The Art of the Professional Pivot: 10 Mindset Resets to Publicize Your Creative Self
From my new publication series:
“Lessons Learned on my Attorney-to-Creative Journey”
Mindset Reset #1: Just Get Started
You’ve done some preliminary research.
You’ve got a lay of the land and a goal in sight.
You’ve identified one simple task you can complete to publicize your awesome, Creative Self.
Like producing and publishing your very 1st video or audio recording.
Now, just do the damn thing.
Stop researching.
Stop adding more to your to-do list.
You know the destination you ultimately want to reach.
But, trust me, you’re not going to get there in one, two, maybe even hundreds of audio/video posts.
That doesn’t matter.
Because getting there fast is not your goal.
You’re just gunning for a 1% gain.
So aim for the next respectable mile-marker: a place where you can honestly say you pushed yourself beyond your current capability. Without throwing your nervous system out of whack.
Once you’ve identified that mile-marker, then you’ve got to start the car and get going.
Why?
It helps to start ASAP.
Because the longer you take to think about it, the more time you have to think of even better ways to do it.
Or, worse: You give yourself time to ruminate and second-guess what you’re doing, to the point that you start to look in the rear-view mirror and wonder if you should just turn around and drive home. AKA: forget the whole trip. Put on your pajamas. Climb into bed and binge watch the new docu-series you don’t really care about, but are suddenly dying to watch.
Lesson I Learned #1:
I launched into 2024, promising to honor the Creative in me, after spending far too long focusing on me just as an Attorney.
I wanted an outlet to share my non-fiction and fiction writing, and I also wanted to write and sing music, as well.
I decided to launch a YouTube Channel to house all these loves of my life.
But, that raised a bunch of…feelings.
To put it mildly, I felt uncomfortable.
So, I took comfort, first, in the cerebral:
I researched. A lot.
For months.
While writing on Medium and Substack.
Then, I realized, I’m wasting too much time.
Hiding in research.
When I already know enough to start.
So, I gave myself the kick in the ass I needed with Mindset Reset #1:
I told myself, “Start your engine! Just drive!”
Mindset Reset #2: Lower the Bar
Yes, you read that right! Lower the bar.
Your aim is NOT to create some magnum opus that will go down in cinematic or audiophile history as the best-of-the-best.
Your goal is just to release a song/video. Of you. Showing your face. And perhaps opening your mouth to say something, anything, without stuttering.
It’s about overcoming the initial resistance or fear you might have.
That’s it.
Lesson I Learned #2:
I’m a Type A, go-getter type of person.
But, I’ve also learned to apply the VICTUS Method to recalibrate my mindset so it aligns with what my body needs, which is a well-regulated Nervous System.
That’s why I wrote this story to honor my feelings, to NOT push myself beyond my initial capacity.
The truth was, I was too scared to jump straight into making a video.
So, instead, I decided to release an audio recording of my singing instead.
I did, and you can listen to it here on Soundcloud and Substack.
Mindset Reset #3: Identify your Minimum Viable Product
Ever heard of this term? When launching a start-up, entrepreneurs identify the MVP — the minimum product that they can produce fast, at a small cost, that customers would be willing to buy.
They don’t have any illusions about it.
They’re not expecting their first product to take down their competitors’ more-established products in their niche.
Entrepreneurs just want to get going. To begin with something respectable, that will allow them to see what might work and what doesn’t, for as little cost to them as possible.
Now apply the same mindset when it comes to producing your first audio/video recording.
Find a topic that interests you, that you can discuss relatively well.
It does not need to be something grand like “This is The Solution to World Hunger.”
It can be something incredibly simple when you’re starting out: like, “The Top 10 Tools Every Gardener Needs,” assuming, of course, that it aligns with your overarching vision for your Channel.
Lesson I Learned #3:
My MVP was easy to identify: a simple video to introduce my YouTube Channel.
I recorded it on Friday 5-10-24.
I planned to post it on Monday, 5-13-24, because that was the perfect day to launch my Channel: 5-13-24.
Can you see why?
5-13-24 = 5-4-3-2-1🚀
Plus, I had a MASSIVE why for doing it on that date, but I’ll save that for Mindset Reset #8, below.
Mindset Reset #4: Be Open to Failure
Borrow the entrepreneurial, start-up mindset: Failure’s expected.
Failure’s required, like a necessary ingredient in any recipe for Success.
And you want to fail fast.
In fact, it’s awesome if you start recording and immediately realize, “I absolutely hate being on camera.”
It will lead you to what you actually love to do.
Maybe you’re better off producing the content off-screen.
Or, maybe you enjoy script-writing, but editing makes you want to gouge your eyes out.
Whatever you hate, move away from that.
Focus your time and attention on what you love.
Because LOVE brings PASSION.
And that translates to RESILIENCE. The willingness to persist, despite setbacks and disappointment.
It’s the ENERGY we all need, to be brave enough to pursue our dreams.
Lesson I Learned #4:
Failure arrived fast.
