About

Nominal. It’s not a word anybody really thinks about. But the idea of it can serve as a fundamental life lesson for every person. The textbook definition of nominal isn’t very exciting. Essentially it just means something that exists in name only. The importance of the thing that is declared to be nominal is essentially up to the person applying the term. For instance, think of someone being anointed a nominal leader, or somebody charging you a nominal fee for something.

In reality, to be nominal is to take something and simplify it down to it’s bare minimum. Once you do that, you can apply the term and then let it take course. Our lives are nominal. We all start from the same place. At birth, we know nothing about anything. As we grow up, our minds are molded and we start building the person that we are and the life that we want to live. And we form our own views of the world within this image. To be nominal, is to truly be unique. It means forging your own path and to live your own way of life and to not align your own well-being with the norms of society. You are applying your own meaning to your life in an attempt to find ultimate happiness.

When I left college in 2004, I felt the weight of expectations thinking that I was supposed to go on to a successful corporate career and make a bunch of money. I figured that once I landed that gig, it would eventually lead me right into the American dream of a wife, kids, big house with yard, a dog, elevated status in society, the whole works. In reality, the only thing this chase led me to was a job I hated and doing nothing with my life that I was actually passionate about. This led to depression, which led to a lot of drinking and partying, which led to me going nowhere in life for several years. The biggest problem was that I wasn’t assigning nominal value to anything. I was just trying to accomplish what society demanded I accomplish. And I failed myself. Or so I thought. In reality, I came to later realize that I could simply never attach my happiness to the views of the rest of the world. Because the things that bring value into my life, are much different.

After a change of scenery around when I turned 30 years old, the first thing I ever truly assigned a nominal value to was my health. I was unhealthy and as far out of shape as I’d ever been. So I made working out a non-negotiable priority going forward. I saw great success in my results and not only got back in shape, I was in the best shape of my life. I was excited about life again and figured that if I can actually shift some of that same focus into the other aspects of my life that I am unhappy with, I can change them too. This was the beginning of me assigning my own nominal value to things in my life. I have found my identity again, and it has led me to new and wonderful experiences both personally and professionally.

I don’t claim to be an expert on life. I just have views that I would like to share with the world. Nominal views. My hope is that sharing my views will inspire others to simply think for themselves. To motivate you to ultimately decide what is going to shape your life. I will do this with stories and posts regarding lots of things. Life events, faith based beliefs, sports and fitness, and even music that I love. Any and everything that I find valuable and inspirational.

My first piece of advice: if you have something in your life that doesn’t add any level of value. Something that you absolutely cannot apply any amount of nominal value to; get rid of it. Whether it be a person who drains you, whether your house is cluttered with crap you don’t need, or whether it’s something else toxic in your professional or personal life. Eliminate it. If it doesn’t add any value, you don’t need it.

About the Writer

My name is Andrew Richard Brown. I go by “Andy” or “A.B.” Nobody has ever referred to me as Andrew in my entire existence.

I was born in 1982 in Phoenix, Arizona. I don’t remember anything about it, though, because my parents opted to move back to Indiana shortly thereafter. They were from Indiana and had simply moved to Arizona as an exciting life escape, but ultimately decided they didn’t want me to be that far away from the rest of the family. So they came back with me in tow. I spent the bulk of my youth being raised in Anderson, IN having lived there until I went off to college in 2000. I graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, IN at the end of 2004. I lived in the northern Indianapolis suburb of Fishers for 7  years before getting engaged and buying my first house with my fiance’. We wanted to navigate away from the loud busy lifestyle around Indy and live in a quieter atmosphere, so we decided to buy a home further north and are currently living together in a beautiful little location off a country road near the small Anderson, IN suburb of Edgewood.

Indiana is a beautiful state, albeit one that is extremely conservative. I became self-reliant at a young age, stemming from having an alcoholic father who pretty much couldn’t be counted on for anything. He got me involved in sports when I was a kid, but never really served to actually teach me anything of value regarding life skills. The only thing I ever learned from him was who NOT to be when I grow up, which I suppose ended up being some level of important. He died in 2012 when I was 30 years old, but at that point I had not spoken to him since I was 14. Needless to say, he was a great disappointment.

Despite the struggles, I couldn’t have asked for a more loving Mom. She is the strongest woman I know and probably the biggest influence on my life. She did a wonderful job raising my sister and I and I couldn’t be more thankful for her. She brought my sister and I up in the Catholic church. While I am no longer a practicing Catholic (I have a piece explaining the reasons why I left the church), this upbringing has still had an everlasting impact on my life and my faith with God remains strong.

I come from a left-leaning family in terms of political and world views. This has always been a challenge growing up in both the state of Indiana and having spent so much time around the church as both have always been traditionally right-leaning in the way that they teach and function. So this has always led me to feeling like somewhat of an outcast in my own community.

The absent father, the faith upbringing, and the beliefs I was raised on: these things have only served to provide me with the understanding that I don’t have to conform to what everyone around me is doing in order to create the best life for myself. I can build my own understanding of life and move forward accordingly. Because of this, I honestly think I can offer a unique perspective on the world. That’s what I hope to do here for those that would like to stop by.

I welcome all communication, so feel completely free to contact me if you have any inquiries. Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog!

Welcome to the world through the eyes of The Nominal Man.