Try, Try, Try
Or About Not Giving Up On An Idea
When I started working for myself in January 2022, it was after getting fired from my last 9-5. I immediately had a gig waiting for me as a brand strategist, building out a brand and six products in the Web3 (remember that?) space.
I really had no idea what I was doing, but for a few months, I had a solid income building brand messaging but when that tried up, I had no idea what to do.
But let’s rewind a little bit.
One thing I do forget is that I originally wanted to be a high school English teacher. I figured the DIY-punk musician-to-high school teacher pipeline was a solid decision (Patrick Flynn of Have Heart/Fiddlehead is the perfect archetype for this, IMO). But when I was getting out of college, my older sister was well into her teaching career, teaching English at a charter school on the west side of Salt Lake Valley. I saw she was really struggling (don’t worry, she’s now a head counselor at a high school). I started to doubt my decision to teach. I even made it as far to get paperwork going to get my teaching license. But after some thought, I backed out.
Why does this matter?
Because one thing I never thought to do was teach other people what I know about brand messaging. Surely I could put on an Event and people will pay me for the privilege of receiving knowledge from me!
I fired up Eventbrite and hoped for the best.
It didn’t happen.
I tried a few more times. Nada.
I don’t write this to have you feel bad for me. To be honest, I didn’t promote these very well at all. I tried this several times to no avail. I honestly think I was just scared of being seen as a try-hard.
But when I think about how I want to help people in 2026, I want to be more personal. Less brand projects. More face-to-face help (“teaching” I guess, if you will). More getting in the weeds with actual people to make something beautiful.
So for the first time in two years, I’m throwing an event. Time to be a try-hard again, but this time, I don’t care. Because trying actually shows that you give a shit. I don’t want to be too cool to give a shit anymore and NEITHER SHOULD YOU.
Ahem. Drum roll…
I’m putting on my Brand Narrative Workshop — LIVE! this Friday at 10 AM Mountain Time.
I know, I know, super short notice. There will be more if you can’t make it. I will make recordings available for folks who pay and can’t make it.
It’s only $50 for two hours of building out your story with only four seats available (compare to the sliding scale of $250-1,000 I typically charge for three hours for 1:1 help, what a steal!).
Tickets are available here!
What’s the Brand Narrative Workshop, you ask? It takes a modified version of The Hero’s Journey to build and clarify your business idea and message. I’ve built numerous brands, websites, ads, and many more from this process. This is for anyone who’s been sitting on an awesome business/service idea. Hell, maybe even an awesome art project.
Essentially, the world needs your expertise and humanity more than ever. I want to help you share that with confidence.
Anyways, I hope you liked my pitch disguised as a newsletter. I hope you start trying things you’re scared to try. I hope you start sharing your expertise with people and get paid for it.
Aaaand I hope you buy a ticket. :)
RECOMMENDATION CORNER: Matty Matheson’s content
As I’m writing this I’m watching Matty Matheson’s new show on Netflix called Just a Dash. Who’s Matty Matheson you may ask? He’s a legit chef with a great YouTube channel who’s an executive producer/actor of The Bear who also happens to front a hardcore band with members of Alexisonfire and the woefully underrated Attack in Black. Talk about a Renaissance man. I’ve been dabbling in cooking lately, and it’s inspiring to see someone so unapologetically himself do cool shit. I hope you do the same.
I can relate a lot to what you're saying. Sometimes it's scary to put yourself out there, but you have to try!