For more than ten years, this blog has been a place of introspection and thought. (Probably some randomness too.) But when I posted recently about wanting to get officially diagnosed with ADHD, it made me realize: if I’ve been feeling alone all these years, and have been struggling my whole life, would it be possible that some of my readers could be too? I mean, I originally chose the name “Living Outside The Box” because that’s just how my brain works. I knew it even back then.
I wouldn’t be called an “expert” on ADHD, unless you consider the fact that I’ve lived with it and developed coping mechanisms for it for the last 40+ years. I see ADHD “coaches” on Youtube, which is awesome, and I think about how much I’ve already learned on my own. Most of these coaches aren’t doctors and don’t have degrees in psychology- they’re just really experienced in dealing with it. I’ve learned to live with ADHD without even realizing it. Maybe some of those skills and observations could help someone else!
The first problem that comes to my mind is: How do I reach people with this? Obviously, just blogging here isn’t doing much for exposure (I get almost no traffic). But what else can I do?Maybe Youtube? LBRY.tv? Vimeo? GabTV? Bitchute?
Listening to “lifestyle success coaches” will convince you to have “brand recognition” or something to that effect. But I don’t know anything about branding, advertising, or anything like that. I just know how to live with ADHD. I don’t want to start a Patreon or a Discord instance for my “fans” to follow. I just want to help people learn to be successful at life, and grow in their relationships towards God and mankind. Is it wrong of me to not want fans? Well, I guess friends are good, but I don’t want “fame” as much.
The second problem of it is this: everything is going to video. Blogs are dead. But video production means I have to invest in lighting equipment, or things like that… but maybe not?? I can use an old phone with an HD camera, and a USB mixer. I can get cheap LED bulbs for my work lights and make posterboard diffusers.
The downside to this is, of course, video editing. Man, that takes forever. And I don’t really have a stout enough computer to do fancy editing. Could I build something decent for cheap? Probably. Do I want to spend that money? Not really. But I might have to.
Planning For the Future
Ultimately, this comes down to money. If money was no object, then I would get everything I need and just do it. But the fact that I don’t have the budget for a $300 computer is kind of stressful. I certainly can’t spend $1000 for a camera. Web hosting for any large site isn’t free. I don’t have a studio or usable indoor workshop, and I can’t rent a space.
So how can I make a presence for this kind of thing without a huge cash outlay? I don’t know. Probably using the techniques I’ve been using: squeezing every drop of usefulness out of old equipment. Repurposing anything I can find. Putting aside anything that’s not (quite as) important.
What do you do when your creative muse is a demanding harpy? I am torn. I know what I want to do- on many fronts- but I lack the resources to do them. So my only options are:
- Let go of the things I can’t do (at least for now)
- Try to do them with whatever means I have available
Neither one will be easy.