Poolside Entry: I used to Write.

I used to write. And then I stopped.

• I suppose this was for a combination of reasons.

• It takes more time than recording a video.

• Attention spans are short—my writing often runs a bit long.

• I hate proofreading (thank you, ADHD). Like, hate it so much I often refuse to do it when I complete a writing piece.

• It feels more intimate and vulnerable. And for an anxious-oversharer… that can be dangerous.

• It wasn’t directly a stream of income that my business relied on. It felt more like a hobby than a strategic business move.

But here I am, on vacation, on a day off—writing.

It’s interesting, as an ELA girlie and natural writer, in the wave of AI that is before us, I’ve found myself hating to read much of the content that comes across my feed online.

I’m not anti-AI by any means. I use it for certain parts of my business to save myself time (TpT descriptions, proofreading, brainstorming, reformatting pieces of writing into new formats).

But when it comes to digesting pounds of paragraphs crammed into an Instagram caption that was slapped together from ChatGPT, it’s not enjoyable for me.

With every “Let’s be real” or “Here’s the thing” peppering my timeline, I gag.

Pro tip for those of you using AI for social media… tell it to stop using those two phrases above. It’s a ChatGPT red flag. 😂

Call me messy, call me egocentric—the rise of AI has called me back to writing.

It’s 11:03 AM on a Saturday. I’m currently in a vacation home in Orlando, Florida that sleeps 20, with my family of 7, our favorite 19-year-old babysitter (she’s more like family and it feels insulting referring to her as a babysitter, but this was just for context’s sake), my biological father, and my little brother.

If you’ve never been in the South in June, listen baby, it’s not hot. It’s HAWT.

Like… stay in the pool, hide in the shade, start your car 10 minutes before it’s time to leave to cool the car down type hot.

Two days ago, my husband and I took Hero to Disney for the first time. We didn’t take the older 4 kiddos (16, 12, 12, and 10) because not only have they been before but dude, managing 5 kids in Disney is stressful as fuckkk.

But no, I wanted to let Hero have our undivided attention and patience for his first time at the Happiest Place on Earth. I can’t imagine even with all of the emotional regulation tips and tricks that could have saved me with the crowds and heat.

We decided we were going to split the day—we did the first half of Disney from around 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM, drove home to let Hero nap (which is riskyyy business for us, he is not a napper), then headed back to the park around 5:30 PM for a couple more rides and fireworks.

It was shockingly the best day. Hero is our youngest, most challenging, demanding, f-bomb dropping kiddo.

But he was an absolute angel and was fully bought into the magic of Disney.

It made my momma heart so happy.

It’s so crazy to see how fast time passes. The last time we were at Disney with kids, it was 2020.

The kids were 11, 7, 7, and 5. Like, what the fuck?!

I was pregnant with Hero and wearing a purple rain Prince shirt to hide my 4-month-ish baby bump (yeah yeah, I got on Space Mountain while I was pregnant with Hero—he turned out alright).

This was our first big trip as a family of 6 that we were able to take exclusively funded from Kinda Sorta Teacher. It was October and my business had just launched in August.

That means within 2 months of beginning to sell my Google Slides on TikTok, we had thousands of extra dollars put to the side. Without this extra money, we’d never have been able to afford a random Disney trip with the kids.

I had no idea what would come of my business at that point. I was just excited to be able to take my kids to do something fun on a whim.

Fast forward to five years later—here we are again. This time though, my business isn’t in its baby stages.

I’m over $1,000,000 into business, continuously scaling, still selling slides, and helping my clients leave the classroom as well.

Time passes so quickly—that’s the thing people don’t realize.

Building your business is easy when it comes to the necessary steps that you must take to grow your business. The framework is easy to follow. What is physically required of you is the easy part.

The hard part is believing. Believing you can do it.

The hard part is trusting. Trusting you are the one.

The hard part is moving. Moving despite the fear.

The hard part is discipline. Discipline regardless of what your brain is saying.

If the mindset and identity work required to build and scale your business to six figures, multi-six figures, seven figures, and beyond was “easy,” then everybody would be successful.

Everybody would do this work.

But THAT is the hard part.

I’ve watched hundreds of teachers say they are all in. They follow the steps—they build a website, start a TpT, make tons of products, post on social media (kinda).

But that’s the easy part.

Following through with showing up when you’re not making money, posting even when it seems the algorithm hates you, dismantling your limiting beliefs and negative self-talk, breaking free from the conditioning of the education system that has you operating in crisis mode and from a place of lack, shedding the people-pleasing. Doing scary shit and doing what YOU want (not what somebody tells you to do).

That is the hard part.

And that is where people quit.

There are hundreds, even thousands of you reading that right now who know exactlyyyyy what I’m talking about.

You have done the things (the easy things that simply require your time), but are yet to do the hard things that require an identity shift and true work that serves the soul.

Business isn’t just about making money, it’s about discovering a version of yourself that can’t quite exist simply from being a teacher. This is a new identity that requires internal shifts that the average human will never be able to make.

But you aren’t average and you never were meant to be.

Stop acting like it. Stop trying to fit in.

Stop succumbing to the life that you are currently living because you’re terrified to reshape the mold.

I know it’s so fucking annoying to hear people say “if I can do it, you can do it” so I won’t say that.

Because it’s not true. I am not a typical gal.

I am extraordinary. I am bold. I am disciplined. I am unhinged. I am committed to growth. I am addicted to hard work. I push harder when 99% of others would quit.

So no, if I can do it, that doesn’t mean you can.

But if I can choose, you can choose.

If I can decide, you can decide.

The power to become the person you’ve always envisioned is on the other side of the fear you’re allowing to run your life.

When you’re ready for THAT conversation, it’s time to move into a world where you are pushed beyond the limits you’ve set on yourself and discover the most authentic version of yourself.

Your growth and self-discovery is the answer. And insane amounts of income are the byproduct of the person you need to become.

This is the work we do in Kinda Sorta Land.

Everything you want is within your reach; you just have to be committed to stretching yourself.

I can’t wait to see who you become.

Xoxo.

Hugs, Love, and Lots of Kisses.

Cheers,

Ty Tiger | Kinda Sorta Teacher

Teacher Creator Club is the place to be if you are looking to launch your business and make your first $1 or are ready to grow and scale your teacher business to its first $500,000 online. Click here to join TCC for a one time fee of $197. No monthly charges, no surprises.