Howdy Reader!

No Creator News Live last week. I was at Disneyland, getting the best arm workout of my adult life.

This trip was supposed to happen back in March. Social Media Marketing World was in Anaheim, right next door to the parks, and I was speaking there. The plan was simple: give a talk, then go see THE mouse. Then my back went out, and the only ride I took that week was from the couch to the heating pad.

So I moved the tickets and the hotel to line up with Lou Mongello's Haunts and Heroes event. Lou has spent years building a community of Disney fans, and he knows how to throw a party. We had a special breakfast inside the park before it opened, back when the streets were empty, and nobody had dropped a churro yet. Then Loki showed up and gave Lou a little surprise.

Then they gave us an hour on Web Slingers before opening. Me and Abs, one ride vehicle, no line. We rode it nine times in a row.

Ride one, I was Spider-Man. Ride five, I was Aunt May. By ride nine, I was a 54-year-old man flapping his wrists at a screen like he was trying to dry his nails. My arms were jelly. I could barely lift them for the web-shooter gesture.

Then the ride gave us a badge. For our arm workout. Disney looked at nine rounds of me flapping at a screen and decided it counted as exercise. Finally, a sport I've been training for my whole life: I've been pretending to shoot webs out of my hands since I was a kid.

After ride nine, a very polite cast member asked us to move along. I walked off quietly cursing Spider-Man like J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man caused world hunger. Spider-Man caused traffic on the 5. Spider-Man is the reason I dropped my churro, because my new rubber arms couldn't lift it to my face.

Once the feeling came back to my arms, I kept thinking about why that morning meant so much to me. Part of the answer goes back to Momentum earlier this month, where they had us write down goals for the next year. I wrote two: publish a book, and build a community.

Lou is a big reason both made the list. Being a creator is hard. A lot of what you make goes out into silence, and most days nobody around you understands what you do. Lou didn't need me at his event. I bought a ticket anyway, because buying it tells him somebody sees what he's building and wants more of it.

The best way I know to support another creator is to show up. Buy their course. Go to their talk and be a smiling face in the audience (one nodding person in row three does wonders for a nervous speaker). It costs you a little, and it means more to them than you'd guess.

That's what the book is about too: the soggy, uncomfortable side of this work, and the people who get you through it.

So who's a creator you could show up for this month? Hit reply and tell me. I'd raise my hand to cheer you on, but I still can't lift my arms.

See ya around the interwebs!

-Jeff

P.S. That second goal is already moving. Creative Clubhouse is the community I told you about earlier this month, and I'm still gathering the first 12 founding members. There's no payment now. I'm just gauging interest, so clicking the link only raises your hand (easier for you than me right now). Count me in for Creative Clubhouse​