Revenue Diaries Entry 45

Hello from the Denver airport!

I spent this last weekend in Colorado with a few friends, hiking the Decalibron (four 14ers in one go: Mounts Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross). It took us eight hours to cover less than eight miles, which says something about both the terrain and the altitude. But standing above 14,000 feet, you can’t help but feel time bend just a little. The views are absolutely magnificent, stretching out forever. 

Standing at the top of the Democrat, I caught myself already remembering the moment even as it was happening. That idea (of already remembering, time folding in on itself) has been hitting me more and more lately, which is why it’s one of the entries this week: temporal dislocation. 

And weirdly, it also connects to something I’ve learned about marketing and leadership. Just like those amazing mountain views, the work doesn’t change, but the perspective does. The words you use to tell the story are what make the difference.

So, I hope you enjoy this entry of the MILE HIGH, Revenue Diaries.

♥️ kyle

On Already Remembering. It’s a Damn Trip.

This has been happening to me a lot lately. Already remembering. 

I’ll be sitting on the porch, or at my desk, or watching my kids run through the yard, and suddenly I’m not me anymore. Not the me of right now, anyway.

It feels like I’ve stepped out of myself and into the version of me twenty years from now. That older self is looking back, already remembering this exact moment like the memory is being lived and recalled at the same time.

I thought at first, this has to be déjà vu or mostly nostalgia. But it’s not, because guess what? We have the Internet, GPT, and Google. 

It’s definitely something stranger… called temporal dislocation. 

What Temporal Dislocation Means

At its core, temporal dislocation is the feeling that your sense of time has slipped out of alignment. You’re physically in the present moment, but your perspective isn’t. Instead, your mind feels out of sync—as if you’re:

• In the future, looking back on today as a memory,

• In the past, reliving something, but with awareness, it’s already over, or in a kind of suspended state where past, present, and future blur.

It’s disorienting because normally we process time in a straight line: past → present → future. Temporal dislocation feels like you’ve stepped off that track and are watching it from above.

When it happens, I get this uneasy, out-of-body sensation. Almost like I’m flying (or hovering) over my own life: This is one of those moments you’ll miss when it’s gone. 

And then it’s gone. 

And it doesn’t just happen with big family issues. It sneaks up on a random Tuesday night or when riding around on bikes through our neighborhood. 

Why the HELL does this happen?

Honestly, I’m not sure. But if I were a betting man (I tried DraftKings this weekend and won $100), I’d put money on it being my brain that tags certain moments as necessary, like it knows future-me will want all of this logged, categorized, and preserved. 

Or maybe it’s my inner self reminding me of how f’ed up math can be: the past, present, and future aren’t as linear as we would like to believe. Sometimes they fold in on each other, and you get a small glimpse of both the life you’re living and the story you’ll one day tell (or try to tell). 

I looked it up. Researchers and writers suggest a few reasons:

1. Memory in advance: Your brain is tagging certain moments as “important” in real time, which creates the illusion you’re remembering something before it’s over.

2. Mortality awareness: Midlife especially brings sharper awareness of time passing, and the brain sometimes flips between present and future perspectives.

3. Narrative self: Humans make sense of life by telling stories. Temporal dislocation is like catching yourself in the act of writing the story—zooming out while it’s still being lived.

So why does it matter?

Again, I don’t know. If nothing else, these little temporal flashes remind me that the ordinary is never just ordinary. One day, this mess and chaos, this half-boring weekday, will be the thing I miss the most. 

So maybe the older self who keeps showing up isn’t there to unsettle me. Maybe he’s nudging me to pay attention. To mark the moment. To stop racing to the next milestone and recognize: you’re already standing in the memory.

That’s the strange gift of temporal dislocation: realizing you’re already remembering.

On Becoming and Staying a CMO: It’s a Translation Game

If you’ve been in any leadership role, you understand this implicitly. Marketing is a translation game. The hard work your team is doing weekly could sound like busywork in one room and a streak of strategic brilliance in another; it all depends on… how you tell your story. 

Earlier in a career (I’ve done it), most people talk in tasks: 

“I scheduled 10 posts.”
“I wrote a blog.”
“I updated Salesforce.”

And we both know, no good leader is grading anyone on simply task completion. They’re listening for outcomes, impact, and connections to the business. 

Here’s the god honest truth: most CEOs and boardrooms care about one thing: bookings (otherwise known as MONEY). 

And we should act accordingly. 

The same principle applies at the top. Many, many, many CMOs fall into this same trap, just with more confusing words. I’ve been guilty of saying things like: 

“We’re increasing brand awareness.”
“Our demand generation efforts are working.”
“We’re improving our SEO strategy.”

Guess what? Nobody really cares. The board doesn’t speak in marketing. Your CEO doesn’t speak in marketing (even though most believe they do). They speak in revenue, efficiency, and business outcomes. 

If you are a marketer, whether you’re starting out or you’re leading the function, your success is 99.9% communication. The words you use can make or break you. 

Which means that if you’re a marketer—whether you’re just starting out or leading the function—your success is 90% about communication. The words you use can make or break you. 

If you want to skip ahead, check out my Marketing Translation Guide. Make a copy, build a GPT, whatever you want to do. 

Part 1: Escaping the Activity Trap (Junior Marketers)

Alright. Let’s start with the beginning of your career. If you want to stand out, stop telling everyone what you DID and start telling them what it DID. 

Examples (and there are plenty:
🚫 Don’t say: “I scheduled 10 emails.”
 ✅ Say instead: “I launched a nurture sequence that increased demo requests by 12%.”
 📊 Back it up with: Conversion Rate, Pipeline Created

Talking about impact is how you more from sounding like someone constantly checking a box to a leader. 

Part 2: Dropping the Jargon (CMOs)

The same problem shows up on the executive team. CMOs LOVE hiding behind marketing language.  The buzzier the buzzword, the more it feels like… YES! It’s working. But it’s not… The safer the buzzword, the more it feels like progress.

• “We’re increasing brand awareness” = meaningless.

• “Our demand generation efforts are working” = too vague.

• “We’re improving our SEO strategy” = who cares?

And we all know, if you want to keep your job for more than 12 months, you need to influence the boardroom. If you want influence in the boardroom, you need to flip the script.

Example:

🚫 Don’t say: “We’re generating a lot of leads.”
✅ Say instead: “We’re bringing in people who are actually interested in buying.”
📊 Back it up with: Organic Traffic, Demo Requests, MQL-to-SQL Conversion Rate

Again, I’ve built a full table of these translations. Use it as a template to reframe your next board update.

Marketing only works when it connects to the business. Not just to prospects and customers, but also inside the COMPANY. If you can’t translate your work into the language of your audience (like most marketing), your impact gets lost. I am running a few minutes late; my previous meeting is running over.

The work doesn’t fundamentally change. But the words do, and the words matter.