Lately I’ve been feeling the weight of a life that doesn’t quite fit anymore. I’m tired of working a job that drains me, staying in debt, and feeling like my time belongs to someone else. What I want is freedom — time, financial, creative — and the ability to live life on my own terms. The truth is, I’ve rarely chosen my path — I just took what was available. But I have gone all in on a few things: learning bass, building relationships, and doing the deep work of recovery. I’ve been clean over 12 years now, and I’ve built a life that has a lot of good in it — a great relationship, kids and grandkids who are doing well. So I know I’m capable of real change. I’ve been making YouTube videos off and on for 14 years. Monetized for a decade & 2300 subs. It started as a niche hobby, but more recently I saw it as a possible way forward — a chance to speak honestly and maybe make a living doing something I care about. I pivoted the focus. The growth started ok, then hit a wall. And now I wrestle with doubt: do I really have something valuable to offer? But I keep coming back to this: I don’t want to go back to sleep. I don’t want to give up. I’ve come too far and changed too much. I don’t need to save the world — just live a life that’s mine. Maybe help a few people along the way. If you’re on a similar path — trying to build something real, something that matters — I’m right there with you. Let’s keep going.

Like many of you, I’ve spent hours deep-diving into successful creators—their backstories, methods, failures, best practices, tips, and hacks. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: For every MrBeast or MKBHD, there are hundreds of thousands (arguably 97+ million NON-monetized channels vs. 3 million monetized channels) of hard-working, talented creators we’ll never hear about. YouTube is BRUTAL. It’s time-consuming, creatively exhausting, and let’s be honest—it can pull us away from other priorities: family, work, health. That got me thinking: Does it make sense to set a hard, fact-based timeline for ourselves? Something like: 👉 “If I haven’t hit XYZ in 6 months, it’s time to reassess—either slow down, pivot, or step away.” Not out of defeat. But out of self-respect. Clarity. Sanity. To be honest with ourselves about our investment, expectations, and the kind of life we want. I’m not suggesting quitting your dream—far from it. I’m suggesting we define our success that's backed by data and aligned with our values. So I’m asking the group: Do you have a timeline? Should you? If you hit (or don’t hit) certain metrics—what’s your move? Let’s talk hard truths with heart. ❤️

I’ve noticed that sometimes my captions are so overlaid by the hashtag, title and even music credit (on browsers not on YT app) that I’d have to move them to the centre of the screen to be visible - right where the main action is. I’ve debated not doing auto captions (currently use CapCut), moving them, only doing some captions etc. What do you do with your shorts?

I’ve worked with dozens of creators and coaches lately, and I keep seeing the same thing: ✅ They’re posting content ✅ It looks good ✅ It’s consistent ❌ But it’s not converting ❌ It’s not building trust ❌ It’s not making them the “obvious choice” in their niche Truth is, most people don’t need more content. They need sharper positioning, cleaner execution, and edits that actually communicate authority. The content that gets shared, saved, and screenshotted? It’s not always the fanciest — it’s the clearest. Curious… 👉 What’s the ONE thing you think is missing in your current content strategy? Drop it below — I’ll share what I’ve seen work best.

I am new here. I have watched several of Alexa's videos already then I came upon Old Mike (hello) and he highly recommended this Community. My question is, how do you get people to comment on your video's? My best friend will comment for me and I have had maybe 2 or 3 others but nothing else. I started with doing a Lenten Journey which I did 46 videos straight then restructured to a Lifestyle type of channel for people who are older or should I say more mature. :) Long story why I started with the Lenten Journey first.