Founder of the Social Media Escape Club
Love this from Jen Mayer of Makeist.
I’m not looking for a job. I’m not waiting to be hired. I’m not leaving it to luck.
I’m making the connections. I’m connecting the dots.
I am actively and intentionally creating my calling: a career I never want to retire from, and a life I don’t need a vacation from.
This is the work: building Makeist into something that’s not just a business, but a life.
Here’s to not looking for a job in 2026.
My friend and her dad hiked here earlier in the day. Hours later, he called and said he lost his glasses, so we went looking for them before it got too dark. We didn’t find them, but we got in a good walk at least.
Love this from Henrik Karlsson’s “Advice for a friend who wants to start a blog:”
Your contradictions are an asset. You’re a lover of classical English architecture and you’re also a dirty little punk—expressing both at the same time is more interesting than sharing just cute pictures of English gardens or just wild trashy stuff. The more you incorporate everything that you love and that comes easily for you, your interests, your sense of humor, your grammatical tics, etc, the more your style emerges.
This quote from Bobby Lee sums it up:
“Let’s talk about Theo’s podcast. What TV shows do better numbers than his podcast? Not many.”
Theo’s shows get lots of views on YouTube, and probably at a fraction of the cost of most big name TV shows. I mean, it doesn’t matter if that’s good or bad, it’s just the way it is. The gatekeepers used to be the TV networks, but now it’s the YouTube algorithm. Build an audience, though, and you’re good. Like Bobby Lee goes on to say, when asked to play a part in a TV show:
“Two days, $1,500 a day… agents and managers take 40%… with taxes I come away with a couple hundred bucks. I’ll just do my thing.”
This concept is easy to dismiss, to think that only people with millions of subscribers / views can do this.
Like everyone chasing 1,000 True Fans, try thinking of how to manage 100, or 10, or even one person who likes / shares / reaches out and say they like your work.
We all start somewhere.
It’s amazing how much data these companies have, the ones we pay $70+ a month for, and yet when it comes time to really “connect,” they just send out these plain, “for everyone” sorts of email marketing messages.
Back when I ran Noisecreep for AOL Music (2008-2011), the incoming email never stopped. I’d tend to emails till midnight, then wake up to my inbox.
I remember the first day after I left, and I went for a hike and felt such a relief from the inbox.
It’s now 2025, and my freelance work email is very tolerable. I am blessed to have a handful of clients who pay well and don’t email me throughout the day, so that’s great.
Back in 2021 I stared Social Media Escape Club, because I just wanted to talk to more about leaving social media. In 2023 I decided I’d start hosting Zoom calls to talk to even more folks, (virtually) face to face!
Now I’ve got a good problem – an inbox filled with messages from people revolving around the work I want to do.
As I just quoted American theatre and opera director Anne Bogart, “a good omen is ‘a moment when the world seems to answer you back. It is not a guarantee of success, but a charged sign that your attention, your desire, and the circumstances have aligned in a way that invites you to proceed – more awake, more responsible, and more brave.'”
I’ve acknowledged the all of the good energy around this, “is not a guarantee of success,” but now I am “more awake, more responsible, and more brave,” and that’s all I want.
From Carly Valancy, a quote from American theatre and opera director Anne Bogart:
Anne Bogart says, a good omen is “a moment when the world seems to answer you back. It is not a guarantee of success, but a charged sign that your attention, your desire, and the circumstances have aligned in a way that invites you to proceed – more awake, more responsible, and more brave.”
I love this from Kel Rakowski, in their announcement of Popular Co.
“Stop trying to reach the mainstream. Let the mainstream come to you. When you’re building something real for a real community, the mainstream eventually has to pay attention.”
I can’t recommend BOOM enough.
If you do a lot of Zoom calls (I host 3 of them a week for Social Media Escape Club), look good, feel good, right??!
Instead of spending a bunch of money on a fancy camera, 4K converter, and everything else, get the best image from the device you’re using (in my case I use a Logitech Stream Cam).
I love being able to frame my video, and adjust exposure, vibrance, and all the other cool stuff.
From Patrick Rhone:
“I have come to believe that the best and most cost effective technology upgrade that one can make is to themselves. I’m not talking cyborg implants here. I’m speaking about knowledge. That is, increasing your skill, aptitude, and understanding when it comes to any device, application, or tool.”
Years ago when I used to read all the bicycle magazines, it was hard to miss all the talk about saving weight. How new technology was shaving ounces off of stems, handlebars, seats!
All this shaving cost hundreds of dollars, of course. Lighter bikes and components costs thousands of dollars more than their heavier counterparts.
But I’ll never forget when someone wrote that it was easier and cheaper to lose 10lbs than shave 10lbs from your bike.
