One of Us Already Failed on Week 1...

Pioneers,

Hope your WEEK 1 went well! Just a reminder, all of us set 12 week goals last week and plan to stay consistent on them. Well, everyone but Tejas... take it away loser.

*Sigh* I failed week one lol. Honestly, rough week for me as I fell in this rut coming back from Vidcon and didn't shake it. You know the drill, if you don't complete a week's objective, then you spin the wheel of DARES. This week's dare... run a mile outside NAKED (in my underwear!) We'll bounce back this week.

ANYWAY, here is something interesting:

Y’all remember Timm Chiusano, right? This guy. A 44-year-old corporate monkey (his words, not mine) who daily vlogs and has one of the most unique mindsets of any human being. Yeah, he had one of the best panels at Vidcon.

Those who watch Timm have a real deep connection with him, it’s the magic of content creation. But how does he do this? Why do I, a 21-year-old regular monkey who doesn’t daily vlog and has just an above average mindset, like him so much?

It’s because Timm is a world-builder. He has used his reality to create this multiverse that we enter every time a video of his comes up on our FYP. We connect with these characters and elements he has built: Evelyn, Kelly, Supreme, protein bars, routine, suits, beer, the list goes on.

We see the world through his eyes and find his relationships with these elements either relatable or aspirational. His routine to me is aspirational yet we both love a good beer. I like Timm because of his mindset and that is what makes him a brilliant creator.

Being a creator is being a world-builder. If you can successfully have an audience escape into whatever you make, you’ve hit the jackpot. It’s crucial to develop characters and elements so that people can find your relationships with them valuable to them.

My exercise for this week is to really take myself out of my body and look at this brand that I’ve created. Who are my characters? What world have I built? How can I make this world much stronger and clearer for my audience?

I should have answers for you next week!

Posted two TikToks - two personal videos. Ended up posting one dinger.

I’m sick. I mean that in two ways.

The first, as in I’m actually sick with a cold. It knocked me on my ass this week. The second, “I’m sick” as in I’m sick of making stuff I’m not proud of. Going through the motions of making TikToks without changing much - sick of it.

In terms of peaks and valleys, I was definitely in a valley this last week. When my immune system isn’t functioning, it’s hard for me to feel good about anything else, on an emotional level. I’ve been splitting my focus between taking care of my body, and taking care of my online presence. Obviously one of those is more important than the other, but the dissonance between the two caused somewhat of a rift this week.

Out of that, however, was birthed a spark. A spark of inspiration and motivation - to create something I actually cared about. Something that used my real voice, not the caffeinated over-the-top creator voice we all fall into sometimes. I wanted to make something that was as authentic and as true to what I was feeling in my head-cold-induced stupor.

So, while cooking dinner one night, I decided to record the process - from washing the produce to consuming the end product. Then, I did some skincare with Lexi, recording that process as well. Finally, I captured the process of me making tea. Three simple videos that took no longer than an hour to film.

The idea was to create a mini-series, narrated with my real voice, that accurately displayed how I was feeling. I was sad, unfocused, sick, uninspired. And, unlike a typical Sean Oulashin video, it wasn’t necessarily optimistically-centered. Sure they were positive in a sense, but the idea was to capture my mood, and I accomplished that by not “acting” in any shot, and comparatively bland narration.

While editing these pieces, it felt natural. Sometimes editing a “lesson” TikTok can feel like forcing a square peg into a round hole, but these felt almost documentary-like. And while they didn’t pull the craziest numbers online, they were the first videos in a while that felt amazing to make, just for me.

From this point forward, I’m vowing to not put out a piece of content unless I feel like I can look at it 10 years later and not cringe. I’ll hold myself accountable, but would love the eyes of you and everyone else to have my back as well.

Vitamins and supplements help a head cold, sure, but nothing gets you back on your feet like making something you’re truly proud of.

You don’t have to enjoy every stage of the process. Some of it’s pretty shit, actually. But what this profession allows that many others can’t; is the freedom to pick and choose. To say, I love this part - let’s focus here. Or I’m bad at this - let’s direct efforts elsewhere.

Learning what comes naturally to me and what definitely doesn’t was when my efficiency kicked into a higher gear. For a long time, I thought I had to master everything in order to keep up. I consider myself a bit of a Jack of all trades - primarily because I’ve dipped into everything and perfected so little. But reader - you only have to be an expert at one thing. Being you.

Sure, laugh. I know it’s corny. But there’s always someone out there who’s mastered your technique and then some. But your style, voice and approach - that’ll always be unequivocally yours. So use it to your advantage.

Last weekend I visited my parents up by the coast. I arrived knowing that my 12-Week Goal called for a video, ASAP. In preparation, I scripted and storyboarded a short film set on the beach. Take a look at some of my doodles:

I’m not the best at thinking on my feet. Or at least, thinking on my feet and then sticking with that decision. It’s why I take great care in doing all the thinking ahead of time - meaning I can turn up, follow my own orders, and depart in no time. We have the freedom to navigate our process literally any way we want. I’m a huge advocate for planning well (often with storyboards) but I’m a bigger advocate for finding your own system.

I rocked up at the beach, fit with a tripod and iPhone, trying to ignore the onlookers, and breezed through my video in no time. Since I not only knew what I wanted but also why I wanted it, I could effortlessly come up with a contingency plan if a shot wasn’t looking likely. But since the film required no difficult setups, I wrapped quickly and began editing.

With some interesting visual effects shots to maneuver, I edited the video over a couple days and posted the video shortly after. Check it out here, if you haven’t seen it! Watch it side by side with my drawings to see how I converted my imagination onto the screen.

I mean it sincerely when I say I thoroughly enjoyed every stage of the process. Writing the script, sketching the storyboard, sweating on the beach, and editing. But I could’ve had to worry about so many other things, like location dialogue, camera movement, lighting, or brand guidelines. I knew what I had time for, what I was good at, and designed my video around those principles. It’s a luxury of being self-employed.

Nowadays, I’m comfortable with my abilities and my inabilities. Being imperfect at some things is the only way to be perfect at one thing.

Unfortunately the video didn’t perform as well as I hoped. But it’s harder to care when I simply had a lot of fun the whole way through. Yes, there was sweat - but certainly no blood or tears. The way I see it, your art is always a product of who you are, right now. Fucking lean into it.

That's it for this week's log! Let's keep the consistency up (even you Tejas).