Playing to your strengths

I have the talent to annoy and delight in equal measure with a constant stream of epiphanies about my writing, my life, the world, English football, films, food … anything and everything really. My mind is constantly turning and spitting out ideas. This creates a vibrant landscape for projects. It also means I will rarely want to finish anything I start. For decades I believed this was a weakness. Struggling to change, I flogged myself until I completed novels and stories, believing they could only be of value at the very end. Such creative journeys are hard on me, psychologically and emotionally. While my finished output has gone up, the flip side is I must continuously rest and recharge from the over exertion, the battle with my nature.

Lately, I have been asking myself what I must do to reconcile with it. The answer surprised me; set aside your ambitions. For example, I wanted a literary agent more than anything and this desire has helped me focus and produce more work than I ever have; two novels in the last four years. This need has become counter productive now as it only adds to the overall weight that my creative spirit is wrestling with. When I begun to let go of my ambitions and the attached expectations, I also had the epiphany that my true strength is in starting things. I don’t need to worry about how anything I start might be completed or if it is even finished at all, only on running with the ideas I get in the moment. Since accepting my nature, my energy levels have increased, my joy has returned and I have started this newsletter … Started By (Mustafa Alrawi).

Lots of interesting discussions at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai where I listened to content creators including Zachery Dereniowksi, Geekout newsletter’s Matt Navarra and chef Thomas Straker. My big takeaway related to the fact that to monetize what they are doing, they must use the communities they are building online to their benefit in real life. It might mean merchandise or events but no one can rely on earnings directly from views or followers anymore to deliver commercial success. Frankly, this isn’t anything new or revolutionary. They are doing what newspapers did for years before the arrival of the World Wide Web. A local or national title would diversify revenue by engaging readers beyond the content and through partnerships with brands and services. With the rise of digital audiences, the chaos it caused meant that many media companies withdrew from these areas, focusing on cost cutting and playing defence. The space they vacated has been filled by content creators. Like a derelict neighbourhood might be redeveloped and gentrified. Ultimately there is no secret formula or a silver bullet. Do sensible things one step at a time. Manage expectations and give yourself long enough to establish a strong community of people who like what you do. The rest will come.

Also saw at the 1 Billion Followers Summit that X - the platform that was once Twitter - is moving into longform content under an ‘Originals’ brand. Happy to see this as we can’t just be relying on Youtube. The more platforms for high end content the better.

Wrapping up by throwing a few things out of my mind to share with you:

Really need to see the new Nosferatu film. Bringing the scare back to vampirism. Recently watched The Conjuring and am awaiting my inevitable middle of the night wake up at 3.07 am to scare me witless.

Until the next time but I won’t assume there will be a next time …