John Smith

Joined August 2025

54 stories

Bio

Man is mortal.

Stories (54)

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The Night I Stopped Waiting
The night I stopped waiting was quiet, almost ordinary, which felt unfair somehow. I was sitting on the edge of my bed,
By John Smith5 days ago in Poets
The Myth of “Strong Enough”
I used to believe “strong enough” was a finish line. Like if I just pushed a little harder, swallowed a little more, stayed a little longer, I’d finally earn rest.
By John Smith5 days ago in Geeks
The Spy Who Changed History
The first time I realized history could pivot on a single, terrified human decision, I wasn’t reading a textbook. I was sitting alone at night, wondering whether one honest choice could ruin my own life.
By John Smith7 days ago in Geeks
My Mother in law's last words unlocked a secret that changed my marriage forever!
The night my mother-in-law died, she whispered something that cracked my marriage wide open. Not in a dramatic, movie-scene way.
By John Smith8 days ago in Families
The Lost Penguin
The first time I saw the penguin, it wasn’t in a zoo or on a nature show. It was on my feed—just one lone bird, walking away from the colony, slow and deliberate, as if it had decided the world outside its group was where it belonged. And for some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
By John Smith9 days ago in Petlife
Exploring the Vast Universe of Perry Rhodan
I first stumbled upon Perry Rhodan on a rainy Saturday afternoon in a tiny secondhand bookstore in Berlin. I wasn’t looking for it—I was just hiding from the cold—but the neon orange spines on the shelf called to me like a secret. I picked up the first issue and found myself staring at a cover depicting gleaming spaceships, alien landscapes, and a man who somehow looked both heroic and terrified.
By John Smith10 days ago in Futurism
I Was Thrown Out of an Airbnb House
I had never felt more unwelcome in my life than I did that night. The Airbnb host had been polite enough when I arrived, but something shifted the moment I unpacked my bag. I didn’t notice at first—just a quiet tension, a tight smile, a glance that lingered too long. By the time I had put my toothbrush in the tiny bathroom cup, it was obvious: I wasn’t staying.
By John Smith10 days ago in Humans
10 Critical Leadership Traits
I remember the first time I had to lead a team. I was twenty-eight, fresh out of a small management program, and utterly convinced that leadership was about giving orders and looking confident.
By John Smith10 days ago in Geeks
Design Thinking for Writers
I stared at the blank page for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. My coffee had gone cold, my laptop was blinking back at me like it knew I was failing, and the words just… weren’t there. I had ideas, sure. Big ones. Explosive ones. But whenever I tried to catch them, they slipped through my fingers like smoke.
By John Smith10 days ago in Journal
Why I left CIA
I still remember the night I knew I couldn’t stay. I was sitting alone in a cheap motel room somewhere in the Middle East, the hum of the air conditioner mixing with the distant shouts of a city that didn’t sleep. My hands were shaking—not from fear, but from exhaustion and something heavier, something I couldn’t name. Years of carrying secrets, running operations, and watching people’s lives hang by a thread had finally left me hollowed out inside.
By John Smith12 days ago in Geeks
God Gifted
I used to stare at my hands and wonder if they were meant for anything. Nothing felt like mine, not my smile, not my voice, not even my mornings.
By John Smith12 days ago in Poets
Abandoned Church
The door creaked open before I could think, dust rising like old prayers. Sunlight slanted through broken stained glass, painting colors I didn’t know were still alive.
By John Smith13 days ago in Poets