On Monday, 5-13-24, just as I was about to complete the form that’s required before you publish a video on YouTube, I realized, “Wait, you don’t have a Thumbnail!”
“Or, a Title!”
Ugh. That meant another hour or so fiddling with Photoshop, to create a cutout of my image.
I used a still from my video.
Without the “oh my gosh,” shocked face, or finger-pointing-at-the-title stance that seems to be all the rage in most of the Thumbnails that the top YouTubers create.
(Perhaps I’ll try a good pointer finger in my next video. Might be hard to do while keeping a straight face, but I promise to try.)
Still, I found it surprisingly hard to make a cutout of my image, or colored outline around my figure.
Luckily, the title and layout weren’t too bad to figure out.
I managed to do it!
On schedule: 5-13-24 = 5-4-3-2-1🚀
DONE.
Mindset Reset #5: Remember, It’s a Marathon, NOT a Sprint
One of the worst parts of learning how to use any new platform, software, or process is the massive amount of information you’ll get from running just a quick search.
At the top, there’s always a TON of posts or videos devoted to “going viral” or “how to make X dollars” doing it.
Hundreds, thousands, if not tens of thousands of results like that pop up.
IGNORE all of them!
You are a newb. Accept it.
Then, repeat this mantra: “Run your race, at your own pace.”
Don’t be delusional and think that you can run to the front of the pack, easy-peasy.
It’s going to take a LOT to get there, and worrying about getting there NOW is not only premature, it’ll make you stress out unnecessarily.
Your job is to identify the “next right step.” For YOU.
That’s all.
Lesson I Learned #5:
“Run your race, at your pace” saved me more than once.
‘Cause I’m a Recovering Perfectionist.
But, with a lot of effort, in the past few years, I’ve developed a Secure Attachment to me. Why? Parenting my two little kids has helped me to see the importance of doing that.
So, I’m happy to report, I remembered to use this mantra and it worked.
I told myself to run my own race again and again, whenever I doubted what I was doing.
Was it “good enough”?
It was good enough for me. Based on what I’ve learned to do so far.
And, the mantra didn’t curb my drive or determination.
Instead, my desire to keep going grew.
I’m not looking back in the rearview mirror.
I’ve got my shades on, and I’m ready to hit the pedal, to go for another drive.
Mindset Reset #6: You Can Relax When You Remind Yourself, “You Will Iterate.”
With each video, identify one, JUST ONE, improvement you can make.
Then, RELAX and trust the process, because remember: you WILL iterate!
You’re just starting out. It’s just the first few videos.
There’s no need to worry, because you’re going to do it again and again and again.
You’re going to repeat and refine your process over time, by making many, many videos.
Lesson I Learned #6:
“You will iterate,” I reminded myself, and I could feel my stress dissipate.
It made me realize: RELAXING is so underrated.
Relaxing is incredibly important to me.
More than I ever thought before.
Yes, in the past, I used to push myself beyond what was healthy.
But not anymore.
Throughout this audio/video recording process, I took regular breaks and reset my expectations:
about what I hoped to accomplish for this audio/video, and reminded myself that I could improve on the next one if I didn’t get it right with this opportunity.
This helped me to feel so much better, no matter what I was doing: recording, editing, creating, or uploading.
Mindset Reset #7: Be Mindful of Your Feelings.
While you’re creating, note how you feel at each step of the process.
Don’t let yourself get so stressed out that you fail to see what you’re enjoying (or not).
Most of all, pay attention to when you’ve entered a state of Flow, where time seems to slip away, because you’re so engrossed in what you’re learning or doing.
Lesson I Learned #7:
As explained in my this post, when I was learning how to produce my 1st audio recording of me singing, I had an epiphany: I discovered I entered a state of flow when I was learning.
I really got “in the zone” when I was learning how to mix and master the recording with audio production technology.
I knew I was in a state of flow because any worry I’d had about putting myself out there, about posting in public, had disappeared.
And, I’m relieved to say, I achieved the same Flow state when I was learning how to record, edit, and produce my 1st video, too.
It’s clear to me now that I can enter flow when I’m learning something new and learning how to apply it.
I have so much fun.
I get lost in learning things and applying them. That’s when it’s the most fun for me.
And, like it was the last time I hit publish for my audio, when it came time to hit publish for my video, I wasn’t scared anymore.
The anticipation of doing it was worse than doing it.
Mindset Reset #8: Find Your Why
If you’ve never tried journaling, start.
Leather-bound journal.
Digital program for the iPad.
Composition book from the local office store.
It doesn’t matter what you use, but find a way to write about why you even want to do this.
Launching a video or audio Channel takes a lot of time and effort, and there’s a learning curve, as we’ve already established.
So, don’t waste your time if you’re not in it for the long-haul.
If you don’t have a clear vision for why you want to do it, then stop to take the time to identify your why first.
Lesson I Learned #8:
My why is too big to relegate to a subset in a 10-point listicle.
My why’s so big, it goes to the core of my identity, not just as a person, but as a mother, too.
