Fear is Just Growth Coming to Get You | Internetly Vol. 24

Hi there,

On Thursday I went to NFT Now’s launch party at the Williamsburg Hotel.

When I was first invited earlier that week my first thought was, please no. I imagined myself isolated by the hotel bar avoiding awkward conversations with strangers.

I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable. I didn’t want to network. I didn’t want to be intimidated by big players in the blockchain space.

So that’s exactly why I ended up going.

Fear is just growth coming to get you. Of course, I would’ve been safer lounging in my room that night watching Scare Tactics with my boyfriend.

But would I have grown from that experience? No. I probably wouldn’t even remember it a few weeks from now.

So at 7:30 PM my boyfriend and I commuted to Williamsburg, both with zero clues of what to expect.

It didn’t take long to recognize the palatial wealth huddled by the hotel bar. The designer watches, eclectic suits, heavy golden Amex cards, fancy finger foods. If a catering event is serving lobster bisque you know they’re not messing around.

With the help of my It’s Probably Nothing (a mezcal mango margarita), I ended up having a delightful night. I met ambitious twenty-something’s in the startup space and seasoned journalists from Times Magazine. The conversations flowed and the room hummed with optimism.

We left around 10:30, abandoning the finger foods to make scallion pancakes back at my place. In the Uber back I felt a wave of reassurance flood over. You did it and it went great.

Listen, going to a networking event isn’t a big deal. It’s small on the fear factor scale. But it encouraged me to keep pushing the envelope of discomfort. Afterward, the thought popped in my head: Hmm, that was easy. What else can we push ourselves to do?

This is what seeking discomfort does. It roots itself in you, adjusting your tolerance for challenges. And the challenge zone is where things get interesting.

Naturally, then, my challenge for you is to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. It doesn’t have to be showing up to an event where you don’t know a soul. It could be complimenting your local barista, posting a vulnerable story online, or even apologize to a loved one first.

It reminds me of what Martha Beck once said:

I could close off this section with something corny, but I’ll spare you. Instead, I’ll just tell you this:

Do something that makes you sweat a little bit, mkay?

🖼 On Becoming a Prolific Creator

This Week: Your Worst Enemy - Shiny Object Syndrome

Shiny Object Syndrome is no joke.

This is when you’re pulled in different directions all at once. And for creators, who have more verticals for creations than ever before, this can become overwhelming.

Shiny Object Syndrome looks like wanting to build an audience, so you:

✖️Start building on Twitter, IG, TikTok, and Substack

✖️Launch into writing a book

✖️Start making a couple of NFTs while you’re at it

✖️Build a website

✖️Set up a professional email address

...the list goes on.

Not surprisingly, you end up getting bogged down by the breadth of options and give up altogether.

The best way to fight SOS is to remain committed to completing one task at a time. While this advice sounds insultingly obvious, it’s underrated. We’re quick to hop around from project to project, overestimating our nonexistent multitasking capabilities.

Draw out one goal, and remain laser-focused until it’s completed. The key here is to isolate exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish. In my case, it’s writing a book. This has stopped me from:

✖️Learning about email marketing

✖️Pitching new clients

✖️Posting videos on TikTok

You get the gist.

TL;DR

Shiny Object Syndrome will prevent you from accomplishing anything as a creator. Isolate one major goal, and remain laser-focused until it’s ticked off. 🏋🏼‍♀️

🥒 Content Diet

1. Dissect on Spotify

If you’re a music junkie, this podcast is for you.

Dissect is a serialized music podcast analyzing iconic R&B and Hip Hop tunes. Artists include icons like Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino.

I’m currently listening to Frank Ocean’s analysis and it’s leaving me stupefied. Frank’s music never fails to immerse me in nostalgia since Channel Orange came out when I was a Junior in High School.

Pyramids and Thinking About You transport me to my adolescence, growing up in NYC where I was spiraling from my first unrequited love and meandering the streets of LES with $20 bucks in my pocket.

I’ve listened to Frank’s music hundreds of times before. But Dissect is making me hear it for the first time.

TL;DR

Dissect is an incredible serialized music podcast where they analyze some of R&B and Hip Hop’s greatest albums. 🎹

✍🏼 Freelancing Journey

This Week: Pricing Guidelines

I brought a gift.

Introducing the best piece of content I’ve ever found on how to price your freelance writing projects. Fellow freelancer Ashley Cummings has gone above and beyond to create an ultra-comprehensive report on all things pricing.

This guide is a gem and so helpful if you’re new to the freelancing world. Up until now, try searching “how much should I price for freelance writing” on Google and you’ll find zilch.

This chart stands out:

This would’ve been handy a year ago, considering last October I completed an entire website copy for $350. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Missing out on nearly 2K on a project, just another day as a freelancer, amiright?

Jokes aside, print this guide, study it, master it, and use it as your anchor.

Now go get your coin. 💰

TL;DR

Study Ashley Cumming’s pricing guide to accurately price your next freelance writing project. 😌

That’s all folks!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, it would mean the world to me if you shared it with a pal or subscribed.

I’ve been holed up this Sunday typing this thing out, and now I’m going to enjoy the last few hours of sunshine in NYC before the sun begins to set at 4:30 PM again.

Have a beautiful week, whoever you are.

Love,

Alice 💌