I hate not being good at something. It’s the competitor in me. When I was younger I would lose at something, then spend days/weeks/months practicing the thing, until I was good enough to beat most people. But there’s a difference between not being good, and being early. And I have to remind myself of this every day. I want to be good at YouTube. I am not good at YouTube. But I’m also just starting. So, as of today I have four subscribers. 4. But instead of feeling like I suck. I looked at the analytics this morning and thought… Holy shit, I have four subscribers. Four people want to know what I have to say!! That’s how it starts. It’s all happening. And maybe it won’t. But I started. And I’m going to keep going. Four people. Wow. Guys, I promise there is a bunch of stuff coming. It's close. I just keep having to do some other things, and I'm pivoting a little with the content, based on all the thinking I've been doing on the fear post I made on a bunch of platforms last week. Stay tuned.

Some very cool things ( automations and tech ) launching shortly, as soon as I kill a couple remaining bugs. In the meantime. If you use ChatGPT or Claude to create copy ( though we writers shouldn't be doing this for everything ), you know how important it is to capture your unique voice, your tone. Well, I came across and am using it for a few things, and thought you folks would be interested as well. It's essentially the mega prompt, that you feed your content to ( or your clients if you wanted to better capture their voice ) and it will give you maybe the most complete tone of voice prompt you could ever use. Put this into your favourite LLM, alongside some examples of your writing ( more is better ), and ask it to generate your tone of voice prompt. It's ok if you need to break it up some into prompt 1,2,3. Prompt 🤖 Prompt 1 - Micro-level elements: Analyze the given text focusing on the following micro-level elements: 1. Vocabulary and word choice - Analyze the writer's use of unique, specialized, or repetitive words and phrases - Identify the frequency and diversity of the writer's vocabulary - Examine the use of jargon, slang, or colloquialisms - Determine the writer's preference for simple or complex words - Look for any distinctive or unusual word choices - Assess the reading age level required to understand the vocabulary used 2. Grammatical patterns - Identify the writer's use of specific grammatical structures, such as passive voice, complex tenses, or particular parts of speech - Analyze the writer's use of verb tenses and consistency in tense usage - Examine the writer's use of singular and plural nouns, as well as pronouns - Look for any recurring grammatical errors or deliberate deviations from standard grammar 3. Punctuation - Analyze the writer's use of punctuation marks, such as commas, semicolons, dashes, and parentheses - Determine if the writer favors certain punctuation marks over others - Examine how the writer uses punctuation to create rhythm, emphasis, or clarity

Hi everyone, Tania here... Kerry's encouraged me to share some good news with the team since I’ve learned a few things through launching my mentorship program, so in case you find any of this helpful, I’m happy to share. Background: I soft-launched my mentorship program for artists by listing my services (currently 2 program options) on my website on the last week of December… and last week I booked two new clients! *the crowd goes wild* 🎉 One is a paying client, and the other is an art student looking for mentorship through her college art program. I’ve been wanting to redirect my community-service efforts specifically to the arts, so this feels like a win, even if it’s not a paid gig. The paying client found me through IG - he started following me in December and expressed interest in mentorship when I hinted my program would be dropping soon - so I tried to keep him warm until the soft-launch when he could shop my services in my storefront. And it worked. Here’s what I learned in the process of converting him from follower to paying client: ✅ Some potential “clients” will feign interest in you/your product in order to suck your energy dry ➡️ ...being wary of this, I engaged in conversation with this client by exercising boundaries around my response times and frequency of communication. I maintained a friendly-yet-professional tone when chatting. Not all followers are potential clients, knowing who’s “worth” chatting with calls for following your gut - I’ve been burned before, but in this case, investing my time in chatting/building connection and conversation within healthy professional boundaries ended up being worth it. ✅ He expressed concerns about the cost of my program ➡️ ...and instead of lowering my pricepoint for him, I gently encouraged him to invest in himself, if he wanted to. There was no attempt to hard sell, I didn’t defend my pricing. My rates are not negotiable just because they’re inaccessible to some people. I wanted him to know that other clients are paying this rate - I wasn’t desperate to secure him as a client and he knew I was able to fill his potential spot with someone else.

This is for anyone who has ever doubted themselves. I spent most of my career convinced I wasn’t creative. Surrounded by designers, writers, and photographers making magic, I thought my role was simple: help them do their thing and stay out of the way. When you’re surrounded by naturally gifted people, it’s easy to believe you don’t belong. That’s the story I carried for years: no design background, no writing degree, no clue what a past participle is. Creativity just wasn’t my thing—or so I thought. When you're surrounded by naturally gifted people, it's easy to tell yourself you're not that person. Not your thing. Stay in your lane. But here's what I learned ( sadly, very late ): Being creative isn't about being the best. It's not about perfect grammar or fancy degrees. It's about having something to say and finding your way to say it. Turns out, I'm a writer. No qualifiers needed. Not because I'm technically brilliant - any English major would have a stroke reading some of my sentences. I'm a good writer because I am an effective communicator. Because sometimes I manage to say something that matters. And yes, because people pay me to do it. If I could become a writer without the traditional path, what else could I create? This question changed everything. Once I understood that being "qualified" wasn't the key to creating value, I started seeing possibilities everywhere. Writing wasn't about mastering rules - it was about connecting ideas with people who needed them. I can do that. What Else Can I Do? We live in a time where technology is tearing down the walls between idea and creation. Tools that once required teams of experts are now available to anyone willing to spend a few hours learning the ins and outs. AI can help code. Design tools are more intuitive than ever. The gap between imagination and reality is shrinking daily. So here I am, the guy who spent years thinking he wasn't creative enough, building things I never thought possible. Apps. Websites. Communities. Me, solo, with nothing but curiosity and modern tech as my team.

Literally just had THREE people tell me this in chats this AM alone 😂 Now the question is, do I go back to school and make it offical?