It is no secret that I have been on a bit of a break from social media.
I only made a handful of YouTube videos last year, then, at the beginning of this year, I took a step back from posting short-form videos on Instagram and Shorts, too.
The only thing I have consistently been “creating” lately is this newsletter, along with a handful of posts on Threads and X every now and then.
And while this break has been longer than I originally intended (more on that another time), it has given me the necessary space to reconsider what I actually want to be making in the first place.
And that is important.
Finding creative freedom
My favorite creators are the ones who just make what they love.
Enthusiasm is infectious.
There is something about watching someone make or discover something that truly lights them up that speaks to me.
And I know I am not the only one who feels this way.
Usually, for me, that spark is found at the forefront of exploring something new. I love to learn, and I love to watch others learn. It is exciting.
Now don't get me wrong, I do love a good tutorial and I believe educational content is vital for learning, building, and growing, but making tutorials can get old, especially when you feel like you already have pretty strong handles on the subject.
You move from explorer to teacher, and that can get old quickly.
After all, Indiana Jones didn’t spend all his time in the classroom.
The problem is that this is precisely what the algorithm wants: an endless regurgitation of a singular niche.
Like Facebook ads for Spotify.
But human beings aren’t wired that way.
At least I’m not.
Because while building an internet-native business requires structure, sustaining it requires creativity and adventure.
Getting unstuck
I still love learning about ads, marketing, landing page design, automation, and all the other things that make an online business function at the highest level.
But there is an entire other half to this journey that often gets left out of the conversation: becoming a better creator, learning how to make things that matter.
For me, that means getting better at videography, sound design, storytelling, editing, songwriting, producing, color grading, and more.
It means focusing on making things that are actually worth making.
I recently bought a new camera, and it has ignited a spark within me to create again.
Not videos about ads or marketing.
Not videos about any one specific thing.
Lately, I have been creating little 30-second videos about, well, nothing.
Reading a book, working in my studio, making coffee, mowing the lawn.
I have simply been carving out time to make things I want to watch, learning to become a better storyteller without the pressure of hitting publish.
And it has been freeing.
It has allowed me to practice visual storytelling in a way that makes me happy, reigniting the creative spark I ignored for too long.
And that, for me, is an adventure worth taking.
Balancing art and entrepreneurship
Life moves in seasons, and, admittedly, I am not always great at recognizing when one season ends and another begins.
Because I am a systems thinker, I tend to view things as binary—is the box checked or is it not?
While that framework is great for productivity and business strategy, it is largely terrible for artistic expression.
If entrepreneurship is like building with blocks, then making art is like building with sand.
They share similarities, but they each require a completely different mindset.
I have spent a lot of time building structured systems lately.
It has served its purpose, but systems can only take you so far before your creative well runs dry.
It is time to play in the sand again—it is time to create for the joy of creating.
So if you are anything like me, and you’ve found yourself leaning too far in one direction, remember that creativity and entrepreneurship are all about balance.
Life is about balance.
Move toward the center and discover the other half that lights you up again.
In doing so, you may just get better at the whole thing.