Do It For The Love
I've kept a journal my entire life. When I read about blogging and saw a close friend start doing it I figured I'd give it a try.
My grandfather was a photographer with a darkroom in his basement. I grew up with cameras always around me and enjoyed taking photos. Every minute of every day, I'm taking photos in my mind if not with a camera in my hand.
While at Bentley I spun tunes at WBTY. The moment I read about podcasting, I hit the record button and began sharing my thoughts with the world.
When Mrs. Pet cast me as The Lorax in our elementary school play, I realized how much I liked being on stage in front of a crowd.
Over the course of my life I've been blessed to make money doing all of the above things. A world of possibilities that I could have never imagined has shown itself to me and every day I wake up not knowing what it holds, but I'm excited to face it.
But, each of these activities I take part in because first and foremost I love doing them.
I don't know what it is that keeps the creative juices flowing through me, but I constantly have to create to stay sane. Social media allows me to share my creations with the world and the neat thing is that people appreciate what I share. But, if they didn't would I stop creating them? Hell no!
If you love doing something, then do it.
Get out there and keep on doing those activities because you get satisfaction from them. You don't have to have a plan for how to monetize it or attract more people. All you need is to know that you enjoy doing it and keep on moving forward.
In the early days of podcasting, people would ask me what they should start a podcast about. Today, I get asked what kind of content they should create. Who am I to tell someone what they should create?
The answer I've always given them is to figure out what you love and then create around that.
Some people prefer words over photos. We each like different types of music, food and locations. If you are passionate about whatever is that you are creating, then the rest will follow and people will connect. But, if you are creating it based on some top 10 list or formula that someone is selling then it'll never be successful.
I don't care if anyone reads this post. I hope they do and I hope someone benefits from it. But, I sat down to write it because if I didn't the words would be bouncing around in my head and distracting me from the rest of the day. I enjoyed writing these words with my morning coffee and I'm smiling as I get ready to hit the publish button.
Stop worrying about what other people will think or if they'll like what you create and just do it already.
Do it for the love first and everything else second.
