No... I'm not dead.

Building a biz without social media. Escaping the engagement rat race. And my new radical plan.

Brian To

Aug 20, 2023

"Are you quitting?"

"What now?!"

“Where have yah been?”

"What's the next big project?"

These were some of the DM's I got on Twitter from friends checking in on me this past week. 😅

Don't worry-I'm still alive!

I didn't mean to disappear for 2 months. I just felt like I needed to take a break from the big "S"…

Social Media.

As a creator, (and online Solo-preneur) I feel that:

1. Social media is becoming a rat race. 🐀

2. Being online everyday is draining my soul. 💀

3. Twitter (or X?) is changing faster than I can keep up 🏃

and it's starting to all merge into this mental game of "playing catch up".

What once felt like an adventure…

Growing on Twitter
Launching products
Writing online

Started feeling like a chore.🥲

And I immediately fell into a creative slump (yet again).

I missed 2 weeks of my newsletter.
I barely tweeted.
I stopped checking my messages.

I became a total digital shut-in.

And then I started questioning myself…

Am I really a writer? Am I really a writer?

What happened to my consistency? What happened to my enthusiasm? Why aren’t I taking this as seriously as I need to be?

My biggest fear, however, was quitting.

Whatever this “block” was I knew for sure it wasn’t going to make me QUIT.

So for the past few weeks I...

Read more books
Worked out more
Spent more time IRL
Hosted more parties
Traveled with my family
Took more online courses

I did everything to avoid spending time on Twitter and figure out a way to get my mojo back.

Then one night…

At Olympic National Park, I caught a shooting star. 💫

The Perseid meteor shower was in full bloom and the ENTIRE sky was lighting up!

It was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen, as the lake reflected the heavenly bodies above.

And I thought to myself...

"Damn. THIS is what I want more of!"

I couldn't put a word to it.

Life?

Passion?

Purpose?

Maybe all 3?

All I knew was— for the first time in a long while I felt alive, inspired, and connected.

Just like the first day I started publishing online.

I remember my eyes lighting up when I clicked "publish" on my first blog post.

I remember my heart beating like a madman when I landed my first freelance client.

I also remember pacing around my room when I had to send a quote to said client.

I was FEELING IT y'all...

And I realized that…

Somewhere along the way I forgot to celebrate my wins.

Every time I'd hop on the big “S” I’d think to myself:

"Oh I only have 300 subs still..."

"My growth has really slowed down..."

"I only made $400 in sales so far...

Translated: Oh woe is me, I’m not where I thought I would be 2 years from now. My life sucks and the sky is falling!

Eventually, I became jaded, demotivated, and just plain tired of playing the game.

So… here’s my plan for a NEW kind of game.

A kind of game that is fun, enjoyable, and PROFITABLE.

One that doesn’t expect you to spend all your waking hours on social media pumping out tweets to get random followers to your page. One that doesn’t make you feel like you’re constantly ON 24/7 worrying about ‘engagement’ (whatever that means). One that doesn’t make you commit to ‘hacky’ growth strategies or make you feel like you’re playing catch up.

I’m going to flip the script on what it means to be a successful creator WITHOUT the big “S”.