Last year I wrote “How social Media Satisfied My Soul” it was and still is easily the most popular blog post I have written to date.
I believe that is because we are all searching. Searching for something, anything to satisfy the constant never ending desire of our soul.
I ended that blog post by reminding you, my readers that Jesus is the only way to ultimately satisfy our souls.
Daily I should remind myself of this fact. Shortly after writing “How Social Media Satisfied My Soul” I was offered an opportunity to purchase the brand that I had helped build.
I jumped on the opportunity with one of the other initial interns. We became business partners. It felt strange to buy the work we had done as interns back but we knew it would be worth it in the end.
Immediately, we set to work rebuilding the brand the way we wanted. My identity became wrapped up in our business.
I was now a co-owner of a social media account that had fifty thousand followers. I felt like I should have been recognized and appreciated by the outdoor community.
Initially, I was not.
It didn’t take long though and we started to create a stir. I was able to talk with a man I have always admired from afar, honestly a true celebrity by the outdoor industry standards.
I thought I had made it. I was “rubbing shoulders” with the big dogs. I didn’t think it could get any better than that yet that emptiness began to creep back.
I knew there was more to life than chasing fame and money. Even as that follower count grew so did the emptiness.
The money wasn’t the hard part to walk away from, honestly we were not making enough to pay ourselves consistently. We were getting gear that helped us look the part as if we were living the dream.
Honestly, I lost myself. I thought I wanted to be famous. I thought I wanted a career in the outdoor industry.
As I pursued that goal more, the more I felt like a fake. The more I realized that this “dream” was a bad attempt at satisfying the emptiness.
So I sold out. I sold my half of the business to my business partner. It was an extremely tough decision.
I believe I made the correct choice.
Social media will never fully satisfy your soul or mine. Every time we set a goal to reach a certain number of followers thinking “this will be the number where I’’ll be happy” we get there at happiness is at the next goal.
Social media and the fame that comes with it were not intended to satisfy the deep longing we have inside.
Don’t be fooled like I was into thinking otherwise.