WEBVTT 00:00:01.680 --> 00:00:11.120 I think there comes a point in life when you're faced with a decision. Keep running from your calling or decide to face it. This was that point for me. 00:00:11.680 --> 00:00:14.720 Would I keep spending my days building someone else's dream, 00:00:15.255 --> 00:00:16.935 or would I take the risk 00:00:17.255 --> 00:00:18.615 and build my own? 00:00:23.655 --> 00:00:33.380 A year ago, I was sitting at a desk working a nine to five job, and a year later, I'm on a trip with a brand that I love doing work that creatively fulfills me and supports me financially, 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:36.100 and this is the story of how that happened. 00:00:36.740 --> 00:00:41.700 In order to actually tell this story well, it's important that we go back to the beginning. 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:51.005 Hello, everybody. It's Riley. And today, I'm going to be doing a 50 facts about me video. Okay. Maybe not that far. 00:00:53.085 --> 00:01:06.280 I mean, here's the thing. If you didn't have a YouTube channel, his dad would still be saying to break up with you. And this was the day I decided I was gonna quit my job and move somewhere. I didn't know where, but I knew I needed to go. It was on January 5 that I decided 00:01:06.360 --> 00:01:16.885 I need to move. I need to get the heck out of here. Okay. I will get a strategy. Start considering places and take the Lord's guidance. Be intentional. I need to do something else. I could do it. 00:01:17.445 --> 00:01:19.525 You can. You absolutely can. 00:01:20.085 --> 00:01:20.885 Absolutely can. 00:01:21.460 --> 00:02:01.850 Heartbreak will do that to you. Along with figuring out where to go, there was also the question of what am I gonna do for work. For the last two years, I've been working as a creative media specialist, and I did that because after graduating college, this is how I felt about YouTube. What do I make content about? I got nothing to show that feels like it would be of any value to anyone. But taking two years away from YouTube gave me the space to find my why, and I decided to take the risk and give myself one year where YouTube would be my focus. My top priority would be to make YouTube videos and content. I would treat it like a full time job even if I wasn't making any money. I knew that if I took this risk, I could look back on my life without regret, and that decision changed 00:02:01.850 --> 00:02:02.410 my life. 00:02:07.665 --> 00:02:08.705 This is 00:02:09.825 --> 00:02:12.945 insane. I can't believe I'm here. Let's take a tour. 00:02:13.505 --> 00:02:19.985 I genuinely feel like at any moment, someone's going to knock on the door and say, just kidding. None of this is for you. 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:28.410 We've got WHOOP, of course, the whole reason that I'm here and this is happening. Dermalogica 00:02:28.410 --> 00:02:29.290 products, 00:02:29.450 --> 00:02:41.185 Boston Red Sox hat, Cadence Hydration and Nutrition, some running glasses. I'm actually so excited about these. And then these fun cane shoes. I'm sure these are comfy. 00:02:41.185 --> 00:02:43.265 And then, of course, we have the bathroom, 00:02:43.585 --> 00:02:48.065 which has this lovely whoop sign and this nice shower and a toilet. 00:02:48.570 --> 00:02:58.010 Perfect for going to the bathroom. They also left me the most lovely letter and the cutest canvas back. Is there stuff in here? No. 00:02:58.090 --> 00:02:58.890 Oh my gosh. 00:03:01.365 --> 00:03:02.485 How are doing? 00:03:02.725 --> 00:03:03.925 I've been dying. 00:03:04.005 --> 00:03:04.965 Oh my gosh. I've 00:03:05.525 --> 00:03:13.845 Andrew Huberman talks about them. A year ago, I was sitting at a desk working a nine to five making videos for somebody else, and now I'm here. This 00:03:14.005 --> 00:03:14.805 is 00:03:16.380 --> 00:03:17.340 insanity. 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:18.300 Everything's 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:19.180 crazy. 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:26.140 Like, I really do feel like this 00:03:26.380 --> 00:03:43.320 is where I'm supposed to be right now. Taking a risk is terrifying until you take it, and then you realize it isn't actually as bad as you thought it would be. I'm just excited to see if my risk of not having a job, not having just a backup plan, how that's gonna go. Now it's time to make a plan 00:03:43.800 --> 00:04:19.880 for tomorrow. Not only was I trying to figure out how to create a completely different style of video, but I was also spending hours and hours studying, scripting, planning, and learning as much as I could about YouTube. This is also when I came up with my motto, the process is the point and fully outline the message at the heart of all my content, becoming. Today, I'm posting my first video back in two years. I tried Andrew Huberman's daily routine game changer video, so we'll see how that does. Hopefully, it does well. If not, that's okay. I've gotta earn the success. It doesn't just come. These videos are as much for me as they are for other people, and they are my works of art. I like what I'm making, 00:04:20.200 --> 00:04:22.600 and so if other people don't, 00:04:23.235 --> 00:04:28.035 then that's okay. And now every single week for the foreseeable future, 00:04:28.275 --> 00:04:30.515 I will be posting a new YouTube video. 