It’s hard to believe that the seeds of Blue Marble first dropped nearly six and a half years ago. Thank you to each of you for your crucial role in perpetuating this journey.
As we’ve invested in growth experiences and knowledge that move us closer to maximizing our days – we’ve seen Blue Marble adapt and change form. Through changing circumstances, cross-country moves, lost loved one’s, and everything in between – the heart behind this project remains unchanged:
Life is too precious to waste. Too important to float through. And too miraculous to be underappreciated.
As we’ve done our best to keep our internal passion blazing, I must be honest – it’s been one hell of a whirlwind. Some days we doubt our impact or whether we’ll ever make a living from this. Other times we wonder if anyone’s listening at all. Today, the founding team’s spread across the country, and we’d all admit – there’s been more than one day we’ve been tempted to quit.
Strangely, this project has always felt bigger than the internal team behind it. We’ve often felt that, in some divine way – Blue Marble chose us well before we chose it. And the further we get from it, the louder it calls us back.
On Christmas this year, our friend Shane Williams passed away tragically in his Charlotte home. He was 34 years old. We didn’t get to spend too much time with Shane, but he wasn’t someone you needed to know for long to be inspired by his spirit of life. At his funeral, I approached the altar of his most cherished possessions: his high school football helmet, his favorite Atlanta Braves hat, and a worn-down bible with a bright, Blue Marble logo directly in the center. I was moved to tears. Why would Shane put a Blue Marble sticker on his most cherished possession?
A subtle smile stretches across my face when I reflect on Blue Marble’s first six years. We’ve done and created some awe-inspiring, impactful things together. But as I stared at Shane’s bible – it hit me that the maybe most significant impact we’ve made is the one we didn’t even realize we were making. The intangible force that led Shane Williams to proudly place a Blue Marble on the cover of his bible.
This year, our resolution to you isn’t some fancy, far-out vision of impact. It’s much more straightforward. We will show up. Even when we don’t feel like it, we will bring our relentless energy and believe for your joy. Regardless of how many views we get, we will do our damndest to consistently provide content that uplifts your daily life and inspires growth. And when the opportunity arises, we will seek to bring people together and share in our collective zeal for life.
Over the last five years, the question I’ve heard more than anything is, “Henry, what is Blue Marble?”. For a long time, I’ve strung together some fancy words that seemed satisfactory. But the truth is, despite our many ideas, we don’t know what the future of this project holds. The reason we’re investing our time to built it is because we don’t have any other choice. Uplifting the human spirit and inspiring your joy is our ultimate Blue Marble Day. We hope this year you’ll see yourself as much a part of this project as we see you. And because we don’t know how many more “New Year’s” we have left – let’s give this one everything we got.
In gratitude and love,
Henry