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Last 17 Months Today I have a friend who tells too many people that it takes me a day to eat an apple. It’s true; I let it marinate in the air, then take a brown bite. It’s not that I like the texture, it’s just there are so many tasks, shows, conversations, books, brainstorms, distractions—that there’s no hurry to go through one thing. I can make anything last, especially what I don’t want to end, whatever is personally fulfilling or satisfying. When I asked myself though if I would do another cycle of Seven Yrs, 2015/2022, I knew that it was done. It was my favorite glob on the plate, however, so I’ll scrape off the last bits here. The obvious reasons are that it wasn’t gaining traction and I had little motivation to push that. The innate motive though is that I think I’ve said all that I needed to within this project. I looked at what haunted me and gave myself spaces to process them. I was honest with myself and honest with you till the shock of sharing had softened. My arguments evolved, but my original goal came through. I hate myself less, then and now. That is pretty fucking cool. So if you’re starting a personal project or feel you’re in the doldrums of one, here’s other stuff I got out of the process. Don’t stay discouraged if people don’t love it now or ultimately. You’re the one who’s lived with it and you can take anything from it onward. Conceived a big, bad project. I don’t know why I thought I’d make something easy for myself, but now I have a website, a newsletter, and an understanding of Twitter and IG. More importantly, instead of making these things just for the heck of them, I really thought about what content goes where. Designating platforms and devising purposes without being redundant—all roads lead to development. Created on schedule. Posting responses seven years after the facts provided a very clear schedule. I’d transcribe, find backgrounds, take pictures, Photoshop, write copy, link, and post to the date. No one was going to tell if I missed something, but I’m not going to be my only client, so why not be on time now? Followed through with a thing I made. Seventeen months straight and strong, baby!!!! Found new value in social media. I don’t love being online and that could be a whole newsletter, but I just wanna say I like the internet! Read this and hear here if you’re bucking the beast, but consider how marketing worked previously: you either had to pay massive entities to show your product or train flocks of maybe intelligent pigeons. Like every new tool, there are absolutely problems that need be fixed… but I’m glad there’s a quick way to reach people. I’m a fan too of turning off the like count (that you still have valid feelings about) ;) Learned I have a voice. Didn’t even know that was a thing to want, so it was nice to hear I have one. Thank you, friends!! Raised the stakes. I put my newb self out there and continued to finesse it. It’s also the last reason why I’m ending Seven Yrs.
Without wanting to do all the things to promote this project, fewer challenges were going to crop up. To keep growing, I will hone my career efforts offline, but I’ll still send the odd newsletter with whatever I wish I knew sooner :) And who knows? If it feels personally relevant again, maybe I’ll pick Seven Yrs back up. As long as I keep living, I’ll have something to look back at… but I’m looking forward to looking forward. Lemme see what you do too. Theme Song “Gimme Some Motivation” by Delta Spirit (Spotify / YouTube) If I did my job right!! Seven Yrs soundtrack on Spotify and YouTube!*~ Theme Media Why ‘Fleabag’ Is Not Returning For A Third Season by Dani Di Placido Many a show has ended, but as mentioned… I haven’t finished yet. One I did see though was Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s beloved Fleabag, which ended on its own terms, not once, but twice. I’ve seen every season of Seinfeld four to nine times and was always fascinated by Jerry’s decision to end the show’s reign. Digging into Phoebe’s interviews (rec The Hollywood Reporter’s linked in the article), there is something admirable about knowing what is worth telling and knowing when to close. Who wants to water down? Notable Notes
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