I'm not thinking about my neighbour down the street, but here on Substack, because of how it's designed, you do think about those type of things.

And at the moment, I think that the balance has maybe tipped because Substack has obviously got to sell itself and what’s ‘working’.

But it's like, ok let’s figure out, how I can be here and make this work for me?

Natalie Lue

It was a joy to reconnect with Natalie Lue for the podcast. Natalie is a BRILLIANT writer and writes On Knowing Yourself here on Substack.

Natalie and I met in 2019 at a brilliant event called Make and Mend Festival. I’m linking here and the lovely Clare Albans has a hand in organising if you want to connect in with their work.

Natalie’s career has been one of dedication and determination. She’s not afraid to tackle the tough stuff.

A ‘blogger’ for over 20 years and has gone down research rabbit holes many of us would be scared to even peek down. Natalie has brought new and important light to the tougher subjects.

She’s a published author, artist and podcaster and an all round amazing human. I’m honoured she made the time to impart some of her wisdom here… I’m really looking forward to your thoughts on our chat.

Her podcast The Baggage Reclaim Sessions saw Natalie record 278 podcasts. Listening to her depth of understanding of how the online world ‘works’ brought deep comfort to me.

"I'll be frank and I'll be honest, but I do it with compassion and with boundaries in the sense of I'm not going to tell a story and make myself out to be the hero, certainly not intentionally."

Natalie Lue

Places to connect with Natalie online;

* https://natalielue.com/

* https://www.instagram.com/natlue/

* https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/the-baggage-reclaim-sessions-podcast/

If you’d like to watch our conversation with captions feel free to do that here;

00:00 Helping people reclaim themselves from emotional baggage.

09:30 Pride in past work and personal growth.

12:31 Revelations about personal life and boundaries.

18:06 Acknowledging vulnerability, shame, and overcoming judgment.

23:14 Acknowledge natural storytelling, intention, and resonance online.

28:50 Excitement about writing platform and valuing creativity.

37:32 Challenges with paid subscriptions, improved discoverability.

38:38 Substack community shift leads to online work.

43:49 Scheduling content to reduce mental strain.

54:02 Substack's design may not suit everyone.

58:16 Self-published author found success but wanted more.

01:04:03 Navigating creativity, self-expression, and publishing challenges.

01:11:09 Recognize the value in sharing creative work.

01:12:33 Substack encourages paywalls, sparks creative reflections.

✨

I’ll leave you with a quote Natalie opened with; “Who are the people you are seeking to serve and what is the change you’re seeking to make?” Seth Goodin

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