The "real story" behind my recent launch

What. A. Week.

Reed Between The Lines dropped last Wednesday and the feedback has been UNREAL.

Thank you to everyone who’s watched, liked, subscribed, and shared.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch episode one here on Youtube, or listen on Spotify and Apple.

(PS: I’m opening up sponsorships for the show, video and podcast. If you want to chat details, hit reply and holler at me. Let’s help you grow!)

Then we had the launch and birthday party in SF with 60+ friends and family.

We hosted the party at Louie’s, the same bar where I celebrated closing my 1st sales deal 10 years ago.

Annnnd I also launched the first ever Reeder merch 

Felt right making my favorite word the star of the first drop.

Oh, and episode two dropped with Nehal Tenany

She joined me to share how she went from 0-50k TikTok followers, her formula for creating hyper-relevant content, and how she handles imposter syndrome.

(Pauses to catch my breath.)

I’m not sharing all this to flex. I’m actually about to do the opposite.

I know as an outsider looking in, it might seem like I’ve got it all figured out.

We see others’s progress and think “Damn how do they do it?”.

And honestly, I’ll admit it. My ego loves when people ask me that. It’s not healthy, but it’s true. I know it’s pure ego.

But behind the scenes…

I struggle with self-doubt, anxiety, and protecting my mental wellness.

Over the past three months I questioned myself, doubted my abilities, and wondered if this is either the biggest mistake or best decision of my career.

What if I can’t pull it off?

What if the show flops?

What if I waste all this money?

All these negative thoughts sparked a spiral of damaging negative self talk.

I felt like I’d taken on more than I can handle. That failure was inevitable. That I should just give up. That all that previous success means nothing because I’m about to fail. It’s all about to come crumbling down.

There were some really dark moments that I’m not proud of.

But that’s exactly why I’m sharing them with you now.

Because nobody talks about this.

If you’ve felt the same or similarly, allow me to validate your experience.

No one is immune to it. It sucks.

But there are tools you can use to help prevent and overcome self doubt. that’s what I’ve had to do to protect my mental health while growing my career and family.

I know usually I share how to be a better content creator and marketer here.

But today I’m mixing it up.

What follows is my advice for becoming a happier, more fulfilled human.

Because I believe you can only do your best work when you’re the best version of you.

Take care of yourself, then the work takes care of itself. Here’s how:

3 tips for preventing and overcoming self-doubt:

1. Give yourself “space and grace”

My friend and show production partner, Chris Merrill taught me this.

I used to beat myself up for not being able to always handle everything perfectly.

I want need to be a present and patient dad, a supportive husband, a great marketing leader, a better creator, a more efficient business owner, a good friend… The list goes on and on.

My to do list is always growing faster that I can finish it.

Now I have to practice awareness and acceptance. When I feel anxiety growing in my chest, I tell myself,

I AM overwhelmed. I DO have a lot on my plate. And that’s OK!

Accept it and don’t deny it.

2. “See the problem”

Usually my anxiety comes from stress that’s been neglected for too long.

More specifically it’s because I have too many things to do, and not enough time.

Or because I don’t know how to solve an unexpected problem.

Like, we have no chairs for the set but we record in less than 24 hours… f*#$

When I have too much (which is 99% of the time, I list it out. I grab a pen and paper and write every single thing down.

Simply seeing everything I have to do

3. Return to your mission

When self doubt creeps in, I return to my mission.

I didn’t set out to create the most popular show. I set out to create a different show.

Something that’s never been done before. Something that inspires people.

Focusing on my why helps me block out all the noise in my head, and any external negativity.

This mental exercise swaps uncertainty for inspiration.

It reminds me I’m investing in my vision. And that the return is coming. Don’t give up or doubt yourself just because it hasn’t happened yet.

Remember, we’re all overwhelmed

We all have self doubt.

We all struggle.

I even talked about it with Nehal on episode two:

• Our experience with imposter syndrome, plus tips to help you overcome self-doubt

• How I balance career and family — and the intentional sacrifice I decided to make

• The family non-negotiables and the hard “reset” I had to do to balance my relationship with my career

Live update: I literally just got this text from someone watching my convo with Nehal while I’m typing this newsletter about vulnerability:

(You know it’s authentic because I would’ve picked a more flattering facial expression lol.)

My mission is to help you build a bigger, more inspired career.

I hope today’s post helps you right now, or give you tools you can rely on in the future.

Holler at you next Saturday,
Devin

PS: Today’s post took me ~2.5 hours to write. You can help me grow my newsletter by forwarding it to one person with a quick “You’ll love this newsletter. Definitely worth subscribing.”

Three ways I can help you scale your content and business

1. Want to partner with me? If you’d like to promote your business to my newsletter, LinkedIn, and podcast audiences, have me speak at your event, or create branded content, let’s chat. Hit reply to talk details.
   

2. Content That Converts Ebook: This ebook reveals over 30 plays for creating content that grows your reach, audience, and pipeline.
   

3. Content Strategy for LinkedIn: This ~1 hour video course shows you how to build your personal brand, create highly engaging content, and accelerate your career. Use code “CSR” at check out for the steepest discount available.

🛠️ Tools I use, love, and highly recommend

If you’re looking for ways to better manage and grow your business, here’s a look at my tech stack. (These are affiliate links but I would recommend without the commission.)

1. Launch or grow your newsletter with beehiiv.
   I use Beehiiv to write and grow my newsletter for two reasons: it’s easy to use and the growth features are incredible.
   

2. Use ClickUp for your project management 
   I use ClickUp as my project management system to manage my entire business.
   

3. Hit inbox zero consistently with SuperHuman
   I’ve been a customer for 2+ years and recommend it to everyone who’s looking to increase productivity and enjoy email again. Plus your first month is free.
   

4. Build or level-up your website with Webflow
   I recently started using them for web hosting, and now I’m moving all WordPress sites here because I like the flexibility.