I remember the night I created my YouTube channel... It was weeks after a bitter breakup, and my twitching fingers ached for something to distract my thoughts from running a 5K. I was thinking about my future and asking questions that I knew wouldn’t have concrete answers. Trying to understand if my career move was made out of a longing for stability or made because of a longing to be happy, I was overcome with an immense amount of insecurity.

The indecision to solidify a worthy enough career path led me to search for things that engaged my spirit and urged the creative hemisphere of my brain to come out of hibernation.

So, after plenty of emotional soul-searching sessions, I created a YouTube channel. I made my introduction and opened iMovie for the first time, hungry to learn and observe other YouTubers for a blueprint leading to my next step. 

My first video was about getting over a breakup. I was sitting on a stool, looking into the camera on my MacBook, with natural light filtering through my living room window when the first fleeting sting of positivity entered my thoughts.

Maybe I can actually DO this? Maybe I can help others cope, learn, evolve and grow mentally and emotionally through this platform. Could I ACTUALLY do this? 

But, just as quickly as those thoughts entered, they exited with a dramatic pause at the doorway. I knew deep down that I needed to focus on a more ‘realistic’ career path—yet, I couldn’t care less about my future when so many possibilities clouded my judgement. I felt open-minded for the first time about who I was and what I was capable of doing.

It was in November of 2015 when I finally told myself to do something crazy. Something out of this world nonsensical. 

I told myself to believe in the possibility of doing what I love for a living. I gave myself permission to build a website and revisit my love for writing mixed with a desire to help others and a pinch of entrepreneurship.

I told myself to take the chance.

That sounds crazy, right? Believe me, I didn’t want to tell others about this idea until I was sure about my ability to even CREATE a website from scratch. Thankfully, soon after I purchased my site domain, the hunger for success and adventure overrode the fear. I was desperate to defeat the odds that were stacked against me. I was desperate to escape what people destined for my future or expected of me to achieve as a known young and ambitious woman.

I researched and studied other blogs, taking notes longer than those of my college class scribbles. I was preparing myself to do everything on my own, knowing well enough that the sundae would taste sweeter if I prepared it to my liking.

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I spent hours, days, weeks and months preparing this once fleeting pinch of positivity. I was proud of my creation to an extent and would boast about its potential to those who were closest to me, while equally doubting the legitimacy of what I was doing.

Could this actually work? Will people care about anything I have to say? Could this support me in the future and grow into something worth the investments?

I asked myself 20 questions each day, acting as both the supporter and critic in an effort to self-preserve. I was a nervous wreck until one day, just as quickly as my brilliant idea popped into my head—the solution to my apprehension appeared.

To whoever is reading this post right now…Here is the solution: Do it anyway.

You deserve to do what you love for a living. Share on X

Plain and simple. There are excuses for every thought, idea, and action known to man. You will come up with a million reasons why pursuing something that suits you will not pull your weight as an adult—but, trust me... Do it anyway.

No matter the height and width of the odds that are stacked against you in one giant wall, do it anyway simply because you CAN.

I will end with this in the hopes that this post was encouraging to anyone who needed this message.

When it comes to your future, the hard work now will produce satisfaction later. It starts with you. Your future starts with the NOW, and if anyone tells you that doing what you love for a living is either too much work or not worth it—remind them of the inability to promise what the next hour holds.

Excuses don’t belong in a world where your next breath is unknown. Whether or not people understand your craft, do it anyway. Whether or not they believe you will reach a peak of success with your unpopular niche, do it anyway. Whether or not they believe in the core of your potential, do it anyway because you owe it to yourself. 

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In case you don't have one...I will be your #2 biggest fan as long as YOU are your own #1, 

- Miss Lynn