We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Tinsley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

There are plenty of things that factor into being successful, like desire, having a vision, acting on those visions, persistence, and staying positive. All of those things are important but I think the most important one is never giving up. When something you’ve dreamt of gets shattered right in front of you it’s hard not to want to give up, but nothing good ever comes from standing around looking at all the broken pieces. You’re better off picking them up and putting them back together the way you want them to be. It seems like there are all of these “checkpoints” that you’re supposed to cross off to measure your success throughout your life, but I think success is measured in so many different ways and it is solely up to each individual to define that for themselves. I just turned 23 and I know people who are getting engaged, getting married, and even having kids. I know others who are joining the military, working corporate jobs, or just now starting their education. A lot of people still don’t have the slightest idea of what they want to do and that’s okay too! We are all on such different wavelengths. We all want and desire different things. Just because we aren’t doing what someone else is doing doesn’t mean we are behind in our lives. Comparison is hard and it can make you feel like you are failing big time. Social media also plays a huge part in comparison because it highlights everyone’s best moments. It’s easy to scroll through social media and think that everyone is navigating through life better than you are, so it’s important to remind yourself that direction is more important than speed. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get where you want to be as long as you never stop moving. Don’t be afraid to be a beginner. It’s okay to try new things and it’s okay to fail at them, but if you never tried you would never know. If you don’t believe that something is possible, you’ll prove it’s not. Once you choose hope, everything becomes possible! You might have to cross rivers and climb mountains to get where you want to be, but that’s all part of the journey. As long as you never give up, you will be successful.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a 23 year old content creator from Northern California. I started creating content as soon as I got my hands on an ipad in elementary school, however it wasn’t until high school that I started posting my creations. My content is primarily focused on my travels but I post all sorts of stuff like fashion, beauty, and lifestyle as well. Creating content was always something I enjoyed doing as a hobby but I never really thought about making it my full time job. After graduating high school I went off to college. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do yet so I decided not to declare a major right away and just worked on the general education classes I needed to take. About halfway through my freshman year I was diagnosed with chronic migraines. Little did I know that the months to come were going to be some of the most challenging of my life. I struggled for months to find something to help. There were times I thought I would never get better, but eventually I did. After many trial runs with all sorts of different medications I was gradually progressing. I started taking business classes at my local community college for my second year of college but when Covid-19 hit I decided it was time for a change in scenery. I continued classes online but I moved to Hawaii for a couple of years and that was the best decision I ever made. It was such a healing experience and I found some of the greatest friends I had ever had. I received an AA degree and an AS degree in business but I wasn’t super intrigued in what I was doing, so I decided to change my major. I sort of did a 360! I went from business to nursing. I knew it would be difficult but it was something I always wanted to do and I knew I would be happier. After my time in Hawaii I moved to San Diego, California where I finished all of my prerequisites for nursing last fall. I was feeling really burnt out with school and if my migraines taught me anything, it was that you never know how fast things can change. My time in Hawaii made me fall in love with traveling, so I’ve been taking some time off doing just that. My latest travels have been to Mexico, Europe, and French Polynesia. During my travels I have been working towards building my social media presence and taking content creation more seriously. Nursing is still something I would like to pursue in the future, but I want to chase my dreams a little bit first.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was in high school I started a YouTube channel and began posting on it pretty regularly. When people from school found out I got made fun of a lot, but I continued doing it because it was something I really loved to do. It took years of posting videos before one of my videos blew up, but it was pretty cool when it did. Fast forward to when I was in college. This is when I first downloaded TikTok. I hesitated posting anything on it for a while because I knew the same thing would happen, but eventually I gave in. Did I get made fun of for it? Yes. But was I having so much fun with it? Also, yes! It wasn’t until I gained somewhat of a following that I realized how much opportunity there is with social media. I started applying to all sorts of different influencer programs where I would get sent free products in return for an honest video review. I did that for a couple of years but was not making any money with it. It was really cool to receive so many free products but I knew there was so much more potential out there. As I continued growing my platforms, brands started reaching out more and more. It wasn’t until super recently that I was able to make my first coin through social media. Although I know there are tons of people who get more brand deals and higher paying ones, I am on my own journey and will get there in my own time. You have to start somewhere and you have to celebrate the small accomplishments along the way. Looking back to where I was when I first started doing social media in high school, I have come so far. I am doing some of the things that younger me only dreamt about which is crazy to wrap my head around. The best part about all of this, is that it’s just the beginning! This all circles back to success and never giving up. If I would have quite all the times I wanted to I would have thrown away all the amazing opportunities that have come my way. If you avoid failure, you avoid success. No matter how long it takes you to reach your dreams, it’s worth it! Regardless of what you do with your life, growth is not linear. Be happy with what you have while working towards what you want!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Something I think some non creatives struggle to understand is how big of a role social media and content creation plays in our world these days. My whole life I thought there was only one right way to live your life and be successful. I thought you needed to graduate high school, go to college, obtain your degree, and start working in the field right away. I thought it was only acceptable to travel the world and enjoy your life once you turned 65 and retired. There’s nothing wrong with that lifestyle, but it just isn’t for everyone, at least not for me. The more I tried to do those things in order, the more I realized I viewed life like it had all of these rules. I have now learned how far from the truth that is. However, the more I strayed away from the traditional life path, the more people had something to say. I have had people both online and in person tell me that the way I live my life is wrong. I have been told that I am behind in life or living in a fairytale. Some think I will never want a “real” job or know the importance of working a “real” job. In this day and age social media is about as real of a job as it gets in my opinion. Not all social media is good, but not all of it is bad either. As much negativity as there may be intertwined throughout it, there are good people fighting to make a difference. Social media has always been something I have enjoyed doing and since I also enjoy traveling it has given me a place to document and share my life. Now that I have the opportunity to make an income doing what I love I am going to keep working towards it! If it allows me to achieve my dreams I am going to do it! I don’t want to live my life based on what others think is right, moral, or good. I want to figure it out for myself even if I make mistakes along the way. I spend countless hours a day working on my content. Whether it’s my own personal content that I am creating for myself or content for a brand. Outsiders don’t see what goes into it. They only see a finished product, not all of the time it takes to create it. It’s really easy for people to judge you, but the more confident you are with yourself the easier it is to drown out their voices. And the best part is when you get to prove them wrong! One piece of advice that I have been given time and time again by people is to find what you love to do and make it a career out of it if possible. That’s what I am trying to do. Some people may call me crazy but what I think is more crazy is having a dream and not chasing it. We only get to do life once, might as well make the most out of it! Never give up on doing something you love because other people think you should. You are the director/ CEO of your life. Do what makes you happy and exist to inspire.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @aleextinsleey
• Linkedin: Alex Tinsley
• Youtube: Alex Tinsley- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpyjQ-XUHdoZhJzzYO4MHog
• TikTok: @aleextinsleey
• Email: [email protected]