Day 1 - My plan to use Ghost as my open journal, let others see what I am doing

My plan to use Ghost as my open notes. To let other people see clearly the ups and downs of someone trying to improve their life is like.

My plan is to build momentum. Post everyday. What I am doing. How to be better.

People can see the multitude of problems that an early entrepreneur faces.

They can see clearly how someone can go from zero - zero money, zero connections, zero skills - to building themselves up into the life that they want to live.

Mistakes made. Lessons learned. Techniques used. Strategies employed. Mindsets adopted. The person you become.

Posting my first vlog. (removed now)

I didn't edit. I didn't make a thumbnail. It's raw af.

The thumbnail was auto-generated by YouTube.

I recorded an 18 minute video in my messy room talking about how I want to showcase what it is really like to go from zero to one, to start from the bottom and work your way up to being successful. The message behind the video is great. But it is not aesthetically pleasing: the lighting is bad, my room is messy, and there are no edits, it is just me rambling on. Also, I took out my retainer mid video.

The video name was "Just a normal guy trying to improve his life".

The description was:

Sorry for my messy room

And for the retainer

Just a normal guy trying to improve his life, transparency of what it's really like. We all start from somewhere, and while I am hesitant to show my messy room or what it's like (because social media has trained us to only show others our highlights), I've decided to post anyways. I want others to know what it really is like to build yourself up. I don't want some highly edited, fake content. I want to stick with authenticity and transparency.

I this episode I discuss:
- Recording my journey so I have something to look back on and see how far I've come.
- Hoping the raw realism and authenticity can help and inspire others. Showing it how it really is and not curated highly edited highlights.
- My trouble with bouncing between different ideas and not knowing which one to pick. Been like this for months if not years now. It is an extremely difficult cycle for early entrepreneurs to break through.
- There are always problems to solve and it can feel overwhelming. Over and over again.
- Sometimes we do so much but are oblivious. We shouldn't take the time to realize how much we've accomplished thus far.
- How I picked an art style for creating my website images in Midjourney.
- My hope that I can use Opus Clips or some other means to edit my videos.
- My late discover that I can put a gimbal on a tripod... and that there is a streaming app by FujiFilm to connect your phone to your camera so that you can see the footage.
- My strategy to create content about my own journey and not writing bland articles.
- I hate writing a meta description and picking a niche.
- What I did today (April 24th 2024): taught a private student English for two hours, 3 hours in class writing meta description, rest of the day wasted time on the phone.
- I want to use my phone less.
- My goal to take the camera out and come across interesting situations. My goal to do socially awkward situations. Build up my social skills.
- I love meeting people from other countries.
- Some random people are signing up to my website. Cute!
- I write about fitness, philosophy, social, career, looks, self-improvement in all aspects in life.
- Creating a personal brand.
- Learning videography.

These are the topics I talked about.

It is unlisted now, but I show it here so you all can see how not so great it was.

I have a strategy to create higher quality videos now. Hopefully.

I brought my camera out today and recorded a bunch of other videos

Recorded how to style hair, buying bananas from a street vendor (old lady), recorded a video speaking at a cafe, recorded a video walking on the street, recorded a video of eating dumplings with Lou and Justin.

Things done

My Fuji-XT3 camera seems cannot record in MP4 format. I am stuck with MOV format, which is massive and takes 100 years to upload.

Our internet is down, so I am using my phone's hotspot. After 6 hours it is only at 50% upload.

Changed website meta description to: "Empowering individuals to craft the self and live a better life! Embark on an entrepreneurial journey."

Uploaded video to Opus clips, checking if there are any good parts.

I downloaded Handbrake to convert mov video into mp4 format.

I used Capcut to autoframe function my video into 9:16 portrait ratio, then I put the video into Descript to get a transcript. I then manually went through the transcript, duplicating short snippets to a new composition. I plan to use these segments to create reels, YouTube shorts, and TikTok.

I had a very expensive dinner with 2 other male models, 3 female models, and our lovely host. It was nice speaking to them and hanging out. One error that I see I make is that when entering into the group, I should hug and say hi to everyone. At the moment I do not, and I felt the tension a little. They expected it. But I am not used to it yet. Have to get better accustomed to these social interactions.

Today is the second time this week someone has told me it is refreshing speaking to me and that I am different from other models. Both this guy and the other guy said most of the time when they encounter a model they are just a face and nothing else going on, but with me they were impressed by my background and story and the way I think. This was a major compliment for me and it encourages me to keep going on.

I do modeling for

1. access to events, networking with rich people
2. learning how big companies organize and shoot commercials, their thought process behind it and how to build a brand and attract customers
3. socializing with other models from around the world - improves my social skills and I enjoy it so much, I learn a lot about other countries and I like most of their personalities, they are usually outgoing, adventurous, healthy, active, and fun
4. improve my understanding of aesthetics, both for myself how to pose, but also fashion, charisma, and photography
5. allows me to travel to other countries with a visa
6. self-confidence
7. gives me a portfolio, something I can showcase to others, also acts as amazing content for social media

Day 2 - Exploring an abandoned ruin

Explored an abandoned ruin, went to a casting, used lightroom’s presets to edit photos.

Jacob PugmireJacob Pugmire