F*ing preach! The artist in me is in a big stand-off with the business woman being told I need more funnels. I relish this sharing and the camaraderie you provide!
Thank you! I know what I am doing this weekend! CREATING
Also, Ali - I still hold the conversations had in a Brighton mastermind of yours a few years back closely to heart, and was chuffed to come across the recording of our follow up chat the other day. ⚡️
i’ve been thinking a lot about how writers share space on substack. it feels many still yearn for that superstar model — only subscribe to one yet cry that you’re not getting past 200 subscribers etc. feeling pressured to monetise that which demands slowness (slowness doesn’t fair well in this urgent efficient market we’re living in). this is a great piece, thank you 🙏🏾
Absolutely! When I was pushing myself to monetise too much I’d already lost touch with value. I had to come back to some fundamental questions such as “What do I value?” It turns out I value having a lot of free time, and having deeper, slower conversations with the people around me. I value spending a lot of time creating without a specific outcome in mind. I value experimentation. I still value having money — realistically I’m living in a society where I cannot function without it, and I enjoy what it can afford me. But I never want the acquisition of money to be at the expense of my joy and my creative freedom. Or my integrity. Perhaps when we try to replicate somebody else’s blueprint for success without matching it to our values we’re destined to fail. I learned that nobody’s blueprint can really meet us in the nuanced and complex set of values, circumstances, aspirations and capacity that we carry. At best, we can take some of what a mentor or coach gives us and put it through the filter of our own values and reality. That requires a deep honesty and awareness of what our values and reality actually are. One of the problems I find in the online coaching world is that it actively encourages people to set aside that awareness, and adopt a self aggrandising outlook. It does this precisely because people are more likely to keep investing in coaching if they believe they’re on the cusp of a huge breakthrough. The “quantum leaping” trap. I had a conversation with Daniel Maté once where he said “It’s hard to give something up when it’s almost working.” That really stuck with me. Perhaps that’s a whole article. Thank you for reading.
Love and appreciate the openness and truth in your words. I’m currently finding my feet and deciding how I want to create a practice that nurtures my own authentic creativity whilst guiding others through similar journeys. My own path has been turbulent, and so my inner peace has to be paramount!! We there for need to learn to trust in self and our own intuition!! Ego is always their lurking, craving to be fed, post like these are so powerful because it creates conversation and awareness and releases the burden of shame, for me the human experience is a rollercoaster 🎢 but there are ways in which we can navigate our way through it!! Awesome work Ali and thank you for sharing 🦋❤️🦋
Incredible confession and advice. I went through similar struggles. And perfect timing, I'm writing something on creativity and monetization and will probably quote from this article. Thank you.
F*ing preach! The artist in me is in a big stand-off with the business woman being told I need more funnels. I relish this sharing and the camaraderie you provide!
Thank you! I know what I am doing this weekend! CREATING
Also, Ali - I still hold the conversations had in a Brighton mastermind of yours a few years back closely to heart, and was chuffed to come across the recording of our follow up chat the other day. ⚡️
Thank you Laurie! That’s great to hear. I totally hear you. Let the artist lead, and everything else can follow.
i’ve been thinking a lot about how writers share space on substack. it feels many still yearn for that superstar model — only subscribe to one yet cry that you’re not getting past 200 subscribers etc. feeling pressured to monetise that which demands slowness (slowness doesn’t fair well in this urgent efficient market we’re living in). this is a great piece, thank you 🙏🏾
Absolutely! When I was pushing myself to monetise too much I’d already lost touch with value. I had to come back to some fundamental questions such as “What do I value?” It turns out I value having a lot of free time, and having deeper, slower conversations with the people around me. I value spending a lot of time creating without a specific outcome in mind. I value experimentation. I still value having money — realistically I’m living in a society where I cannot function without it, and I enjoy what it can afford me. But I never want the acquisition of money to be at the expense of my joy and my creative freedom. Or my integrity. Perhaps when we try to replicate somebody else’s blueprint for success without matching it to our values we’re destined to fail. I learned that nobody’s blueprint can really meet us in the nuanced and complex set of values, circumstances, aspirations and capacity that we carry. At best, we can take some of what a mentor or coach gives us and put it through the filter of our own values and reality. That requires a deep honesty and awareness of what our values and reality actually are. One of the problems I find in the online coaching world is that it actively encourages people to set aside that awareness, and adopt a self aggrandising outlook. It does this precisely because people are more likely to keep investing in coaching if they believe they’re on the cusp of a huge breakthrough. The “quantum leaping” trap. I had a conversation with Daniel Maté once where he said “It’s hard to give something up when it’s almost working.” That really stuck with me. Perhaps that’s a whole article. Thank you for reading.
Thank you Ali, your essay has been extremely insightful. Every word a treasured gift.
Thank you for reading it so thoughtfully.
Love and appreciate the openness and truth in your words. I’m currently finding my feet and deciding how I want to create a practice that nurtures my own authentic creativity whilst guiding others through similar journeys. My own path has been turbulent, and so my inner peace has to be paramount!! We there for need to learn to trust in self and our own intuition!! Ego is always their lurking, craving to be fed, post like these are so powerful because it creates conversation and awareness and releases the burden of shame, for me the human experience is a rollercoaster 🎢 but there are ways in which we can navigate our way through it!! Awesome work Ali and thank you for sharing 🦋❤️🦋
Incredible confession and advice. I went through similar struggles. And perfect timing, I'm writing something on creativity and monetization and will probably quote from this article. Thank you.
Thank you, Omar. I look forward to reading it!