I'm starting a blog in 2025. Why?
Howdy there, and welcome.
This is the very first of what I hope will be many blog posts. Since we’re just getting started, I figure it’s only fair that I introduce myself.
My name is Owen Lawless. I’m a former award-nominated actor and currently serve on active duty in the United States Navy. How I ended up here is a story in itself.
I joined the Navy at 30 years old, after spending much of my late teens and twenties chasing an acting career. That’s a pretty stark contrast from the typical recruit who signs up fresh out of high school. I’ll dive deeper into the “why” behind that decision in another post, but to sum it up in one phrase: the Navy gave me a solid opportunity to unfuck my life.
In the four years I’ve served so far, I’ve managed to hit a few milestones I’m proud of: I promoted to E-6 in under three years, was named Sailor of the Year at my first command, and was part of an intelligence team awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation from the Director of National Intelligence for our onboard the HARRY S. TRUMAN CARRIER STRIKE GROUP (yes, the proper nomenclature really is all-caps).
Why a Blog?
The idea of starting a blog first came to me during that deployment in 2022. Night after night in my rack (the navy term for bed), my brain would transform into a circus fueled by books, music, podcasts, and journaling. Honestly, about 90% of what came out of those journal entries was unorganized chaos. But the other 10%? That’s where real clarity showed up. That 10% gave me perspective, helped me figure out what I wanted out of life, and gave me a way to put words to it. (Sort of like The Pareto Principle on steroids)
That clarity is what led me here.
I figured, if I could see that kind of impact in my own life, why keep it to myself? Blogging feels like the right way to share it. Before the internet, gatekeepers had control over who got to put their voice out into the world. Ironically, for the longest time, I was my own gatekeeper—caught in analysis paralysis, wondering if anyone would care what I had to say. To put it bluntly: I was gatekeeping myself.
This blog is how I stop doing that.
What I Hope to Accomplish
There are three main reasons I’m starting this blog: as a creative outlet, as a way to share insights, and to create a community. These are the same reasons a lot of people think about starting a personal blog, but here’s what they mean to me.
A Creative Outlet
During those nights of journaling and reflection, I built something I call “My 7 Pillars.” It’s not a new concept, but it’s my way of structuring the things I want to prioritize in life. Each pillar represents an area I see as essential to living a well-rounded, meaningful life.
One of my pillars is creativity. Writing has always been my discipline of choice when it comes to expressing ideas. For me, creativity isn’t just about making something new—it’s about shaping thoughts into stories, making sense of experiences, and connecting with others on an authentic level. In a world where so much communication is fleeting, writing gives my thoughts some permanence.
I’ll introduce the other pillars in future posts, but this one—creativity—is the foundation of this blog.
Share Insights
Whenever something clicks for me—a lesson, an idea, or even just a new way of seeing things—I feel like it’s worth passing on. This blog gives me a place to put those insights out there instead of keeping them in my head. Maybe they’ll spark something for someone else, or maybe they’ll just make the path a little easier. Either way, writing them down also helps me process things more clearly for myself.
Create a Community
The last piece is community. I don’t want this to just be me talking into the void—I want it to be a space where ideas, stories, and experiences are shared back and forth. Growth feels better when it’s not done alone.
Do I know exactly what this community will look like yet? Not at all—and honestly, that’s the point. The best communities aren’t forced. They form naturally as people show up and bring their own perspective.
I once heard Robert Rodriguez on The Tim Ferriss Show say, “You won’t get the idea until you start.” [1] That stuck with me for the past 10 years.
So here I am, just starting.
I’m done gatekeeping myself. I’m getting out of my own way. And I’m done being afraid of whether my voice is “worth” listening to. I don’t expect this blog to be fully clear in the beginning, but I’m excited to see it grow, shift, and hopefully become something authentic—not just for me, but for anyone who decides to come along for the ride.
So that’s why I’m starting this blog: to create a space for creativity, to share insights that might help someone else, and to build a community that grows naturally over time; and I welcome you to be a part of that.
If you’d like to follow along as this journey unfolds, please consider signing up for my email list. That way you’ll stay in the loop with new posts, updates, and anything else I might share along the way.
Disclaimer: My viewpoints are my own and are not those of the US Navy, US Department of Defense, or the US Government.
Sources
[1] Robert Rodriguez Interview on The Tim Ferris Show | August 2015