Adversity is a universal part of life.
It's easy to forget that when packages show up on your doorstep with the click of a button.
Adversity is a state of serious or continuous difficulty.
The higher you climb, the more of it you may face, and it will weed out those who aren't equipped to fight through it.
It isn't always obvious in the creator economy when someone has faced much adversity. A few creators, or should I say, "influencers", have an easy road, or at least it seems that way to the public.
Creators are like pro athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, and authors. They all have to fight through adversity or they have no chance of making it in the long run.
With the talk of a TikTok ban in the US, it brings a lot of uncertainty for many people who have made that their livelihood.
A TikTok influencer can earn can make a full-time career with brand deals. I've seen large influencers (9+ Million Subs) get paid $25K and up for posts.
Even at a few thousand bucks a month, TikTok can be a really nice side gig.
In reality, only a small percentage of creators make real money.
On Twitch, 75% of accounts made less than $120 in all of 2021.
Only .06% of creators made over the U.S. median household income of $67,521.
Not only is it very hard and rare to make it as a creator, but you are also faced with platform changes.
We've witness several big changes in recent history:
- SEO has changed over the years.
- Apple changed the way we track data for paid marketers.
- Vine went away and so did many of the creators.
- The best of the best were able to evolve.
Like it or not, Logan Paul did well for himself after starting on Vine.
The external variables in any venture are going to hit you. It's the internal response that will separate you from the pack and keep you in the fight.
It's easy to fall into the "woe is me" or victim mentality.
Big changes like an app going away definitely sucks if you built a business with it, but instead of dwelling on the problem, look for solutions and opportunities.
These repeated challenges create regulatory flexibility in your mind and make you more adaptable.
It is stressful, but not all forms of stress are equal; some in fact are crucial components of a flourishing mind and body.
Adversity grows your resilience.
If we face our presented realities, we are able to take control of our existence.
Nietzsche called it the "true helmsman of our existence".
If TikTok gets banned, it's just another example of why you can't be reliant on a single channel for your business.
I have over 625K followers on TikTok. If banned, I have something to lose. It doesn't change how I operate though.
I'll break that down more in next week's newsletter.
