🔆 Are You Working on the Right Thing? | Internetly Vol. 69

Hi there, 

Greetings from Guatemala! 

It’s been 17 days since I arrived here and have been traveling throughout the country alone. It’s been such an amazing time and it’s hard to believe I was ever afraid of coming here (that’s usually how solo travel goes). 🙃

In these past two weeks, I…

🌋 Climbed Volcano Acatenango. It was one of the top three experiences of my life, even though we had to get evacuated at 4 AM because the volcano was starting to erupt and it was getting hard to breathe. 

🫂 Met Some Amazing People. This includes Sunny, a 67-year-old Tibetan Monk who gushed about his pet roosters, and Adrian, a French man who’s biking across the world (he started in Alaska and is ending in Ushuaia, Argentina). 

🦋 Fulfilled a Writing Dream. I’m writing this from Lake Atitlán, from the most magical Airbnbs I’ve stayed in my life. It was one of those “pinch me, I’ve made it” moments. I can’t believe this is my desk (see below) and I get to write here.  

Whenever I feel distant from myself, as if my psyche is just a flood of the same thoughts from yesterday (which 90% of your 60,000 thoughts are repetitive) traveling alone grounds me. As Tamin Ansary once noted, 

In this solitude, new refreshing thoughts have bubbled to the surface of my mind. But most people are uncomfortable at the idea of being alone — even less so at the idea of shipping themselves to a new country solo. 

But if you can get over the fear, you feel as though the whole world is yours. 

This isn't exclusive to traveling. Go to a crowded restaurant for dinner, sign up for an art class, or walk to a destination where no one is waiting for you. 

The important part is your “inner self” needs you, but can only be accessed through solitude (no social media allowed). If you take the time to connect with your inner self, I guarantee they’ll have a lot of interesting things to say — and you'll get to know yourself on a much deeper level. 

🖼 On Becoming a Prolific Creator

Hey! I’m cutting out “Prolific Creator” from Internetly, but don’t worry. Come January, she’ll have a new home. I’ll let you know soon where she ends up. :) 

🥒 Content Diet

✍️ The Case For Traveling More by Jack Raines - If you find yourself saying, “I’ll go on that trip when [insert excuse here],” this article will light a fire under your 🍑. Raines makes a compelling argument on why traveling isn’t as expensive, frightening, or unattainable as you might believe. 

🎙Neville Medhora: Making Millions with Remarkable Copywriting by Creative Elements - Neville isn’t only a legendary copywriter; he’s a fascinating human being (for example, he’s calculated his estimated “date of death” so he can remind himself to live to the fullest). This podcast will not only enhance your copywriting chops, but it’ll expand your mind. 

And now, what the creatives are up to these days… 📱

✍🏼 Freelancing Journey

This Week: When is it Time to Say Goodbye to a Client? 

I have this client who is amazing. 

They pay well (about 35% of my monthly income, to be exact) and they pay on time. The team is courteous and friendly. I’ve been writing for them for almost a year and have run into virtually no speed bumps. 

And last Monday I told them I wouldn’t be re-signing the retainer. 

Now if you’re wondering what is wrong with me, same. It took days to mull over this decision and agonize if I was doing the right thing. 

But the reality is I simply don’t love what I’m writing about. It’s not particularly uninteresting, but…I feel nothing when I write about it.

I was reading Paul Millerd’s novel, The Pathless Path, when I stumbled on a quote that made me realize the right decision was to let them go: 

Finding work that matters to us — the kind that makes us feel alive, swells us with purpose, and helps others — is the essence behind a meaningful life. And for me, writing about TikTok slang words (while it paid the bills) wasn’t contributing to a purposeful existence. 

It’s frightening to take a pay cut, but I’ll be using my reclaimed time to grow this newsletter, connect with people like you, and write about creativity and mindful living. 

If you’re wrestling about whether you should depart from a client, ensure you have at least 3 months of savings ready to go. But most importantly, reflect on whether you’re doing the work that you want to keep doing. 

If it’s not, your “job” is to find what is. Don’t be afraid to take some time (or a pay cut) to figure this out. It’s daunting, but there is no greater task than figuring out how you truly want to live.

That's it this week, folks! 

If someone sent you this newsletter (and you found it valuable) you can sign up here. 

Thanks for reading Internetly. Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like me to help you with or answer. Copywriting qualms? Digital nomad questions? Freelance writing curiosities? 

Have an amazing holiday and I'll see you soon. 

Stay Creative, 

Alice