getting back into our families and communities, and having hard conversations again.

We are losing our ability to experience any form of social strain… convenience is promised through DoorDash and Tinder and an algorithm that feeds you everything you want.

But life is anything but convenient.

Love is anything but convenient.

Relationships are anything but convenient.

This Substack isn’t a call to arms, it’s a call back to our humanity.

It’s a remembering of who we are, that our hearts pump blood, not bytes. That our friends are people we can sit with around a fire and tell stories and share heartbreaks and hopes.

For 2026 I am deepening my relationship with my own inner being. I’m doubling-down on my connection to all that is… I’m going all-in on what the research shows time and time again:

Relationships are everything. Love is the only truth.

And I am so grateful for technology allowing me the ability to be connected to you… to both share this message and walk alongside you in the reality that it’s not that social media, or phones, or technology that are bad… it’s that if we don’t determine our relationship to those things, it will do it for us, and before we know it, our lives will pass us by like watching an instagram highlight reel.

So this isn’t about presence over posting.

It’s about not doing the online life at the cost of our literal life.

It’s about making sure our screen time is less than our time with those we love.

I am living the bliss that comes with reclaiming my sovereignty over my phone… so that I can use it as the super technology it is, while staying deeply connected to my own humanity.

I want that for you too… and I know what it’s like to feel like my phone determines my life, instead of me.

I say all of this to remind you as the holiday season hits the apex of intensity and the year end arrives — be more present than you’ve ever been. Carve out time for silence. And prepare to make 2026 the year where you spend more time in your real life than your online life.

Be here now more than you ever have been.

If we all do join a revolution for presence, not only will our own lives change, everything will.

I’m here for that.

Ps. I’m teaching a live workshop on January 4th on how to reclaim your attention and change your relationship with technology. I’ll teach you about all the things I’ve learned about why technology seems to have such a grip on us, and some really simple tools and practices to help you change your relationship to tech immediately. If you can’t make the live event, you’ll get a copy of the recording. Sign up here.