That’s why I’ll delve into my why in a separate story.
I’ve been journaling about it for a long time.
And I’m sure I’ll be journaling a lot more about my why as I encounter more inner resistance, outer roadblocks, and probably a lot of keyboard-warrior-trolls throughout my Attorney-to-Creative journey.
I’ll need to remind myself why I’m doing it, the harder it gets.
Mindset Reset #9: Schedule Your Way to Success
If you don’t schedule the time — literally, add it to your schedule — it will NOT get done.
Especially if it’s a side hustle that doesn’t earn you any money (yet).
That invite to chips & margaritas will sound all-too-enticing after a full day’s work and, before you know it, weeks will have passed where you’re NOT doing what you deeply wanted to do.
So pencil in the time.
Calendar it.
Do the damn work!
Lesson I Learned #9:
Emotionally, creating audio or video content as a Creative feels very different from working as an Attorney.
In most non-creator jobs, you’ve got a boss or manager or, in my situation, a literal case, with tasks that you can easily identify, to do.
There’s a lot less autonomy, in that regard.
But, there’s a benefit to a typical 9-5, too:
You know, generally, how much time it will take to do something. Because you’re familiar with it. You’ve done it before.
Or have someone or some resource that’s close enough to guide you.
In contrast, creating audio and video as a Creative felt like The Big Unknown. And that made it far too difficult to determine how much time it would take me to do each and every thing.
So, it was good I had taken so much time to research before diving in.
But that mile-marker had passed.
What I really needed this time was to schedule STOPPING.
As in, no more research.
No more trying to decipher how to make it “perfect,” as if perfection’s even possible.
No more ways to improve upon anything, before starting.
Just get started.
That’s what I needed to pencil in.
A Start Date!
I added it to my calendar.
Then I got out of my head and I did it:
✅published my 1st audio recording on Soundcloud and Substack on 🎤5-3-24.
✅published my 1st video recording on YouTube on 📺 5-13-24.
Mindset Reset #10: Have Fun & Celebrate Every 1% Win!
You get to be your own boss.
No one is making you do it.
You’re doing it because you choose to do it.
So, find every way that you can to make it FUN!
And, celebrate every GAIN you achieve. Every mile-marker you reach.
Because, it’s NOT the final destination that guarantees that you get that hit of dopamine.
No, as I detailed in this post, the science of dopamine can help you to regulate your emotions when pursuing goals, when you understand that it’s common to feel “post-achievement depression,” a sort of “success hangover,” after we’ve experienced the dopamine surge of a monumental win.
You don’t want that.
You don’t want to fall off a cliff.
Instead, create a never-ending cycle of dopamine hits for every 1% improvement you make on your journey.
And, if you find ways to reward yourself Every. Single. Time. your cycle of seeking-and-rewarding will never cease.
You’ll climb to ever-greater heights and actually enjoy the hike, every step of the way.
Lesson I Learned #10:
As soon as I hit publish, I felt fantastic!
I reminded myself, “You honored the commitment you’d made to yourself. You did what you promised yourself you would do.”
And I celebrated: “You got over your initial fear! You let the real you be SEEN!”
One fear was conquered. Not forever. But this time. With the audio. And the next time. With the video.
It’s no guarantee that the fear won’t be there again. Of course, it will be.
But, I got in my first two reps.
And that made it worth it to me.
And had a blast celebrating with my family.
Use these 10 Mindset Resets to Publicize Your Way to Success!
Here I am now: writing, to take stock of the lessons I’ve learned and am still learning.
Best of all, I’m looking forward to the “next right step,” the next mile-marker, that looks and feels right.
I’ve got my shades back on.
Looking out the windshield,
Scanning the horizon for the next step, the next mile-marker, that looks and feels right.
Not for someone else, but for me.
🎤 📺 🎤
What about you?
Are you interested in giving audio/video posting a shot?
Give it a try.
Join me.
Let’s see where the road leads.
The Driver in me honors and respects the Driver in each of you,
Marisa
🎤 📺 🎤
If you would like to hear or see me succeed (or flop 😂) as I practice in public, and you’d love to learn about the science of self-improvement, please Subscribe to my new YouTube Channel and signup for my free Substack Newsletter.
Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.
We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are, and combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will:
• Enliven our emotions & creativity;
• Enhance our efficiency & productivity;
• Foster a greater depth of Self;
• Build the Secure Attachment that we need to develop a Growth Mindset; and,
• Reprogram our minds to pivot from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System when we need it to, more often than not.
I’ve planned so many exciting & fun things to share with you (in addition to music!) and I can’t wait for you to get all the FREE goodies I’ve prepared for you.
We CAN do this, TOGETHER!
Marisa
Attorney, Artist, and Author of THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES. Writer who believes in the power of words. Life-long learner who’s passionate about the science and art of self-improvement.
Join me, as we explore the science and skills behind VICTUS, the path and practice that can silence our inner critic and free us to be our truest, authentic self.