10 weeks, 10 videos published
I've been seriously committed to creating content since the last week of January 2025. I sense a whole new world opening up in front of my eyes as I continue walking on this new and exciting path. And really, I keep asking myself this single question: “Why haven't I started sooner than this?”
Of course, the answer to the above question is obvious: I couldn't simply because I did not have enough life experience. But let me talk to you a bit more about how my journey has been so far on this hybrid path.
Software Engineer and Content Creator at once
I've never dreamt of this combination ever. I am not going to lie, but building apps and creating videos at the same time is an exotic combo I haven't thought about at the beginning of my career. I know I am not the only developer to think this as we are usually introverts who are happy being alone in front of the screen.
Sure, I suck at it but who didn't at the start of their journey. Moreover, I suck that much more at it thanks to not being a native English speaker but I don't care because I need to do it. It's my new calling.
Not ready yet
On the 3rd of January, I had a call with David Boland (btw, I highly recommend subscribing to his channel if you are into entrepreneurship and content creation). It was regarding his 90 Day Creator online programme that I was thinking about joining at the time. But I was unsure and hesitant to join as it was totally outside of my comfort zone.
I definitely had a lots of ideas spinning in my head that also happened to be aligned with a philosophy for living with modern tech. I wanted to share it with the world but I wasn’t ready to do it via video format (yet). And so I approached it on my own terms, which is how I typically prefer to approach things concerning my work & life.
Past experience
I made some videos in the past but they were covering my technical capabilities which is a bit different from the main content creation game that is happening on YouTube. Till the point in life when I decided to record myself on YouTube, I’ve been publishing just these spontaneous blog articles here on my personal website.
This space is highly intimate as it is being controlled by me completely (content creation AND distribution), and also random. If you read some of my post, you may have an impression that it serves as my brain dump. To be honest, this is the exact way I treat it sometimes. But I was thinking about starting something more serious that requires bigger commitment and a more structured approach.
Reframing layoff
Layoff at the end of 2024 made me think hard about what I want to do next in my life. I had a dream job in tech but from one day to the other, I found myself unemployed after a layoff that happened just a couple of weeks before Christmas. Last year on the 23rd of July 2024, I sensed there is something hidden inside of my personal journey.
I failed projects in the past but as it turns out, these experiences (intentionally chose not to say “failures”) represented a golden thread so that one day, I could share free with tech with the world. It is the result of my effort to escape digital slavery and live digital freedom.
I needed to become a Content Creator
As a technologist, this topic feels highly relevant and with my knowledge, I feel personally responsible for coming with solutions that could help people understand tech more as a tool, not a trap. Having an experience of being a software engineer and having undergone transformation from digital slavery to freedom myself, I realized it is time to act.
You may ask: "Personal responsibility? Why?" Just because I've mastered tech to the point that it started to serve me and enhance my daily life instead of stealing from it. I see many people struggling with it and, maybe paradoxically, even tech people like me that are using it on a daily basis often fall into that same trap I was once falling into (and I also need to beware not to end up there again).
Journey so far
Here I am today, 376 hours later or 282 days since the 23rd of July 2024, when I defined the core of the brand. Here I am today, which is 90 days since the 31st of January 2025 when I published the first Substack post and 62 days since publishing my first ever YouTube video, which is the 10th video publication in 10 weeks time since the first one.
I don’t know what the future holds for free with tech but one thing is clear to me: why I am doing all of this. It is my personal life experience and transformation that fuels my motivation to spread my message in whatever form is required so it reaches the target audience that needs to hear it.
This is why I’ve poured so many hours, days and money into the brand building so far (395,02 EUR in 2025 till this day to be as exact as possible, which you can see inside the Creator Dashboard that I created so I can document my content creator journey in public with it’s ups and downs).
Additionally, I've also managed to kickstart initiative in Slovakia through talk about my path to digital freedom in the local Tatry IT Community. It took place at the end of March and there is also a recording if you would be interested. I was working on English subtitles but the process was a bit lenghtier than I thought initially so please check back soon if you are interested and do not understand Slovak. Till then, YouTube videos will be a better choice.
Go get a job, you crazy?
It may sound crazy but prove me wrong. Yeah, I get it—the whole opportunity cost of this is tremendous. But this is the path I’ve chosen and opportunity cost of not going after my calling would be even bigger. Nobody else will be responsible for living my life but me and this is as good as it gets with all the self-awareness I’ve been able to obtain so far (20 minutes of journaling per day since the 1st of January 2023).
Even greater amount of time and money needs to be poured into the project so it can start flourishing. Everything goods takes time and this is one more flower I’ve decided to plant so I can take care of it. Interesting job offer (feel free to send one) or a necessity to work so I can keep going? Sure, I am up for it but my focus is clear and a hybrid path is something to keep during the foreseeable future.