Gaming with GS

Hello everyone! In the absence of having a way to get a message to all of you without having to upload a cliche video, I'm seriously super late with this and I really do apologize. However, I thought it still may be worth to write about it, especially since there's always a couple people every 6 months or so messaging me asking where I've gone. Now with the Community tab being released to all channels (or most), it's now easy to send out a blast broadcast...

Anyway, it's been a while since I uploaded, but let me tell you, I think it was one of the best and healthiest decisions I could have made. The thing with YouTube is, that if you want to succeed on the platform, you need to dedicate your life to it. If you're not uploading at least 2-3/week, or 1/week (if you're a larger channel), then it will take forever for your channel to grow. The truth of the matter is... my life was pretty much going down the drain. My relationships with my family, my friends, and my girlfriend were pretty terrible. I'd wake up, start planning videos, jump into game, collect footage, script out my videos, record, and then promote them while still having to optimize them properly. On top of that I had college work to do, and I had some other responsibilities too. With the amount of attention YouTube needs in order to succeed, this made it extremely difficult for me, and I was starting to lose everything around me including my health.

I know a lot of you might be thinking well how can other YouTubers do it. And the other truth about that is, is that a lot of other YouTubers don't do it, and don't make it. Even some of our own favorite creators in the Guild Wars 2 community such as Wooden Potatoes (who I still follow!) has to rely on other sources of income such as Twitch and Patreon to sustain himself and continue making content for you guys full-time. I know I could have worked harder for it, and put more time and effort into it and expand my efforts to incorporate other platforms, and I did start with Patreon. For those of you who did support me on there, it really meant a lot to me, and I tried my best to release exclusive content. But at the end of the day, it really came down to me making $500-600/month off of YouTube and hoping that would grow while risking everything else around me. It's hard to make a living off of this stuff and do it full time when YouTube takes half of the income you make on the platform.

So my life has gotten a lot better, not only in terms of my relationships, but also for myself. I'm now a creative director, producer, video editor, and business growth guy who helps other YouTube channels grow, other businesses grow, and provide creative support to startups, and existing companies to help them reach their audience. I guess me being a creator will never go away since that's basically kind of what my job revolves around and it's helped me build a much more sustainable and profitable business where I get to meet and work with all kinds of people.

That pretty much covers it. I am sorry that this came so late, but it was hard for me to give you all a fair and worthwhile explanation through other means. And I really didn't want to make a video about it... so I'm glad I was able to finally tell you all. I'm alive, I'm happy, and I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving if you celebrate. I still log on Guild Wars 2 occasionally when I can, but honestly I'm kind of hooked on League of Legends again with my girlfriend (if you ever feel like playing leave your summoner name down below). I still may upload some content to my Music with GS or vlogging GSmaniamsmart channel in the future, but for the time being I think I'm just going to continue to focus on my career, my relationships, and just enjoying life.

I know it may sound kind of selfish and it may sound like I've made a lot of excuses in this post, but it's the truth and I don't regret making this decision. I've always been thankful for all of you who follow me and watched my content and it's being able to help others that has always kept me going. Now with the career that I have I still get to do the same thing, but live a healthier life. I guess the only last thing I could say is... life sucks sometimes, and it's hard a lot of the times, and sometimes you need to make hard decisions, that may make you feel uncomfortable. But usually, if it's something that could improve your life, and it makes you uncomfortable, then it's the right decision and you need to make it.

Anyway, thanks for reading everyone who did, I appreciate each and every one of you. I'll be around in the comments below, so don't be a stranger :)

7 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 61