EXCLUSIVE: Flourish on Self-Improvement, Growth and Becoming a Web3 Content Creator
We chat to one of the fastest-rising influencers in Web3 to discuss his journey, honest advice, and why YOU should become a content creator!
JANUARY 10, 2023. INTERVIEW. WRITTEN BY JOHN NICHOLS.
When difficult times are afoot, there’s one thing we all seek: guidance.
Friends, family, religion – we all have someone or something we turn to for support, wisdom and advice, and as the bear market continues, yet more of us are seeking that light in the darkness.
Enter Flourish. In the space of a few short months, he’s become a bedrock of the Web3 community; a messiah preaching practical tips and daily feel-good counsel in equal measure.
With his Twitter profile growing, his newsletter hitting its stride and a new podcast on the way, we sat down with Flourish to discuss the state of NFTs, crypto Twitter, and what to do in a bear market.
John: Gm Flourish! Could you tell me a bit about yourself, your background and how you got into the Web3 space?
Flourish: My online life started off with sneaker reselling. My friend was always posting Yeezy’s on his Snapchat, so one day I asked him about it, and he walked me through the process. I had crazy beginners’ luck and acquired some in-demand shoes – fast forward a few months, and I’d attempted to start a sneaker group and write some sneaker software. Neither were too successful, but it was a good learning experience.
Sneaker Twitter was a big thing, so I was already familiar with and had fallen in love with the platform. I eventually got into crypto Twitter, and absolutely loved the energy here.
Are you building a business?
Or are you building a brand?
Some people may be focusing the wrong one
But let me tell you the way I am doing it pic.twitter.com/qX73BK74kJ— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 2, 2023
Over the past few months, you’ve made a name for yourself on NFT Twitter for your daily inspiration, and your newsletter, The Flourish Note. What made you walk down that path? Did anyone in particular inspire you?
When I first made this account, my intention was literally to be one of those accounts that hosts NFT giveaways. I quickly realized nobody in crypto wants any more of those types of people, and it wasn’t valuable content to anyone anyway.
I have two main inspirations. The first is NFT God. I model a bit of what I do off him, in the sense that I’m trying to make valuable posts and threads to direct people towards my newsletter. He’s a prime example of how hard work can pay off after a long period of time.
My other inspiration is Jack Butcher, the owner of Visualize Value. VV is a company that takes quotes, attaches clean visuals to them, and distributes them across all their social medias. I resonate heavily with these images and loved looking at them, so one day I tried it with one of my own posts, got great feedback, and have done it ever since!
Nowadays, my newsletter has morphed from current events and inspiration to breaking down one of my visuals per week and diving deeper into it, which I enjoy a lot more. Short, simple, and concise.
Have to ask; what are your grail sneakers, and what’s the favourite pair you own?
That’s actually an easy question, since I only have one pair of good kicks and I got ‘em pretty recently! A lot of people expect me to have a closet-full, but I really did resell all the ones I got.
I currently have Yeezy Mono Ices – a very underrated shoe – and got ‘em at a steal. Very light blue with a clean pattern on the toe.
We all know we’re deep in a bear market, but what are your thoughts on the state of the NFT space? Is there anything you’re keeping an eye on?
This is a great time to be building if you’re not buying. I definitely have my eyes open, since a bear market is the best time to buy, but I’ve loved just being able to focus on building a brand during a time when I would otherwise be doing nothing.
I’m in this for the long-term. I’m not one to personally invest in things I think could moon, even if that does work for some people. My dream NFTs are VeeFriends, and a few other blue-chips that I feel have long-term value.
When you perform a habit
You are providing proof of the story you tell yourself
The first step is choosing to do the thing
Which then reinforces you are this type of person pic.twitter.com/rQe2YBRL2z— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 9, 2023
“Learn in the bull, earn in the bear” became the mantra of 2022. What should the NFT community focus on in 2023? What should we be looking to do?
Very good mantra right there!
It can mean different things to different people. You could take this time to experiment with projects, but as I said, I’m someone who wants to go right to the founders I know will deliver, which will take me quite a bit of money, so I want to push the content creator side heavily.
This might not be the expected answer, but to be honest, I think there’s always room for more creators. Most people have something to share. There are people out there who act as if they would never want to start a business, but if you could monetize your voice in some way and provide value to others, there’s really no better feeling.
Look at the people around you in the space and take inspiration from their creativity and innovation. Get your thoughts out there. Don’t feel qualified? Read a book and share your findings. Maybe you’ve not achieved much to-date? Document your journey. Brand building is important inside and outside of Web3, but it’s especially cool to be in a space where more people appreciate that.
People thought the 4-minute mile was impossible
68 years ago Roger Bannister did it in under 4 minutes
After this hundreds of runners broke this record
Sometimes you need someone to prove it can be done
And if no one is there to prove it, become the example pic.twitter.com/d1CB3E4qXB— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 8, 2023
Speaking of adding more creators to the Web3 community, what’s the biggest thing you’ve learned since becoming a creator yourself that a new creator needs to know?
