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    Rehydrating My Soul via My Content

    What I learned in therapy as a content creator this week is to do things because they give you life force. Not to do things because you think the result will give you life force.

    I added this text on stop of this reel because I desperately hoped the text would give the video context and that would help it get 1,000 likes. But deep down I hated adding this text. It felt really needy of me. It felt like it ruined the artistic nature of the video.

    I knew all this.

    I could feel the tightness in my chest.

    Yet I did it anyway.

    And the video got 65 likes.

    I don’t think it’s because of the text on screen.

    And no I don’t think a sign of a videos success is likes. Because it’s not.

    My ultimate goal for doing any of this work is live a life that I love every single day.

    It’s why I quit engineering and left NYC in the first place.

    Yet, I keep doing things that steal my access to love. To life force.

    This is what I do….

    I A/B test email subject lines hoping for a 3% increase in open rates for my latest newsletter in exchange for 10% of my soul. I don’t even like the second subject line I wrote, but I’ll do anything to optimize the metrics.

    I feel the pressure to write a hookier hook, make my story better, more concise, and sit in agony debating if I should take this post as an opportunity to promote my free mini-course in my caption or should the caption just be a witty one-liner because that worked on two of my other viral reels.

    But that’s not actually what worked on my two other reels.

    What worked on my two other reels was me not playing these fucking games.

    Funny how that is the core message of my landing page for this newsletter, but. yeah… you should know I still fall victim to these traps too.

    What actually happened with my reels that went viral were just me creating art and speaking my truth. I didn’t consider for a second how to make the hook better. I didn’t spend 30 minutes rearranging the story in hopes that it would land better.

    All this over thinking has turned me into a raisin.

    I used to be grape.

    Full of juice, vigor and life. Excited to share parts of me with the world but strategy has stolen the soul out of my work.

    But a raisin can’t turn back into a grape… I can.

    I can rehydrate myself. Pump the juice back in. Let my soul speak and forget about all the hacks.

    (lol) This metaphor is silly… but this literally a copy and paste journal entry that poured out of me last week and I’m not gonna sell my soul to come off less silly with the hope that you’ll perceive me as an incredible writer and only when you perceive me as an incredibly writer then I’ll have more life force.

    No… sharing this with you has given me life force. Editing it to appease you would have take that life force.

    I’m not gonna A/B test this subject line.

    I’m gonna write what my soul desires to write and trust that the people who are meant to read it will read it and resonate because the success of my content has nothing to do with virality or engagement.

    My most successful reels are the ones that pour out of my soul in a flash.

    Sometimes, those do get a lot of engagement.

    Sometimes, they only gets a little.

    But to me success is creating work that I love and I refuse to let uncontrollable circumstances dictate my relationship to my work any longer.

    When I let all the hacks dictate my work, I end up hating the process, the work and the results.

    When I choose to let my creativity and soul shine, I love the work and the process and nothing else needs to matter.

    Because remember, the goal is accessing life force in every moment.

    I’ve done so much work to write well and create art that I love. That was necessary and I loved that process too and so now, a balance has to be struck.

    Like a golfer taking swinging lessons from a pro.

    Yes, there are fundamentals to nail down so you can hit the ball well with consistency. But at a certain point, too much work will take away that hitch in your swing that makes it uniquely yours.

    That’s your competitive advantage. Your natural essence.

    In the process of fine tuning your swing in pursuit of greatness, you’ll probably lose the hitch. Only then will you realize, true greatness doesn’t lie in the replication of those who came before you. True greatness lies when you remember who you are.

    This is a reminder to you to let your soul speak. Let your life force guide you into your creation. Along the way look at your past content with love and find joy and excitement in making the next post 1% better.

    Can you improve the lighting? Find joy in arranging a new set up for your content.

    Can you buy a plant to make your background more aesthetic and pretty? I’m sure a new plant would bring life to your home.. how wonderful!

    Can you add a song to give the video a stronger vibe? Not a trending song. A song that makes your heart melt or your heel tap. That’s the song you choose.

    With each video you’ll make 1% tangible improvements and 1% more love and trust in yourself.

    Thanks for being here.

    With love and life force,

    Matt

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