Word Vomit, Distractions, Covid, and Branding: Life Update!

I don't even know where to begin. I have not written a "diary-like" blog post in years. It has always been about Nerdcore Performance. But at this point, I am kind of wondering that that really is? Maybe this post will just be word vomit, and I struggle to come up with mapped out thoughts that make some sense. They certainly don't in my head! I want to provide life updates, and give the 5 of you reading an idea of who I am and what my ideas are. I also want a place for my own accountability. I struggle with health and fitness. I feel like I am so much a part of the majority of people out there who have trouble finding time, money, motivation to exercise and eat right when the world is just littered with easy ways to get around all of that. I want to reiterate what Nerdcore Performance started as, and where I see it going in the future. I want to talk about my personal goals, but also have a nice, fat reality slap and tell myself to put down some hobbies, because I am one-third assing so many things, and not fully focusing on anything. Is that a bad thing? Do I want to be a jack of all trades fitness content creator, gamer, YouTuber, cosplayer, etc etc etc? Or do I want to have a more singular focus? I don't have those answers. I mean, raise your hands if you are in your 30s or 40s and still have no idea what you want to be when you grow up? Can't we all relate? Wouldn't it just be easier to put it all down and just play video games and not worry about it anymore? The struggle is real my friends!

Speaking of distractions, I have been trying to write this section, while also trying to log into World of Warcraft. Its PRE-PATCH DAY! But that also means that servers are crazy and I am not getting in any time soon so let me get onto blogging! Anyway, what were we talking about? AHH YES...distractions!

Life is full of distractions. They constantly bombard us! We have been in online school for my 11 year old for 9 weeks now (it feels like 9 years omg). IN that time we have learned that EVERYTHING is a distraction, which is why he now sits on his chrome book, in the the dining room, with nothing but his school books and a pencil around him. That took some adjusting, let me tell you. I am the same way. As adults, we may distract ourselves in so many different ways, and disguise it by calling it "multi-tasking." Yes, multi-tasking is a great skill to have. Aren't you asked that basically on every job interview? Or maybe one of your responses to you "best qualities" is "oh man, I can multi-task like a pro!" What I have discovered about the way that I multitask is, its basically an excuse for me to work on 5 things at once, and never finish anything. I have a YouTube video I am trying to edit, this blog post, trying to watch a Content creators YouTube video, helping kiddo with his homework, getting distracted and hopping on IG and checking posts, doing research on another YouTube video I want to create.... I discover more often than not that I have been "working" for 6 hours, and have accomplished almost nothing.

At some point, it is no longer multitasking, but just giving in to distractions. My new goal, and I challenge you to do the same if you are in the same boat as me, is to NOT multitask. Learn how to have a singular focus. I believe it is harder to have laser focus in this day and age, than it is to multi-task. I have struggled about 6 different times during this post, to NOT pick up my phone. I have paused the YouTube video I was watching. I am bound and determined to finish this post. After this paragraph is up, I will take a deep breath, take a walk around my house, grab some water, and start on the next paragraph. Part of my goals going forward with Nerdcore Performance (if it will even be called that anymore, but I will explain later), is putting out more relative content. For me, that means I have to change my focus to be singular. Not Multitasking. I have adopted this at my job too (still a combat fitness instructor for the Marines), and I get a lot more done at my job now. So that is new challenge, new goal: Singular focus!

So, did you hear about a thing called Covid? Well, let me tell you, this little sickness has turned the planet upside down.  I am very lucky to not have gotten it. I wear a mask in public. It sucks but I don't complain about it. I avoid unnecessary contact with people. I enjoy the company of my family. As an introvert, the rules of CovidLife have not affected me like they have affected many people. So I have to stay inside more? Okay, more video games, more Netflix, and for me, more time for Content Creation!

During this segment of my life, I have learned how to make YouTube videos using phone editing and desktop editing software, audio software, streaming software, and more. I even built a new powerful gaming PC (duh, for gaming), but also for streaming and video making. I have made Blog type videos, fitness videos, and World of Warcraft videos. (pause, I just now switched over to Discord and distracted myself....see? I gotta practice singular focus! resume.) I discovered that I really like making YouTube videos! About a wide variety of topics! But I also discovered that that could hinder my YouTube progress! Having too much diversity on one channel might not be a good thing if there is no common ground between them. But more on that later.

I feel like I have used this really shitty time in our world, which doesn't look like its going away soon, to discover what platforms I like (YouTube, Twitch, Twitter) and which ones aren't as helpful, but I will never throw them away (Instagram, looking at you). I learned something during this time, and I hope I can use this knowledge in the future to better my content, and my brand.  But also, fuck you Covid, go away.

One of my biggest struggles, and has been for a while, is this whole Nerdcore brand....First of all, Nerdcore is a type of hip-hop genre. I casually knew about it before I adopted it for my own. However, after using it for years now, it has been brought to my attention multiple times. Needless to say, I am not in love with the brand anymore. So now I struggle with the questions, Who is my audience, and What information do I want to give them? 

The answer is....fuck if I know?

All I know for real is this: I want to help people become healthier. My tagline that I have been using on my YouTube videos fits, I think. "empowering active geeks, gamers, and cosplayers to be Geeking Strong!" So that is what I have build everything around: fitness, health, video games, and cosplay. Now, that is a LOT to try to encompass. And I have each aspect on my YouTube channel. Is that too diverse? Will I lose followers if I post a World of Warcraft video, followed by a 30 minute at-home workout video?

BUT, you don't have to be a gamer AT ALL to do my YouTube (and blog!) workouts. You could be a full-time desk worker. You could be a stay-at-home mom. You could be male or female. You also might be a gamer who is not interested at ALL in working out. Maybe you are watching a WoW gold-making video, and let it auto play and one of my fitness videos come up. Maybe it intrigues you, even motivates you! If I can get at least one person who would never have thought about working out between their video gaming sessions to be a little more active, then I have succeeded. So to answer the question, is it too diverse? Again, Maybe. But I think its ok. Because maybe you are my ideal audience, and you just don't know it yet. Also, maybe you came here because you wanted to get a crazy 4 minute workout in your living room, but then discovered that you might want to play World of Warcraft. BAM! Another convert fan!

SO I stick with my tagline of Geeking Strong, and will continue to empower active Geeks, Gamers, and Cosplayers to be GEEKING STONG...even if you don't know that is who you are yet.

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Should I change Nerdcore Performance to simply Geeking Strong? Write in the comments!