Successfully You
I’ve very seldom found myself fitting in. I’ve struggled being truly myself my entire life—especially with people who aren’t my family. When I had my kid something began to change. I had this strong desire to be myself. At the start of 2022 I penned, “I want to be authentic.” I didn’t know exactly what it meant. But it felt good. Then things began to change.
I’ve very seldom found myself fitting in. I’ve struggled being truly myself my entire life—especially with people who aren’t my family. When I had my kid something began to change. I had this strong desire to be myself.
At the start of 2022 I penned, “I want to be authentic.” I didn’t know exactly what it meant. But it felt good. Then things began to change. I began leaning into being ADHD, not against it. I stopped trying to build a typically “successful” company. I started doodling rather than doing something more “valuable”. I began disappointing people. I began failing at so many things (like sending this newsletter on a regular basis). The last two were especially difficult for me.
I’m still in the process of discovering my true self, and how to be authentic. I think I’ve let myself be brainwashed by all kinds of people in my life—famous people on Instagram, close friends in corporate jobs, and creators “just like me”. I feel this pressure to fit in. To do things the same way they do. To achieve success the same way they do. But I’m fighting against it. Not by saying no to their way of doing things, but by saying yes to my way. I don’t work like other people. I don’t succeed like other people.
There are still things I need (and want) to get done. I haven’t opted out of being an adult completely. I try do them in my way now. Things like writing this email, replying to emails, doing big projects, doing social media.
I was reminded of this last week when chatting with someone about how many followers they had on Instagram, and how that number had stayed the same for ages. I reflected on my own Instagram journey and how it’s become something I do without questioning how or why. I do it without any real purpose or goal—and without much fun to be honest. It’s something I stopped doing last year.
How often are we exhausted by doing things other people do, or because we’re doing it their way? Do you need to be on Instagram? Do you need to post daily? Do you need to network with crowds of other people? Do you need to work at an office? Do you need to live in the city you currently live in? Do you need to be religious to be kind?
What are you doing that isn’t you? And how can you do something that is you, or do something in your way? If you need permission, I give you permission to not do things like everyone else.
Me being me helped me create more art in 2022 than the rest of my life combined. It helped me connect with people like never before. Someone even cried tears of joy while she watched me create—me being me. It’s been the happiest I’ve been for ages.
We often think we need to choose between being successful and being ourselves. But we can be both.
“Know who you are. Accept who you are. Be who you are.” — Chuck Swindoll
This week:
I’m live streaming on Tuesday at 2pm UTC on YouTube.
I’m working on a big NFT project dropping on March 9. It’s called Dreamheadz.
❤️ Big loves
Rich from TapTapKaboom