How My Creative Life Has Changed Recently
Change is good
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I am fond of saying, “life is meaningless without change” and I mean it. Change is responsible for many of the things that make my life worthwhile:
- I could have stayed depressed, broke, and lonely for the rest of my life in America, but instead, I moved to the Philippines, got married, had a few more kids, and developed healthier ideas about money.
- I could have remained reactionary, and destroyed my life every time I got depressed and anxious. I could have gone into hiding each time the voices came back in force. Instead, I learned healthier coping habits.
- I could have kept my unhealthy lifestyle, but instead quit smoking, and after my heart attack started eating better and taking care of the only body I will ever have.
The other thing I did was recent. Up until a few months ago, I tried to create a creative work life by only focusing on writing. Granted, I had Medium, a few blogs, NewsBreak, a newsletter, and a Patreon. I focused on my writing, and I didn’t branch out.
After losing all the progress I’d made on Medium when something changed (yet they continue to say they didn’t do anything different) and I lost my momentum. I started getting fewer views and reads doing the same work, and my earnings suffered.
Now, I still write on Medium, but it is no longer my focus. I will continue to leverage my followers on Medium to drive traffic to my newsletter on Substack called Cringeworthy. In lieu of creating another blog, after I spent so much time dismantling the ones I had, I decided to go all-in on Substack. Right now, I am moving a lot of my Medium work over there as well as writing some new essays for my subscribers.
I thought I would give video a try since it was the one thing I hadn’t done yet, and created a YouTube channel, also called Cringeworthy. I started making a video a day, but once I started getting better at being on camera and editing, I started taking more time to make each video just a bit better.
Along with the YouTube channel, I created a Ko-fi page to go with it, which will also be linked to allow people to tip on my Medium account.
Those combined with the work I am doing with my friend and only coaching client, Maggie, on another YouTube channel and website, are enough to keep me busy.
It sounds like a lot, but it is not, compared to what I was doing before. I focus most of my energy on my work with Maggie, and the leftover is spent making videos, writing, and managing my newsletter. I don’t feel stressed out, because everything I am doing is manageable and sustainable, and I never get to the level of chaos that reigned when I was full-time on Medium with 2 blogs.
To make this new creative life a reality, I had to change my way of thinking about my writing. Before, I thought that writing would be the thing that would make me a success, but now I see it will be a combination of media and a whole lot of creative output.
I never feel like I run out of ideas, because my mind is always working, and they will come to me at times when I least expect them. No time is wasted because even when I am sleeping, I am dreaming of what I should try next.
I don’t plan on adding any more to my plate. What I have is plenty right now, it’s just enough that I don’t feel overwhelmed, and I can work a sensible schedule and still have time to spend with my family. Time with the people I love is something I will not skimp on, but I admit there are times I get so focused that I sometimes forget what is going on around me.
But life other than work has a way of letting you know when you are not paying it enough attention, then I try to ease up a bit on my work and play with the kids instead. I’m not saying I am perfect because my wife and I still work too damn much, but we are getting there.
It took a change in my creative life to give me the kick in the butt I needed, and I plan on only moving forward, the only direction that will take me where I want to go.
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