Rather than focusing on one specific topic for this week’s newsletter, I have decided to do a couple of quick updates on my ongoing creative projects.
Hope you enjoy this newsletter and that it inspires you to make some power moves for your last weeks of summer :)
Funding my creative work
Although my education online may be free, I still have living costs.
For this exact reason: I am going to experiment with something new. I am now utilizing Linktree’s tool to enable tipping on my individual page. Linktree is where I share and update the links to the various projects I post openly online.
After reading “31 Ideas for Music and Crypto” by the very talented Jack Spallone, I was in awe of how one of my favorite musicians, RAC, managed to get more funding in one day from implementing a simple tipping mechanism than through his album sales.
“When RAC released his album EGO using Ujo Music he made more money on tips during the first day than he did on album sales.” - Jack Spallone
Why? Because paying for art, music, education…. the things that actually make us reflect on our life’s mission… isn’t currently valued as highly as it should be online. Cryptocurrencies and new tokenomics being conceptualized at this very moment, may lead to revolutionary potential for individual creators (I’ll discuss this more at a later date).
We finally have the financial technology and the economics to back up making a living off of the internet as our main channel of distribution! As originally written wonderfully by the OG Kevin Kelly (1,000 True Fans) and later riffed on by Li Jin (1,000 True Fans? Try 100), they both expressed how the economics are there for creators to create a sustainable and economically rewarding career.
So I figured I’d give this a shot. Especially as, rather than framing my online presence along the likes of the Kim Kardashian’s of the world, I’m shooting to start small.
Align your sights towards becoming a micro influencer first, continuously build, and then you can become the next Kim K ;) It’s incredibly important to recognize that achieving a mass scale right off the bat isn’t usually the case.
So if you’d like to… you can help support the upstart that is my career as a musician, writer and educator at this link here.
I really appreciate everyone who has been on this journey with me, cheers to the next steps!
First Podcast Experience
Previously, I have stated my intention to start a podcast and established a timeframe for when I’d like to begin my journey.
“As far as all of these details go, I will make a declaration today by stating that this will all be figured out by the first day of fall: on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021.” - (Doubling Down on Yourself) - Originally published on May 13th, 2021.
Little by little this date has climbed closer and closer.
Today (Thursday, August 26th) I updated my countdown to reflect the 27 days until I launch a podcast, this is coming up quick!
What’s a good introductory step to launching a podcast?
To be a guest on a podcast - of course! That’s why I was thrilled to accept the opportunity to go on my homie/collaborator Karthik Senthil’s “secure the bag” podcast.
Below, is a link to the podcast episode where Karthik & I talk all things:
-Learning full-time online versus pursuing traditional higher-ed for a graduate degree.
-My path towards becoming a musician and what inspired my initial interest.
-Conceptualizing the future of HAX (crypto education), web3 excitement and building online learning experiences.
I really hope you enjoy my first podcast appearance, it was really quite the enjoyable thing, and if you are ever looking to have a passionate guest… I am your guy!
All experience accumulates and I am eager to get started with my own podcast, so if you would like to be a guest on my podcast, keep me posted :)
Roam Scholars Program
This was the tweet I came across the other night from Roam Research’s official Twitter.
Naturally, I was intrigued… as a freelance graduate student, bootstrapping my way along in my independent education, any bit of financial help supports this entirely new form of education powered by the internet.
So I filled out what was a rather short (10-15) minute application to apply to become a Roam Scholar, to possibly save $165 for a year when my yearly subscription runs out.
For my application, I had to include a Loom video (1-3 minutes long), essentially screensharing my Roam Research and sharing how I use it as a catalyst for my online learning.
I won’t bore you with the specifics, but here is a screenshot to display the type of planning I use for my life all on Roam Research, a product which has drastically helped my life organization.
My weekly planning in a nutshell; depicts the lifestyle I wish to embody and steadily take steps towards improving week-in and week-out. Iteration is highly encouraged when seeking to craft your life narrative.
Roam makes it incredibly easy to iterate as you progress towards your goals day-by-day. I like to think of utilizing Roam as a hybrid of building your own Wikipedia, while concurrently acting as a daily planner. This notetaking tool has immense staying power in one’s life. I cannot recommend it enough.
Shoutout to the Roam Research team, as they accepted my application! I am now officially a Roam Scholar and will receive a free membership for Roam Research this upcoming year.
Roam Research’s CEO, Conor White-Sullivan is like the hippie step-child of Ted Nelson & the late legendary Douglas Engelbart in the Tools for Thought space. I recommend giving him a follow on Twitter, as well as seeing what else the Roam Research team is building in real-time.
Roam wasn’t built in a day!
LAST BARTYDARTY OF THE SUMMER
Next Thursday — September 2nd, 2021 it is my plan to release the latest of my BARTYDARTY mixes: featured exclusively on my SoundCloud.
Expect a combo of 14-15 songs that are surely going to make you want to dance.
This mix is inspired by late-night highway drives, with the windows down due to no Air Conditioning. (true story)
No A/C equates the need for high frequencies, funky vibes & a beat that will make you vibe until you reach tears of joy. Let’s call it Highway House.
I may even include a new song I plan to have on my newest album coming to you on: December 27th, 2021. (Only 123 days away, trust me it’ll go quick lol)
So stay tuned. And share this newsletter.
Experiment. Experiment.
Life is our experiment. Not happy with the way it’s going?
Switch it up. Challenge yourself.
Send that cold email. Pick up the phone & make that call you know you should.
Don’t turn off that alarm. Rise & shine.
This is your reality. And no one else’s.
Live your life like the dream it already is.
Acknowledge it for what it is, and shape your life the way you want it to be.
One day, one hour, one decision at a time. And build for the long-term.
Cheers to lifelong learning,
PARTING NOTE
If you're enjoying “The Freelance Graduate Student” newsletter, I would really love it if you shared it with a homie or two. You can send them here to subscribe. I try my very best to put out creative ideas each week, and I hope you have as much fun reading them as I do writing them.
If you find anything relevant to the previous writing I have put out, or just additional links you would like to share on this particular topic, reply to this post!