gloomy days at home, hosting friendsgiving, happiness & career reflection ｜ Homebody Diaries

We're starting now Whenever you fly toward me I always fly toward you You become the melody you become the rhythm—everything that keeps echoing endlessly in my ears is the melody The moment they realized it was me Fall in love the moments when you both lift each other up You'll forget won't you Even if it's awkward we can just go along with it can't we You are the song that turns me into flight the melody the rhythm everything Give all my love with just my hands Speaking of love through frequencies Our resonance begins now Fall in love Sometimes making mistakes that are sharp one moment and flat the next You'll forget it won't you Every time we lock eyes we ultimately become one It's been quite a long time since we've been together I'll take a few minutes to walk you through building this LEGO set Now let me explain what's been happening in my life We'll leave it at that until 2025 The first is my happiness My creator's journey and my content the social media landscape and the creator space—first and foremost it's happiness I'm going through seasonal sadness It's cold in winter It's currently 4:30 p m Let's get up and already it's dark outside Let's go to the gym and come back I want to go to sleep when it's 10 o'clock The deeper I go my happiness and mental well-being haven't changed at all In truth I'm so happy because Korean is so amazing universe It appears We And one thing I'm truly realizing as I navigate my 20s is that it definitely doesn’t work that way I'm already on the other side of the obstacles or goals I thought would make me happy right Just like when I was in college I kept telling myself that I’d finally be happy once I landed my dream job Or when I truly despised my job I'd remind myself that if I could make this full-time creator thing work then that’s really what would make me happy There's this persistent feeling that happiness is always just out of reach And even though I don’t always feel good about myself setting another goal makes it okay because when I achieve it I’ll truly be happy And I just realized now that I probably need to make a small adjustment there mindset-wise don’t you think Here I am right as a full-time creator I’m supporting myself and my girlfriend comfortably We live a wonderful life together with my cat As a design enthusiast I collaborate with numerous incredible design brands But deep down I really don’t feel any happier now than I was three or maybe even four years ago So I had this realization—that even though I'd achieved so many of the goals I'd set believing they'd make me happy but you know I'm still I think objectively speaking not all that happy so clearly adopting this goal-driven approach to life is a bit corrosive to me What I'm gradually coming to understand is that the key to happiness or contentment I believe is deeply connected to being grateful and appreciative for everything you already have but I also think it's important to learn how to live in the moment and truly enjoy whatever process I'm engaged in I suppose that naturally leads into my second point which is my creative journey and how I see it progressing It's been nearly two years now since I started creating content full-time In case some of you are new here I used to work full-time in consulting in San Francisco And then I was simultaneously working on content Then halfway through I decided to go all-in on content creation and ultimately quit my previous job Even within those two years I've always felt like I had to stay on my guard And the creator economy I think is evolving so quickly because the space is becoming so crowded I think one sentiment I often see online is the excessive commercialization of social media For instance when you're scrolling through TikTok it often feels like nine out of ten videos are TikTok Shop ads trying to push you into making a purchase And I believe this has fostered a significant level of distrust between those who consume media and those who create it It's a really delicate balance because one hand the social media sphere has essentially evolved into an economy unto itself right Many people like me depend on social media in general to earn a living I've become increasingly aware of and have really tried to stay grounded in my authenticity as a creator And that manifests in the kind of content I create— am I still producing work that stays true to who I am But I think there's another side to that which I've never discussed before—the financial reality of being a creator Platforms like TikTok Instagram and YouTube will pay you a small amount But I'd argue that for most creators today the vast majority of your income likely comes down to the brand partnerships you're involved in These could be videos I create for Instagram TikTok or YouTube Shorts collaborating with a brand to promote a product or showcase a service for example So the real question becomes how to approach it in a way that stays true to yourself and the message you're trying to convey From the very beginning I've been absolutely firm about this and as the creator economy becomes increasingly crowded I've truly doubled down on it It's just about not coming across as someone who's compromised their principles for gain When I first started making videos and realized that brands were interested in collaborating with creators like me—and actually willing to pay for it—it honestly thrilled me But I quickly realized that the brands you collaborate with also reflect your identity as a creator I've never said this before and it feels utterly insane to admit it coming from someone who had no idea you could actually earn money from content But I've turned down brand deals worth well over six figures because they either promote products I don’t believe in or represent brands I personally don’t align with I never want people to think of me as someone just trying to profit off my audience If there's anything I ever actually pay for know that I've put a lot of thought into ensuring the product truly works as it should And also that it's a brand I've either used before or one I truly trust Ultimately I suppose I never really know whether that actually makes a difference in how engaged I am or in my connection with my community Perhaps I'm only shooting myself in the foot by turning down money I should be accepting But I think I sleep a little better at night knowing that I’m staying true to myself and keep creating content that genuinely reflects my values and beliefs I guess I'll wrap this up by saying how truly grateful I am for all your support on this YouTube channel Even though I’ve been feeling a bit low on motivation lately when it comes to creating these longer-form videos They're truly what make me feel more fulfilled as a content creator and I absolutely love reading every single one of your comments It creates a connection far more meaningful than simply looking at numbers on a screen As always thanks for watching this video and I'll see you in the next one