It's been 8 months since I started my creator journey.
And boy, it has changed my life. Along with millions of people, I was affected by the pandemic. I was one of the fortunate ones to keep my job, but sometimes I also thought, "I wish I got a break like everyone else." That thought made me feel so ungrateful, but I was burnout.
But writing online changed my whole perspective about myself and my life in general. And, of course, awesome things are finally happening thanks to Twitter.
Here's how my mind worked in the last 8 months.
From 0 - 30 days: On "how can I start making money online"
So, I feel stuck. I hate my job. I mean, I don't hate my job. But, I don't want to stay here forever. I don't want to be a nurse forever. So, how else can I make an income in case I don't want to be a nurse anymore. Ooh, I could be an influencer. Or a travel blogger. But I don't really feel like doing that. Hmm, what are all these free webinars that creators keep promoting? They seem interesting. Let me watch them. Ohh, I guess they're selling a course to teach me that. Well, that's cool, but I don't really want to be an influencer. Let me sleep on it.
What about YouTube? Ok, let me watch videos on how you tubers make money. Oh, look, this Vanessa Lau seems really good. Wow, she also hated her job, and now she makes 6 figures. That's pretty cool, how did she do that? Oh, with coaching. Seems interesting. But what is that? Ok, let me go on her IG and follow her stuff. I like her style. I like her mindset. Ok, she got me. I'll go into her live class. Oh wow, this webinar is really cool. And she's selling an online course for $997. Well, that seems expensive, but what the hell, I'm desperate.
From 1 - 2 months: On my first "failed" online business
Ok, I hate this course. I don't want to follow what she's saying. I don't want to "niche down." I don't want to change my profile photo background to something "flashy." And I sure as hell don't want to keep targeting my user's pain points. I studied psychology. So, I don't want to use psychology against these people. Ugh, what a waste of money, but whatever.
Let me just go through with it and skip the ones that I don't like. Ok, working with clients isn't too bad. I enjoy doing 1:1, but I hate doing marketing. Maybe I'm not cut out to be an online entrepreneur? Let me pause this coaching thing and move onto something else.
Oh, and I probably need a life coach to help me figure out my mindset and my life. This spiritual coach seems really odd on her IG, but I like her a lot for some reason, so let me spend more money on that.
From 2 month - 3 months: On the damn social media platforms
This coach is helping me get through my stuff. And I'm convinced I still want to start creating. But what should I do? Should I start blogging? Or should I start filming? They both look cool. Both of them also look hard. "How to start YouTube on 2021" or "is blogging still relevant in 2021".
What about all these platforms? Oh, these successful creators tell me that I have to build an audience. "Like wtf does that mean." Are they like my fans? Why an audience? I'm really confused. Also, why are there so many platforms? Do I start on YouTube? Or do I start o Instagram? Oh great, there's a new platform called Clubhouse. F* me.
But I really hate Instagram. I can't stand all these successful people showing all the income they've been earning. People "bragging" their wins (but really, it's just me being jealous). This person is getting 5k/month. That person is getting 20k/month. How the F are they doing that??? I'm done with Instagram. Let me try something else.
From 3 - 4 months: On one platform
Oooh, Medium. This place feels nice. It's like YouTube but with blogs. Except it's less tacky. It makes me feel like I'm in a sophisticated world. There are no ads, oh and look, and writers aren't allowed to use CTA's in their stories. Now, I'm in heaven. And people are actually sharing awesome stories. They're real. Wow, I'm really digging these writers. They're sharing vulnerable stories, and they're making me feel something. How are they doing that?
I want to learn that.
From 4 - 5: On writing consistently
Ok, so most writers are telling me that the * key * to success is being consistent. I want to know if that's true. I think I kinda get the platform now, but let me try anyway. Let me try to write stories every day about things I already know. Let me try to do it every day and see what happens. Even if I don't publish every day, I want to know what it feels like to write every day.
I'm already doing yoga every day anyway, so let me just stack that up with my writing habit. Oh, look, it's been 7 days, and I still don't hate writing. Sure, I'm publishing inconsistently, but I actually wrote every single day. That's pretty cool.
What are all these publications? Why are they so hard to get into? Let me try a couple of easy ones and see how I do. This publication actually accepted my story. Maybe I have a chance.
Let me try for the harder ones. Gets rejected at least 5 times. Whatever, their loss. It's my story. But I probably should try to know why they keep rejecting me. I should probably put my ego aside. Oh, look, some of the popular writers tell me that it's not personal. It's actually that my story doesn't fit into their publications. Well, that makes me feel better.