00:04:36.950 --> 00:04:55.805 I don't know what to make this week. And, I'm feeling kinda paralyzed about it. And, I'm also like, I don't know who I am on camera. I have so many YouTubers that I love watching. I try and analyze what they're doing well. I wanna be me the way that they are them. But who am I on camera? And how do I be myself? 00:04:56.125 --> 00:04:58.285 Loosen up. Be yourself. 00:04:58.445 --> 00:04:59.725 I'm 00:04:59.725 --> 00:05:14.230 feeling paralyzed right now, but I know that I will get a video up this week. I don't care what it's gonna take. I'll get it done. I'm, like, feeling really anxious. It's hard. This is hard. Doing something new, trying to get better at something that you care a lot about, 00:05:14.790 --> 00:05:33.315 it's hard. There's a lot of ups and downs with how you feel about your capabilities and where you are and where you know you can be and where you wanna be. I can do it though. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I have good things to share. I can do this. It's gonna be a lot of work, and it's gonna be really challenging, 00:05:33.555 --> 00:05:37.360 but I'm gonna do it. I am going to do it. I am all in. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:50.160 I'm just so afraid that I won't do it. Barely made any money this year. And it's so hard because I'm putting in so much work. Like, I just 00:05:50.525 --> 00:05:57.165 worked on that video and that product for so many hours straight, and I don't know if that video is gonna make me $20. 00:05:57.165 --> 00:06:03.850 And it's not for lack of trying. Like, I've worked harder than I've ever worked, and it's such a hard situation 00:06:03.850 --> 00:06:07.690 to just be sitting in. I wish there wasn't this much pressure, but 00:06:08.010 --> 00:06:09.530 this is part of the process. 00:06:09.850 --> 00:06:30.775 And as I like to say, the process is the point. It's okay. Like, I'm I'm okay. I'm doing good. I am doing I'm doing the best that I can. That's all that I need to ask of myself. I'm showing up, and I'm trying, and that's good. And I can be proud of that no matter what happens, honestly. I can be proud of the way that I've worked and pushed myself 00:06:31.310 --> 00:06:34.270 during this entire year, basically. And so 00:06:34.670 --> 00:06:41.550 I'm really happy with that. If you were to ask me how I'm doing, I would tell you I'm doing very good, but I'm also feeling kind of intimidated 00:06:41.550 --> 00:06:59.415 by everybody who's going to be at this event. I looked at the list, and it's literally a bunch of elite athletes, and then there's me. And I'm like, I who am I? Literally, who am I to be here? Like, why did I get invited to this thing? I'm so grateful to be here. But, also, like, what what makes me 00:06:59.895 --> 00:07:01.175 worthy of any of this? 00:07:02.050 --> 00:07:06.130 And to even be in this situation, I just feel so much gratitude. 00:07:06.130 --> 00:07:10.450 But I'm also trying not to let those feelings of inadequacy 00:07:10.450 --> 00:07:15.330 or of, like, impostor syndrome to get in the way of this experience. 00:07:15.330 --> 00:07:36.520 What I'm gonna do is, first of all, soak it all in. This is incredible. I'm so grateful to be here. This is an opportunity for me to learn from other people, to connect with people who are like minded. My goal for this weekend is to show up as the best version of myself that I can, to be happy and to be excited, grateful, and kind, and start conversations, 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:40.440 and be bold, and be confident, and try and be charismatic, 00:07:40.440 --> 00:07:50.365 and just all of those things. Like, I want people to come away from this experience having met me and be like, Riley is awesome. And I just wanna put my best foot forward. So this is gonna be incredible. 