Changing direction

Well friends, I have a confession to make.

As someone who is constantly nagging you guys to take ownership over your life and do things for yourself and chase your goals and all of that inspirational bs, I have to admit that I haven't been doing a whole lot of that as of late.

I keep thinking to myself that things will just work out one way or another and what is meant for me will make its way into my life. While that is true and I do believe that, I was faced with a cold truth last week. I was talking to someone and complaining about how there's a lot I want to do to elevate this blog, my platform of influence and when it comes to content creation. I stopped creating content relating to my platform sometime in 2021 and never picked it up again. I felt burnt out from writing and publishing my book and gave up on all other aspects of content creation for a good chunk of time. I kept thinking that an opportunity will just fall into my lap if I manifest it hard enough. I know how silly this sounds, trust me. I never really came out of that funk and instead, I complained that things were not working out, that I wasn't getting the attention that my work deserved, so on. I kept doing that until last week when my friend told me something that I now look at it with different lenses.

He said "well Cez, how do you think you'll reach your goals if you don't put any work into it? It's usually not enough to simply want it bad enough. Most times, you also have to work for it in order for it to come to fruition. You have the ambition and drive and that's half of it. Now, you just have to dedicate some time to making it work. I know you don't want to work more than you already do and yes, it's true you work a lot, but how do you think people with goals get to the finish line? They may have to put in a couple hours on the weekends to see those goals develop. So yes, sometimes you might have to work on a Sunday and that's okay because you know who you're doing this for? You."

I know he said nothing really that is revolutionary or that I didn't already know, but, you know what else he also told me without actually telling me? I was living in La La land.

Of course I have to work and I don't know why I was under this strange impression that eventually it would just happen and my dreams would come to life.

And so, long story short, I will be doing just that and I wanted you guys to know first. As of June 9, my blog will be changing direction a little bit in order to better align with my existing goals. I have been wanting to steer away from the content that I currently put out for a while now and I think that time has come. Let me explain this.

As you all know, my blog has always been super intimate and catered towards lived experiences that would relate to other people. I have let you all read about highs and lows despite not knowing who in particular was reading. I essentially always have put my life on full blast and if anyone ever cared to read about it, they'd learn a thing or two about who I am and how I think.

While I have appreciated this close knit relationship with all of you over the past 5 years, it is time to close in and focus more so on those who are here because they want to read my content, and less so on the people who come onto my blog to gain insight on what I am doing and with whom. I love to write and put my work out there and I want to ensure that I am writing for my own community and forming a relationship with those who appreciate and value my words. I don't want to change my niche and in order to continue to put out exactly what I want, this change is becoming necessary more so from a professional standpoint.

Starting June 9, the majority of my blog will become a paid subscription. I am still working out the logistics of that, but, the intention is as follows: my current blog will remain as is, and new posts will still be free- for the abstract. After about a paragraph or two, you will have the option to read the full thing on the subscription if you so should choose. The paid subscription will be called "Coffee with Cez" and every week, I will put out a lengthy post, similar to my current work. This new segment will be juicier, more intimate, more private. I will essentially not hold back. I would say that I currently keep my writing very pg because I want my platforms to speak on my professionalism and less on what I do with my time after hours.

Coffee with Cez will be $1 per week. Realistically you spend more on a coffee weekly so I aim to retain my current following and continue building it up by giving you all a platform that is super accessible and affordable.

This is the current plan. I haven't worked out the entirety of the logistics yet, but I wanted you all to know that I hope you stick around and continue to be here as I work hard to turn my dreams into reality. I really look forward to continue to share and develop my work and give you all the content that you have supported and read for the few years I have been creating and sharing with you all.

If you're still reading, let me know what you think of this. I want to take into account the feedback of those who are reading. It is a big change for me too and I want to make sure that it is a seamless and easy as possible.

Would you continue to read for $1/week?