I’m Jesse.
Here’s my story (so far)
I’m a worldbuilder just like you.
I’ve been creating digital content and videos for over 20 years, and I absolutely love it.
It’s one of my greatest passions.
And unfortunately — I know what it’s like to pour your heart and soul into something, only to have it fall flat.
Yep. I’ve been there too many times in the past.
But I also know the feeling of satisfaction and pride that comes with creating something amazing that millions of people enjoy.
That’s why I created this blog.
To share my stories, experiences, and insights with other content creators in the hopes that it will help you on your journey to success.
⚡And here’s the big kicker —
With the right strategies, resources, creativity, and unflinching willpower to never give up, you can convert this creativity into a life of stability, fulfillment, peace — and cold hard cash!
(BTW — I’m from Houston, Texas. So hopefully, phrases like “the big kicker” aren’t too country for you 🤠)
The key is you’re going to need all four elements:
- the right strategies,
- resources,
- creativity and
- willpower
You’ll understand why by the end of this story.
Bye-bye 80/20 Rule ✌🏾
Yeah, you have probably heard about the 80/20 rule a billion times now.
But for me, it’s the 90/10 rule that’s more accurate.
90% of my creative career (18 years) has been an ocean of ups and downs —
in other words, me going through countless phases of mild successes and plenty of failures.
I was bouncing back and forth between a combination of having creativity, willpower, and resources — only 3 of the four elements listed above 👆🏾.
Sometimes I’d have a ton of creativity and willpower, but lacked resources.
Other times I’d have the resources but lacked the willpower and creativity.
And sometimes I’d lack all three.
In hindsight, I ultimately these experiences were teaching me exactly what NOT to do.
This goes for what not to do creatively, career-wise, emotionally, financially, etc.
BUT To give you an idea of how powerful this is — there were a few years where I had 3 of the 4 elements working for me at one time.
And with just those 3 (resources, creativity, and willpower) I made money hand over fist 💰💰💰.
My money, energy, and self-esteem were sky high!
Man, I can’t put to words how good it feels to be there.
Depositing checks in the bank for $4K or $5K, several times a month.
.
.
The feeling is indescribable!
At that time I was mainly doing video ads, a ton of motion graphics, and websites from just a handful of clients (3 to be exact).
And I was doing this all mostly solo.
The business was doing so well I even started wearing blazers and suits to meetings 🤵🏾 —
Things grew even bigger when I started landing projects with bigger brands like KIPP Public Schools.
[Side Note] KIPP is like the Uber for education, disrupting the way school systems develop their students — year after year, KIPP outperforms students in other school systems — both locally and statewide.
Also, through relationships, I had built over a decade, plus recent favors I did, I was able to connect with several employees at the silicon valley tech giant — Microsoft.
🤯🤯🤯
This led to an opportunity to create several video essays for them and some of their outreach initiatives.
At this time I was starting to build a production team, we were even being booked to travel and handle productions as far as the Mexican border!
Then came the oil and gas giant — Exxon Mobil — I was lead UX Designer for their alumni portal crafting the complete journey and experience of the user.
NOW, don’t take this for bragging.
This money bag rush didn’t last forever.
Little did I know, something was coming in the near future that would put my business, creativity, and will to succeed to the ultimate tests.
.
.
.
A Storm was Brewing
Remember I was operating with only 3 of the 4 elements needed to really turn creative dreams into a truly fulfilling life.
I was missing key strategies to scale my creative business in ways that allowed me to grow past a solo operation.
I also didn’t have a grasp on strategies to produced passive income with my creative skills.
This is cost me dearly, sooner than I could ever expect.
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, TX.
The city experienced what the press called, “Catastrophic Floods.”
Floodwaters were reached up to 40 inches!
Texas was declared a Major Disaster Area by FEMA.
“The storm hit the 13-county Houston-Galveston COG region hardest, causing an estimated $16 billion economic loss during the first year.” — Texas Comptroller
YEP. If you could imagine, all business for me came to a complete halt (as did for many others).
My clients were either trying to rebuild themselves and get back on their feet, or they were holding tight with their funds until the local and state economy regained momentum.
Either way, money, energy, and enthusiasm crashed!
For months on end, I was only averaging about $400 / month in revenue.
And though I had plenty of money saved and a few investments working for me, the day-to-day lack of income was eating away at my little nest egg at blinding speeds.
And no matter who I called, what meetings I had arranged, or what deals I made, nothing was sticking.
I begin taking loans against my stock investments and eventually had to sell them off to pay the bills and care for my family.
I even started a short-lived business washing and detailing cars.
Things had gotten extremely tight.
When that happens, creativity usually goes out the door — and it did!
I no longer loved my creative work as I had at first.
But what was missing?
The right Strategies.
The Final Push
I had to go through a brutal series of learning new skills, to learn and pull off these strategies.
I had to invest in courses, books, mentorships (even with the little money I was earning).
Relationship building, digital marketing, copyrighting, email funnels, UX design, along with self-improvement work like money management and investing, meditation, mental self-examination, and simply starting the journey of knowing myself.
These were just some of the mindsets, skills, and strategies I had to begin learning and utilizing in a SHORT amount of time to turn things around in my life and my career.
And little did I know if I didn’t get my act together soon, things would take an even greater turn for the worst.
The Ultimate Test (so far)
March 26, 2020, COVID-19 hit the news feeds as the United States of America overtook China and Italy with the highest number of confirmed cases in the world.
As the death toll continued to soar, local, state, and national governments around the world took decisive actions, and the world shut down.
As the shutdown continued businesses begin failing, the economy began to fail, jobs begin to evaporate into thin air.
Around that time I was down to my last dollars.
Almost miraculously, one of the brands I was managing content for took off like a rocket!
🚀🚀🚀
It was like hitting all 7’s on a slot machine in Vegas.
Revenue was flowing in like water.
My email inbox was chiming off every 2 or three minutes with new sales and leads —
All while millions were struggling to pay their bills and feed their families. 😔
Once again, this is not me bragging.
The point is, for the first time, I had all four elements working for me at the same time:
- strategy
- resources
- creativity and
- unflinching willpower
And the results brought me unbelievable stability, fulfillment, peace and finance even in the midst of a global pandemic.
Back to the 90/10 Rule
2022 marks 20 years of me professionally making a living in the creative space.
It took me 90% of this time (18 years) to really learn what was missing, what to do, and what not to do.
And with just 2 years of taking this creative journey with the right strategies, resources, creativity, and unflinching willpower, I’ve been able to completely change the trajectory of my creative career.
It’s the most recent 10% of my career that has made all the difference!
But there’s no way I could have ever reached it without the other 90% (18 years).
My aim is to give you the chance to learn what I learned without requiring decades of your life...