Apologize for the morning coffee in the evening, but there simply wasn't anything I could do about it -- and that's part of the point of today's coffee.
Whatever you need to do for yourself and for your family, I'm here to support you. I'm just a small consumer, with very little time to get online at all for pleasure. So maybe my opinion doesn't carry a ton of weight, but for what it's worth, I'm in complete agreement with ditching, those big platforms and social media if you can. I don't really engage in social media, so I realize I don't have much to lose. But I think it's obvious that they exist only to profit from us, and only buy profiting from us, we are not their intended audience, and they are not there for our good. Yes, some good can come from them, but it's hard to find and it's filled with traps that's in the middle of a swamp. Do what you enjoy, do what you love. We'll try to spread the word.
All I can say is good luck. Mostly because I honestly don’t know enough about any of this stuff to give advice or suggestions. But I can hope it goes well for you.
Most of what I'm looking for isn't advice, but connection with those who are here, Joseph.
When I can sit down with a clear head, unadulterated by the influences of society and the constant pushing by online personalities and so-called 'gurus' and 'experts', my heart tells me what to do.
My core challenge is to listen and follow through, and 'let go' of my preconceived notions of what "should be", and just be me.
Being me has always been an area of fear in my life.
What if people don't like 'me'.
....if I do this, then everything is bet on 'me'.
Also, I usually tend to be in some kind of trouble, with someone, about something. Why make it worse?
Because I've been at this for 20 years, and I'm unhappy -- and I know I can change that.
[*bangs head against desk*]
But you're here. Deleyna's here. Riverfang is here...somewhere. A few others are here....while I've BEEN unhappy and striving to do the best I can at this stage.
Will I lose those people too?
That's what goes through my mind and what I meant about feedback.
Hey I’m not one to jump off a bridge because someone tells me too but I’ll jump off this bridge with you because I want to see where this goes.
The world will change. And I personally don’t want to be the kind of person who is at its beck and call. Because that’s not fulfilling. Because most people don’t really care.
I think that if you work hard make something that’s worthy of people’s time. Then people will notice.
That's also how I've been feeling, and now I have to forge myself in the fire of discipline and trust in this focus, goal, and the process. It's one of the reasons WHY I wanted to go the Substack route -- it allows me to communicate, just liek this, with friends like you -- which mentally and emotionally make this worth it to writers like me.
Oh,...and I'd take a couple more steps to the side, away from me, Joseph. I do a mean cannonball when I hit water.
Don't want you to get hurt in this jump. Just want you to have fun.
You know that I teach this stuff, and one of the things that makes my teaching less popular is that I feel that each person needs to find their own way. Just repeating what others does makes people blend in. That may be a safe place to be in a herd, but it isn't where we want to be as artists and creatives. It is scary doing our own thing. But that is where the power is.
The voices in my head,....ya know, other than the ones talking shop, updating me on guild rules and regulations and enlightening me on the deep world lore of elements...keep whispering “people may never find you”.
If I could identify the voices from the batch I’d punch it, but it truly is my concern.
But....and I mean a big phatt butt...is that a single person brought about tens of thousands of comics being downloaded in the beginning. Another single voice brought WH comics to 10,000+ people through Facebook when it was a closed network.
So my brain KNOWS it’s possible,...*sigh*
When you give something your all for 20 years and you don’t reach the MID goals you had, it’s hard to push again.
I hear you. And yet you have come so much farther than many ever do. There's always someone doing something else, but succeeding in your own way doing things you love is priceless.
Whatever you need to do for yourself and for your family, I'm here to support you. I'm just a small consumer, with very little time to get online at all for pleasure. So maybe my opinion doesn't carry a ton of weight, but for what it's worth, I'm in complete agreement with ditching, those big platforms and social media if you can. I don't really engage in social media, so I realize I don't have much to lose. But I think it's obvious that they exist only to profit from us, and only buy profiting from us, we are not their intended audience, and they are not there for our good. Yes, some good can come from them, but it's hard to find and it's filled with traps that's in the middle of a swamp. Do what you enjoy, do what you love. We'll try to spread the word.
Brother, this made me smile ALMOST as much as stained glass 🥹
I'm excited to see what you do. Be yourself. That's so much better than following what everyone else is doing!
Thank you, Deleyna. Thank you so much. I'm hurting over this. Deeply.
I've discovered how strong my patterns and habits are when it comes to shifting to adapt to what's around me. To bend myself to make sure I "fit".
Probably a self-preservation aspect of my character from growing up in CA.
The words that haunt me, because of their unknown consequences, is "just let go".
All I can say is good luck. Mostly because I honestly don’t know enough about any of this stuff to give advice or suggestions. But I can hope it goes well for you.
Most of what I'm looking for isn't advice, but connection with those who are here, Joseph.
When I can sit down with a clear head, unadulterated by the influences of society and the constant pushing by online personalities and so-called 'gurus' and 'experts', my heart tells me what to do.
My core challenge is to listen and follow through, and 'let go' of my preconceived notions of what "should be", and just be me.
Being me has always been an area of fear in my life.
What if people don't like 'me'.
....if I do this, then everything is bet on 'me'.
Also, I usually tend to be in some kind of trouble, with someone, about something. Why make it worse?
Because I've been at this for 20 years, and I'm unhappy -- and I know I can change that.
[*bangs head against desk*]
But you're here. Deleyna's here. Riverfang is here...somewhere. A few others are here....while I've BEEN unhappy and striving to do the best I can at this stage.
Will I lose those people too?
That's what goes through my mind and what I meant about feedback.
Hey I’m not one to jump off a bridge because someone tells me too but I’ll jump off this bridge with you because I want to see where this goes.
The world will change. And I personally don’t want to be the kind of person who is at its beck and call. Because that’s not fulfilling. Because most people don’t really care.
I think that if you work hard make something that’s worthy of people’s time. Then people will notice.
Appreciate that, Joseph. I believe you're right.
That's also how I've been feeling, and now I have to forge myself in the fire of discipline and trust in this focus, goal, and the process. It's one of the reasons WHY I wanted to go the Substack route -- it allows me to communicate, just liek this, with friends like you -- which mentally and emotionally make this worth it to writers like me.
Oh,...and I'd take a couple more steps to the side, away from me, Joseph. I do a mean cannonball when I hit water.
Don't want you to get hurt in this jump. Just want you to have fun.
[smirk]
Also I’m excited for audiobooks.
Me too.
You know that I teach this stuff, and one of the things that makes my teaching less popular is that I feel that each person needs to find their own way. Just repeating what others does makes people blend in. That may be a safe place to be in a herd, but it isn't where we want to be as artists and creatives. It is scary doing our own thing. But that is where the power is.
The voices in my head,....ya know, other than the ones talking shop, updating me on guild rules and regulations and enlightening me on the deep world lore of elements...keep whispering “people may never find you”.
If I could identify the voices from the batch I’d punch it, but it truly is my concern.
But....and I mean a big phatt butt...is that a single person brought about tens of thousands of comics being downloaded in the beginning. Another single voice brought WH comics to 10,000+ people through Facebook when it was a closed network.
So my brain KNOWS it’s possible,...*sigh*
When you give something your all for 20 years and you don’t reach the MID goals you had, it’s hard to push again.
I hear you. And yet you have come so much farther than many ever do. There's always someone doing something else, but succeeding in your own way doing things you love is priceless.