I can’t be the only one struggling at finding a place in the world. On a daily basis, I feel that I don’t quite belong with anyone or anywhere. Like the world is made of water while I am a spec of oil floating on the top. There are times when I’ve felt surrounded by the world and society, but never really a part of it. This causes a little cognitive dissonance for me as it’s in direct opposition to my beliefs and what I scientifically know as fact.
You didn’t come into this world, you came out of it
Alan Watts
All the cells, molecules, and elements of my body are a product of our world. All of the atoms that compose my body can be easily found across the entire universe. But, what part of this specific arrangement of atoms, molecules, elements, and cells makes what I call me? Who am I? What am I? Where does the essence that I call myself stem from? The rabbit hole of self-awareness starts with the most simple questions but often leads to no concrete answers.
Self-Awareness Helps to Find Your Place In the World
According to Gary Vee and almost every single “self-help” guru out there. Self-awareness helps us to attain our goals, love ourselves more, and find our place in the world. In my struggle to become known, it took me some time to wake up to the fact that what I was doing wasn’t working. Over the past year, I’ve been losing myself, learning about, rediscovering, and finding myself. Wanting to become better was actually the reason I started writing so much on my blog. The best way to build self-awareness and a relationship with myself was to write. After reading learn in public I decided to log online because I figured I can’t be the only one struggling finding a place in the world.
Recently, I had a conversation with the being I call smother nature. Although I love her as a parent, I’ve been building a healthy boundary and living my own life. This doesn’t mean I don’t ask for her advice and guidance every now and then. Also when I’m feeling down about my progress in life she loves to remind me about all the things I’ve accomplished in my life and career.
With a less-than-ideal childhood and high-functioning autism, I was able to move to a foreign country all by myself and attain relevant experience in a field I’d like to work in. Not to mention I have made friends and at least some progress toward my ultimate goal or idea. I’ve made quite a leap in my art, music, games, and various other skills. Not to mention the professional work experience and soft skills I’ve gained.
Struggling Finding a Place in the World? Make One
One thing that I don’t think my mom or people who aren’t in a creative field will understand is the pain of not being able to work on a creative idea when you get them. Your subconscious is always working at ideas. And sometimes it slaps you in the face with one in the middle of a workday. As much as I would love to just drop everything I’m doing and flush an idea out, I’m not in a position where I can do that. There are also moments when I want to learn about or improve skills I have or want to attain. I also find that when I get home from work sometimes I forget about the idea or am to tired to pursue anything.
My large goal in life right now is to be able to put myself in the position of being able to work on an idea when I have one. Getting there is an endless battle, but I believe that one day I’ll be there. Part of that goal involves becoming known, I’ve talked about the importance of becoming known before. This doesn’t necessarily require fame and millions of followers, but it requires some recognition of skill or aptitude. Being known can open up doors of opportunity, but those doors don’t present themselves unless you make a splash.
How do you make an impression on the world if you don’t have a place in it? The best thing you can do is to make one.
Carving That Niche
“I don’t think I’m very interesting”
Most normal people believe that there is nothing special, unique, or interesting about themselves. But the truth is, we are like fish swimming in water. Just think how little you know about other people, and look at yourself from someone else’s perspective. Once you peer through that lens, you’ll awaken to what makes you special. When you’re at home few people see you when you are by yourself. Even if you live with others, they’re not with you all the time. In addition, there’s only one soul that knows what bounces around on the inside of your head.
While you may share some similarities with other people in this world, everyone is living their own unique experience. Very few people around the world are 28-year-old anime-loving, tuner car-obsessed, music producing, youtubing, social media managing, gaming, photographer artists with experience in power automate. Actually, I’m pretty sure there’s only one of those. Even if someone did manage to share all my similar skills, their taste in music, art, games, foods, and anything else would be complexly different.
Own What Makes You Who You Are
When you figure out what combination of things make you unique, own it. Carve out a place in the world and on the internet that represent you and give it that special spark. Creating a strong personal brand will become an essential skill in the future if it isn’t already. When you are struggling finding a place in the world you should think of yourself as a brand. I’ve been able to solidify my own identity by owning what makes me unique and crafting a brand around it.
Think about yourself as an abstract ideal or idea which is supposed to represent something greater. Which colors do you own? What fonts represent you? On the internet words, colors, symbols, ideas, ways of thinking, and mindsets are real estate that you can own.
Laidback Lifestyle
I was struggling finding a place in the world. Laidback Lifestyle is supposed to be that place where all my interests come together. In the same vein as Tyler the creator and Rob Drydek I wanted to make a space where I could pursue my interests and passions. It might seem like a weird amalgamation of things, but that melting pot is where interesting ideas happen. Laidback Lifestyle touches on anime, music, art, and videogames, which are my personal hobbies, but also has begun incorporating elements of self-help, philosophy, and documenting my pursuit of becoming great and known.
Perhaps there isn’t any wide appeal to my work. Actually, I know the number of people who take their time to think deeply, write, and have patience for written content is nosediving in the tiktok, IG reels, and YT shorts-based society of the modern world. That doesn’t mean I won’t also try to use those platforms myself to get my name out there, but in moments where I feel rushed I go to the words of a wise dead man.
“What’s the rush? Why the hurry? What’s the Meaning in All this?” – Alan Watts
The human game, as Alan Watts referred to is our experience of living in society. The Laidback Lifestyle is finding a way to play through life as opposed to work through it. Like any good game I’m trying to provide a strategy guide as I go along. The idea is to build laidback lifestyle into a lifestyle brand where I can have multiple contributors and employees doing what they love.
Wearing Different Masks Building and Interdimensional Spiderweb
Spider Man’s image has grown shifted and evolved with the times. Now that every part of the muti-dimensional Spider-Verse has its own form of the hero It’s no longer spider man, but spider men(and women). At first I was very much against the trend of seemingly enforced representation in the media, but Into The Spiderverse did it right. Miles wasn’t a token character, but just a solidly written character for the new generation(He is also now my favorite spiderman). Like our favorite webheaded protagonist as much as we want to be our very own unique selves, there is still an appropriate spiderman for a universe.
What do I mean by this? Well sometimes it’s good to be known for just one thing. When we are struggling finding a place in the world sometimes it’s good to dawn a mask. We all wear masks and try on different personas. Who you are around your friends is different then the person you are on a first date. Why not take advantage of the natural human tendency to try to fit in?
Struggling Finding a Place in the World is Confusing
You’re thinking didn’t I just read about 1500 words of encouraging us to be our unadulterated purely 100% authentic selves, but now I’m being told to shape my personality? Yes and no, in life there is time for both pure authentic connection, but also time to play the social game. If you think of it as a mascarade, game, or character, life becomes a lot more fun. So although I recommend living a purely authentic experience in life, I also think it’s important to shape your content.
Orgazational Structure
If I want Laidback Lifestyle to be something larger than myself, I think it’s important to try and have at least some sort of a plan when it comes to organizing the Structure of the Company.
As you can see there is some what of a heiarcal structure to the way content will flow and connect, but everything will be interlinked(insert bladerunner meme). Or it will be like a Spider constructing a web. In marketing terms we call this a funnel, but moving into the future of the creator economy I believe funnel is a bad term for it. As in our web of content even if they just view a section of the large organizations content they still are supporting the Laidback Lifestyle.
Stop Struggling Finding a Place in the World
TLDR: This is the part where I get very Zen and say, that struggling finding a place in the world is a fruitless endevor. Only for the reason that you already belong here.
