What if the work still matters before anyone sees it?In this video, I’m talking about creative confidence, writing into the void, and the private devotion of making things without immediate proof that they matter.I share memories of my dad’s early-morning spiritual life in the Yukon, my own experience starting Substack during a very “what the hell is happening” season, and the dull pain of creating before any recognition arrives.

This is for writers, creatives, teachers, coaches, entrepreneurs, and deep-feeling people trying to keep their work alive in a world obsessed with metrics.Wannabe Wisdom is for people who know they’re meant for fuller expression. Subscribe, read along, or come hangout with me in this little pocket of the internet where we try to stay human while making things.

This video essay is inspired from the essay “The Courage To Be Unseen” that I wrote in November, 2025.

With Love & rebellion, 💛

Ashley aka Fake Guru

💬 Question for the Comments:

What do you keep returning to when no one’s watching? Tell me about your private practice, and what keeps you tending to it. It might be the thing someone else needed to hear today.

👉 Have a Story You Want Told?

Wannabe Wisdom is slowly opening a space for subscribers to submit personal stories to be featured on my YouTube channel, Wannabe Wisdom Diaries, and here on Substack—retold by yours truly, in third person.

I’m looking for stories about identity, reinvention, intuition, heartbreak, grief, healing, and strange little turning points.

Basically: if something happened and afterward you thought, “Well. I guess I’m different now,” I want to hear about it.

✨ Paid subscribers are considered first, because this space grows through the people helping sustain it.

Submitting doesn’t guarantee your story will be featured, and I’ll always contact you before moving forward.

👉 Submit your story here: Wannabe Wisdom Stories: Open Call

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