About Joe Wehbe
The Man Who Tried To Change The World, And Failed
When my family members get asked, ‘What does Joe do?’ they answer, ‘Hmm… I know he’s working on a book, but apart from that, I’m not sure.’ In my family’s defence, I can’t answer any better myself. It’s not that I’m trying to keep people guessing—I keep myself guessing.
I left high school wanting to be a filmmaker and to change the world. Instead, I went to university and endured ‘three dead years’ (written about in 18 & Lost? So Were We—book no. 1). University wasn’t the problem, it just so happened to be the environment in which I struggled. The problem, or problems, were in me—a lack of confidence, insecurity, confusion and shock at being released into the world.
Then I was saved by Nick Abraham and his efforts to help the people of Nepal. No, I’m not Nepalese, but as we would learn, most people who go to places like Nepal to to help others help themselves most of all—for better or for worse.
My time helping Nick and others run this small nonprofit called ‘From the Ground Up’ was the most idyllic experience of my life. Looking back, it seems like a dream. It saved me—the young wannabe filmmaker studying psychology. If that was a wild career pivot, so was starting a real estate agency soon after. Then putting real estate on the backburner during COVID to get back into writing, start podcasting and set out on this dream of improving the education system.
The way I saw it, education as a system has the greatest potential ripple effect. Impact education, you impact culture. Impact culture, we make major headway on the world’s other problems—this was the Domino Effect I envisaged.
Well, I failed.
I wouldn’t say the times I’ve failed have been the best moments of my life, but they’ve been the most important. There’s two words I keep coming back to, two in particular.
One is ‘Doors’.
The other, ‘Understand.’
I always feel like I’m being pushed in that direction—whatever I try—be it trying to help others, succeed, prosper, connect, find meaning, laugh or make others laugh, write, capture the moment—whatever it is, that word pops up instead. ‘Understand.’
Then there’s Doors. I started carrying on about the Doors metaphor because when I looked back at my journey, brief though it is, I realised none of my plans or hopes seem to come to fruition and that I always end up somewhere else instead—often somewhere better. I cannot predict my own future, I can’t imagine or anticipate the things that happen or even the decisions I end up making. That gives me the creeping suspicion that I’m not in control.
So, for reasons I could spend the rest of my life trying to explain, I gave up on trying to change the world. Apart from ‘Open Doors for others,’ I don’t have a mission or vision I can quote you or any ‘goals’ in the formal sense, other than I like to write and create, explore people, and try to understand what I can.
I have no advertising pitch—probably because I have more things to promote than time to promote them. All I’ll say is the core of whatever it is I’m doing seems to be writing, and often this strange mix of deep thinking and absurd comedy. I don’t know if writing will bring commercial success or anything of significance—all I know is if I go too long without writing, I start to go crazy (again).
I’ll finish by saying I love what Jack Lemmon’s father said to him. Jack Lemmon’s father told Jack Lemmon, the famous actor, to go into the world and ‘spread a little sunshine.’
To follow or support my journey, consider checking out my books or newsletter, ‘The Doorman.’
And don’t be afraid to reach out and say hello—tell me your story. To you, dear random stranger of the internet, please remember that to you my Door is open.
