Good Day Brewers - Pang here! ☕

I took up an ad-hoc job last week.

Was looking to put myself out there to discover more refreshing stories in this beautiful world.

And here I am taking on the role of managing wheelchairs.

A little unexpected… but totally worth it!

Enjoy this issue!

Estimated reading time: 1,898 words — 7 mins 58 secs

Poor Early Birds

I’m standing at the drop-off point, right under the shelter away from the scorching hot sun.

There were three wheelchairs stationed there—mainly to support older residents and those needing physical assistance.

Nearby residents started joining the queue—already longer than the length of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The atmosphere was loud and noisy, filled with morning chatters. Everyone was buzzing over what to eat for breakfast while patiently waiting in line.

It’s presidential election day. And we’re expecting a huge turnout since it’s compulsory for EVERY Singaporean to turn up and cast their votes.

But I didn’t quite understand the situation.

It’s a nationwide declared public holiday. That means a rest day for everyone, right?

So, why did people come down this early to cast their votes?

Polling stations open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

That’s 12 hours to cast your votes. There’s no need to rush or FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) into this!

But it gets worse from here…

Half an hour later…

The queue continued to grow. It’s sitting at the length of an entire football field.

The polling station is open. But somehow, the queue wasn’t moving an inch.

“Hey hello! Can help us check why the queue isn’t moving ah? I’ve been standing here for 5 minutes!” This young impatient man blurted out.

I strolled over to the polling booth to inquire about the situation.

Seems like there’s a fault with the registration system and it’s happening nationwide.

So yes, the length of the queue continued to grow rapidly as I observed the entire situation from the sidelines.

An hour later, the queue was cleared. The place was empty and quiet.

Seems like the issue was resolved.

But those who turned up before 9 probably waited for at least 30 to 45 minutes in line.

You know what’s funny?

If you had come down a little later past 10 a.m., you could have cast your votes in under five minutes.

So, what happened?

Well, unfortunately, the system was down.

That means no worms even if you’re early…

Look at those poor early birds.

They still had to wait in the queue for an extended period of time to catch their very first worm.

But that wasn’t all.

Unknowing Herd Mentality.

This was a result of a bigger problem that could be summed up as follows:

• The average individual woke up early to cast their votes with the mindset that the queue was going to be short.

• They had plans to grab breakfast and start their busy day after casting their poll.

• They assumed that other individuals would not have the same mentality.

Did you get that?

Let me explain.

As an average individual, you’d have the mindset of an average person. But…

The fact that you think you can outsmart the average makes you average because that’s how the average individual thinks.

In this paradox, the pursuit of standing out ironically makes one average.

I know, all of this sounds a little confusing.

So, try your best to follow closely because what I’m about to say next is about to BLOW YOUR MIND.

9 months ago…

I started my storytelling journey on Twitter.

I’ve experienced a whole bunch of transformations happening in the scene.

The AI crazes were insane back in November and December 2022.

Everyone was writing a whole bunch of AI threads sharing a million random AI tools, trying to ride along this crazy trend.

We also had a whole bunch of “Copycat” threads shared by Grammar Nazis.

In April, the “For You” page was introduced and this changed how the platform worked fundamentally.

It’s less about followers and more about attracting engagements to get your tweets boosted to show up on this page to more users.

But here’s where it gets interesting…

The Storytelling trend started taking off as well.

But for the wrong reasons.

It’s like all of a sudden, everyone wanted to join the grass on this side because it looks greener.

Classic herd mentality.

And you’ve probably thought about these questions:

• Will storytelling help me get to 1,000+ followers?

• Will telling stories make me more authentic?

• Will it help me to stand out?

If your answer is “YES” to all three questions, then you’ve got a bigger problem.

You’re falling into the paradox of an average person trying to be an early bird, thinking you can beat the queue.

You see…

Those questions came to my mind initially.

And to be frank, my answer used to be YES.

But I stopped thinking about those eventually because it just felt wrong.

I did some soul-searching and realized this isn’t what I stand for.

So, if you’re telling stories because of selfish reasons…

Then you’re not standing out or being authentic.

And it’d get worse from here…

You’d give up storytelling soon and hop onto the next trend trying to ride the wave because you’re not seeing any results.

Now, you must be thinking…

What should I do?

Passion IS Authenticity

When you pursue something you deeply care about, your actions and expressions come from a place of sincerity and honesty.

I tell stories because I LOVE TO,
not because I have to, or I need to.

I don’t care about standing out. Or being authentic.

I simply care about what I do and the message I’m trying to deliver to this world.

And that’s why it’s important to discover your passion.

If you’re on X experimenting with different forms of writing and learning from others, be sure to know WHY you’re here.

