BEFORE WE GET INTO IT
Honestly, I've been sitting with this one for a minute. Second issue in and I realized I never actually told you who I am. Like, really told you. So I put everything else down this week and decided to fix that. Better late than never, right?
LIFESTYLE
If you're reading this, you've found your way to something I'm building from scratch, and I think you deserve to know exactly who's behind it. No highlight reel. No curated version. Just me.
Growing up in the city didn't mean growing up hard. It meant growing up aware. Aware of my surroundings, aware of people, aware that the world will test you in ways no classroom or lecture can prepare you for. NYC teaches you two things at once: how to be street smart and how to be book smart. If you’ve only mastered one, you're only halfway ready. I've carried that into every room I've walked into.
I was raised by my mother. A single mom for most of my youth years. She’s one of the strongest, most independent women I know, and one of the biggest reasons I am who I am. As the oldest of five, I learned early what it meant to lead, to show up, and to hold it together even when things felt uncertain. That was just what we did.
That sense of responsibility followed me into my career. I've spent over 15 years in the nonprofit sector. Fifteen-plus years of showing up for communities, for causes, for people who needed a voice or a resource or just someone in their corner. That work has meant something to me. It still does. But somewhere along the way, I started hearing a quieter voice underneath all of it, nudging me toward something more creative, more independent, more mine.
This newsletter is part of that. I'm also working on the procrastination thing, being real with you. I've been re-reading "Atomic Habits" and what's hitting differently this time is this:
You don't rise to the level of your goals,
you fall to the level of your systems.
So I'm building better systems.
What I'm moving toward is a community. Like-minded people who are ambitious, creative, and unafraid to figure things out in real time. I'm open to networking, to creative opportunities I haven't imagined yet, and to connections that actually mean something.
You're reading issue two. You're early. That means you're exactly who I want here.
WHAT I’M INTO RIGHT NOW
LEISURE
Atomic Habits by James Clear
© 2026
The first time I read Atomic Habits, I took away the obvious stuff. Small habits, big results. Make it easy, make it obvious. Good advice. But here's the thing about self-improvement books: you only absorb what you're actually ready to hear at that point in your life. The rest slides right off.
Coming back to it now, in the middle of building something new, the chapter that stopped me cold was about identity. Clear's argument is that most people set goals focused on outcomes. Lose 20 pounds. Write a book. Launch a newsletter. But the people who actually follow through aren't just chasing a result. They've started thinking of themselves differently. You don't say "I'm trying to get in shape." You say "I'm someone who works out."
Small shift in language = Massive shift in behavior.
That reframe hit me differently this time because I'm in the middle of doing exactly that. Deciding who I am, not just what I want.
The other thing I keep coming back to is this: your environment shapes your behavior more than your willpower ever will. If you want to build a new habit, design the space around you to make that habit the easiest option.
If you've been putting this one off, stop. And if you've already read it, read it again.
If this resonated with you, come find me. I'm building in public and sharing the journey along the way. Follow along on all my social media accounts linked below. Same handle everywhere, easy to find: @johndontebanks
Let's connect.
The community is just getting started.
And if you're thinking about starting your own newsletter, I'm using Beehiiv and it's been the move so far.