April 2, 2019

I've been working for nearly 10 hours so to mellow I was sitting on the couch watching a video by my favourite ASMR artist

(look it up)

where she's walking around her studio showing people the process and setup she uses to create ASMR videos and I keep thinking

"This girl has 1.5 million subscribers and makes a living creating these videos"

which literally involve creating fake scenes and talking/whispering gently at people to help them relax, go to sleep, or just feel nice.

And yes, okay, it's not a perfect system and video creators have to work a crazy grind to beat the algorithm and generate enough ad revenue

but it's still kinda nuts that this is the thing she does to make money, don't you think?

Either way, as I'm watching this video she starts talking about how she looks "deep into the eye of the camera" so she can create a more intimate experience for the viewer, and how before she creates her videos she'll meditate, or read messages from a "Gratitude Folder"

which is a folder she has filled with messages people have sent her thanking her for her videos, or saying kind things about them, or telling her about how her videos helped them through a really tough time

and it occurred to me

this woman making ASMR videos on YouTube for a living has probably touched more people's lives than a lot of us ever will.

Not only that, but she also clearly really enjoys what she does, and can see real-life examples of how her work has value and contributes to the world around her.

So maybe it's a grind and absolutely we need to push for fair treatment for creators, but it's still a living and people in startups and small businesses have to grind and hustle, too

so we can make money doing something we enjoy

and while it's a tough slog and sometimes feels unrewarding, for some of us it's the very best thing in the world

getting to do the thing we love for a living

and it's pretty cool that we live in a time where that's possible.