What’s good everyone. It’s been a minute as I contemplated how to use this newsletter in a way that delivered value but also that I enjoyed writing.
So where did I end up? Buckle up and let’s talk.
The Grid.
If you know me, you know my love for all things pop culture and music. Tron Legacy continues to be one of my all-time favorites for so many reasons. You may have also heard the news recently that Daft Punk is retiring. So the newsletter will now be a home for My Grid.
Ideas I’m exploring. Thoughts I’m having. Experiences I want to share.
So welcome to The Grid.
Two main things to discuss today.
The first is Twitter versus longer-form writing.
Last year Twitter changed my life. I won’t hide that nor deny it. The friends I made on Twitter became my people. I’ve met some of them in real life and know that over this coming year I will meet many more. It also allowed me to build out my course Performative Speaking which led to its acquisition by On Deck.
Twitter brought me coaching and consulting clients. It’s a valuable tool for networking purposes and it continues to be so for me. Whether it’s angel investors and VCs who come into contact with me and my work, speechwriters, or just amazing people I can’t thank Twitter enough for those relationships.
But it’s also not how I like to communicate. I hate short asynchronous messages. There’s no nuance. No beauty. No depth.
Sure I can write a thread that pops off and I will still do that occasionally but it’s also time-consuming to write a thread that lives on Twitter. No SEO. No long-term lasting effect. Unless I pin that thread it fades away over time.
This thinking led me to join Dickie Bush’s Ship 30 for 30 cohort for April in which I’ve been publishing 250-word essays. It’s better. But still not how I like to write. Dickie has built something incredible and I’m a big fan of the format for a lot of people. I just believe that it takes more to build worlds with our words.
There’s value in world-building. Painting beautiful pictures with your words to make people feel something deep inside of them. I want to create depth and make people really think about something. Writing should stir emotions and be so unforgettable that a person can’t get past the thoughts that came up when reading it. Maybe I could do that in 250 words but it feels so short to me so I want to write longer pieces.
My writing will continue to be story-driven and explore the things that inspire me on a daily basis. The topic of this conversation has come up many times for me as I tell people to write for your voice and not a niche. I want people to know I wrote an article if it’s about speaking, travel, creator economy, crypto, or anything else I feel like. I write for my voice, not for a niche.
So that’s what I’ll be focusing on in these coming weeks and months. The essays will live on my website (robbiecrabtree.com) and I will also be working to re-organize my website to make it easier to find essays and themes.
I’ll be compiling playbooks to help people with storytelling, speaking, fundraising, and much more. Because that’s where I can do it. Not on Twitter.
You can still find me on Twitter but expect much less of it. In the past two months, my tweets have gone from over 1000 to 500 to 300 in a month.
It will also mean more regular newsletter writing because this is the perfect place to flesh ideas out more deeply and connect. So hopefully you will enjoy this new focus and share the work if you find it useful.
Imposter Syndrome
When you feel it, lean into it. The only way that we grow is by embracing discomfort. Imposter Syndrome is a signal that lets us know we are in a position to grow. An opportunity to achieve something.
We should be constantly pushing ourselves to move up in the world. Into bigger roles, more leadership positions, and greater impact situations. Each step up will come with Imposter Syndrome. If it ever goes away, you have stopped pushing yourself.
Part of the problem is many people have been told for so long that they don’t belong. I’m here to tell you that you do. It’s absolutely BS to buy into the false narrative that you aren’t good enough. The people already at the table tell you that so they can maintain their position.
I learned this as a prosecutor. The people who hurt others worked to silence them. Told them nobody would believe or listen to them. So they stayed silent.
Imposter Syndrome is the same.
Your voice scares the other people. Find the people who support you. Find the people that tell you that you are good enough and have value to share.
This doesn’t mean you won’t fail. You should fail. That’s how we all grow. I believe that confidence comes from getting knocked down and realizing you can get back up to keep pushing forward. Once you’ve been punched and keep going, nothing can stop you.
I leave you with an incredible 6-minute talk from Michelle Obama on Imposter Syndrome. Enjoy.
See you next week.
If you have any questions or comments just reply to this email. It’s a great way to start a conversation.
Robbie