That time I invested $3,000 in my writing
Oh, hi friends!
You never know where a project will go.
In 2017, I started writing this newsletter to 30 subscribers, the people who came to my monthly “summits” where we talked about career changes, big leaps, project quandaries. (Those summits are also how I made and maintained dozens, maybe hundreds, of friendships while being a freelance writer, far far away from colleagues or office life.)
Now there are 5,356 subscribers! Thank you for being here.
This newsletter also created friendships far beyond the borders of a few boroughs. I’ve reconnected with people from my hometown, stayed in touch with old work friends, and found so many people who are, like you and me, searching and trying, striving and occasionally failing, leaving and returning, connected by a little common space in the digital world.
Most importantly, starting this newsletter made me write.
It made me choose myself—not another company, another gig, or anyone else.
In fact, I just checked, and over the course of five years, I have actually paid my newsletter provider Mailchimp $3,236.23 to send these newsletters. I paid to have a space for my writing, and to send that writing out into the world. That is kind of wild!
Looking back, it feels like the most important investment I’ve ever made.
All this got me thinking:
What are you pulled to do?
What feels difficult and maybe a little scary or out of the ordinary?
What would feel like an investment in yourself?
You don’t know where it will lead. But it will be somewhere new.
Can you begin today?
Is the story you’re telling yourself true?
Or is it rooted in a previous version of yourself?
New Chapter Time!
Starting tomorrow, this email will be hosted on Substack! It’ll be sent from brassringdaily [at] substack [dotcom]. (When you respond, it goes straight to my personal email, same as before). I’m off to tinker with a bunch of new tools—and have to make the switch before Mailchimp’s next invoice drops tomorrow lol. Thanks for driving with me to this next chapter.
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
You can also support my work by checking out my motivational journal, Do It For Yourself, designed to guide you through your creative and work projects, and my upcoming journal Do It Today, which encourages you to find time for the things that matter most to you.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara