this year, my goal is to create from the heart

a happy creator = consistent creator

thank you so much for reading my last newsletter.

there were a lot of you. I was terrified that I’d lose all my readers after sending that newsletter, but the worst case happened. I lost 5 subscribers.

it’s not bad compared to what I made it seem in my head.

but surprisingly, I gained something more important by writing and publishing my thoughts without too much overthinking.

I was so excited about it.

I was excited to sit at a coffee shop and write. and after writing, I was so excited to share what I wrote with the world that I also published it on my Instagram story.

normally, I doubt myself and hide my work.

but I thought about how if my past me were scrolling, I feel like she'd appreciate the message.

anyways, since then, I’ve thought about why I was so excited to write my newsletter.

at one point, writing my newsletter became stale. when I launched it in 2021, I was so excited because it felt like there were no rules. it was just me and my thoughts.

and then I learned about the rules of newsletters— about how it needs to be “valuable” in an educational sense (if you’re in the creator economy, think Justin Welsh or Sahil Bloom).

I felt like that became the gold standard when writing newsletters, and my newsletter felt nothing like that, so I got discouraged.

I even bought Justin Welsh’s content course and learned how to “properly” write a newsletter.

it felt so templetized, and it didn’t feel like me.

I went from writing weekly to twice a month, to once a month, and then I finally stopped because there was no momentum. I experimented with so many formats, trying to copy other people's formats.

and because what I was doing no longer felt aligned, I (subconscioulsy) decided that writing a newsletter wasn't for me.

although deep down, there was always the desire to keep doing it.

but this year I started reading other people’s work here on Substack, and something felt different.

it felt like what I was trying to do before I got in my own way and self-sabotaged my own work. I just wanted to write about the things I'm experiencing, with the hope that other people might find some comfort in it.

these days, the Substack community feels like that—it’s a breath of fresh air with the short-form content that’s shoved down our throats.

and after reading some people’s work and getting inspired, that’s when I finally decided to “try again.”

but this time, I'd actually listen to myself.

I'd truly write from my heart, forgetting the rules I’ve learned before.

I'd write without caring if people like it or not.

I'm learning that you can’t control people's perception of you. the only thing you and I can control is our own thoughts, actions, and our life perception.

this is obviously easier said than done. I sometimes think I'm immune to the whole “I don’t care what other people think,” but I also think that’s a lie I tell myself lol.

but I digress.

I was so excited last week that I asked myself, “how can I recreate this feeling week after week?”

how can I be excited to show up every single week so that I can finally be consistent?

the answer was simple.

just create what you want to create. no rules. no overthinking.

show up, write, and see what comes up.

this week, I watched a youtube video by a creator named Vanessa Lau where she encouraged people to be an artist instead of a creator. when you’re an artist, you create from the heart, and you decide later on what your piece is about, or what it is for, or who it is for.

in the creator economy, we learn to have an ideal follower or customer whom we create for.

but when we do that, we lose our spark as a creator.

especially if we don’t know what we want to create, what excites us, or what's fun for us.

Vanessa suggests creating the things you’re excited about and trust that there are people out there who will resonate with it. she encourages us to create things that we’re interested in and passionate about.

honestly, this resonates so much because I always feel like we’re looking for creators that resemble our life experience.

I don’t know anyone who’s an ER nurse into writing, self-improvement, and also now a mom.

in the first year of my creator journey, everyone talked about hating their 9 to 5, but no one talked about feeling lost in their career as a nurse. I feel like everyone I knew either loved being a nurse or hated being a nurse, but no one talked about the nuances of it.

no one talked about their fears of becoming a mom while also pursuing their dreams.

yet I really doubt I'm the only one experiencing this in the entire world.

the truth is no one is experiencing life the way you do.

but at the same time, all your personal problems are universal (as Vanessa mentioned in the YouTube video). this means that whatever you’re going through, someone out there is going through the same thing.

and if your goal is to create an impact in some form, then creating from your heart is the best way you’ll attract the like-minded people you’re trying to connect with.

and I guess that’s the main reason I was so excited to create last week and this week.

because I'm finally writing about things I'm experiencing and thinking of with the hopes that one person out there will resonate with it.

I believe that this is the only way i can become a consistent creator. as vanessa said, a happy creator is a consistent creator.

how about you? what are your struggles when it comes to becoming a consistent creator?

Until next time,

J 💌