Meet Grace Smith

We were lucky to catch up with Grace Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Grace, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Keeping your creativity alive and staying FAR away from burnout is essential to creating a career in the creative space. This summer I hit 7 years on YouTube, throughout those years I was uploading every single week and I never once thought about taking an extended break or quitting. This isn’t because their is shame in taking a break- it is actually because I allow myself to fuel up on creativity with breaks AS needed and PLAN to wakeup NOT feeling creative everyday. Discipline is one thing- I can send in brand deals, edit content, reply to emails, etc. when I am not feeling creative or motivated that is just part of staying on top of work. HOWEVER- I made a promise to myself when I started 7 years ago that I would not create things I was not excited about- filming is supposed to be a creative escape for me and I never wanted to push myself in a way that took that away.

Keeping creativity alive is essential- so how have I done it?
1. PLANNED breaks. Do the creative work when you wakeup inspired. I have always more so “batch” made content. For example one week I will be feeling SUPER inspired so I will film everyday- and then for the next two weeks I will just focus on behind the scenes work while my creativity recharges.

2. To be creative, you must also allow yourself to just be. Take time for things like silent walks, just laying around, essentially be okay with being lazy sometimes. REST is key to bringing those good ideas in.

3. You become what you consume. What is in your social media “diet”? I feel very inspired to create after scrolling because I follow primarily creatives and artists! Instead of binging TV everyday I will have on inspiring podcasts and creative YouTube videos. This makes me want to create!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a content creator and YouTuber. I love to create a positive uplifting community online- as I think many people have negative experiences with the internet. My main purpose behind creating videos is to leave my viewers feeling seen, heard, and as part of a community after watching. The internet can be a very negative place and I have set my mission to make my social media accounts different from that norm. I love to fill my Instagram stories with affirmations, my YouTube videos with positive messages, and my TikTok with happy rules and reminders for finding joy where you are. I also host a podcast called Change the Caption that is centered around putting a twist on whatever situation you find yourself in to find the good in it. I stay inspired to create by reminding myself what change I want to make with my content- the focus on finding the good. I call my followers/subscribers sunflowers because of the idea that sunflowers grow towards the sun. I want my followers/subscribers to have that reminder that when you choose the good, kindness, and positivity you can grow in a very positive direction.

I recently graduated college and I will be creating positive post-grad life content sharing my journey as I go as well as continuing my podcast. I plan on launching social media services this year as this has been an ongoing project- launch information as ready will be available on my Change the Caption page.

And really- who knows what else is to come! I love creating and change and I love to pursue whatever ideas float across me!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three most important qualities that have been impactful on my social media journey have been resilience, passion, and positivity. Resilience allowed me to stick to my goals even when I was being made fun of for pursuing my passions at a young age. Passion is key to working for myself as I have to rely on ME to wakeup everyday and move my goals forward, I could not do what I do if I did not truly love it as much as I do. Lastly, positivity, this is what fuels my purpose behind my whole brand; spreading light. My advice for anybody early in their journey is to find what FUELS you when looking to start a business. If you are excited about something and decide no matter what you are going to chase this dream- nothing can stop you.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I recently moved to St. Louis, Missouri and as it is the city that raised me, I have a huge passion and excitement for watching it grow. I would love to connect with and creatively work with St. Louis businesses. If you are interested in collaborating you can email me at [email protected], I would love to connect!

Contact Info:

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