Reading · Simply Put with Erin On Demand

Hi :)

Typing this in the middle of a workday. This newsletter is notttt on my content calendar. Supposed to be doing something else, but chile, I’m halfway distracted (scrolling and thangs). So I decided to write something in 30 minutes or less. Kind of like a little stream of consciousness.

I watched Keke palmer’s interview with Oprah and it really did something to me in the best way possible. It’s an interview for the girls with big goals, who feel a little lost on how to tackle them.

It was for me.

I love what I do and genuinely enjoy the life I’ve been building, but sometimes doubt likes to seep in and try to veer me off of my path.

I wrack my brain some days trying to think of the next best business idea, or video topic, or newsletter idea, or campaign concept, wondering which will be the next one to pop. Then to add another layer: the task of figuring out how to make everything I’m passionate about all make sense together.

Being tenacious, wanting more, and then having the audacity to go after a life you want feels like the greatest trust fall, full of privilege and nerves. You’re clueless on what direction to steer the ship but filled with so much hope, letting your spirit guide your physical self to a place your mind is already so familiar being.

Thankfully, this interview gave me a better sense of which way to steer.

How do you scale something that’s so deeply specific to you, that it seems unscaleable?

That question has really been on my mind lately. Especially as I build out this newsletter. Being a creator online for so long will have you boiling down your value to a style of content or niche, and reducing your calling to one segment of yourself. You keep tricking yourself into believing that you only have a few options, clicking on videos like, “5 ways to monetize your personal brand.” But what if you don’t fit into any of those boxes?! How do you scale a mindset, a philosophy, a calling. How do you scale YOU in the most genuine way?

Obviously in order to make money you have to sell something, I think we underestimate what people are willing to pay for. What people find valuable. The power is in letting what’s within lead you to the external representation of you — not the other way around. And when there’s so much noise, it’s hard to know which voice to listen to.

My favorite part of the interview is when Keke asks Oprah at 57:40 - “When I think about the business of Oprah Winfrey, you’ve found a way to create an ecosystem around things that are actually very big ideas about growth, inspiration, and who you can be.” Oprah cuts in and says, “It’s not just who you can be, it’s who you already are. But can you meet the rising?”

And that’s the question I’ve been prompting myself— Can you meet the rising?!

Ugh I’m gonna cry writing this because it’s truly not about suppressing limits anyone puts on us. It’s not even about conceptualizing bigger goals or dreaming up the best idea or performing as who you think you’re supposed to be. Oprah continues by saying, “It worked because it’s my truth. I wanted to honor God’s dream for meeee (and yes, she drags out me).”

How dare we minimize God’s promises to ourselves. How dare we go after what’s working for someone else out of desperation and lack of faith. How dare we stay so small-minded, thinking that our value is only wrapped up in what we can teach someone instead of who we already are. How dare we settle for a dream that was never big enough to be ours. How dare we not seek the truth buried within us and have faith that that’s the path to freedom.

I loved this interview so much. It shook me up and snatched my (thickening) edges.

I’m blessed to be where I am. I’m even more blessed to know that God’s dream for me is gonna blow me completely away. It’s so big — the impact, the relationships, the freedom — that I can’t even adequately visualize it. I just need to align with it, and see where it leads me.

1. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose - Eckhart Tolle
2. The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav
3. Theo of Golden - Allen Levi
4. The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

I love you!

Okay, that took like 50 minutes. I got some work to do. Did you watch the podcast? If so, what’s the most impactful thing you took away?

The business of scaling yourself when you don't fit in a box.

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