All my life, I’ve loved creating and being creative. Growing up, I wanted to be Batman, a policeman, social worker, stuntman, youth pastor and a DJ. Right around college, I got into radio and thought…”DANG, I’m on the radio!!” But as cool as that was, something else came knocking that would change my life. Over the years, I worked for TV stations affiliated with FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC and even The CW in Nashville, Charlotte and Raleigh. My last job in TV was leading an amazing creative team at one of the most respected and forward-thinking FOX affiliates in the country. We created amazing campaigns, won awards, made a lot of money and had a ton of fun too. But like a lot of media companies, down-sizing hit and my position was eliminated but not my passion for creating video content and helping people grow and learn. Rather than sit around, I started my own business - Kevin Kolbe Media - and decided to use my gifts to help others use their gifts to make an impact in the world with online video. Part of that journey was starting my YouTube channel. For the longest time, I just had one but didn’t know why. It took a live channel audit during a virtual conference to light a fire under my creative butt and get serious about YouTube. Since then, my channel has continued to grow which has led to amazing professional and personal connections around the world (wide web). And today, this newsletter adds another chapter to the creative journey. Yes, I’ve had an email list for a bit but, much like my podcast, never did a lot with it. I want that to change. I decided to launch a newsletter that feels as much like a blog as it does a newsletter. Or at least that's the goal. Here’s my commitment to you. I’ll share as much as I can about what I’m learning as well as encouragement to help you create and grow too. Not saying how ofter I’ll write, but let’s hope this isn’t my first and last post at the same time. I’m so glad you’re here. Please hit me back with any questions, comments or suggestions. I try to respond to every comment, well unless you’re a troll. Have a great today. |
Real talk and random thoughts about creativity, work, and life over 40.
Hey there. So did you know that Matthew McConaughey… you know, Mr. Alright, Alright, Alright… has a newsletter? Turns out Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey has a newsletter on Kit which is kinda a big deal. I’ve been using Kit for my newsletter, my email, and it’s okay. I do like the free plan – it’s free for up to ten thousand subscribers. There are some limitations on it, but I haven’t really found the limitations have hurt me. Back to Matthew. I thought "okay, that's cool" so I subscribed....
"Show up for someone." I don't remember where I heard that but it stuck with me enough to save it. I'm reminded of that when I think of this picture. Years ago, I went with a group on a mission trip to Honduras (beautiful country and people!). During the week, we spent the day at an orphanage tucked away in the mountains. We had been asked if we could hand out Christmas Boxes from Samaritans Purse that had been delayed in customs, so we did. I can't describe the emotion of seeing these...
This week I was perusing YouTube, as I often do, and I came across a new video from Peter McKinnon. (If you don't know Peter McKinnon, then where you been?) He's an amazing videographer, photographer, and actually started years ago as a magician. He has several businesses other than just being a YouTuber with millions of subscribers. He runs a company called Pirate Life (or something like that), and I think he's even gotten into leather smithing. He's just amazing! In this video, he was...