If you read my post from last week, you know that I am starting to create a bunch of content under this “Misfit Creatives” term. Why? And what does it even mean?! A few of my friends had the same question, so sit tight. I’ll explain.
The “why” tree has a few branches, but the first one is that I create content and social media strategies for brands (mostly restaurants), and one of my goals for 2022 is to reach more clients digitally. I have arthritis in my hand from constantly being on my phone or holding a camera, so my body is literally telling me to find a new way of doing things or it will stop working.
The other main reason for the shift is that there are a lot of people who struggle with social media and mental health (especially as it relates to entrepreneurship), but don’t talk about it. Why? Because they feel no one understands them, or worse, they’ll doubt their abilities if they do.
Friendly reminder: it doesn’t make you any less of a leader for admitting that this shit is hard. Everyone goes through this part at some point during the evolution of their career. And after much consideration, I’m here to shed some light on that.
So the first part of the Misfit Creatives or LMC (Land of Misfit Creatives) is focused on digital products I will be selling to help boost your creativity, find your voice, and/or streamline your social media.
The second part is about storytelling – learning from my experiences and especially my mistakes. Think of me as your fucked up friend who has been knocked off course more times than she’d like to admit, but still came out shockingly well-adjusted (but definitely not perfect) and just wants to help you navigate this thing.
I don’t want to sound like I’m full of myself here, but I had to learn that if you want to be successful, you have to do this crazy thing called “believing in yourself.” Because unfortunately, a lot of people won’t do that until you “prove it” to them first.
Imagine if you had to wait until the day you prove yourself to someone else in order to be happy?? That would mean we’d be unfulfilled and unhappy with our entire journey; and I’d argue that the journey is actually much more exciting than the end goal. In fact, when we achieve our end goal, more often than not, we don’t feel happy – we just wonder what’s next.
So if you’re not going to enjoy the ride (and learn from it), bumps and all, then what’s the point?
I wanted a place to share how I got here and what tools you need to have your own back. If you’re anything like me (a true MC), you’ll know what it feels like to be a bit of an outcast and not totally sure of where you fit in or who you can trust. Therefore, it’s especially important to learn who you can lean on when you’re struggling, and spoiler alert: a lot of times that person is YOU.
To that end, let’s backtrack a little.
I was thinking about the people I serve within my community (online and off), and I actually made a flow chart on a bunch of pieces of paper to illustrate it. Who they are, what they need, and how I provide a solution. My apartment looked a little like that scene in A Beautiful Mind, but during this scattered brain-dump process, the term “Misfit Creative” popped into my head.
I was immediately drawn to the name (I came up with it so I should be), and then I thought the virtual community could be called “LMC,” short for “Land of Misfit Creatives.” Do I know what that’s going to end up looking like? Not exactly. I have a few ideas in mind, but I’m figuring it out and trusting the process. Again, it’s not about the end goal right now, it’s about the bridge. This just feels right to me and I thought it would be fun for you guys to come along for the ride.
After that, I decided to pick apart the attributes of a Misfit Creative. Who is that person? What do they do? Obviously, I am a self-proclaimed MC, but here’s a little bit more about what that person looks like.
A Misfit Creative is someone who works in a creative field, either professionally or as a hobby. For the most part, they are happy with what they put out into the world, energetically and professionally, but there’s something in them that always feels a little bit out of place…
Maybe they don’t have a large following and spend their days pouring over social media trying to figure out the algorithm, feeling lost in the sea of content saturation.
Maybe they’re working a day job and wish they could quit to pursue their passion full time.
Maybe their friends don’t understand what they do, so they feel very isolated and never ask for help.
Maybe they are driven with a lot of ideas, but don’t totally know how to focus that drive.
Maybe they are multi-passionate and hate being put into a metaphorical box, like social media expects of them.
There’s a bunch of examples I could come up with, but I believe those are the core pain points of the Misfit Creative. And hopefully you understand the overarching theme here: they are smart, hard working people who feel a little bit stuck, for a multitude of reasons.
After the last 2-3 years of self-reflection induced by loss and heartache, I can safely identify as a Misfit Creative, how about you? TAKE THIS QUIZ AND FIND OUT!
Yes, I made a little quiz to help you figure it out. It’s not a quiz where skill is required, it’s just a personality quiz. Don’t be scared. I can’t do stuff like math either.
So if you feel like you’re lacking the community, support system, motivation, and/or just want to learn how to grow personally and professionally, sign up for my newsletter (on the sidebar to the right of this post), so you can get all the goodies I’m planning, straight to your inbox.
There will be a weekly newsletter (with restaurants or recipes weaved in), a series of blog posts, and resources for all of you. For example, if you want to up your photography game, buy my Lightroom Presets on Etsy here!
Heads up: this is NOT an Instagram bootcamp. There will be things about Instagram OF COURSE, but one of the main pillars of the LMC is shifting your mindset around social media, aka you will learn that it’s not the ONLY thing that matters. It’s important, but it’s not EVERYTHING. Trust me.
I’ll see you there. Please drop a comment here (or on IG) for things you’d want to hear more about.