You need a DEEPER sense of purpose—something that you care about.

Perhaps a past experience that shaped you to possess certain beliefs.

Dig deeper.

Find that story.

Because that’ll help you navigate your own compass and avoid…

Getting drowned in Crowds…

It’s so easy to get drowned out by the robotic voices on X these days.

9 out of 10 tweets on my timeline are TEMPLATED or RECYCLED.

Yes, and that means they’re engineered to go viral or drive engagements.

They’re proven to work.

That’s why the same message appears over and over again.

And you’re AT RISK if you follow them closely.

What makes you think AI can’t replace you and whatever you’ve shared?

What makes you think the algorithm would NEVER change?

I’ve seen plenty of accounts die when X introduced the “For You” page.

And I’ll see plenty more RIP accounts if Elon decides to switch up the algorithm to focus on LONG-FORM CONTENT.

Mark my words…

Because CHANGE is the ONLY constant.

But there’s something else that’s also a constant.

I’ll get back to this in a minute.

Everyone says X is a university where you can learn writing as if it’s superior.

FALSE.

It’s an echo chamber.

At best, it’s a simple book that’d be titled “How to Garner Attention on Social Media.”

It’s funny how individuals with hundreds of engagements actually believe the narratives they sold to themselves and others.

They’re always complaining about bigger accounts with 1 or 2 likes, thinking they’re better writers.

7 months ago… I see the exact same big accounts ranting about smaller accounts trying to give advice.

So what’s next?

Me ranting about how boring X is?

I’d love to. But boring is an understatement.

If I spend an hour engaging with friends, it’s one hour invested into networking for me and nothing more. That’s how I like to see it.

But that’s also an hour taken away when I could have been reading “The Adweek Copywriting Handbook” or writing my next favorite story.

Or working on my 30-day Workbook.

Which brings me back to this constant.

You should have guessed it by now.

YOU are the only constant in this BIGGER EQUATION.

But knowing that you’re a constant isn’t good enough…

You’d have to protect yourself against rainy days.

Wanna know what isn’t a constant?

The Algorithm. And perhaps your dying network.

Good luck trying to game it with your shortcuts.

I’ve been around for 9 months and talked to over 100 individuals on calls.

But I can’t even recall 70% of them.

People come and go in your life.

So here comes my most important point.

You bet on the algorithm.

You bet on your friends.

You bet on your engagements.

You bet on your underwear (AKA as your bio and profile)

But are you betting on YOURSELF?

Let’s say X no longer exists today.

• Do you have the skills it takes to build your dream?

If your network is dead today.

• Do you have the skills to grow another network?

Reflect on your journey thus far.

• What have you learned?

Read through your your recent writings.

• Does it speak to your soul?

Think about 3-5 years from now.

• What do you have in store for your future?

Growth gurus aren’t going to teach you these.

Shh… no one’s ever told you this before.

Just one last thing before you go.

This newsletter has always been about storytelling.

So I’m going to leave you with one HOT SAUCE right now.

It took me many months of storytelling to figure this out.

Ready for it?

The value of stories is in your VOICE.

It’s the WAY you present it, not what you present.

Saying “I’m a storyteller” doesn’t make you one. Neither does sharing a whole bunch of frameworks.

But when you start telling stories from your heart, that’s when you start seeing the difference.

When you show up to give more than anything else, your stories will start to stick.

No one remembers what you said.

No one cares about what you accomplish.

But they’ll remember how you made them feel.

So what does this mean?

This means that it doesn’t matter what stories you’re telling.

Be it your transformation from being a once depressed kid to a happy-go-lucky one.

Or simply stories about how you talked to a stranger that gave you a fresh perspective.

It doesn’t matter.

If you’re constantly telling stories bringing across a sincere message from your heart, you are a TRUE storyteller.

Your stories are gonna STICK like super glue.

So I’d leave you with three QUOTES to think about:

1) Show up to give, not take.

The key to writing from your heart comes from your mindset. If you show up only to give, why would your readers not notice that?

2) Stand out by being WHO YOU ARE, not what you do.

It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you’re in sync with what your heart wants you to do.

Find that burning passion and never let that go for it’ll keep you accompanied on this journey, which may feel lonely at times.

3) A good story is defined by HOW IT’S BEING TOLD, not what is told.

Picture two people given the same story and told to present it in their own voice.

HOW they present is what differentiates one from the other.

And remember…

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an early bird or not.

It doesn’t matter if your stories aren’t gaining traction or getting noticed.

What matters is your journey.

Is that how you want things to be? Or are you doing that just to make yourself feel special?

Hope you enjoyed this long piece.

My upcoming cohort will be launching soon.

It’d show you the ropes of crafting stories from your heart.

Your Barista,

Pang

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