I have a new theory about a career that doesn't exist yet.
It feels like there is a group of us who love to talk and share, but all the traditional business models don't feel aligned.
There's the old school way of podcasting but you've got to focus on downloads and ads and all of these things that aren't the heart of what we want to do, which is connection.
Or the coaching business model, which tends to be more hands on and instructive than we’d like.
There's book writing, but that can take a while… and again, we prefer the talking part.
This missing link prompted an existential crisis of: what in the world am I doing? Where am I trying to go with all of this?
And after a long walk and Voxer chat with Collin, I decided to sit down and live journal it out which uncovered a bigger answer than I expected.
It all started with this collage I made for my phone screen. As I looked down in my typing frenzy to check the time this phrase caught my eye:
An artist is not paid for her labor, but for her vision.
And that's when I realized: Maybe me living my life and journaling and sharing my thoughts is my version of a vision, a philosophy, and a point of view.
Modern Day Philosophers
And when I wrote the word philosophy, it triggered that question of: well, what is a philosopher? We know the coaching industry. We know that we can have memberships or all sorts of different things, but what does a philosopher’s job entail?
A philosopher is a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment. They engage in critical thinking about big questions with no obvious answers.
Philosophers offer views or theories on profound questions, complex relationships, and deeply thinking about important vexing topics.
They're rigorously and critically examining life.
They're taking in every experience while seeking to understand it, even if that means being brutally honest or, in my opinion, vulnerable.
The goal of being a philosopher is not to be right, but to ask good questions and seek understanding.
Readers, writers, videographers, podcasters, in my opinion, are today's modern day philosophers.
I can’t look at Brene Brown or any podcaster out there and say that they aren’t doing all of those things. Sitting down, talking about a topic that they love and questioning it, going deeper, even tuning in to ourselves and using prompts for our community.
Not because we believe that there's one right way, because we're genuinely curious and trying to understand things more.
Philosophy is about investigation and analysis, and when I saw that, that really perked my ears up, because I've often said that I feel like the work I do is a little bit journalistic. (Just like this interview I had with my friend and previous NBC News Anchor, Sara Shookman.)
So when I read that philosophers find ways to define and describe life…
I immediately thought about this very specific subsection of us who are doing just that.
I have clients who speak about all sorts of different topics, but the core of it all is that we're seeking to find understanding in life and to look at it differently than the way we’re “supposed” to do things.
My one friend, Bianca, talks about philosophy, but her approach is through photography.
One of our amazing clients, Melissa, is talking about life, but through an ADHD mom, neurodivergent, strength based lens.
Here I am, over here, talking about my journey through slow living and living life the way that you want, that feels good, that's intentional.
Those are just three different examples where we’re asking questions, getting behind the mic and being brutally honest, and we're sharing and we're being vulnerable and we're prompting. And if we go back to the original quote, we are sharing our viewpoint on life and it's different.
A New Business Model: the Modern Day Philosopher
We're curious.
We're seekers.
And there's no specific method that philosophy is done through, which is evident in all of us who are creating in this way, right?
We're all coming about it from a different angle. We all end up creating a fluid philosophy we keep diving deeper into when we do this work.
There are four areas of philosophy that typically create a methodology, and I think in hindsight, we can see that’s exactly what we've been doing:
Awareness
That's why we got behind the mic, right?
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
And divergent thinking.
So how do you become a philosopher?
What does that job look like? The answer Google gave me was:
Earning a living from philosophy means using your knowledge and wisdom to produce and publish original works. Specifically, they said that's typically a professor.
But I listen to that definition, and I look at all the data I've gathered on philosophy, and I think, how is that the only way?
And so if the question becomes, how do we navigate this new space where we can be just like Plato and all those other guys back in the day who were the original philosophers?
What does that look like in our modern time?
…. for me the answer is Substack
Of course I'm biased because I may just be Substack’s #1 biggest fan, but I think that the work we're doing here and the opportunity and the vessel and the vehicle that we have with Substack allows us to do that.
So for me, stepping into being, let's say, a modern day philosopher, looks like:
Sharing, being curious, being critical, thinking differently, prompting, trying to make sense of it all.
I'm doing that through getting behind the mic and talking and sharing.
Through creating these publications in community and in the paid side of my Substack.
Sharing my vision and truthfully my whole self and my life.
I think this mindset shift of, I can share my thoughts and vision without having to be a teacher or an expert on a certain topic.
Instead approaching my life from a creative’s view or an artist’s lens vs. a business owner’s lens.
Letting go of the thought that to make money I have to teach or launch a group program around one thought I’ve had or make a course and become “that person” known for that one specific thing.
…. Because of Substack, I can just be me. I can share my thoughts and grow a community that cares and, over time, create an income from that.
It really to me feels like this amazing business model that's been missing for philosophers or creators like us.
recently highlighted in this post who is doing this so well between Substack + Youtube.So I'm wondering if this hits for you, too? I'm wondering if you're in that same zone as me, Melissa and Bianca, where we're not quite sure where we fit. We've tried every business model. None of them feel right to us. And so now I'm proposing. Is there a different way?
As I always say, don't have all the answers. I don't have this full blown thing that I can say, here you go, if you're one of us, try this- Other than Substack.
Now that I have this opportunity in this space where I can:
talk and share and go deep
and if I want to write it, I can write it
and if I want to video it, I can video it
and if I just want to get behind the mic and talk it out, I can do that
whatever way I want to do it, I can deliver my thoughts, and I can share them.
But the heart of it all is that I get to share the questions that are coming up in my mind and how I'm working through it and I get to prompt you and provide those thoughts and shifts for you too.
So I'm wondering if you want to join me in the new wave of modern philosophers? Of us podcasters, creators, videographers, visionaries and curious seekers who just want to understand our world and the why behind what we're doing more?
I'd love to hear what you do in the comments.
P.S. curious to learn more about Substack? This post was actually created while filming my newest mini-course which walks you through every step I took to create this post/podcast episode and how you too can podcast on Substack (with ease!)
Reply to this email or in the comments if you’re interested in checking out the mini-course when it’s done!
Let’s Grow Girl 🌿
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A new career path? The rise of the modern day philosopher