Welcome To My First Substack Post! (Part One)

I'm new here. How about you?

Oh hi! I’m grateful you’re here.

So the folks at Substack suggest that a first newsletter on this platform should be all about who you are, why you’re starting a Substack, and what subscribers can expect. (I’d sorta rather just get into the substance of writing, but I’ll go with the flow for the moment.)

So who the heck am I and what the heck do I do? (I know, a lot of you know this already, but please humor me.)

“You’re a musician and songwriter, right?”

Right.

“You’re an artist….you make those pins and you do hand-lettering and you have a font, right?”

Right.

“Oh wait, you’re a freelance copywriter and creative marketing consultant? I didn’t know that!”

Yup! I do that too. And more.

What can readers expect?

I hope to provide content that inspires, educates, motivates, and cultivates, and be a place where my writing can be of use or interest to readers and subscribers, whether the subject matter is serious, fun, informative, helpful, intriguing, musical, artistic, or at least some of the above. I can’t guarantee that everything I write will strike a chord with every person, but I can promise that I’ll write with heart. If you got here as a subscriber, thank you! If you’re just peeking, welcome; I hope you will subscribe to my Substack so I can continue to build and grow here. Also, I reserve the right to change my mind like a billion times about the name of this little newsletter, especially in the ramping up/learning curve of how best to live in the Substackiverse. I write about all kinds of stuff, so if you’ll indulge me, I’d rather not limit my topic, hence the current newsletter name. There seems to be a good debate going on about naming newsletters, and whether to use your own name or come up with a quippy title. Plus I love the word quippy. I’m also gonna be honest and say I really don’t know (yet) how often I’ll write and send these newsletters, but I will endeavor to be mindful of not overflowing your inboxes.

Ok, back to it. I’ve said for many years that my life’s mission is to make a difference while I’m here on this earth. So that drives what I do, how I do it, and what I do to give back. I’m not perfect at it, but I try. And then there’s the DREAMwork, some of which hasn’t happened (YET!) but you gotta speak it into existence, right? Ok, so what’s my DREAMwork you may (or may not) ask? Co-writing songs with some of my SHEroes or having them cover my songs, including Taylor, P!nk, Adele, Dolly, Brandi, and Gaga. And, having more of my songs placed in film, TV, and advertising. Those are just the ones on the songwriting side. I’ve got plenty more! What is your DREAMwork? I would love to hear.

So essentially, I do a bunch of things. This page of my website will probably tell you more than you need to know, LOL. And it all falls under a creative umbrella. And when I say that, let me emphasize that I think everyone is creative, whatever it is they do in life. That may sound super general, but please allow me to elaborate. Over the years, I’ve come across so many people whose perception is that if they’re not in the arts, they’re not creative. That is SO not true. I’ve heard it so much that I ended up writing about it, and then got to present a TEDx talk about it. I think the definition of the word creativity could do with a refresh. Creativity in thinking and navigating our lives is within all of us on a daily basis, but it’s not always looked at that way. If you haven’t seen yourself as creative, I encourage you to rethink the narrative and consider all the things you do throughout your day that take creative thinking. You might surprise yourself.

I have more to share, but I think I’m going to break this into two newsletters, so stay tuned. And thank you for reading! I would love to hear what YOUR definition of creativity is, and how it applies to you in your life.

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p.s. As you may or may not know, Substack has both free and paid options. I’m inclined to keep my Substack on the free side, as I don’t love the paywall model. That said, I do understand there’s a place for it. Fortunately, there’s an in between option. Think of it like the NPR business model; it’s free, but people can pay as a member if they want. Writers gotta write, and so I’ll write regardless, but I may add another option down the road, depending on how the road goes…

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