Expressing your thoughts doesn’t have to be profound — or even public.
It’s simply taking what’s already there and shaping it into something clearer, sharper, and more true. Something useful. Something meaningful. Something for you.
For many, the idea of “expression” feels intimidating. Scary, even. Like it has to be a big performance — publish a book, launch a Substack, craft the perfect essay. But it doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t even have to be shared.
It just has to help you see what’s inside more clearly — and in doing so, help you hear your voice a little more.
Remix
Expression isn’t about creating from nothing. It’s about remixing what’s already there — your captured, organized, and distilled thoughts — and making something fresh.
Sometimes, it’s combining two ideas into a new sentence. Other times, it’s linking scattered notes into a rough outline. Not a copy. Not a quote.
A remix — shaped in your own words.
Here’s a personal example!
On November 1, 2021, at 12:47 PM, I captured this quote from Steve Vai during a YouTube guitar lesson:
The technique is just your tool. It’s the letters of the alphabet to a poet. It’s not the poetry.
That stuck with me.
Many months later, I revisited it and the phrase “Technique over tooling” came to mind (August 11, 2022, at 7:10 AM, to be exact).
You don’t need to publish everything. You can file thoughts away, rearrange them to make sense for yourself, or even text them to a friend.
Or maybe… one day, you start a podcast about trains. Not because the world desperately needs another one — but because you do. Because you want to.
Your voice
Every time you remix, you’re not just shaping ideas — you’re shaping yourself.
You’re learning what matters to you. You’re noticing what patterns stick, what ideas return, and what thoughts feel the most alive. You’re starting to hear your voice. Not as a perfect sound, but as a growing rhythm that gets clearer with each remix.
Over time, this process doesn’t just make things easier to share — it makes you easier to understand, for yourself.
Because expression isn’t just about being heard. It’s about hearing yourself, too.
Press play
You don’t need to create something monumental. Just something new — for yourself.
Each remix adds to your playlist. Some casual. Some profound. Some to share. Some just to enjoy quietly. Some casual. Some profound. Some to share. Some just to enjoy quietly. But when the moment comes — and it will — when you want or need to share your thoughts…
You won’t need to scramble. You won’t need to start from scratch. You’ll already have your songs.
All you need to do is press play.
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P.S. Remember that Technique over tooling phrase?
Over time, I built on it. Thought about it. Refined it.
And on April 24, 2025 — about three and a half years after I first heard Steve Vai — I published my remix as a blog post: Technique over tools.
My remix, built on remixes, shaped into something uniquely mine — and ready to share when the time felt right.