On future goals and niching down (or not)
Hi friends,
Welcome to the (soon-to-be) last month of the year! Hope this year has been treating you well. If not, there's always the next day/month/year :)
Welcome and thank you to the new people who subscribed to my humble newsletter!
I've decided that this newsletter will not have any fixed schedule. I'm sure many of you are already bombarded with weekly newsletters, so I don't want to add on to that. I have more time to write and curate my newsletter better that way too.
Let's get into it.
On future goals and niching down

If you've been following me on my Twitter, I've been actively creating through drawing (31-day Inktober challenge in October) and writing (30-day writing challenge in November).
My goal for this quarter is to identify a niche (or two) to focus on. The only way (that I believe) is through continuous creation, that is to figure out where you can see yourself heading to. So far, it seems to narrow down to topics around personal growth and mindful productivity. Deep down I felt that was the case, but I thought I could find something else.
However, from the past two months, I realise that I enjoy the process of learning and exploring new things. And there are still many things I want to explore before I focus on a niche. So it's very likely I'll still be sticking to a generalist route until I'm mostly done exploring to my heart's content. I had this inkling feeling before, but only through taking action I managed to reinforce my decision.
This also means I won't be becoming a full-time indie creator (just yet?). That's right — I'll be on a lookout for a new job (still in product management). I'm starting to already, while working on some interview assessment tests. I forgot how tedious they can be. Don't worry — I'll still be creating and making things online, nevertheless.
As I wrap up my November writing month, I'll be starting on a new challenge in December: filming. My goal is to film and publish one short video (IG story perhaps?) every day and a longer video (~2-3 min) every week. I chose filming because I've been meaning to vlog for some time too. The screenshot below is a case in point. I didn't go ahead with the idea because I thought to myself "there are plenty of people on YouTube already, so what difference would it make if I made mine". So I stopped. Imagine if I didn't listen to the voice in my head. And maybe this time, I'll discover if I enjoy filming as a medium as a whole more than writing and drawing.
I have started with travel videos here and here, but I want to take it up to a notch. New YouTube channel perhaps? Topics? Around my daily life, and interview local creators perhaps. Still finalising the details.
In summary:
If you want to "find" your niche to build a potential business, keep creating different things (topics and medium) to find out what you enjoy doing and see potential in.
If you enjoy exploring and not in a rush to find a niche yet, just keep exploring and creating. Don't let people tell you otherwise yet. Maybe the niche might "find" you instead.
You need to find out what you ~truly~ want. Then it'll be easier to decide if you're on the former or the latte camp.
Trust your gut feeling. If you're still unsure, take action and do it for a few weeks. Only when you take action, you'll be able to reinforce your decision.
***
Every time you acquire something you thought would make you happy,
you learn a bit more about what you truly want from life.— Orange Book 🍊📖 (@orangebook_) November 29, 2021
Enjoy the rest of the week, and good luck with your December goals! Let's make it count before we kick off the new year :)
It's going to be a busy month for me — filming, job-hunting, family time, and skateboarding. Oh yes, I took up skateboarding recently. Highly encourage trying new things from time to time.
Feel free to share your goals with me by replying to this email. I might take some time to get back to you, but rest assured I eventually will!
PS: If you want to check out my short posts from my 30-day writing challenge, you can read them at the link below.
Warmest regards,
Yihui Chan
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