“You have an adorable family. You really should start a YouTube channel." I remember hearing these words from a friend, the year before we decided to move to Mexico. The thought crossed my mind for a second, but it quickly vanished when I faced the reality of my work and business activities. I was unable to see a space in my calendar to make time for creating a vlog that focused on me and my wife's experiences raising three children.
“It was a long and tedious process,
somewhere between 10-12 hours to create a five-minute clip, but something about it really spoke to my inner voice of creativity.”
To begin a channel would require a lot of time and energy; I learned this fact when I started to dabble with components of videography in 2009. Looking for ways to cut expenses in our destination wedding, Gabi and I decided to buy a camera and record the ceremony ourselves. I was responsible for editing the wedding video for the family and friends who were unable to make the trip to Mazatlán. It was a long and tedious process, somewhere between 10-12 hours to create a five-minute clip, but something about it really spoke to my inner voice of creativity. From that experience nearly eight years ago, I began to create video of my family's gatherings, capoeira classes, and other memorable events that I wanted to retain.
In the eight years that I have explored this once hobby turned passion, I have created over 500 videos! On YouTube, I have separate channels for my speaking, family, and capoeira content. In 2016, I had a goal to make 365 videos of my journey in capoeira. It wasn't easy, and there were some moments when I wanted to quit, but before December 31, 2016, I created and uploaded 365 videos to my channel. In that year, I also decided to finally listen to my friend who recommended that I start a channel dedicated to family content.
“To this date, I have not been paid one red penny for a video
that I have spent countless hours on filming and editing.”
Yesterday, I posted our family’s 50th full episode to La Vida Lindsay. When reviewing the previous episodes of the vlog, I saw countless ways that the content could be improved. There are lighting mistakes, transition errors, audio mismatches, and other imperfections. Nonetheless, I took it in strides because I realize they are representative everything that I have learned and continue to explore in route to mastering this craft. I am celebrating this 50th vlog episode because it represents my continued push for education and improvement in the field of videography.
To this date, I have not been paid one red penny for a video that I have spent countless hours on filming and editing. Despite this reality, why do I continue to do this work?
Here are three ways a vlog can influence positive self-awareness:
1. Vlogging can reinforce positive self-awareness. Whenever I review countless hours of video and extract highlights, it becomes more feasible to acknowledge the experiences I have been blessed with to share alongside my family. Vlogging is an extension of my gratitude exercises where I able to create visual images around the divinely ordained talents and skills I have acquired in this life.
2. Vlogging can encourage your creative genius to emerge! I have literally said to myself when editing a video, “Vernon, you are a creative genius.” Whether or not I actually meet the criteria of someone who has a genius, is not important. Making the vlogs help me to tap into my most profound levels of creativity.
3. Vlogging can be a service to others. The vlogs are an educational tool for families and individuals interested in living abroad. We share our triumphs and challenges to illustrate a holistic representation of our experiences. I also aim to include a positive message or moment in each video.
My affection for the field of videography, in particular, vlogging, transcends the potential for financial rewards. Although some additional money would be more than welcome in my home, I continue to produce the vlogs without compensation because it encourages positive self-awareness, enables creative geniuses to emerge, and serves the needs of others.
Today, your action step is to acknowledge your interests within a field and commit to discovering how you can share it to increase positive self-awareness and improve the life of someone else.