Is Your Life Worth Following?

The authentic blueprint: designing a life of meaning

Find out how to: abandon the borrowed blueprints of success.

Design a life that resonates with your core, a life worth emulating: Don’t try to impress people; live a life worth following.

Meet

Austin Schrock

and let his story inspire you!

Austin Schrock

Q: Tell us a little bit about your background

Growing up, I’ve always enjoyed making things, whether it was art, videos, or whatever. I first got introduced into the world of video through my brother, who did documentaries for non-profit organizations. I started using his equipment for my own projects, and he let me use his computer for editing. He’s the one who got me started; without him, I don’t know where I’d be. I’ve been making videos since I was 13, but it wasn’t until I was 18 that I started getting serious about it. I started a YouTube channel and started gaining follows, then, in 2022, I had a video go viral, and I’ve been doing YouTube since.

I first started writing because of the video scripts, and eventually, I fell in love with that form of creation as well. In the past 6-8 months, I’ve leaned more into writing and have loved every minute of it. Substack is my platform of choice for writing.

Q: Beyond the act of hitting "publish," what's the most courageous thing you've done as a writer on Substack?

I don’t feel like it’s very courageous, but I’ve started being a lot more personal on Substack notes. Also, in my newsletters, I share things that might be embarrassing, but since I’m so accustomed to YouTube, writing hasn’t been very challenging for me. Showing your face on a video is much scarier, since I’ve gotten past that, writing hasn’t been that bad.

Another big one would be advertising my products. That’s something I’m not used to and has taken some getting used to.

Q: Many people dream of writing but fear judgment or failure. What advice would you give to those who are hesitant to share their voice on Substack?

When you have something to say, silence is a lie.

Most people don’t dream of writing; they dream of being successful, famous, liked, and supported BECAUSE of their writing. There’s nothing wrong with these things, but you’ll find that if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one, including yourself.

You shouldn’t be writing because you want to be liked; you should be writing because you have something to say. Have something to say, and if it’s worth saying, you’ll find a way through the fear. Because it matters to you.

When I started sharing things that mattered to me, I quit caring what people thought. Because I stopped writing in ways that made me feel weak. A general rule of thumb is never write something that makes you feel weak. If something makes you feel weak, there’s a good chance you don’t actually believe it, you’re just repeating what someone else said. If you’re certain about something and that people can benefit from it, courage comes naturally. Courage comes in times of necessity.

If you do that and still feel too afraid to press publish, build a support group around you. There are lots of like-minded people, there’s no reason you should try to figure this all out alone. Find people to support you, it’s a game changer.

Q: In your opinion, what's the most courageous thing a reader can do after engaging with your work?

Share their opinion with me. Nothing shows courage like being willing to think through what someone said, formulate one's own opinion, and express it back. It shows respect that you’re actually willing to stop scrolling and interact.

Q: Vulnerability is often a key component of courage. How do you balance being vulnerable with maintaining healthy boundaries as a writer in such a public space?

For me, being vulnerable is less about sharing personal things and more about showing people I’m open and willing to interact. I’m vulnerable in the sense that I help people feel as though they can share whatever they want with me. This has led to many wonderful DM conversations because people know I won’t judge them. I’m here to help.

Because of this, I don’t have to worry about boundaries quite as much because I don’t share very personal things. For me specifically, this would be the close relationships in my life. Occasionally, I set boundaries on people who are trying to pry into my time, but it’s rare.

Q: Courage often involves taking risks. What's the biggest risk you've taken in sharing your writing or building your Substack community?

Investing copious amounts of time when I didn’t know if I would ever gain traction or see a return from my investment.

Q: What advice would you give to other thought leaders who feel stuck or unfulfilled but are hesitant to take the leap and reinvent themselves?

It depends on your phase of life, but I would say step cautiously. You're most likely not going to get a lot of traction in the first 6 months, so before launching into something, make sure you can sustain it. We’ve all found something that we think is a cure-all and launched into it only to realize a few months later that we cannot sustain that pace. Do your research and start at a pace that you feel is sustainable for you while maintaining your other responsibilities.

The leap comes after that initial investment, after you’ve determined that it’s the right step for you. But it’s very hard to determine that before you’ve experienced it. There are a lot of hidden responsibilities that you simply cannot see.

Q: If you could go back and tell your pre-Substack self one thing about the journey ahead, what would it be?

If you enjoyed this share and resonate with

Austin Schrock

’s way of being, subscribe and reach out! He’d love to hear from you.

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