Don’t Trap Your Self (Social Media Influencer Edition)

Elle Mills, of ElleOfTheMills YouTube fame, left her (very public) fame and status behind last year. 

She found herself trapped in an identity. It was a person she originally cared about, one her fans definitely cared about, but she – herself – had to figure out she had outgrown. 

Staying in the place people praised, liked, and followed her for being, was limiting her. Maybe even destroying her from the inside out. 

And she was 24.

It’s never too late to change. It’s never too late to stop doing what you think others want you to do but you don’t want to do. It’s never too late. 

Until your dead. 

And if you’re alive and reading this – you’re not dead yet, and that means it’s not too late yet. 

Read Mills’ op-ed, “YouTube Gave Me Everything. Then I Grew Up.” 

h/t Bob Lefsetz. I never would have caught this article if he hadn’t flagged it. I also loved this quote from him on it, 

So I thought the above article would be another one about burnout. However that was not the case. The writer was complaining that she was a prisoner of her image. She was afraid to change it for fear of losing followers. She had to be who she once was, so her audience would be satisfied. Eventually she left the service and allowed herself to grow up and change. Which was a relief. She could finally be herself. 

But being locked into a past identity not only haunts social media influencers, but everyone involved in the arts.

Think about it.