Stop looking for shortcuts. The advice you need is not what you want to hear. If you ask someone who’s big, you’re going to get the same answer. Post what you enjoy, be consistent, etc. used to get an eye-roll from me, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, if it’s something I don’t want to do, it’s probably something I should do.
Doing the difficult thing tends to lead to an easier life in the long term. Post tweets. Iterate. Test. Experiment. See what works. And seriously, get a tribe of like-minded people. When you want to do the work, you inspire others, and when you don’t want to do the work, they remind you why you must continue.
What are your goals for 2023, both personally, and in your capacity as a creator?
My goals for 2023 are mostly content creator related to being completely honest. Besides just posting tweets, threads, and newsletters, I want to stand out and provide even more value in the space – and I want to do that through a podcast. I can’t think of a cooler way to connect with similar people or people way ahead of me, and to build an audience along the way.
Two Full-Time Ghostwriters: @WrongsToWrite and @TaylinSimmonds
They were both able to quit their jobs and scale their business to $10k+ per month
In their recent Twitter Space, they discussed how the average person can get there
Here are some key points: pic.twitter.com/jbIf3IPxAO— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 9, 2023
You’ve already mentioned NFT God, but who are some of your other favourite personalities in the Web3 space?
NFT God is a legend as I said, but I’m glad you asked this because there’s so much other talent in the space that goes unnoticed.
One person who’s getting up there is Talley. He’s a really good short-form editor that works for ThreadGuy doing these funny edits for his Twitter Spaces.
Another super underrated person is Java. He writes these super-practical and actionable tweets about marketing, psychology and more.
Some others I have to mention, because they’re legends, are Chris Mladek and IV, who I’ve been hosting spaces with for some time now. They’re great content creators as well!
Have you ever wanted to talk to your heroes?
The people that you look up to for their work?
Let me tell you how I was able to network with a few of my favorite content creators pic.twitter.com/q7hJqXdSUa— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 6, 2023
What do you think is essential for any good NFT project, and are there any projects out there that you’re particularly fond of?
An active community and an active founder is the secret sauce for NFTs. The projects that are doing well are usually people just vibing and having a good time – e.g. Sappy Seals and DeGods. And people like Wab and Frank, who give status updates on Twitter and go on podcasts and all that stuff. It gives people a feeling of trust knowing that the person behind the project is showing up daily and putting in work.
At the moment, I am not sure if there’s projects I’m fond of, but I’m looking at a few, for sure. Of course, these are big investments, but collections like Moonbirds, DeGods and VeeFriends are ones I’m looking at.
Truthfully, I’d rather have no NFTs for a while and build up the capital to get one I truly believe in than to throw money at the one people think will be the next big thing.
If there’s one thing you’d like to stick in the mind of the person reading this, what would it be?
Become a creator. Seriously. Consuming content is always seen as a bad thing, but if you’re able to take that consumption and turn it into your own type of content, then all that learning has a purpose. Everyone has the ability to become a creator – what most people lack is patience.
Things can happen fast
It just takes a long time
There could be one day, a year in the future
Where all the work with no results, suddenly pays off pic.twitter.com/dsNp00WOEG— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 10, 2023
Quick-fire question time!
What fuels you?
Knowing that whatever I’m doing has the potential to grow – a long-term vision, in other words.
One unusual fact about you?
I can spin a basketball on my finger for a few minutes – should have done it while I was typing this!
What do you do to relax away from Web3?
Play basketball, work out, meditate, and hang out with family.
Things to start doing:
🔴Going on media with intention
Thinks to stop doing:
🔴Scrolling mindlessly
Take charge of what you consume, before it consumes you pic.twitter.com/H07jnk4IBD— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 4, 2023
You can invite three people, real or fictional, to dinner. Who do you choose and why?
Alex Hormozi, Iman Gadzhi, and Andrew Huberman because of their expertise in finance, business-building and neurobiology respectively.
What is your purpose in life?
Help myself whilst simultaneously helping others.
How can we follow you and your work?
Twitter and newsletter are the best ways to stay up to date – and just you wait, this podcast on the way will be something you’ll want to follow for sure!
Who said it had to be all at once?
Stop overwhelming yourself with impossible tasks
Most people are not working as hard as you think
Just work a little harder than last time pic.twitter.com/N7IFsku87r— Flourish (@flourish_firm) January 6, 2023
There’s dozens of content creators within the Web3 space – several have probably come to mind for you just now – but Flourish stands out in a unique way from all of them. His candid nature, friendly demeanour and sheer level of activity puts him in rarified air amongst his peers.
Every comment, he replies to. Every thread, he takes part in. Every high-value Twitter Space, he’s listening, taking part and writing recaps. It’s no wonder why he’s grown so quickly in such a short space of time.
Flourish is an indispensable font of daily wisdom, motivation and advice. I have one simple piece of advice for you, the reader. Follow him; you’ll thank me later.
To keep in touch with Flourish, follow his Twitter and subscribe to The Flourish Note.
