With my newsletter, I'm going against typical "growth advice" — I explore my curiosities, rather than a single topic.

So when I get feedback like this, it's really validating!

Thoughts on embracing your authentic self in your writing: (*thread*)

First off: I'm not trying to build a newsletter with explosive growth. I'm not trying to find some perfect niche that I can productize. I'm not trying to share the top tips or hacks.

All I'm trying to do is be honest with you, and share what I learn.

I'm sharing the truth about my journey: my struggles, my creations, my sadness, my joy, and everything I learn along the way.

I'm giving you my whole self.

That is no small task. Being authentic and vulnerable week after week is incredibly challenging!

But I'm not just doing it for you, I'm doing it mostly for me.

I gain so much from pushing myself to share all those parts of me.

With every newsletter, I learn and grow. Writing this newsletter is an investment in myself.

Sometimes you'll see me write about creativity and productivity, other times it's about psychology or art.

Often I share my latest essays, but I also share animations, drawings and coding projects.

It's a mixed bag, and it's full of surprises!

In the spirit of honesty, I should tell you: Posting different formats, switching topics, etc. is not exactly the best strategy for growth.

Along with some wonderful feedback on my short story (folks suggested I should make it a children's book!), I also got some unsubscribes.

But that's great! (for my goals)

I'm not doing this to get every single subscriber I possibly can. I'm doing this to build an audience of folks who *want* follow me along the different paths I take.

I want to be my true self, without curation or customization.

I'm extremely lucky to have found a setup through part-time work where I can explore so freely with this newsletter.

It took me a while to get to this stage, and I won't waste this opportunity.

It's tempting, when writing a newsletter, to constantly look for feedback on what people want to hear.

I actively try NOT to do this.

Following Liz Gilbert's thinking — I will do as I do. Some will follow, and some won't. Life is an opt-in game.

You might be thinking: "But isn't the point to make stuff people want?"

You have to make stuff YOU want to make first.

THEN see which of those things other people want, and double down on those.

The sequencing really matters!

If you start by just making what people want, then consider what might happen if you actually succeed.

You'll have created your own business, making things *other* people want, but not necessarily what you enjoy making.

Is that really what you wanted?

NOTE: If the project's goal is to make money (which is fine!), starting with user demand is a great idea.

You might do this to build a revenue stream to then explore freely in other pursuits, or you can do it to build up resources to invest in yourself later.

Either way, be sure you understand what the goal is, and what success actually looks like.

The goal of my newsletter is creative exploration, while my other part-time work fulfills financial needs, and desires for team collaboration, coding, product dev, etc.

I have no idea where this newsletter will lead, but I sense I have a lot more exploration to do. I'm willing to give it to the time and energy to grow.

The best part is, with this approach I enjoy the journey, not just dreaming about the destination.

Imagine if I actually figure this out? I would have a structure where I get to do things I enjoy, pursue my curiosities, share freely and openly, and somehow have an audience that wants to follow along.

How cool would that be?

Even if I never get there, it's worth a try!

So if you're looking for an action-oriented newsletter filled with tons of practical tips in a consistent weekly format... my newsletter probably isn't for you.

Luckily, there are tons of other newsletters that do a great job with that!

If you're looking for authenticity, variety and creativity... give my newsletter a try!

I can confidently say that there are few newsletters out there like mine.

At the very least, you might be surprised with what you find (I often surprise myself!)

If you've made it this far, you might as well subscribe (it's free!). Follow along with the Quick Brown Fox here:

http://brownfox.substack.com 

Thanks for reading, and happy Thursday! :)

this sums it up well https://twitter.com/literalbanana/status/1275972348865179650?s=21 https://twitter.com/literalbanana/status/1275972348865179650

doubling down on weird https://twitter.com/jackclarksf/status/1292521361059979266