Dreams Start With Patience #62

Reading time: 5 minutes

It’s been 3 months into 2025.

You told yourself at the start of the year you were going to begin.

You create art and want to share it with others.

At first, everything was simple.

Now, over the past few months, everything is starting to add up.

The dream seems unattainable because you’re looking at it from the wrong direction.

Everyone plays this game—whether they are a consumer or a producer.

The game is that of the internet.

There are a variety of different ways to play:

• Win fast, leave early

• Lose fast, leave early

• Win slowly, leave because you’re bored

• Lose slowly, leave because you are losing your mind

• And those whose sole objective is to continue playing the game (because they love it)

I’ve been playing this game for about 4 ½ years now.

I saw success early on, by niching down into photography on Twitter in 2021.

By all metrics:

• the views

• the network

• the money

From that vantage point, I won fast but was left wanting more.

I loved creating art, but I didn’t enjoy the business side of it. I wasn’t good at it, and I quickly realized that likes ain’t cash.

I became engrossed in learning the game, but only because I was sold someone else’s dream.

Copywriting, marketing, and sales all play a role in whether or not you buy.

My dream used to be simple:

• Help people

• Become a professional photographer

• Create a photo book that defines my legacy as a creative (funny, right?)

Over time, I realized I was a professional photographer.

I was getting paid to play, and it was fun (for a short while).

When the pendulum swings away from you during uncertain times, you can easily get wrecked by periods of economic downfall, so I pivoted.

I pivoted toward something that fascinated me at the time (which is what we’re going to cover today):

Building digital leverage.

I learned more about personal development and the solopreneur lifestyle from Dan Koe in early 2022.

He was blowing up on Twitter for sharing novel insights into business, philosophy, and spirituality.

Like many of us back then, the concept of working less and getting more done sounded like a beacon of hope in a post-COVID world.

I knew deep down that I wanted to build something that could help people out rather than give the world “sad” art.

Don’t get me wrong—I love the body of work I created with my camera.

Those moments are incredibly special to me and crucial to my personal growth.

Yet, nothing could prepare me for the tornado journey ahead.

I went on to learn as many skills over the next 3 years as I could handle.

I stopped focusing on my photography career (and as a result, Gen AI only got better and better at creating robo-art).

The result? Another body of work in the form of published words.

This digital leverage I built is for myself.

The mind is great at creating ideas, but it’s terrible at retaining them.

I spent countless hours writing and thinking about:

• stoicism

• ghostwriting

• email marketing

• peak performance

• podcasting

• spirituality

• funnels

• content creation

• business development

• learning to learn

• mental health

• Jungian psychology & spiral dynamics

• productivity and systems thinking

• computer programming

• UI/UX design

• Gen AI and prompt engineering

• sales and general charisma

• esoteric health and vitality

• dating and relationship longevity

• web design and functionality

• neuroscience

The list goes on.

Now, because I’ve learned so much, the content library I’ve published continues to grow alongside me.

The creator economy is changing, but the will is still there for those playing the long game.

It doesn’t matter what happens outside my world.

I’m still going to write about my interests and solve my own problems.

The value and leverage come from my ability to “solve” these problems at scale.

There’s a saying: “You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of the problems you solve.” —Elon Musk

I believe the most fulfilling thing you can do is add to the skill-tree of humanity as a whole.

People who make breakthroughs in science and engineering develop the world in ways never before seen, improving the quality of existence for everyone around.

The second most fulfilling thing?

Alleviating suffering within those around you.

Problems are a paradox—this is why we build digital leverage in this new renaissance.

The paradox is this:

Many people are plagued by their problems, exaggerating them so much in their minds that these problems become massive monsters, unable to be defeated.

So, escapism occurs—which never leads to real solutions or better well-being.

But the moment you face your problems head-on and start solving them, you notice how GREAT it feels—like a drug-induced euphoria.

By documenting the journey from problem → solution, you can then expand that knowledge to help others.

Some do it for money, some do it to improve consciousness as a whole, some do it for egoic vanity to fill a void, and some do it because they are obsessed with it.

Publish more, write more, and create more.

You’ll notice a pattern in people who are obsessed: laser focus on solving their problems with flair and grace.

Anyone can do it—writing online is a gateway to personal development.

You can’t fake growth; you will be challenged based on your level of competency.

It’s permission less. The only permission you need is your own.

(This concept is a lot harder to will into being, but it’s like a muscle you grow.)

Building a content library (in any medium) should be your priority going forward.

Every job in this day and age can probably find your social media accounts (or give you a quick Google search).

When you build your skills and share your life in public, you are instantly courageous.

It’s hard to share real parts of yourself online instead of a constant highlight reel.

When employers see the strength of your character rather than everyday sh*tposting or idol worship, it quickly becomes your résumé.

The résumé of the future is what you do “outside” of work.

The content library I’ve built gives anyone access to read my thoughts.

It’s scary at first, being out there exposed.

Eventually, you stop giving a f*ck.

Within this, nothing matters except doing what you love and documenting your life.

A tip: new writers often refuse to publish due to perfectionism or imposter syndrome.

But technically, you’re just journaling. (And you need to publish in order to call yourself a writer.)

Writing is difficult, just like anything else.

When I started, I had no idea what to write about.

I didn’t grasp the “rules” well enough and churned out a lot of sloppy writing.

You can get attached to metrics and start to apply frameworks, but in my opinion, riffing off the dome always works better.

When I followed the writing approaches of others, my work became dull and restrained.

You do things because you want to, not because you “have to” or “need to.”

I learned this from a friend: the language I used in my writing implied that nothing in my life was perfect.

I continuously used words that revealed (to myself and others) that I was unhappy.

It implied I wasn’t worthwhile in the present moment, creating an endless cycle of suffering until I could nip it in the bud.

It’s hard to recognize, and I still struggle with this today: there is nowhere else to be right now.

You are exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Curiosity follows you when you flow.

The best writing I publish usually comes from being immersed in whatever I’m doing.

Most of the time, the idea doesn’t stem from sitting at my computer forcing myself to CREATE.

I flow within bartending, within coding, reading, and—most recently—in the post-process of 3D prints.

These flow states are when I feel the best, so it makes sense that the creative juices appear.

Creativity levels increase with a better mood. I believe it’s because you’re more accepting of the present moment.

Better moods come from better sleep practices and exercise.

Focusing on movement first thing every day improves your ability to create leverage.

Gratitude and meditation practices remove a chunk of stress from our mental state, which allows peace and joy to flow.

Digital leverage is here to stay—just keep creating.

The old forms of leverage are still relevant.

They are:

• capital leverage ($$$)

• labor leverage (employees)

• time leverage (being young)

Now you have digital leverage from a content library you’ve spent the past few years developing.

The bottleneck is distribution.

You often hear people on the sidelines say the market is competitive and saturated.

But for distribution to work, you need a “f*ck it, we ball” mentality.

You’re going to fail, and you’re going to win. The only real risk is doing nothing and remaining stagnant for the rest of your life in a world that’s always changing.

Your buddy who likes to write to micro-niche audiences
-Zachariah

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