I mentioned on my home page that my reason for starting this blog was to become a creator instead of a consumer.
While that’s the short answer, I want to tell you about all the other thoughts and resources that I am going through before I plunge into the world of writing online.
It’ll help you decide if you’re on the fence about starting a similar creative venture like myself.
⭐ My Reasons
Acquire a creative outlet
If you’re a knowledge worker like me, your day job probably doesn’t offer you the same creative autonomy that independent writing, entrepreneurship and content creation can offer. It’s the nature of the corporate structure.
Your voice, ideas, and innate creativity tend to get drowned out in the monotony of execution and delivery.
There’s only one way out without starving – take matters into your own hands and start a creative side hobby.
The impact of having a creative outlet has not just mental and spiritual benefits but also physical benefits. Don’t take my word for it – check out James Clear’s thoughts on this.
Blogging lets me express my thoughts and ideas without anyone’s permission or approval.
Contribute meaningfully
Sometimes you work to earn a living. It’s a means to an end, nothing else. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But the best kind of work is an end in itself. Even if there’s no payoff, the process of doing it every day itself would be worth it to you. It makes the world a better place in a way that resonates with you while utilizing your natural strengths and talents.
My best guess in finding work like this is writing. If I can help make one person wiser with my words, I’d consider my effort well spent.
Connect with like-minded people
Arguably the best reason for blogging is that I get to interact with people like yourself! People who enjoy similar activities and ideas like me. People who push me to be better.
It’s challenging to meet like-minded people in real life when you’re into self-development, spirituality and other lofty ideals.
Leveraging the power of the internet, you’ll be able to reach everyone around the world who’s as uniquely weird as you. 🙂
Even though I’ve just started down this path, the people I’ve interacted with on Twitter and through my blog have made my life a lot more meaningful and happy.
Low time investment and instant feedback
Compared to the other options I had while maintaining my day job as a software engineer – starting a podcast, YouTube channel, service-based business, going the indie hacker route, etc., blogging was the lowest investment and setup option.
I’m also much better at writing than public speaking and marketing to start with, which would give me the momentum to stay consistent.
That’s a good question to ask yourself – What comes naturally to you? What feels like the least amount of work and the most amount of play?
You also benefit from instant feedback from the creative release of consistent publishing and audience engagement, which I love.
Learn digital marketing
Digital marketing and sales are the most important skills you need to learn if you ever want to strike out independently. Period.
My experience in a failed startup showed me that creating the most well-engineered product doesn’t mean you’ll be an overnight millionaire.
If no one knows about it, you’ve squandered all your efforts. You had no impact on the world. You didn’t create any value for society or yourself.
You’ll learn digital marketing simply by engaging in the growth of your blog. SEO, organic growth, email marketing won’t be scary buzzwords anymore but weapons in your entrepreneurial arsenal.
Become a creator
Creating something new in the world from scratch, improving it every day and standing back to witness how far you’ve come is incredibly fulfilling.
Even mundane day-to-day activities that go into the creative process call on all your mental faculties, unlike most jobs where the autonomy required for creative thinking is absent or is delegated to a superior.
I recommend you read Smart People Should Create Things, where James Clear talks about the other redeeming aspects of creative work. Here is a quote that resonated with me –
For a long time, I thought that if I wasn’t working on something incredible, then it wasn’t of much value. But gradually I discovered the truth: the most important thing isn’t to create something world-changing, but simply to create. You don’t have to build something famous to build something meaningful.
https://jamesclear.com/create-things
A blog is a simple way to dip your toe in the waters of the creative process.
🔗 My Influences
Ali Abdaal’s video on writing online.
Derek Siver’s on doing work you love and making good money.
David Perell’s ultimate guide on writing online.
Sandeep Maheshwari on the creator mindset.
Nat Eliason’s guide to starting a blog.
🤔 Convinced Yet?
I hope my process for taking this decision and those links were helpful to you. Send me a DM on Twitter if you want to talk through things with me – trust me, I’m good with advice. 🙂
I’ve had lots of fun on this journey so far – I will keep you posted if that changes!