Creating My Happy

I have wanted to be a writer since I was 12. In middle school, I wrote short stories. In high school, I wrote free-verse poetry and a novella. In college, academic papers. No matter what I was working on, I was able to immerse myself in it, building a story one word at a time (even in academic papers), and I was happy while I worked.

After college, I tried writing a blog, starting a website to publish my work. It didn’t last long, as keeping up a website took more of my time than writing, and no one seemed to be interested in what I had to say. My confidence took a major hit, causing a writer’s block that I couldn’t break. It was so bad that I had trouble writing even work-related reports. It lasted almost 2 years. When I tried to write, even though I still had something to say, I never finished anything I started. I was so caught up in the success of my writing that it affected my ability to write.

Fast-forward to a little over a year ago. I discovered Gary Vaynerchuk through Facebook, and his emphasis on not allowing anyone’s judgment to affect you and on putting out work regardless of what people think inspired me to start writing again. I got back on social media (jury’s still out on the wisdom of that) and started writing little things. I worked on sales copy for an online retailer and wrote a review of my test drive on a Tesla Model X that was promoted to both the homepage of the Electric Vehicles section and homepage of DriveTribe.com. That was a major accomplishment for me, and my confidence was back.

Around that time, I also started following Julian Lennon on Instagram. His photography is spectacular. I asked him, not expecting a response, what camera he used for his photography. Surprisingly, he not only answered, but he answered “iPhone.” The simplicity of his answer was a revelation. I also began developing an interest in photography, inspired both by Julian Lennon’s photography and the beauty of Colorado, my home.

I’m tired of the hamster wheel, putting all my effort into work that wasn’t fulfilling and getting little from it. I resolved that I wanted to be happy. It’s a simple but complicated goal. I also decided that if I couldn’t find my happy, I would create it through writing and photography, and maybe a podcast later on. But it would be me all the way.

And so, Far Afield Media is born. The umbrella for all my creative work, and the platform for my voice that I’ve wanted to build for years. Welcome, and thank you.

Gary Vaynerchuk

www.garyvaynerchuk.com

Twitter: @garyvee

Instagram: garyvee

Julian Lennon:

Twitter: @julianlennon

Instagram: julespicturepalace