16d • General discussion
Always have faith.
GRAND RISING, CREATORS KEY 🔑
Happy Saturday, everyone. We made it to another weekend and another week is almost officially in the books.
Quote of the day: "Always have faith." - LJ
Yesterday, I finally released a music video that taught me a lot, not only about video, but about faith, risk, patience, and the reality of the creative industry.
I’ll be completely transparent because this is a private community.
I flew out to Los Angeles for the opportunity to work with an artist named Bear. I spent a lot of my own money, took a major risk, and honestly walked away without making anything financially. From that perspective, you could easily call it an L.
We first shot something quick and run-and-gun at his place. A couple of days later, we created the full music video that I released yesterday.
Bear was a genuinely cool person. He played unreleased music for us, trusted the creative process, and showed love to the finished video. He even posted a snippet. However, while we were trying to coordinate the official rollout, communication suddenly stopped.
After doing some research, I learned that he had been arrested. I do not know the details, and I am not here to speculate or share anything that is not my business. I just know that he seemed to be going through a difficult period when I met him. I prayed with him then, and I continue to pray that he finds freedom, both literally and spiritually.
Eventually, I decided I could not continue waiting for the perfect rollout.
I wanted the video to finally see the light of day.
So I released it through my own platforms, knowing that my audience is only a small fraction of the audience it may have reached through the artist’s channels.
The numbers have not been crazy. Around 200 views on Instagram, a few likes on YouTube, and roughly 30 YouTube views so far. Definitely not the result you imagine when you invest that much time, energy, money, and emotion into a project.
But numbers do not always tell the full story.
This was the first music video I completely directed. My brother Jay handled the cinematography while I focused on the vision, performances, scenes, and overall direction. During the edit, I pushed myself to experiment with new effects, strengthen my storytelling, and step more confidently into my role as a director.
That experience alone was a W.
I have been thinking about something I call Liam’s Lessons Learned... the triple L.
Sometimes, stacking up enough Ls is exactly what creates the W.
Every project will not blow up. Every risk will not immediately pay you back. Every opportunity will not unfold the way you imagined. But you can still leave the experience with stronger skills, greater wisdom, new relationships, more confidence, and a clearer understanding of the road ahead.
The views do not show the hours.
The engagement does not show the sacrifice.
The numbers do not always show the growth.
When things are working perfectly, it can be easy to say that you have faith. It is during the uncertain seasons... the seasons when the numbers are low, the investment feels heavy, and the outcome is unclear... that your faith is truly tested.
Whatever you are working through right now, continue showing up.
God has you, even when the results do not immediately make sense.
TODAY’S TO-DO LIST:
- Complete a real estate photo shoot
- Head to the beach with my cousin
- Announce Monday’s Creator’s Key call with Swisher3x, where we’ll be discussing personal-branding best practices
- Continue building 3D test visuals for an upcoming music video
What are you working on this Saturday? Drop your goals below so we can hold each other accountable. 🔑
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Always have faith.
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