394: Creating When the World Feels On Fire

[00:00:00] Hello, friends, if you're listening to this today, you might be feeling a heavy mix of things. I am recording from Minnesota and my heart, along with the heart of so many in our community and nationwide. Is grieving the news, social media, it feels very overwhelming to say the least. It's heartbreaking.

[00:00:31] It's hard, and it can make the work that we are doing as content creators really feel like, does this even matter? Why are we even posting or, you know, just feeling completely impossible to post. I've talked to so many of you recently, either dmd posted or reached out in some way, about this tension and, you know, how do we focus on growing our businesses? How do we create content when the world feels like it's on fire? So today I am not offering. A strategy tip. I, I don't have the answers for this.

[00:01:11] We've, we've talked about things in the past that have been really hard to navigate as content creators, and today I, I really wanna have a talk about holding both the grief and the purpose of what we are doing. We have other resources that we will link inside of the show notes for this episode. We've done recently on protecting your mental health and one in the past about what to do in times of crisis, but today I don't want to just like have those same type of conversations.

[00:01:52] Instead, I really want to. Come to this, you know, really tough place of what do we post, how do we post, how do we show up? Because in times like this, the idea of hustling and, you know, continuing on as normal can just feel gross and feel like we shouldn't be doing it. But what I wanna share today is that.

[00:02:20] Building a sustainable independent business isn't just about ambition right now. It's not selfish. It's about building a foundation of security because. We need you to have a really successful business right now. I want you to be wealthy. I want you to make so much money. Because this means that not only are you able to take care of yourself and make sure that you are safe, your family is taken care of, you're also then able to have resources to support causes that you care about to help your community.

[00:03:09] And it means that you're not relying on any corporate entity that maybe they don't share your values and especially in times of crisis, or you know, maybe you just don't feel good about supporting them or don't want to be there. Your needed in this time to really lean into your business and to really be successful, to really grow.

[00:03:38] your creative work, the work that you are doing on your account is not separate from what is going on in the world, but it can really be the engine that allows you to be good in it. It can be something really wonderful in a time when things are not so wonderful. So how do we go about doing this? You know, uh, again, like I don't wanna get into the hows.

[00:04:07] I am not going to tell you what you should be posting or what you should not be posting at this point in January, 2026, we have been through enough crisis, in the age of social media and. Having accounts and having people that follow us that at this point you guys know what you have to do and you know what is best for you, what is best for your gut, what is best for your mental health and what is best for your business.

[00:04:41] I'm not here to tell you what that is. I don't have the answer, but what I do have to tell you is that you have to protect your most important asset, and that is. Your mental health, you cannot pour from an empty cup. And if you are constantly taking in the news, social media, and information that is not healthy, you have to take breaks.

[00:05:14] You have to create really strong boundaries. You have to. Protect your peace so that way you can be effective in all areas of your life.

[00:05:24] You're not able to help anyone. You know, it's like you have to put on your oxygen mask first. You have to do that with your mental health. You have to take care of your mental health first before you're able to effectively help anyone else. And that can be helping your kiddos around the house. That can be helping your friends, that can be helping your neighbors, that can be whatever you wanna take that as.

[00:05:50] But you have to. Help yourself first, so that way you have something to give when you are needed.

[00:05:58] And also when it comes to your content, it's okay if you need to pivot your content gently. Maybe today's Instagram post isn't status quo. Maybe it's checking in with your audience and saying, Hey guys, how are you holding up? Maybe it's sharing a resource or, or, you know what? It's, it's okay also to post something beautiful and joyful.

[00:06:20] A DIY, something that people can get their hands on and, and keep their hands busy to take care of their own mental health. It's, it's not ignorance, it's preservation of the human spirit. And, you know, the thing that I, I've been doing a lot of work lately on myself, um, going into this new year because there are a lot of things that I wanna do differently this year that I, that happened.

[00:06:47] On a personal note for myself in 2025 and things that I want to, you know, just change. And so I've been doing a lot of deep work about showing up and being visible. And because I'm somebody, as I've talked about many times, um, it's easy for me to kind of like hide behind this mic and not really show up as much on social media.

[00:07:07] And that's something that I really wanna change this year. Man, January's made it really hard for me to be like, oh, okay, yeah. Now I'm gonna just start showing up in the midst of all this craziness. That makes sense. But one thing that has come up as I've been diving into this is just worrying about what other people are going to think.

[00:07:28] Right. That that's a, a huge thing that we all deal with and.

[00:07:34] It's never gonna not be a thing that we worry about. And so what we have to do is really just approach it differently.

[00:07:44] We have to look at what is true to me, what. Brings me the fulfillment that I need to feel in my life. And this is, so, this is so tricky because I, I feel like I'm talking about different things, but they are combined. I think this is a larger conversation about, you know, feeling like we can be visible and, you know, being our authentic selves on social media, not in crisis, but it also, it, it all ties in, right?

[00:08:24] And, and it ties in with what you do or do not say about certain things that are going on. And the biggest thing is just to make sure that you're being true to yourself and that you're taking care of your mental health. And also knowing that, you know, whatever you decide to post and how you decide to navigate growing your business, that the next piece of content doesn't have to be perfect.

[00:08:49] It, it just has to, it has to be authentic and give yourself grace with it. If you need to take a pause, take a pause. But if you're like, no, it's, it's the beginning of the year. I also want to grow my business, then that is also needed. We need you to grow your business. We need you to make money. You know that, that, that is the heart of this entire message is that we're complex humans.

[00:09:18] all of this is very challenging being. An account that has a social media presence is challenging right now, but just know that we're complex humans and we are capable of holding multiple truths at once. We can be grieving for our community and still find joy in our work.

[00:09:37] We can be angry at injustice and still create something beautiful. And in fact, the art of creating, creating art, creating content, creating joy, right? Like. Being able to spark joy in somebody else and bring a smile to somebody else's face is an act of resistance. It's a declaration that, no, we are not going to be sucked into despair.

[00:10:04] We are not going to let grief silence us. We're not going to let the heaviness of the world and arguments and fights and everything completely mute our voice.

[00:10:19] I wish I could give all of you just a giant hug. I think we all the world collectively needs a hug.

[00:10:28] you know, in, in this space of holding both, you can write a blog post with a heavy heart. You can edit a reel while. Holding space for your community. You can design something while listening to a vigil. You're not betraying your grief and the grief of any of anyone else by tending to your purpose.

[00:10:53] There's a lot of guilt that comes up when we try to compartmentalize things, but just know that they can coexist and. Holding that tension is how we survive and eventually are going to be thriving again. So today, if you're struggling to create contents. I want you to ask yourself one gentle question.

[00:11:18] What is one small, manageable task that would feel like caring for my future self? Maybe it's outlining an idea. Maybe it's sending an email. Maybe it is posting a reel. Maybe it's just writing down your feelings to process 'em. That's enough. We're not just content creators. We're people. We're humans navigating in an incredibly difficult time. So be kind to yourselves and hold space for others when you can. And remember that building your platform is part of building a resilient life. And I am right here with you. Take care of everybody. Sending you so much love. I'll see you here soon.