You know what, instead of thinking of the publication first, I'm going to write my stories first and then decide the publications I want to submit them to. This way, I choose the home of my words.
The rejection doesn't sting anymore. They actually push me to be a better writer.
Omg, The PSGG accepted me. Thank you, Stephen Moore! You gave me hope. Now, let me try the Ascent. Wow, they also accepted my story. I think I'm beginning to understand how this works. Let me try to get into Mind Cafe. This is nerve-wracking since their submission guidelines say that they're very strict about their acceptance. Adrian Drew emailed me saying he liked my writing style, but he wanted me to write a different story. Great! Let me work on that.
Ooh, what if I spend some time analyzing a popular's writer story on Medium. Ok, I spent a day analyzing and replicating their format/structure with my own story and submit it to mind cafe. 5 days later, boom, it's accepted. That's it???? You just analyze people's stuff, and if you can replicate it, you can actually move forward. That's too simple, but let's try it again. From then on, been getting accepted to almost all the publications I'm submitting to.
From 5 - 6 months: On joining an online community
Wow, this Nicolas Cole writes well. And I like his story. Let me see what else he has outside of Medium. Oh look, he has a Twitter account. I haven't used my Twitter account in 2 years, but I guess I can start using it since I'm not on Instagram anymore. What is that ship thing that I keep seeing? Alice Lemee? Ooh, what a fancy short essay. These are so interesting. What is this?? Oh, it's a writing community called ship30for30. Should I sign up? Maybe not. I already have a writing habit. So, do I really need to spend any more money on this stuff?
Ok, let me DM a complete rando. "Hey Alex, I really loved your essay about making friends on Twitter. I see that you're part of ship30for30. What is it, and do you think I should join it?". "Oh, it's really good for the community, but it's not really a writing course". Ooh, interesting. Well, good enough for me. I want to be a part of a community, and it looks fun from the outside.
From 6 - 7 months: On building relationships
Ok, publishing for 30 days daily. We can do this. Day 1: This is easy, pfff. Day 2: I can do this, this is great. Day 3: why did I do this to myself. Day 4: hey, how about after you write your essay, you also read other people's essays and see if you like them. Oh, look, people like my essays. People are sending me random messages from Medium & Twitter that they like my work. This is awesome. I can keep going.
Day 20. So this online journey thing doesn't have to be a lonely thing. There are other people like me, just trying to figure out the creator economy. They're not my competition. We can help each other. We can motivate each other. That's pretty f*cking cool. I want to keep learning how to do that.
Wow, after 30 days, not only I built a 30-day habit, have a library of 30 essays, and now I've made some friends along the way. I can keep going.
From 7 - 8 month: On having a voice
Wow, people are starting to follow me. Now, I have to be careful of what I say. What if they don't like me? What if I say something bad? Oh well, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing—saying and showing up if it's true to me. No one can dismiss my experience from me.
Hmm, let me post a tweet on something that I've been thinking about for a long time. Let me see what people think about the niche thing. "I want to be known for being successful for not having a niche" Oh crap. 20 responses later. I may have just tweeted my very first controversial tweet. But look! Some people agree with me. They also think that we shouldn't niche down.
Ok, I don't actually believe that you shouldn't niche down. I just don't think that you should force people to niche down at the very beginning. It creates a hella confusing roadmap for people who have too many interests. I like filming, writing and all these social media platforms. I like all of them, and I want to be able to explore all of them.
And look, some people do agree with me. Ok, I want to pursue this. I want to give a voice to those starting out that it's 100% ok to explore what you like. What lights you up, especially if you don't know what to do.
Oh, awesome things are happening on Medium too. The biggest publication, Startup, also asked me to their weekly writer. That's fricking crazy. I guess I should probably call myself a writer at this point. It feels weird, but it's literally all I do. I write. I create. And I coach with my writing. It's interconnected. Can I actually show up online the way I am? That's the biggest question.
Enter: multipassionate creator.
Could this be it? Is this the niche that they finally talking about?
I want to find out.
And now I'm here. I'm here sharing my personal thoughts, being transparent with my creator/entrepreneurial journey so that I can inspire others to keep creating and actually do what they love aligned to who they truly are. And today, I can finally say that I enjoy creating. I enjoy writing. I enjoy speaking on the camera. I feel like I finally have a purpose. It's probably going to change later, but for now, this is the journey I'm choosing to follow through.
And I hope that you follow along.