Mario DeBlak Robinson RSS

This week was hard. Yet, I grew. I adapted quickly. I grew up with a pastor for a father. One of the songs we would hear comes to mind often. In church, one of the elderly mothers would take her time and stand up and with or without a microphone, she would sing, “Lord! You don’t have to move my mountains. Just give me the strength to climb….”

At 8 Robinsons Brand Management I have spent the last decade building tens of thousands of followers across social channels — a careful blend of paid strategy and organic heart. Promoting our own brand is easy because we don’t try to be something we’re not.

Marketing and design software and hardware changes keep me on my toes — new MarTech appears constantly, job requirements shift, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

My brother Jerald “Levar Robinson” and I had the honor of partnering our brands with Rockwell Dance Academy at the Ford Center in Powder Springs, GA. We set up our little @uncleartcamp corner—part merch booth, part give-back hub, part pop-up art studio. Yes, we sell clothes. But thanks to generous donations, we also get to gift gear to folks who need it. And the real magic? The tables where the brave kids come sit, draw, and color with the Uncles.

For a long time, I bought into a popular idea: that the ultimate goal of life is to eliminate stress. I told myself, “I only do what serves me, what feels good to me, and none of what gives me anxiety or makes me uncomfortable.” It sounds like the perfect formula for a peaceful life, doesn't it?

I spent months—actually, a whole year—living by that mantra. And on the surface, it worked. Life was peaceful. There was a sense of quiet happiness. But as the weeks turned into months, I realized something unsettling: I was losing myself.