嗨 Kevin，希望不会占用你太多时间！

我是一名来自中国的观众，想跟你分享一下我这一个月的经历。

其实几年前我就有过这样的幻想：万一哪天被裁员了，我一定要尝试全职做自媒体，靠AI写作赚钱。因为中国互联网上到处都是文章和抖音短视频，宣传靠AI写作就能赚取平台的广告费。我一想，这个我能行啊！毕竟我最大的爱好就是折腾各种工具和软件。

结果一年半前，我真的被裁员了。我也确实尝试了一段时间AI写作，但很快发现现实并不美好——它养活不了我，也没有给我带来任何正向反馈。于是我很快就放弃了，还给自己找了个借口：要在家照顾孩子。对，我女儿才两岁，还没到上幼儿园的年纪。

就这样，我浑浑噩噩地在家待了一年，像只没头苍蝇一样到处折腾。终于受不了这种状态了，我开始疯狂看书、学习各种课程。用个花哨点的说法，这叫”准备性拖延”，或者”过度规划型拖延”——就是光想不做，没有任何实际成果，总是想法太多、行动太少。

直到有一天，我偶然看到了你的视频：Over 40? You should start a YouTube channel and here’s why。那一刻我突然意识到，快40岁的我，真正需要的不再是学习和规划这些准备工作了。我需要的就是那个”开始”的动作，我缺少的就是坚持。

于是一个月前，我开通了一个新的YouTube频道。我特别喜欢折腾各种软件，也很享受软件大幅提高效率带来的那种快感，更愿意把这份喜悦分享给身边的人。从学校到职场，我捣鼓过太多软件了。这不就像《The Unfair Advantage》那本书里说的吗？这就是我最大的优势！原来我们走过的每一步，都会成为今天的助力。

目前我的频道只有72个订阅，2000多次播放。这个月我做了5个视频——要知道，我之前完全不会剪辑，也没有专业相机，全都是自己在摸索。虽然我明白这是正常的，好酒需要时间酿造，但我还是会焦虑，也会畅想自己有百万播放量的样子。

是的，我也有一个对标账号。那个up主年纪和我差不多，但他比我早开始很多年。我不觉得他的视频有多复杂，我也可以做到。但我也清楚地知道，我需要积累，需要打磨，需要学习剪辑技巧、说话方式、storytelling的能力等等。就像站在敌人面前那种感觉——既紧张又兴奋。

写这么多，就是想真心感谢你，让我看到了不一样的可能性，给了我为梦想拼搏的勇气。也希望能听到更多关于你的故事和人生感悟。如果有一天你来到中国，我很乐意做你的向导。

最后祝你和家人身体健康，万事如意！

Hey Kevin,

I hope this doesn’t take up too much of your time, but I had to reach out and share what’s been going on with me this past month.

A little background: I’m watching from China, and a few years back, I had this fantasy that if I ever got laid off, I’d go all-in on content creation. The Chinese internet is flooded with articles and short videos promising you can make good money writing AI-generated content for ad revenue. I thought, “Hey, I could totally do that” – I mean, I’ve always been the kind of person who geeks out over tools and software.

Well, a year and a half ago, it actually happened – I got laid off. And yeah, I gave the AI writing thing a real shot. Turns out, reality wasn’t quite as rosy as the pitch. The money wasn’t there, I wasn’t getting any positive traction, and pretty quickly I threw in the towel. I told myself it was because I needed to focus on my daughter (she was only two and not even close to starting preschool yet), but honestly, that was just an excuse.

For the next year, I was kind of lost. Not working, just spinning my wheels at home with no real direction. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I dove into books, courses, you name it. There’s this fancy term for it – “preparation procrastination” or “analysis paralysis” – basically, lots of planning, zero execution. I was all ideas, no action.

Then I stumbled across your video: “Over 40? You should start a YouTube channel and here’s why” That hit different. It made me realize that at nearly 40, I don’t need more prep work or planning – I just need to START. What I’ve been missing isn’t knowledge; it’s follow-through.

So a month ago, I launched a new YouTube channel. Here’s the thing: I genuinely love tinkering with software. I get a kick out of finding tools that supercharge my productivity, and I love sharing that excitement with people. From college to my career, I’ve played around with so much software – and that’s when it clicked. It’s like that book “The Unfair Advantage” says: this IS my unfair advantage. Everything I’ve been doing all these years? It’s all been leading to this moment.

Right now, I’ve got 72 subscribers and a little over 2,000 views. I’ve managed to put out 5 videos this month – which might not sound like much, but here’s the thing: I had zero editing experience when I started, and I don’t even own a proper camera. I’m literally figuring everything out as I go. But I know that’s totally normal for a new channel – Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious sometimes. I catch myself daydreaming about hitting a million views. I’ve even got this benchmark channel run by a guy around my age who started way before me. His videos aren’t that complicated – I know I can do what he does. But I also know I need to put in the reps: learn better editing, work on my delivery, master storytelling. It’s like that feeling before a big game – nervous and pumped at the same time.

Anyway, I wanted to say thank you. You showed me a different path was possible and gave me the courage to chase this dream. I’d love to hear more of your story and your thoughts on life when you get the chance. And hey, if you ever make it to China, let me know – I’d be honored to show you around.

Wishing you and your family all the best.

Thanks again,
Weichen