My oh, my! So I think it is not difficult to say that the first LTM 2K was kind of a failure. Not only in views compared to other videos I have put out, but also in reception. Admittedly, I have not asked a lot of people about what they think, but what I have heard plays well with the feelings of doubt I had before putting it out.
A part of me considers just taking it down. If not a lot of people listen, then I only failed in front of a few people. No one likes failing, but the road to mastery is paved with stones of failure. The very act of falling short allows us to learn. And that first podcast falls mighty short.
My fear before posting revolved around the voices. Back in high school, I had a lovely sonorous voice that I could hold as if it were my normal voice. Age has caught up with me apparently and it just ain’t what it used to be. All my voices fell flat, and that makes me feel bad about myself. I wanted to be a voice actor for a while in high school. I practiced voices all the time. I held that up as a part of my identity, and that part of me is not the same anymore.
But I will keep at it. This site is built for this type of growth. I looked around and kept hearing how people I respected failed a bunch at first, but I couldn’t see their failures. Too often they just disappear. I wanted to allow those that someday might respect the work I produce to see these dirty clothes. Learning To Master is the archive.
So with that in mind, I want to offer a bit of positives that came from the first LTM 2K. First, I finished it. I had been mulling the idea over for two weeks before I even tried to do something. I wanted to combine all my interests into one project, and I did (if you do the YouTube video). Second, I learned that my strained deep voice might be turning people off of my other videos, so I will correct this going forward. And finally, I got set up on Spotify for another platform to distribute content.
It’s not all bad, but it is a bit painful.
Additionally, there is balance sometimes. Yes, LTM 2K flopped, but I got approved for advertising on Learning To Master (it took two attempts). And today I had some of the highest site page views I have ever had.
Thank you for reading, I’ll see you next time.