Mark Twain said, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” I did just that when I turned my YouTube channel into my career. But guess what? That statement is FALSE. If you turn your play into your work, eventually it becomes work and you need to find new play.
A few weeks back, I was able to hang out with Ingrid & Lennon (the OG’s will remember him) and we talked about how introducing money into the equation fundamentally changes your relationship with your art.
Passion Killers
So many of us used to be very passionate about something. It was our outlet, our fun, our escape. And at some point we decided to use YouTube to share that passion with the world. But somewhere along the line, our natural creative expression went away and it was transformed into a forced and well-planned money-driven task.
When I first made YouTube my career it was great! It felt fantastic to be making money and supporting my family from something I loved doing. But after 15 years and 4,500 videos across 9 channels, it didn’t feel the same way. So I stopped. Part of it was because I was no longer doing it for creativity and joy, but because I felt like it was something I had to do. Also, I stopped because I completely broke down and something had to give. Making videos was that thing.
Money can create fear, obligation, new expectations and higher states. When Lennon started music he used it as an escape. The money helped in a lot of ways, but it also removed some of the joy as well. It turned “I get to” into “I have to.”
It has been proven that adding money can actually reduce your passion which leads you to produce lower quality work. You create differently when it’s your play than when it’s a revenue driver.
Driving Mission
So if money can’t be our driving factor, what can? You must have a driving mission behind why you do what you do. It will change the way that you view your content. Instead of creating something and immediately thinking how well will it perform, you must view it as a gift. I’m making this content FOR my viewers. You don’t give a gift and then ask, “So what do you think about me because of it?” You give it because you believe that is helpful to them.
Our mission has always been to reach people to change lives. THIS has been my driving force – not money. If I didn’t have it, I would never have lasted 15 years. I don’t think burn out would be as much of an issue if we had a driving mission instead.
Before there was a YouTube partner program, people’s videos were very different. People were just creating to build a community around certain things. But now money is on the line. And when money is your goal, it can ruin your life. But money isn’t all bad. Money makes for an amazing tool to reach more people and change more lives. So having that mission has enabled us to use money to continue instead of money becoming the goal of that mission.
Shifting Drives
The mission helps keep burnout at bay, but it doesn’t stop it. This about when you first started YouTube. You had passion. You were excited and making money was a bit of a bonus. But after awhile you start to view the money as a return on your investment of your time. So you feel that if you are making money by doing things a certain way, you can never change. But, the goal is not to make sure you’re doing the same thing forever. Shifting your direction is great. Instead of thinking, how can I continue making videos on this topic forever, think how can I serve people long term? And how does introducing money change how I do that and how long I can do that? How can I use money as a tool to pursue my mission?
It Just Feels Like Work
So what do you do when you feel like you aren’t having fun anymore? Get back to your why. Take some time off if you can. Find a new fun thing to do off of YouTube. And be protective of it! The moment someone will pay you for it, it won’t be fun anymore. Create space and allow yourself to feel a little behind. Sometimes we have to get behind to get ahead. Obligation is a breading ground for resentment. You got into this because it was fun. It’s your business! Find a way to make it fun again! Search for a new challenge, a new mountain to climb that will make you feel reenergized that still aligns with your mission. And most importantly…
Keep Changing Lives!
Tim Schmoyer
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