Like most of you reading this, I too am still learning about life. Okay, every SINGLE person reading this should still be learning about it! If you are not on that train, you’re really missing out.
Whether it’s dusting off an old motivational book, pressing play on a friend-recommended podcast about side hustles, or just attending new and somewhat awkward networking events, we should all constantly and consistently improve ourselves in at least one way or another every single day.
This past August I had the opportunity to travel to Portland, OR (not to be confused with the one in Maine) on a client tip about a really cool-sounding bike event called the Providence Bridge Pedal. So, on somewhat-of-a-whim and as a regular Critical Mass monthly bike rider in Orlando, FL I decided this was the event I was going to plan my big 2017 vacation around. It sounded like the perfect opportunity to experience a new city, it’s people (yes, bicyclists are people too), it’s cracked pavement, cobble-stone streets, and their perpendicular (come-to-find out) train tracks (Please enjoy this Vlog I made on a day I ate shit finding that last part out the hard way).
But Back On Topic! I am writing this post to hopefully share the recent wisdom that has been bestowed upon me after many failures and success in 2017 and some of 2018. 🙂
So, without further ado… (sorry, I don’t normally write these Blog Posts myself so I know it’s going to sound cheesy AF.)
Learn that You Are Not Going to Get It Right the First Time. (On YouTube or Anything else.)
Shit. You aren’t even going to get it right the tenth time to be honest (and I am definitely not only speaking of the YouTube part. Shiiiiit, I’m not even talking about video at all).
Although this Business Week Article smashes the stereotype of needing 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” in order to become a world-class performer, there is a lot of truth in this theory or way of thinking.
My biggest challenge when it has come to producing halfway-decent video content has not been learning the newest/best/most-affordable camera equipment, figuring out the timing or masking of edits in Adobe Premier Pro CC, or even the basic/abstract things like understanding depth perception or the two-thirds rule. Granted, there are many things that I need to improve upon, but you will easily learn all of these things in time …hands-on. My biggest challenge was creating the story. Which begs my to always ask myself: “How do I make this engaging or interesting to present to an audience?”
I want to share a quote that is taken from the insanely popular Film maker and fellow YouTuber, Casey Neistat. It was taken from one of my favorite videos on YouTube that helped inspire me to become a filmmaker.
“Story is King. Everything serves the King.” – Casey Neistat (Yes, I’m a fanboy.)
The hardest part of Vlogging or Filmmaking for me has been the story…
Let’s face it (and I have had to tell myself this on more than one occasion) No one gives a shit about your stupid aerial footage drone footage or your time-lapses (regardless of the song you didn’t pay to play behind it) unless it’s tells a bigger story… Like one of my first Vlogs that I made last year visiting Bocagrande Colombia that organically acquired 2.4K views because there isn’t as much great video content being produced in South America as there is in North America.
I have over 2 TB of content stored across multiple devices from the last few years alone and I still don’t know what the hell I am doing sometimes.
There Is No Stronger Marketing Tool than Your Network (On YouTube or Anything Else.)
“Well, what have they worked on recently?”
“She has been in the industry for 15 years and has been in a Winn-Dixie commercial.”
“I may be shooting for Delta Airlines this Quarter.”
Sometimes you have to cut through the bullshit and get better at networking. One of the most valuable things I have learned from my last job as a Technical Solutions Coordinator (aka cold-calling sales agent in the tech industry) is that there is no better sales tool than a live conversation.
After attending one of my first networking events recently, I was able to make a couple of amazing connections in a relatively short period of time. In hindsight, I wish I’d have stayed longer, talked longer, or made STRONGER connections given the opportunity.
Anywho! After the event I was asked to get lunch with a CTO and Film Production manager with no clear agenda (which can be okay and result in some of the best meetings). Emails went back and forth, pleasantries were exchanged, hell! we even locked down dates/times to have a personal lunch and get to know each other more. However, one of the parties flaked/rescheduled last minute. At this point, I got pretty annoyed because I was meeting these folks an hour away from home, I take care of my dad full-time, I’m trying to build a successful digital media empire from scratch, and I am valuing and prioritizing my time a lot more in 2018.
I replied to their emails that I would prefer to have an agenda set before even trying to schedule another meeting and was answered with the casual “we are meeting to network” reply. That’s great, but that was not satisfying enough for me (after wasting what felt like an hour on email) to invest another 4 hrs just to for it to not possibly not turn into anything…? *Scratches Head Emoji*
Sends final email reply to the group and told them the best ways of contacting me
…hours later, scrolling through social media… their face comes up in my feed or suggested friends…
and being unsatisfied with how the email interaction was left, I sent a DM explaining my feeling towards the potential opportunity to the person I met out the mixer and learned so much about him and the person he wanted to connect me with and follow-ups are in place!
So… Here is what I learned about myself. I hate emailing. Just get me in front of a client, just let me know that they are live typing, just let me see there freaking faces!!! and I will close them for a next step when the opportunity presents itself every time. 2018 will be less emails and more FaceTime (literally and figuratively). Video conferencing is another tool I plan to use a lot more this year.
I, like most people doing something unfamiliar, didn’t bring my A-game to the event that day. When in a room full of accomplished professionals that are looking to grow themselves and their business, if you aren’t walking away with five new solid connections, you are doing it wrong. If you have a particular set of skills that you have to offer and there are 50 people in the room, at least 10% of those people need you so badly and you wouldn’t even know it.
Don’t forget… sometimes: “It’s Not Work, It’s NETwork.” – Jeffrey Gitomer
Learn that the Work You Put In Will Determine Your Outcome (On YouTube or Anything Else.)
Speaking of work… (Yes, I am getting better at segwaying too.)
I was recently invited to film the 7th Annual National Convention and Award Ceremony for a large and ever-growing business headquartered right in Sanford, FL. Little did they know I have only owned and operated my own digital camera less than 12 months ago.
Anyway, my responsibility was to just insure that these seven speakers (and franchisees) remained in frame with decent audio levels. Not a lot of work, sure but what was also on in front of the camera was where the golden nuggets were found for me on this project.
One by one, the convention speakers in my room shared their successes and how the business worked for them.
They shared knowledge on how to maximize your advertising dollars and where you should be looking to invest next.
But the biggest take away I stole from this convention, that I get to share with the world now is to:
H.A.V.E. S.Y.S.T.E.M.S. (It doesn’t have to be an acronym either.)
I, like most milenials, likely suffer from A.D.D. or A.D.H.D. In other words, I recognize that I have challenges focusing. That is not to say that I don’t have great ideas and the skillset to executre on them. Maybe you can relate. But over the next few months I will be workin on systemizing my workflow for the day, the week, the month, the year.
Question: Who will manage your business when all of your managers are sick?
Answer: Systems
You can Blaze Your Own Gosh-Darn Trails (On YouTube or Anything Else.)
So often we are so concerned with envying someone elses career status or being better than our competition.
I say “fuck the competition”.
We are in 2018 people. There is no reason to focus on anyone else achievements unless it serves as a catalyst to inspire your own self.
There are just too many opportunities out there for you to spend another minute focused on what somewhat else has or is doing only to compare yourself to an unrealistic goal.
My advice?
1. Figure out what you are passionate about.
2. Do that thing. (even if it’s just a hobby to start)
3. Get really fucking good at that thing.
4. Figure out how to monetize.
I didn’t go to film school. Hell! I didn’t even finish my AA degree from Seminole State.
Another gem I have to share on this subject taken from a recent James Alturcher Podcast https://jamesaltucher.com/2018/01/loretta-breuning/ is this: Instead of thinking “I bet people are talking shit about me behind my back right now.” which is our automatic thought pattern and “default… we should start thinking about all of the positive we are contributing to the world and change the phrase to “I bet people are talking positively about right now.”
I may be paraphrasing the above quotes, but the reality is that they’re are likely more people singing your praises than they are throwing your name through the mud…. unless you are a crappy person or have really negatively friends.
You Should Never Stop Learning (On YouTube or Anything else.)
This is my second self-written Blog for my personal website. So, I’m pretty new at this.
I don’t even think I would re-read my first post.
I am not a writer, nor did I do exceptionally well in High School English… But as I write this second piece (which I am sure is riddled with grammatical errors), I have no doubts that another will follow and content will improve.
I am going to get really Meta on anyone reading this right now by wrapping up this blog-post explaining how I learned to write a blog post.
Through my network, I was able to connect with a young, brilliant writer who came straight out of college to work for one of Orlando’s most successful PR agencies. They, much like myself, felt restricted or restrained by the metaphoric bars of corporate America telling us what to do and when to do it.
After quitting their jobs and freelancing for major online and print publications, they get published by Rolling Stones for doing an amazing piece likely set their own soul on fire.
Oh, back to how their interaction helped me learn to blog (Did I mention I probably have A.D.D.?)
I was able to connect this amazing writer with an equally amazing Yoga Athletic Apparel company through modern technology and a networking/sales manager’s dream tool.
It’s called Threeway. -_-
You see, when you can connect two or three or thirty-something amazing people with one another and just listen, observe, and apply meaningful input… more doors, more opportunities, and more magic will happen.
Be a fucking sponge.
Also, I wouldn’t be an entrepreneur if I didn’t mention that we can offer you industry-researched, SEO-integrated blogposts for all your WordPress sites to help grow that brand credibility.