Should it be hard?

Maybe the better question is to ask: Shouldn’t it be hard? 

If you’re trying to be better, different, bolder, stronger, cooler, more efficient…

To raise the bar, 

To zig,

To try something you haven’t done before,

To enter the unknown. 

Shouldn’t it be difficult? 

Shouldn’t it be a little frightening?

Shouldn’t it cause challenge and shake up your understanding of the world?

And are those signals telling you that you are on the right path? 

Doing the hard thing in front of you is hard. 

No question.

If it were easy, there would be no challenge.

To all 22 year olds graduating this year

It’s okay if you don’t get a job in the field you studied. 

It’s okay if you change your mind about your degree.

It’s okay to explore passions and interests in other things.

You’re a human being.

Not a jigsaw piece.

You can adapt.

Objects can’t.

If there’s anything I learned from working “in the real world”, it’s this:

There are a lot of people out there who are happy doing what they love, and vice versa. 

There are a lot of people who are unhappy doing what they hate.

If you’re in a position where you can choose a path you’ll be happy with, then you’re already well off.

ONE Thing to build your self confidence

I was a quiet art kid.

From 2015-2020, I found my confidence when I went to an arts school.

Now I’m 3 years into social media marketing at a fast food restaurant, where I’m feeling at the top of my own game. 

If I could go back to build my self confidence earlier,I would do this more often: 

Listen to the way you talk about yourself to yourself. 

If you don’t like the way you do self-talk, understand why, and change it.

For example, 

What I say: Nobody cares about the writing I put out 

My immediate response: There’s no point in writing something nobody wants to see

The change: Not everyone is supposed to care about what I write about. Actually, the success of my writing will stem from solely one person, which is myself. That’s it. If I can write about stuff that I care about, that’s enough.

Positive self talk is the smallest tweak that has made the largest impact on my self confidence. 

*Cue big, hairy, scary ambitious goal*

Are you going to wait till you’re ready before you start reaching towards your goals?

Here’s the thing.

The lie about being ready is that, 

you’ll never feel ready.

That’s the tricky part.

It’s hard to convince your own mind that you’re ready to take a leap, because there’s fear involved.

It’s part of the process to feel that fear.

The best thing you can do is to do it anyway. 

This is how I felt when preparing for an entirely new workshop on a topic I was passionate about.

(I’m actually still feeling this way because that workshop is happening next Monday and I’m in the midst of finalizing it’s content).

But I’m going to do it.

I’m going to launch the event anyways and see what happens.

Want to join? Here’s the link

Hustle vs. professionalism

If you want something to happen, you have to work for it. 

Hustle culture works, but only for a short period of time. 

It’s becoming more and more evident that working till you can’t anymore is not a sustainable way to make a living. 

Most people can’t work 7 days a week, 14 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

Most people don’t like to be on a soulless grind. 

The alternative is to be a professional, as per Steven Pressfield’s definition. 

Being a professional means you show up to work every day and do what needs to be done. 

Being a professional means you create work that fulfills a promise you’ve made to your target audience, because you care. 

It’s not about doing as much as you can in the shortest period of time you can afford. 

A professional does their work out of passion for the process. 

A professional is in it for the long haul. 

Hustle culture isn’t going anywhere, but if you want to pursue creative goals I recommend you commit. Turn into a pro. 

For artists and designers looking to start their social media presence

It’s the end quarter of 2022. If you’re looking to start making content for your personal brand or business, you need to consider the following question.

What is the core reason why you want to start making content?

More times than not, many people start the journey of making content but eventually stop after a few weeks because they burn out.

Reason being?

Nobody liked their posts. Nobody engaged with their content. Just crickets.

Please consider the reason why you want to put yourself on this journey, because 99% of new content creators don’t get traction for a long time.

(Of course luck plays a role, but luck isn’t a consistent winning strategy).

If you’re looking to start making content, I want you to do it for your own self.

No clout, no big lofty numbers to reach.

Just you and your own journey.

The hardest part about content creation

There’s a little voice in my head that says, “Do you really have the credentials to say what you’re saying?”

The voice in my head, she doesn’t think I’m qualified to write this.

She doesn’t believe I have the credentials or the audience to be successful.

Time and time again, I have my moments of doubt.

I don’t know everything, but I do have a hunch and it’s this—when we create, we cannot give into the voices of doubt we have in our heads.

I’m turning 25 next month

Here are 25 bite-sized lessons I’ve learned in my 25 years. 

  1. You can do anything you want
  2. You can’t *really* do anything you want, but you’d be surprised at the amount you can accomplish while at a young age
  3. Education is important
  4. School isn’t everything
  5. Be grateful of the most basics things you have and are capable of doing. That way, you will have an unparalleled perspective on life
  6. Always make time for personal creativity. It’s 100% worth pursuing
  7. Great friends can be hard to come by
  8. Not everyone has to understand your world through your own lens and opinions
  9. It is imperative to be smart with your money
  10. Consistency is a winning strategy
  11. If you choose to take a path less travelled, you’ll often feel like you’re all alone because most of your friends won’t understand
  12. Learn to differentiate between your own critic and your intended audience
  13. Do things you enjoy doing
  14. Time is precious
  15. Relationships are important
  16. Understand that you will have your entire lifespan 3 more times over in front of you
  17.  Doing > Thinking
  18. Stop stressing over things you cannot control
  19. Most things just aren’t *that* important. If it were, they would call
  20. Leading is hard
  21. Reading is fun
  22. You can follow your passions, work a full time job, and feel fulfilled at the same time
  23. The Pareto Principle: 20% of causes generates 80% of outcomes
  24. The chained elephant—be wary.
  25. Adults are people too