Just a day after we took Grandma (Mommy’s Mommy) back to the airport after she graciously spent the past two weeks watching you, we then picked up Nonna (my Mommy), who is watching you this week.
Mommy and I saw the need to give you a break from daycare for a while, as you had remained consistently sick for months.
Fortunately, Papa was willing to drive most of the way to drop off Nonna. He drove 2 hours; we only drove 30 minutes, which was about as much as you were able to handle that day in the car. We met Nonna and Papa at an amazing vegan/vegetarian-friendly restaurant called The Goat.
Though it’s been around for 2 years now, we had never heard of it. If only we had known how well it suits our family’s dietary restrictions and needs, we would have been going there regularly. Well, now we know.
Not to mention, the lighting at The Goat helps the place serve as a great place to take pictures. I was able to capture some really shots of you and your brother catching up with Nonna and Papa.
Granted, you’re not quite old enough to appreciate the food they serve there yet, but it’s definitely something to look forward to.
Your brother Jack had a great time with his mini cheese pizza slices and gourmet tater tots. He even lucked out and got to have dessert: donut holes, which were a first for him.
So here’s to a week of you being spoiled by Nonna at our house. Here’s to you sleeping hours at a time in your arms as she just stares at your precious face the whole time.
And here’s to us making The Goat a regular stopping point anytime we’re passing through Murfreesboro.
This month I celebrate reaching that magical (and marketable) milestone of 1,000 YouTube subscribers. What is interesting is that just a year ago in February 2016, I only had a little over 100 subscribers. This nearly 800% increase happened because of a specific 5 step formula I figured out and began applying. And today, I shall share it with you:
1. Make 3 videos every day for a month; about whatever random topic that interests you. Every that 30 day period, see which particular video is outshining the rest in regards to views and comments. That video topic is now your specialty.
2. Make 3 videos every day, from now on, mainly on that specialty topic, which is now your shtick. People will begin assuming you are somewhat of an expert on that subject, and from there, your true followers will naturally latch on to your work.
3. Reply to all comments you receive on your videos; which forms a bond with the people spending their time to watch your videos. For the negative comments, sincerely thank them for spending time to watch your video and spending energy to comment on it, which ultimately draws more attention to the video, which ultimately makes the video seem more interesting and attractive to other potential watchers.
4. Start making videos in direct response to the most relevant comments you receive. That shows your subscribers (and potential subscribers) that you are personal and involved; and therefor a passionate expert on that specialty topic. Read their screen name and quote their comment at the beginning of the video, then simply reply publicly to their comment; which will often encourage more comments.
5. Always be honest and direct, yet positive. People naturally follow confident people, yet they also value vulnerability; which reinforces the personal quality of your video channel.
As for me, my “specialty topic” is helping younger men psychologically deal with hair loss. Believe me, I was as surprised as you are to learn that I could become an expert on that topic.
Like the prophet Jonah, I ran from the truth at first. I kept making videos that I enjoyed making (and that honestly, required more time and talent), yet no one was watching.
I realized I had to respect the free market. People were coming to my channel for encouragement about losing their hair. I simply learned to capitalize on that, in kindness, pouring my creative passion into what other people care about, not necessarily what I care about.
In a way, “quantity over quality” was working me. Instead of focusing on the quality of my videos with editing and music and moving fonts, I transferred the concept of quality into my personal interactions with my viewers; not the videos themselves. But since I now have nearly 1,000 videos along with those 1,000 subscribers, I by default am able to incorporate both quantity and quality.
While casual viewers will occasionally accuse me of being “obsessed” because I make 3 videos every day, my faithful subscribers appreciate my dedication- after all, my subscribers are the ones that matter. Perhaps they are the ones obsessed with the topic- I know this and therefore use that to my advantage, by not only catering to their desire but also attempting to help cure them, as well.
Granted, hair loss videos are not your shtick. You have to discover what random topic that people will assume you are an expert on.
On February 5, 2007, the 25 year-old version of me was successful in finally escaping “the friend zone” with a girl who I had known exactly 4 months; a 25 year-old girl from California who I had met while waiting in line to be an extra for a taping of CMT’s Crossroads.