00:07:51.005 --> 00:08:39.975 I'm so grateful to WHOOP. I am so, so grateful to WHOOP. WHOOP is a fitness wearable that gives you a complete picture of your health. It tracks your sleep, your workouts, your recovery, your breathing, your heart rate, and even your steps. I absolutely love the journal feature in their app. You can log the different habits and daily things that you do, and based on how your body's recovering, it will track the impact that those habits and those actions have on your health. And over time, you get to see what's working to help you become a better version of yourself and what isn't, which is very useful information to have. And with Ironman training starting up, I've also been using the activity feature a lot. I log my activity while I'm doing it so that I can see my heart rate zones and see the amount of strain that's coming from the workout. If you're interested in trying it out, you can get the WHOOP five point o in a thirty day free trial by going to the link in the description or heading to join.whoop.com/rileyrue. 00:08:39.975 --> 00:08:46.215 The fact that they believed in me, Sam believed in me enough to have me be part of this experience is 00:08:46.855 --> 00:08:49.735 profound to me, and I am so grateful. 00:08:50.055 --> 00:09:06.220 I need help. And so it was perfect timing for this management company called Small to reach out to me. We're gonna jump on a call in about twenty minutes and just talk through things. A lot of the concerns I have are based off of my past experience with my last manager. We did not have a personal relationship. 00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:08.860 There wasn't good communication whatsoever. 00:09:08.940 --> 00:10:22.640 We didn't set goals with each other. It was very much just like a shallow relationship. I don't want that to be the relationship. I want my manager to be very involved in the work that I'm doing, have this kind of partner to bounce ideas off of because I don't have that right now. And if I wanna take my income and my ideas to the next level, I need that help. I also would love to come out with products. I just have a vision for what I could create, and I need help doing it. I also have a long list of brands that I want to work with already. I'll be able to come up with ideas really quickly because I've already put the thought into how our messages align. I just need to communicate too how hard I am willing to work at this. Making this dream and goal a reality of doing this full time and not being so stressed about money, like, that will take so much weight off my shoulders. Like, I wanna do this. I've done this before, and I want I wanna do it even better now, and I I'm willing to work hard. If there's one thing about me, I am willing to work. I am willing to put my all into this. Whoever I sign with, I will be lucky to sign with them, but they will also be lucky to have me because of how hard I am willing to work at this. I'm 23 years old, and it's about time I learn how to do my hair. This is episode 14 of the becoming series where Oh 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:24.560 my gosh. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:28.240 I need you to screenshot a 100. 00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:29.200 What? 00:10:46.540 --> 00:10:48.140 That's, 00:10:48.140 --> 00:10:51.420 like, the the quickest performing bitch of the all Oh 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:57.100 my gosh. I have a manager. 00:10:58.855 --> 00:11:01.095 I literally have a manager, guys. Oh my 00:11:04.455 --> 00:11:06.055 Thank you, heavenly father. 00:11:07.415 --> 00:11:10.215 I'm doing it, guys. I'm actually doing this. 00:11:11.710 --> 00:11:16.190 I'm so happy. Okay. So I was getting really overwhelmed 00:11:16.190 --> 00:11:45.590 with this decision and feeling, like, scared about signing with somebody and, like, making the wrong decision because the management company that reached out to me isn't on like, I'm not super familiar with them. But as I went down the road of talking to a different management company, it just felt like I was begging them to want me as, like, a client, and small screen wants me. Like, they reached out to me. They're the ones who've been proactive. And after our call today, I just felt really good about moving forward. So 00:11:46.630 --> 00:11:52.630 it feels like the work that I've put in over the last six months has is, like, really starting to pay off. 00:11:53.110 --> 00:12:19.570 And I just can't tell you how much of fight of a financial blessing and pressure this is gonna take off of me. Having this opportunity is such an answer to my prayers, and I'm so grateful. And I'm so excited, like, to do this right before the New Year just feels like the perfect timing. And I'm just gonna walk in, and I'm gonna work so hard, and it's gonna I'm just so excited. I'm so excited for what the future holds. I'm just so grateful that I listened to the call to risk 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:23.565 and to, like, take a chance and to do this and to not stay 00:12:23.885 --> 00:12:37.670 safe in the bubble that I was in, but to put myself in this situation where I've had to grow. I've had to learn so much. I've had to work with uncertainty and not know if this is gonna work out. Like, none of this has been guaranteed. 