What Happens When You Put A Bunch Of Exhausted Fake Badasses Into A Room?
You may just come up with a brand identity and a support group you weren't prepared for 😂
I’m not even sure how to begin so I’m just going to wing it.
I wrote something a couple of weeks ago that I never DREAMED would grow a pair of 50-foot dragon wings and soar as high as it did. I’m picturing Game of Thrones dragons here.
Here’s the story for reference:
That kind of rapid engagement can only mean one thing:
When you put yourself out there, you inevitably find your people. Even if we all feel like we’re blindfolded.
Of the 200+ comments that graced my inbox at a highly uncomfortable rate, I began seeing a pattern in their responses.
You know that old quote about kicking ass and taking names? Well, I wrote down all the names of the self-proclaimed Exhausted Fake Badasses who dared to speak their truth just because I spoke up first.
So, exactly what does happen when you put a bunch of Exhausted Fake Badasses into a room?
The exhaustion-to-badass ratio begins sliding in a more favorable direction.
Because there’s strength in numbers.
And people are braver than they think.
And monkey-see-monkey-do, except we’re not monkeys. We’re human beings with bucketloads of hope and ambition despite how deflated we might feel on the inside.
Indeed, I wrote down the names of fellow EFB’s from that never-ending string of comments and I had every intention of addressing them in a future post. However, before I even had the chance,
sent me a message saying, “Are we still doing this or what?”Lisa and I don’t know each other from a hole in the ground but she was brave enough to light a fire under my butt, and here we are!
I don’t know what to do with this information.
In addition to Exhausted Fake Badasses, the name Disgruntled Midlifers Club also came up. I like both names but we need to consider their acronyms.
EFB versus DMC.
Both roll off the tongue equally well but only one reminds me of a 90s rap group (Run DMC) and I will NOT take part in running of any kind.
Bootstrapping a new life isn’t always easy
Several months ago I stumbled onto a website called Organized Finance. I can’t remember how I found it but she has built a decent income running a faceless Instagram account.
She’s experimenting with how to build a lucrative side hustle without revealing your identity.
For a brief moment (only long enough to think I should purchase a domain name) I wanted to try this faceless thing.
So, I bought the name, Bootstrapping Broad, and started building a website.
That’s as far as I got before I realized I DO NOT want to engage in social media. I can’t even fathom investing time on Instagram for the sake of an experiment that may never take off. That’s for 24-year-olds and women named
😂The short version of the Bootstrapping Broad story is, YES, it’s possible to earn a living online after 50 because I’m doing it! And it only took me six months to build it to a point where I’m supporting myself (meagre as it is).
And I didn’t have to go on social media AT ALL.
But the domain name is pretty good, no? Does anyone want to buy it from me?
Or, should we start a new Substack with a bunch of disgruntled, exhausted, fake, midlifing badasses? Let’s emphasize the “exhausted” part because I already write 3 different Substacks and I don’t have time for one more unless it’s paying me a full-time income so I can quit everything else. 😂
(Did you know you can PAY to contribute to this one?)
What’s my actual point?
A few weeks ago,
of Social Media Escape Club wrote an article that immediately took me back to an AMAZING thing I did before Facebook and Instagram were even born.I was in my 30s back then and already felt disgruntled and stagnant, so I posted a classified ad (remember those?) that went something like this:
Women’s Dream Group!
I’m looking for like-minded women who would love to get together and chat about our dreams, goals, and ambitions! Whatever lights your fire, let’s meet up and talk. Many minds are better than one and the sky’s the limit!
At the end of the ad, I included a meeting date, a time, and a location at a centrally located restaurant. I called the restaurant (probably from a landline) and booked a table for 10. Then I sat back and hoped for the best.
Do you know what happened on the day of the proposed gathering?
A bunch of strangers showed up in REAL life!
Several women came! At least ten. Some even brought samples of crafts they enjoyed creating, some showed up with notebooks and pens, and all were ready to brainstorm!
Can you imagine that happening nowadays? Not with the internet at our fingertips and introvert-itis plaguing mankind.
My women’s dream group continued meeting once a month for several months. Even after we dwindled, a few of us stayed in contact and continued cheering each other on.
Now we have the internet. The LEAST we can do is organize an online gathering and cheer each other on. Maybe that’s what we’re already doing here in this newsletter. Does this feel like enough?
If there’s one thing I KNOW I’m good at…
It is building communities. As far back as my travel blogging days, I’ve been pretty hardcore about engaging with my readers and trying to make each of them feel heard.
And so, to everyone who piped up a couple of weeks ago and exposed your vulnerable side, let’s brainstorm. Let’s see if we can help elevate each other in a way that feels like we’re sitting at a round table in a restaurant with notebooks and dreams!
I’m tagging the names I took down on June 11th, here:
, , , , , , , , @kristin (sorry girl, no tag is coming up for you!), , , , , , , , ,And anyone else who wants in! Please drop your email address in the comments and once I’ve had time to create a list of emails, I’ll pick a date, schedule a Zoom meeting, and send out invites.
Then I’ll sit back and hope for the best!
Speaking of classified ads that inspire action (and laughter), if you missed last week’s newsletter you totally missed out:
Is "Exhausted Fake Badasses" a term you made up, or did someone else use it?
Run DMC was far more popular in the '80s than the '90s- that was the decade they released their collaboration with Aerosmith which is probably the only thing most white people know about them.
Love the Classified ad!! I miss simpler and slower.
Reach me at residentoddball at the Google mail dot com.