Humans can't get away from it, social media is here and it's here to stay. This can be both a blessing and a curse. All of you have seen people rise out of nowhere it seems, videos such as the Gangnam Style dance video that has smashed over 4.3 billion views or even Mr. Beasts recreation of Squid Games that has amassed over 208 million views on YouTube.
When starting a company or even following your passion, it's often easy to get caught up in the alternate reality that is social media. As Individuals, we start to believe in our minds that what we see online is what should happen in our actual lives. For example, you may see someone who is in amazing shape both physically and mentally, but they NEVER show any negative aspects of reality. While this may be great and give a lot of positive energy to the followers, it also creates a distorted world in our minds. You begin to think that it's not okay to feel sad or that it's not okay to be depressed. You never see it from our favorite influencers or businesses that we follow, so why are we feeling this way?
The truth is, nobody is every positive or optimistic 100% of the time. What they decide to show or not show online is up to the owner of the account to decide. It's a dangerous game because we begin to see unrealistic images of ourselves with the thoughts of "if this person can achieve it, so can I" type of mentality. While that is a great positive attitude, people can become very mentally disturbed when things don't work out like they had expected.
To give an example, both of us (Cam and Kyle), when creating Ironpulse had the idea to start a clothing business after following individuals on social media who created their own apparel lines. We knew going into it that it would be difficult but figured it would work itself out. Boy were we in for a roller coaster of a ride. Everything from scammers, overpriced freight fees, to not getting what we paid for, it's all been an amazing experience. However, it was nothing like what we had pictured or envisioned online. We are starting to understand the differences in marketing strategies, how to build communities of individuals, how to build a social presence and so much more. It starts to weigh on you when you think you may not be doing enough, you see the successes of everyone on social media and think "why isn't this happening to me?".
At Ironpulse, the team is working to create a community on Discord to help combat the false realities that you may see and feel through social media. The goal of this community called NVISION NATION is to gather everyone that has the similar mindset and goals and are there to support each other when the going gets tough. We understand that thoughts of depression and sadness creep into entrepreneurs' minds, just know that you aren't alone. If you're reading this blog, the community is currently being built in Discord and we will include links below once it is completed. Until then, please feel free to reach out to us on the Ironpulse page and mention some of the struggles you may be experiencing. We can help provide some motivation and positivity as we know exactly what it's like to feel like nothing is moving forward.
Remember no matter what you're doing, BE. ALL. IN.