00:12:37.670 --> 00:12:55.605 None of this has been guaranteed. And I've just had to have faith in myself, and that has taken a lot of courage. It's taken a lot of courage to do this and be afraid and just take the actions and hope that things will work out and that all my work will pay off. And I just feel like this is just such a huge step in the right direction, and I'm so, 00:12:56.005 --> 00:12:56.965 so excited 00:12:57.205 --> 00:13:07.290 and grateful to God for all of his blessings. And I'm so excited to see what comes next. Like, good things are coming. I can feel it in my soul. I had this conversation 00:13:07.610 --> 00:13:30.135 with Sam who is my contact for MOOP. He's the one who reached out to my manager about us working together, and we went on a walk together to dinner to meet up with everybody and just got a chance to to talk, to get to know him better, talking about content, and just all these different things. He said the kindest things about the videos that I make, and it was exactly what I needed to hear and made me feel like I have a place here 00:13:30.535 --> 00:13:45.930 and, like, the work that I do is good and that I like, meaningful. And I don't know what it is about, like, the nervousness that I felt to be here, but that, like, helps me so much to feel so comfortable to have somebody see and feel from my videos and articulate 00:13:45.930 --> 00:13:49.935 what it is that I feel about them and, like, what I don't know. It 00:13:50.655 --> 00:13:57.855 it was just exactly what I need to hear. So I'm so grateful to him for saying those kind words. And then just to meet all these other creators, 00:13:58.175 --> 00:14:00.030 they're all so lovely. 00:14:00.270 --> 00:14:01.950 So, so lovely. 00:14:02.430 --> 00:14:16.105 And I just had the best time, and I'm so excited for this weekend. This has been an absolutely life changing experience. I'm grateful for my family who supported me and believed in me to get to this point. I'm grateful for my friends. They have celebrated 00:14:16.105 --> 00:14:39.320 every single win with me and been they've been cheering me on this entire time. And I'm so grateful for that because I know not everybody has people like that in their circle. Not everybody has people surrounding them who are excited when they win and excited when they reach their goals. I just feel so blessed to be surrounded by people like that, and I'm grateful the people in my life who have helped me believe in myself. 00:14:39.815 --> 00:14:43.735 This weekend has been, like, actually incredible, 00:14:43.735 --> 00:14:45.095 actually so 00:14:45.495 --> 00:14:50.615 surreal to me. So my rep with Whoop, his name is Sam. And on our first video 00:14:51.510 --> 00:14:59.030 call, he invited me to this event. And getting to meet him and the whole team, the whole Whoop team is literally 00:14:59.190 --> 00:15:00.150 incredible. 00:15:00.150 --> 00:15:06.150 I'm just so grateful to be here to be able to have the opportunity to learn from all these other athletes and creators 00:15:06.390 --> 00:15:13.965 and to be, like, believed in by a brand and to have made it this far. And I just 00:15:15.005 --> 00:15:17.085 it's so emotional for me because 00:15:17.325 --> 00:15:21.165 it was so scary to take the leap, to take the risk, to change 00:15:21.550 --> 00:15:28.430 where I was living and what I was doing and to believe in myself even when I felt like it wasn't gonna work. I just keep thinking about myself 00:15:28.670 --> 00:15:36.430 a year ago and how scared she was to take this risk and how worried she was that it was or wasn't gonna work out, but 00:15:36.705 --> 00:16:17.165 grateful. I am so, so grateful that she had the courage to try, that she had the courage to take a leap of faith to quit her job, to live off the money in her bank account and slowly see the number decreasing and just say, I'm gonna stick this out because I believe. I believe in this message. I believe in myself. I believe in my ability to make this happen. And it wouldn't be right for me to not talk about God as well and his place in all of this because I could not have done it without him either. There were so many nights where I was on my knees, bawling my eyes out, wondering what I'm gonna do and how I'm gonna make this happen. Is this gonna work? Is this gonna happen for me, or am I just gonna end up in my parents' 00:16:17.485 --> 00:16:38.985 parents' house because I ran out of money? You know? I'm so grateful she kept going even though she was afraid because sometimes it's the fear that tells you exactly what you're supposed to be doing. If you're afraid, maybe there's a piece of you that knows that's the direction that you need to go in. That's the direction you need to run towards because because it might lead you places 00:16:39.225 --> 00:16:41.385 that you need to be and 00:16:41.545 --> 00:16:43.065 that you never thought you would. 