What actually happens when you write for a long time
This is not the "easy" button I thought it would be
I started out writing on Twitter in 2022.
Five months into the journey, I started a newsletter.
These two experiments became the lab for my online iteration.
Each round got me a little closer, and I have no doubt I’ll eventually reach the core. However, I got a reminder recently of just how far I still have to go. I’ve been taking the donut approach: writing from the outside in while the center is still unfilled.
I haven’t found the cream filling yet.
But really, that’s the whole point. This writing process is how I’m figuring that out for myself. Your identity isn’t static, and what we present online is only a snapshot; an instance of our being. We exist in the digital space but not as our true selves.
Why you no work??
Most bios, posts, and overall messages present the standard pitch: who we were, who we could become, but few reflect who we are. If feels as if they’re detached from what they’re building. Every time I’ve updated my profile, I end up with the same thought:
“I’ve done the work. Why does none of this feel like it’s ‘mine’?”
Looking back at all I’ve written about over the past few years, I am beginning to see what’s really happening.
This process we subject ourselves to is more than personal branding. It’s about personal coherence; an alignment between the digital and the analog worlds.
We face a unique challenge in that we’re the first generation asked to achieve parity across these two worlds, both personally and professionally.
I know there’s a fine line between being self-aware and taking action when things feel out of whack. An abundance of reflection is just as terrible as the ones who are just “phoning it in”.
The unfortunate pre-requisite
The truth is that if you bought into the whole internet personal branding “you are the niche” revelation, then you also know that most who start don’t last long. I think the statistic is that most don’t reach 10 posts? To be fair, knowing what this whole thing is about to you is compelling and powerful.
But it’s not something you just pick.
The misalignment, discovering the hollowness of building an online identity, is exactly why.
How can you “be the niche” when you don’t even know who you are to begin with?
How can you build an audience of “like-minded individuals” when you haven’t even drawn a bead on what makes you tick?
How do you take a step back and build in obscurity when gurus are squealing urgently about $10k months?
I bought into a version of this message initially, but I missed the point. I couldn’t fill in Dan Koe’s “2 Hour Writer” Notion template when I started because I hadn’t actively explored my identity since my 20s. At 40, I was long overdue to get back on that path.
While I forced myself to do it anyway, it didn’t “feel right”.
Now I know why.
The only way forward is to build it yourself
I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t clear. I wasn’t attuned with myself.
After writing thousands of tweets and hundreds of articles, I’ve developed a better understanding of who I am and what I’m about. It took THAT LONG to reach this point. That’s how this framework, the Prismatic Process, came into being.
I call my portfolio my “digital heirloom”, a collection of thoughts, ideas, and lessons that I want to pass on.
It is forged in the gaps, the cracks, the crawlspaces of my life while I’m juggling my career and my family. Along the way, I’ve been investing in all sorts of digital goodies to help me. The funny part is that all of that stuff makes sense now. It’s taking action on the material I’ve curated that is terrifying.
The purpose emerges if you stick with it long enough
My writing here documents what I’m figuring out. I had to develop my ability to express it, and that’s something most beginners assume is a given. Few see it through, and even less continue forward.
I’m struggling to be in the latter category.
The discoveries and explorations I share will most likely be familiar to you, but it’s the journey that I believe is worth offering.
If this sounds like your thing, then you’re in the right place.
Next time, I’ll explain what a digital heirloom is about.
P.S. How integrated is your writing journey into your daily life?