Stoa Digest #122: 🍄 Love What You Do 🍄

1% is a lot better than ZERO, show up and have fun.

Oct 31, 2023

Hello, hello, good readers and loyal email openers of this publication. Here we are on the last day of October, secretly the last day of the year. November and December are going to be a blur, and then boom, we’re thrown into 2024. (Cue somber music)

It’s been quite a year for Stoa; it’s been three years since we kicked off our first General Management Cohort. Today we’re in the midst of an admission cycle of our second flagship program for Marketing & Growth. We’ve kicked off a new venture in the form of Endorsed for very early career folks to get a leg up in their professional growth. Our community is now 1000+ members strong, and we’re nearing 100+ Charter Holders to close out the year.

Here’s to you, our true believers, our 1000+ true fans, our supporters, our vocal and silent cheerleaders! Don’t be a stranger, see you around :) #GoTeam!

- Shelton, Team Stoa

“My tip to my freelancer friends: make your work an accountability buddy for yourself.”

Yes, I was intrigued too when Priya said this to me.

Okay, let’s take a step back.

Meet Priya Nain, our beloved Stoan from our very first Cohort. Priya is a Freelance Content Writer who started her writing journey after ‘building & crashing’ a travel company back in 2018. (Yes, that’s how she likes to define her journey)

Much like a lot of you here, from writing just for herself to realising that she is darn good at it and can make it into a booming profession, Priya dived into the world of content.✍🏻

Coming with about 5 years of marketing experience, she soon established her niche, personal development apps, and SaaS companies that build products for marketers. Pretty tight, right?

She picked these buckets because -

A: She understood product marketing, the lingo of the industry, and the psyche of marketers

B: While working with a client in the personal development space, she was constantly reminded of her lack of attention to fitness and wellbeing.

As she went about writing content for these spaces, she started adopting healthy habits and better lifestyle choices. And that’s why she believes,

“My work kind of became like a coach for me and helped me streamline my personal life along with my professional life. My accountability partner.”🫂

Freelancers out there, please note that this is a pro-tip to bat away burnout.

Easier said than done, I know but Priya has a pro-tip for that too.

After being a freelance writer for more than 3 years, she has a mantra to ward off the “writer-block”, and “I need inspiration” problem.

“I don't treat writing as just my passion; it is a profession. I like having to show up as a professional at my desk every day, similar to a doctor going into surgery. The doctor cannot say that they are not feeling inspired today to perform the surgery, right? It doesn’t work like that”✅

So my dear Stoans, show up every day.✨

Hard truths, yes but much needed too. To know more about how Priya has built her writing journey and her super helpful insights about US and Indian clients, ping her.

🐝 Community Buzz 🐝

We hosted a special dinner for our Charter-holders from the last three cycles in Bangalore. A night filled with great food, great conversations, and of course, India winning against England!🔥