When I have to write (a.k.a., market, promote, sell, produce, etc.) when I just want to BE… it feels like performing.

Content creation is the internet pageant from hell… that I never asked to be in.

It’s like being on stage in front of a panel of judges + a stadium full of people who are waiting for me to juggle four monster trucks while I sip tea with a hologram of Queen Elizabeth II, and solve world peace.

After spending a decade trying to learn how to juggle – I never even got to the hologram or world peace parts), my whole mental mainframe glitches out whenever I fall back into “lead generation” thinking.

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I know the minute I start fixating on MORE that I’m thinking like a capitalist again.

For a long time, I didn’t know that’s what I was doing, let alone how to stop doing it.

I just thought I was a flawed human who needed to do MORE.

Turns out, it was chasing the next post… subscriber… dollar… share… like… internet “atta girl”... that was making me feel like I needed to glue myself into a bathing suit and prance around the stage like I’m vying for Miss Internet of the Year.

My kindreds Anne Marie Chaker + Marcy Farrey collaborated on an amazing article about the power of pausing that made me realize how far I’ve come over the last 11 months that I’ve been putting the capitalist pieces to my “performance puzzle” together.

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It’s been a weird + wild year of healing, growing, and learning about myself, including how I’m affected by all this damaging shit I’m being expected to do to make a living online.

✨I’ve changed my thought patterns.

✨I’ve rebuilt my belief system.

✨I’ve crawled out of full-blown desperation.

✨I’ve experienced exponential personal growth… and mediocre financial growth.

✨I’ve normalized rest.

✨I’ve embraced experimentation.

✨I’ve found safe spaces to be really confused + broken.

✨I’ve chosen to only make decisions when I know (for damn sure) that my decisions are based on what I want + not what I’m afraid of.

✨I’ve changed my entire approach to every layer of my business.

It hasn’t been easy or overnight, but over the course of 2024 I’ve adopted four new weekly habits that have helped me stop fixating on MORE + leave a lot of this capitalist BS behind so I can do business in a way that doesn’t feel like a dehumanizing performance.

Maybe they can help you, too.

1. I’ve made Substack my digital playground.

I’m still finding my way with The Hot Dog Cart, but this platform has brought so many amazing people, perspectives, and opportunities into my life already.

In less than 3 months, I’ve:

✅ Published 15 heartfelt, pro-human editions of my newsletter that have already racked up over 10K views + 500 comments – and these are real people devouring my words… not doomscrolling views + emoji replies.

✅ Posted at least 100 honest AF Notes (their version of social media)... without a single pretty graphic or CTA

✅ Welcomed 374 free subscribers + 12 paid subscribers

✅ Had 15 kindreds recommend my newsletter + community to their kindreds – which is also shown to every one of their new subscribers too!

✅ Had legendary DM chats with over 100 new internet friends – NONE of which tried to pitch me their shit

✅ Lined up 5 collabs (more on this below) for the new year with fellow creators + solopreneurs who I’m a HUGE fan of

All working less than 30 hours a week, serving my existing clients + students, being all 50 shades of my SELF, and not doing shit any capitalist shit that makes my skin crawl.

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2. I started sending personal thank-you notes to every new subscriber (free + paid).

This isn’t something scalable, but most human-centered initiatives aren’t – and I’m ok with that.

This is me re-learning how to connect with people again – eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart, human-to-human.

This isn’t about marketing or sales; this is about treating the human behind every single email that lands in my system with the love, light, and laughs they deserve.

There is no pitch… no ask… no link out to some freebie.

I take a minute or two (they’re worth a lot more!) to browse their profile + newsletter to see what grabs my attention, and I craft a short, sweet, heartfelt love note to them, thanking them for subscribing.

About 80% respond with an equally heartfelt message back.

Countless times, it’s turned into a legendary back + forth, and real friendship that’s growing as we speak. ONE real friend is worth a 5,000 social posts.

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3. I’ve reallocated my marketing efforts from social media to relationship building.

Instead of trying to get noticed (a.k.a. performing in the social talent show), I’ve spent my time getting to know 15-20 fellow creators that I absolutely wish I could be BFF’s with.

Like, really get to know… which is actually possible on Substack.

I’ve Zoomed it up with a few of them. I Voxer daily with a couple of them. And I DM or comment regularly with almost all of them.

I find ways to help them – even if it’s just one of my infamous middle finger pep talks.

I find ways to support them – I la la looove this Note from my buddy Jaime.​

I try and make them laugh.

I tell other people about them.

I share their content.

I leave heartfelt comments on their content.

I treat them like they’re the bestie I want them to be… with NO EXPECTATION that they do any of these things in return for me.

That’s where the whole genuine fan part comes in. I couldn’t do this if it was a transaction.

I used to do this back in my Google + days, before I lost myself chasing someone else’s idea of success, and it exploded my personal + financial growth, my confidence, and my creativity.

It’s only been a few months, but the results so far are unbelievable.

🎉 I have invites to partner/collab coming in weekly… sometimes daily… almost all from people with much bigger communities than mine.

🎉 I’ve gotten subscriber spikes of 70-80 gloriously new potential kindreds to this newsletter (Branding In The Wild) in a single day, from some of them sharing my Brand DNA Test without me even mentioning it – they found it on the HDC homepage.

🎉 I’ve had REAL JOURNALISTS, from major publications, reach out to me and praise me for my distinct writing voice + unapologetic individuality, and ask about my 1:1 services.

🎉 I’ve been asked to be a guest on 6 podcasts already. I’m recording my first one tomorrow.

🎉 I’ve had multiple mentions in their notes + newsletters, which have introduced me to a whole slew of new kindreds.

This is just the beginning, but I’m giddy to get back to my relationship building roots.

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4. I’m creating “roundup” posts again.

This is another return to my roots.

Back in my blogging days, I would teach concepts by using my 15-20 internet BFF’s (and other bloggers I wanted to be friends with) as examples.

It’s one of my all-time favorite types of content… at least the way I do them.

They turned into acts of kindness that sent ripples out in everyone’s direction. They saw an influx of new kindreds, I saw an influx of new kindreds when they generously shared it, the other bloggers I featured saw an influx of new kindreds when we shared it.

And on the goodwill (and good information) went into the hands + hearts who needed it.

I decided to bring that shit back, and it immediately got my creative juices flowing.

​I just dropped my first roundup post yesterday, and it swan dives into naming your newsletter (or anything else). 😍​

Peep it out, before it goes behind the paywall next week.

It’s fully stocked with all my new BFF’s and a ton of others they’re BFF’s with.

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15 Ways To Come Up With a Name You Love + 150 Examples To Inspire Your Brainstorming

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It feels so goddamn validating to see this new anti-capitalist, ME-shaped, feel-good approach to business starting to fit like my favorite pair of jeans.

Squeezing my ass into those MORE-stained ones was really painful.

It hasn’t been my best year financially, but I’m happier, healthier, and feel more whole than I’ve ever been, and I finally feel like all the grueling, painful healing that I’ve been doing these last few years is finally manifesting into a clear path forward.

It feels good… and different… and weird in all the right ways.

I’ve never been more excited about a new year, or more sure that it’s going to be personally, mentally, spiritually, and financially fruitful, because I’m gonna do it my own damn way!

How about you?

Has this year been a weird one for you, too?

What’s the most healing thing you’ve done for your SELF this year?

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To finally being able to see the progress you’re making,

Dre ‘The Retired Performer’ Beltrami