How I Found My True Passion
From Corporate Job to YouTube Creator
It's easy to romanticize things, it’s harder to see them for what they truly are.
Everything seemed perfect—the team, the company, the people. I can't pinpoint when it started to change, when the excitement faded into a routine, when the thrill turned into a chore, when I no longer had time to go dancing classes, eat, or do anything besides work. What I can point out is the exact moment I felt it was either now or never, so there I was, writing my resignation letter at 3 AM on a Wednesday — crying, either from fear, relief, or maybe both.
I remember what a roller coaster of a day it was when I decided I was finally going to quit. The nonstop voices in my head tried to rationalize my experience at work, while another part of me said enough is enough. I kept asking myself: Who am I without a job? What will I do? What will people think? What if it takes months to find another job? And what about the money?
In retrospect, it seems to me that those days before I knew the reality of my job seemed better than the ones that came later, as the truth was too hard to handle. But once I faced it, I made one of the hardest yet the best decisions of my life — to quit.
I remember going to my favorite coffee shop near Pier 17 Downtown the next morning, sitting down, and realizing that I hadn't felt such ease in a very long time. I even made a TikTok about it. I know, how Gen Z of me ✌🏼
The next two weeks were filled with multiple interviews. I was pretty desperate to find another job, and I nearly did. But hearing phrases like “we need someone who can hit the ground running from day one” and “you’ll be wearing multiple hats” gave me chills. I wasn’t ready for another job to take over my whole life, especially when it wasn’t challenging, exciting, and interesting anymore.
So, I decided not to rush into it. Instead, I needed to take a deep breath, reflect, and truly understand what I wanted to do next. Because while I was capable of finding another job, I wasn't sure I wanted to give it another year or more of my life. But most particularly, I did not want to do something I was not passionate about. But what am I passionate about? Did I know?
I wish I could tell you I did, but the reality was far from it.
After countless hours of thinking and discussing my options with my husband, I still could not figure out what I wanted to do or what I could do. At this point, YouTube wasn’t even on my radar — I didn't even think it was an option for me. Recognizing my utter indecisiveness, my husband David proposed an exercise: "Imagine you had all the money in the world, so money is not an issue. What would you want to do now? Write 10 things you envision yourself doing in 10 years." Here are a few examples of what I wrote:
Then I had to choose the top 3, and finally the top 1, and that’s how I got to doing YouTube. It has always been there, I just was never brave enough to face it and then actually do it. Not until now.
So the moral of the story: try seeing things for what they truly are, because only then can you make objective decisions for yourself.
Thanks for reading! Enjoy your week!
Malika @mallie.b
“The best way to find a job you’ll love and a career that will eventually make you successful is to follow what you’re naturally interested in, then take risks when choosing where to work. Follow your curiosity rather than a business school playbook about how to make money. Assume that for much of your twenties your choices will not work out and the companies you join or start will likely fail. Early adulthood is about watching your dreams go up in flames and learning as much as you can from the ashes. Do, fail, learn. The rest will follow.”
— Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell
And now, here are some simple things I've learned over the past week about content creation:
Everyone has the potential to become very good at public speaking. What prevents us from getting there are the blockages inside of us, like fear, self-doubt, self-judgment, and other internal barriers.
Avoid a Scarcity Mindset. If you are just starting, don’t archive your best ideas for later because you are scared you can’t deliver a good video. You absolutely can use the same idea for your future videos. Do you know why? Because the chances are, only a handful of people will watch your video at the beginning, and even if they do, your video will have a new perspective, a new version of editing, and an improved you. So, have a good idea? Go and execute.
If you put in half-baked effort, you'll get half-baked results. It’s always hard to see a video you poured your heart and soul into performing poorly. But in my case, almost always, I can find a few good reasons why it performed the way it did. For example, (1) I did not have a concrete thumbnail idea, so I had to come up with something after the fact. (2) I did not have a hook written down before filming, so I came up with something on the spot, and it turned out pretty bad. I am to blame, not the algorithm.
Create an accountability system for yourself. One effective strategy I used was publishing a story on my Instagram with a timer for my upcoming YouTube video. This simple step created a sense of urgency and commitment. Now, there's no way I'm backing down or publishing my video later than promised. The failure to deliver on my promises will eat away at me.
Weekly Gems
🔍 Tool: vidIQ — You’ve probably heard of it, but I recently discovered just how useful vidIQ can be. I just started using it, and I already feel it speeding up my process for scripting, editing, and packaging videos. Not only does it help generate ideas for videos that are likely to outperform your average view count, but it also assists in creating titles and thumbnail ideas. Plus, it provides outlines and script ideas. In my opinion, it’s worth the investment. (Watch this YouTube video to understand what I am talking about)
🎵 Music: Lickd — this incredible tool allows you to license popular music for your videos. Yes, I'm actually talking about artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, and more. I used Lickd for one of my videos and can testify that it’s legit—I had no issues with YouTube. Big creators like MrBeast are using it, so it’s definitely possible. I remember watching David Dobrik years ago and how the popular songs he used always added to the atmosphere. If you have the budget, I think Lickd can be a valuable addition to your videos. You can use my referral link to save 50% on your first track!
🎬 YouTube Video Recommendation: How to write killer YT scripts — a video by Jon Dorman, where he walks us through the scripting process using a tool he built. Even if you don’t end up using the tool, the video offers interesting insights on how to approach scripting, especially if you're struggling with it like I am.