00:16:45.225 --> 00:17:01.410 Even though I'm still chasing goals and still wanting to grow and to keep becoming a better creator and to create more content. Like, this isn't over. There's always more that I could create and more that I could become. But I do want to take a moment to just feel and celebrate 00:17:01.410 --> 00:17:06.605 how far I've come in this last year of pursuing this career and pursuing 00:17:06.685 --> 00:17:09.725 this passion and this purpose 00:17:09.885 --> 00:17:33.995 in my life, and I'm proud of myself. And it's crazy because every single video that I made, I feel like I learned something about the process of giving something by all. Just having this attitude of I'm gonna learn from each video and learn from each experience and just keep doing it until it works, keep doing it until I feel like I have lived out and created that those 00:17:34.475 --> 00:17:47.250 things that are within me. And whatever it is for you that you have inside of your heart, inside of your soul, that you know you need to bring to life, it is worth taking a risk that honestly 00:17:47.330 --> 00:17:59.585 isn't even that big of a risk, especially if you're in this phase of life. If you work hard enough that you can look back and say, I gave that everything. I did everything I could possibly do for that. If you can look back and say that, I 00:18:00.145 --> 00:18:08.385 I know you're gonna succeed. I believe in you. I believe that you can make your dreams and your goals a reality if you have that level of dogged determination 00:18:08.545 --> 00:18:14.490 to accomplish that. When I think about where I wanna go and what I wanna do in the future, I'm inspired by every single person 00:18:14.730 --> 00:18:18.570 who does hard things and who perseveres 00:18:18.570 --> 00:18:21.130 and who works hard for 00:18:21.210 --> 00:18:25.610 the life that they wanna build. It's worth it. It's worth it 00:18:25.815 --> 00:18:27.575 to go through the discomfort 00:18:27.735 --> 00:18:29.175 of the unknown 00:18:29.415 --> 00:18:41.320 to come out on the other side and look back at your life and not have regrets. Not have regrets that you didn't do it, that you didn't try. I'm gonna look back on my life knowing that I gave this chapter 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:44.600 my absolute all and be so proud of myself 00:18:44.760 --> 00:18:56.725 to see what I did with that. I just wanna keep doing that in different aspects and in different ways moving forward to set these ambitious goals and to go after them with determination 00:18:56.805 --> 00:19:02.245 and with grit. And I just I wanna keep becoming. I feel so blessed. 00:19:02.245 --> 00:19:06.245 And to have been able to experience what I've experienced here, it has been 00:19:06.645 --> 00:19:23.190 life changing. I wanna do so much more, and I know that I can because I have proven to myself that I'm willing to put in the work, and I'm willing to do what it takes to get there. I'm excited to think about that next version of myself and what becoming series I need to create in order for me to become her. 00:19:26.165 --> 00:19:31.765 It's worth the risk, and I hope you take it. And I hope you work hard and you change. And in the process, 00:19:31.845 --> 00:19:33.925 the process is the point. You 00:19:34.405 --> 00:19:48.490 achieve them and become the person you wanna be. Thank you for coming on this wild ride with me. Thank you for supporting me as I have come back to YouTube and for believing me for watching my videos. I really hope that in return, my videos bring some level of inspiration 00:19:48.775 --> 00:19:49.495 or 00:19:49.655 --> 00:19:51.175 guidance or 00:19:51.735 --> 00:19:58.775 insight into your life that is helpful and beneficial to you because I want what I create to have meaning. I want it to 00:19:59.095 --> 00:20:16.355 help you become a better version of yourself. That's what this is all about. And so I hope I'm doing that, and I'm so grateful to have you here. I hope we keep becoming together. That's the whole point. That's the point of this life. That's the point of this channel. That's the point of everything. So let's keep doing it. You've got this. 00:20:16.595 --> 00:20:17.635 You can do it. 00:20:18.275 --> 00:20:22.435 I can do it. We can do it. We can build the life that we wanna build 00:20:22.755 --> 00:20:23.475 and 00:20:24.035 --> 00:20:25.075 make it happen. 00:20:26.435 --> 00:20:28.035 I'll see you guys in my next video. 00:20:28.355 --> 00:20:28.915 Bye.