It was a week before Valentine’s Day, which I kept in mind. Meanwhile, she wasn’t aware that the John Mayer concert a couple hours away in Huntsville, Alabama wasn’t actually a “just as friends” thing. I was sneakily being very deliberate in my specific plan to get her to see me as more than just “the nice guy” she had been hanging out with at Starbucks most Sunday nights.
I knew that a road trip could provide an environment for her to see me in a different way than before. Knowing that we’d need to eat dinner but wouldn’t have time to since we both were leaving straight from work, I had used my lunch break to pick up some sub sandwiches for us Lenny’s. I also made sure to grab some Twizzlers, as I had remembered her saying she liked them.
Once we arrived in the parking garage next to the concert arena, I presented her with our dinner; while playing the Counting Crows through the stereo of my Honda Element; the car I still drive today.
The date went exactly as I had planned. And by the time we got back to Nashville, sometime after midnight, I asked her a very strategic question:
“Next week is Valentine’s Day, and I would be honored to take you out. Would you like to go out with me for Valentine’s Day?”
That was exactly a 10 years ago today. And we’ve been together ever since.
So glad I got out of the friend zone.
Though I guess you could say that being together and in love with a person for a decade, and being married 8 and a half of those years, and having 2 kids together… it sort of makes you best friends by default.
As I carry you around through the house on a daily basis, as if my arms are your own personal flying throne like C-3PO had in Return of the Jedi, I am constantly (and perhaps involuntarily) streaming a series of praise phrases to you.
One that I catch myself saying a lot is, “What’s Little Sweetie gonna do today?”
This is a fact: You are a particularly sweet strawberry-blonde 9 month old daughter. Even when you’re mad, it’s simply hilarious. But you really only get upset about funny stuff.
Like last night, Mommy handed you over to me after she realized you had too much energy to fall asleep at your normal bedtime. So I laid down on your bedroom floor, and just let you repeatedly crawl over me. You loved proving to yourself you can cross the terrain of my chest, time after time.
But after nearly 30 minutes, you had finally worn yourself out. It was like you got upset that your arms were too tired to pull yourself up and that your head keep falling on me too.
You got mad because you ultimately had too much fun.
I always love to see “what Little Sweetie is going to do today.”
One of the things you love to do is to take a ride on my Simply Fit board, which I ordered after seeing it featured on an episode of Shark Thank. You think it’s normal to hold on and get a tour of the bonus room upstairs.
I never had to teach you to do this. You just saw it one day, and then looked at me as if to day, “Okay, Daddy, I’m ready to ride it!”
It makes me wonder how many other infants appreciate the thrill of their Daddy pulling them around on a Simply Fit board.
You and I both like to keep things interesting. We’re a good match.
Whatever you’re into and at given moment, Holly is always eager to be invited to the action. She sees you as an important source of knowledge, based on your 6 years of life experience, along with your adventurous boyhood perspective.
Last Sunday, all it took was me finishing a bottle of nearly expired cold-pressed juice from Kroger, with the “Woo-Hoo!” sticker on it to celebrate the savings.
Before I could make it over the recycling bag in the pantry, you saw the potential: “Daddy, can I have that bottle?”
You began tossing it into the air, finding enjoyment as it would bounce on the hardwood floor each time it landed. It didn’t take long for Holly to crawl over from the living room and plant herself right into the middle of the action.
She also could was able to see the wonder of an empty bottle flying through the air.
I know you aren’t aware of this, but it’s little events like that when you teach your little sister about life. She is learning from you. She is taking those lessons seriously.
As her brother, there are certain unique things you are able to teach her that I just don’t have an eye for. It’s those kind of reindeer games that remind me that you and your sister live in a version of the world where excitement can be found in things like… garbage.
Her already playful spirit is only being enhanced by your daily influence. There is a reason she immediately stops what she’s doing whenever you walk by. There is a reason she has a reverence for your silliness.
Because to her, you can offer life lessons that only come from an only brother. While she definitely loves her Mommy and Daddy, she looks at you in a way like she looks at no one else.
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