New Rising Media Will Return

"When you feel like quitting, think about why you started" - Author Unknown

I guess it takes standing on the edge of a cliff in the Peak District, seeing the world in front of you to truly take stock of what you have and what you dream to achieve someday.

But first a story, if you will allow me to take a moment of your time to digress and give an update on recent events. Put simply, it is a story about change.

New flat

Recently I checked a pretty significant item off the metaphorical bucket list by moving into a new apartment in Nottingham city centre, and with it came plenty of changes in life that many of you who have experienced moving will be accustomed to. These include (but are not limited to):

• Sorting out bills
• Creating a weekly schedule of things to do 
• Finding out what every switch does
• Discovering hidden switches & feeling nervous yet curious to flick them
• Rearranging the living room furniture multiple times 
• Deciding on the filing system of the fridge/freezer
• Discovering the habits of neighbours through sounds heard through the walls and ceiling
• Experimenting with the time you require to get to work in order to maximise the amount of sleep you get
• Eating Domino's pizza whilst wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa and binge watching American Horror Story
• Spending copious amounts of time trying to "hide" the ironing pile from plain sight to fool yourself into thinking it doesn't need to be done
• etc

With this also came a few other changes in life: the frustration and anger of realising how of myself was lost in the face of making the wrong commitments, the re-evaluation of recent life decisions and the changing of my current course. My previous state of mind severely affected the pursuit of aspirations and the general attitude towards NRM. 

Bluntly stated, the website grew stale in the face of change.

However, as life is gradually returning to some form of order, it's allowing time for self reflection and for some lessons to be learnt from the experience.

New Tattoo

Summed up perfectly by George Clooney in 2009's 'Up in the Air:' "The slower we move, the faster we die." Personal relationships are the heaviest burdens on your life, and while the idea of pushing them aside is difficult to comprehend, the liberation of living without compromise becomes immediately apparent. Everything gets simple, but becomes all the more significant. Find the courage to move away from dwelling in the past, cut the ties that make you feel emotionally drained & like you're 'second best' and, most importantly, never stop moving.

"We are not Swans, we are Sharks." - George Clooney 'Up in the Air'

Secondly, age is only a number in the face of getting what you want out of life. Plenty of times have occurred where I have been viewed as the underdog in what I do, as the "kid that can't hang." But what this creates is an air of underestimation that ultimately makes those moments you prove yourself to the world all the more rewarding. You are not granted respect, it is earned and the people who don't pay you that courtesy are the people who stay put, never really pushing the limits beyond their extremely sheltered comfort zones. 

And finally, referring to the quote I opened this personal diatribe on. We have no control over the future, our mark can only be made on the present, but what can you do when you lose the willpower to take on the 'here and now?' The only thing you can do is look back and see why you started.

I founded New Rising Media primarily as a form of rebellious entrepreneurship against the state of online journalism and the media in 2010. It's an uncomfortable thought process to adopt, and a difficult process to silence the fear of failure, but no matter your social status or power, we are all born as equals and will die as equals. With the belief of being on par with other likeminded individuals, most earning wages from their work while some (including myself) funding their obsession with a day job, myself and the various writers I've had the pleasure of working with achieved some incredible goals and opportunities.

New Rising Media has reached the front page of reddit, interviewed various industry juggernauts (including the writers of Half-Life & Power Rangers, and Frank Turner months before his Olympics performance), attended various technology expos, partnered with a digital arts festival, and inspired millions across the globe by writing about moments of true innovation, or vilified ourselves with controversial opinions.

Whatever your thoughts on our work may be, we have built from 'nothing' and have been granted 'nothing.' And much like many like minded blogs in this area, we have become 'something.' That is something I will never give up, no matter how turbulent life could be at times. Without the mental weight of one's burdens, everything is possible. The world is all around you, an endless invitation, so why not accept it?

So here I stand, on an extremely windy day in Derbyshire, looking over the vast landscape of The Peak District, taking stock of what I have and what I dream to achieve someday.

New Rising Media is still the dream: a question I have left unanswered for some time now due to my bad decisions. It's time to answer that question.

Welcome back, I've missed you.