How it all began.

 

The first time I thought of starting a YouTube Channel I literally got goosebumps. It send a wave of chills down my spine. Just the thought of standing in front of the camera and being watched made me sweat. All kinds of weird thoughts kept seeping into my head.

These thoughts apparently have a term. It’s called "paralysis by analysis,". My overthinking ,over-analyzing and being overly self conscious of my appearance in front of the camera made me STOP thinking about my “YouTube Dream” all together. The thought of “What will people say” and “Will they like my video” made me throw this dream straight into the trash.

But you know when you badly want to do something you end up finding a way, right? But for me it was a ROAD BLOCK. I  didn’t find any way to get over this fear. All I did was PRAY about it. I submitted my fears to Jesus. I asked for help. Every. Single.Day.

Along the way I recorded really short videos for Instagram.These were less than 60 seconds videos on Dental tips and awareness. This needed courage. Now when I look back I feel that it really helped me.       ( Now I realise that Jesus made me do it to prepare me.)

So, before shooting these videos for Instagram I made sure that I  practiced just speaking in front of the camera. Speaking random things. Speaking as if I was a motivational speaker or as a person who just won an award etc.

After 2 or 3 shots of making the final video for Instagram I felt fine. Even though I was hesistant I somehow got myself to publish my first reel. My sister was my constant encourager. In fact she was the first person to shoot my first “Dental awareness” reel for Instagram. The response after I published that video was amazing. This gave me the confidence to do more.

In the following reels I realised that when I dressed up a little I felt more confident . So I did that. I saw how this brought a drastic change in my camera confidence. Now remember you are putting on makeup and dressing up to feel good. It is to bring out your natural beauty so it is very important to remain authentic and genuine. You don’t have to look like SOMEONE else. And you don’t have to wear layers of ‘putty’( This is the word my hubby uses). Just be YOU but a little more neat and presentable.

I remember asking my sister if she saw that I had a big pimple on my face in one of videos and she replied back saying that she barely noticed it. That’s when I understood that when watching a video or looking at a picture, people never observe those little details. They look at the overall video in general.

I realised that it was me who was standing in MY own WAY! All the while it was me who scrutinized every single detail on my face or body complaining and worrying about it leaving me less confident. I thought to myself “What would Jesus say”. So I read the bible to find an answer and this is what I found.

1 Samuel 16:7 – “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

 

Remember NO one is perfect. Actors, models, influencers, makeup artists, public speakers. Literally. No .One. Everyone is unique and those small imperfections are what makes each of us special.

Another thing which I truly wanted was to become was a Sunday School teacher. God listened to my wishes and he made me one. I gained so much confidence after I became a Sunday School teacher. Our classes were online for the first 3-4 months and now it is offline. This gave me the confidence to go on camera LIVE. I got amazing feedback from parents for the way I teach and capture the 6- 7 year kids’ attention. This further boosted me to continue teaching.

On June 1^st, 2022 I published my first YouTube video. The first time you do something is exciting yet scary right?  But I soon realized that this fear was only till I published that video. I was fine once that was published. It’s that first step that is scary. There’s a lot of pressure to get things right first time. But trust me NEVER EVER wait for that. Never wait for things to become perfect. It never will.

If you’ve been working on your first YouTube video for months, STOP. Publish what you got. Then keep improving as you make more and more videos.

Every YouTuber in their journey will eventually learn:-

 

1.     Public speaking

2.    Camera Confidence

3.    Video Editing

4.    Photography for Thumbnails

5.    Thumbnail Designing

6.    Videography

7.    Writing—Title, Tags, Description, Captions, Script

8.    Animation or Drawing

9.    Idea Curation

10.Staying updated with the latest YouTube Gears and software /Tools needed to make your video stand out

 

      11.Staying updated with the YouTube rules and guidelines each year.

      12.Learning the YouTube Algorithm to get to the right audience.

 

There is literally 2 or 3 years courses for each of these. But you don’t need to worry because “Rome wasn’t built in a day” It takes time to built something great. If you are planning to start a business or learn to drive or start a youtube channel then JUST DO IT. Don't about think results. Atleast you can be sure that you will live a life with no regrets. 

You don't want to be old and grey and say to yourself "Oh I wish i had started a business back then ..."

 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” 

I believe that I definitely took that step right now.

When are you taking yours?