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Dorian Hartwood

Writing is more than words—it's about leaving a mark. I dive into leadership, self-growth, human progress, and sustainability, crafting content that's honest, relatable, and sparks meaningful conversation. Whether exploring personal journeys, breaking down leadership truths, or unpacking sustainable living, I’m here to tell stories that stick.

Freelance writer | write@dorianhartwood.com | @DorianHartwood

We All Think We’re the Good Ones

I didn’t know I was in a war until the silence got loud.

It was a spring Sunday. Not cold, not warm — just that in-between weather where you wear a hoodie and regret it by noon. My dad and I were trimming the pomegranate tree in the backyard. The branches had gone wild over the winter, tangling into the fence like they were trying to escape.

We weren’t fighting. That’s what made it worse. It was the absence of ease — the way we tiptoed around topics, laughed a second too late, kept everything safe...

The $125 Trillion Wake-Up Call: Why Reconnecting with Nature Isn’t Just Nice, It’s Necessary

Two hours.

That’s how little time in nature researchers say it takes to measurably improve well-being — about two hours a week, according to recent large-scale studies on green space and health (APA 2020). But here we are — living inside a system that hands us at least $125 trillion worth of free natural services each year — and still we treat the planet like a disposable backdrop. That contradiction isn’t just philosophical, it’s costing us lives, ecosystems, and entire economies.

I didn’t fully...

The Crisis of Purpose: How I Rebuilt Meaning from the Inside Out

I used to believe purpose was something you stumbled into. A career path. A calling. Maybe something your parents prayed over you, or your mentors saw in you before you ever did. But one morning — just before dawn, in the muted blue hour of a San Diego winter — I realized that wasn’t true.

I was sitting at my kitchen table, hands wrapped around a chipped mug of black coffee, staring blankly at my laptop screen. Work emails blinked in unread red. Bills collected in a slow-motion avalanche on my co...

The “Un‑Woke” Agenda: How Trump’s America Is Reversing Time, Not Making Progress

America’s cultural rollback isn’t about values—it’s about erasure. And it’s happening right under our noses.

It was a Tuesday afternoon — September 9, 2025 — and Fox News did something unusual. They cut off a segment mid-air to broadcast Donald Trump speaking live at the Museum of the Bible. The words that followed weren’t new, but they hit differently this time:

“The woke agenda is practically gone.”

The camera lingered. Not because it was historic. Because it was confirmation: The dismantling wasn’t theoretical anymore — it...