ποΈβπ¨οΈ A New Vision for Off the Grid
Welcome to off the grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing all their clients. Hello, and welcome to off the grid. I'm your host, Amelia Hruby. And on this show, I share stories, strategies, and experiments for sharing your work and making money online with radical generosity and energetic sovereignty. Today, I'm sharing a bonus episode in celebration of my recent book launch.
Amelia Hruby:I just self published a book called Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media. And the first thing I wanna say is thank you to every single person who has purchased a copy of the book. Self publishing is a big project and a kind of risky business endeavor in some ways because it takes a lot of time and energy and money. And on the other side of the book, you never know if it's gonna resonate with readers. So I'm really grateful to everyone who's purchased a copy who's taken their own risk of like, will Amelia's book be any good?
Amelia Hruby:Am I gonna like this? I suppose there's a risk inherent in every single purchase, but I like to think of it more as an outstretched hand. I have stretched out my hand with my book in it toward you, and so many of you have stretched out your arms in return and purchased copies of the book and taken them into your homes and shared them with friends. And I've gotten so many lovely messages about the book from amazing listeners like you, such cool people on the Internet, and I'm grateful. So thank you.
Amelia Hruby:All of that said, there are still plenty of copies of the book available to purchase. And if you buy a book bundle, you can come to the very first off the grid retreat. It's happening live on Zoom, November. And the only way to attend or get the recordings is to purchase a book bundle. At the retreat, I will be joined by some very special guests.
Amelia Hruby:My friends, Grace Allardyce and Varina Burrell will be there to guide us in somatic practices as our retreat days begin. I will also be joined by my friend, Taylor Elise Morrison on the third day of the retreat for a conversation, a dialogue around softer visions for success. And I'll be teaching two brand new workshops, things I have never taught anywhere else before. And honestly, I've prepped the materials and they're so good. The first one is on how to feel better on the Internet.
Amelia Hruby:And the second is on the keys for making your work resonate. So I know it may sound a little full of myself, but you know what? I'm gonna honk my own horn. Is that what they say? Toot my own horn, say nice things about myself on the Internet, regardless of the colloquialism.
Amelia Hruby:The retreat's gonna be amazing. The workshops are great. The guests are great. Amazing people have bought bundles and have their tickets. We're gonna have breakout groups so you could actually meet other off the grid listeners and not just hear me alone in your car or your kitchen every week.
Amelia Hruby:And we've also got giveaways that are gonna be awesome. I have amazing goods from worthwhile paper and Kristen Drozdowski. I've got journals from Rachel of cyclical roots. I have a really beautiful tarot workbook from Cecily of Typewriter Tarot. I have a tarot deck from Ray Serafina Barker, and I'm still collecting some more goodies that you might win if you join us on one of the retreat days.
Amelia Hruby:So go ahead and go to the show notes, yourself a book bundle. It's only $40 USD for the ebook bundle, which includes the ebook, the audiobook, a cool phone wallpaper, and your retreat ticket, or it's $50 USD for the print book bundle, which includes the paperback, the ebook, the audiobook, two exclusive postcards, and your retreat ticket. And honestly, if I were just selling a retreat, I would charge even more than this. So it is a deal. It's gonna be great.
Amelia Hruby:I'm so excited you're coming because you're coming. Right? I really hope that you're joining us. And you know what? Let me just give you a little moment right now.
Amelia Hruby:I'm gonna put on the off the grid theme song for a moment so that you have some time to head to the show notes, grab that link, and then I'll be back with more info on the new vision for off the grid. Okay, friends. I wanna tell you about something that happened to me, for me, while I was writing the book or really right when I finished writing the book. I've been creating off the grid for over three years now. We have released over a 120 episodes, plus bonuses, plus clubhouse, plus all of the live gatherings I've done in the interweb.
Amelia Hruby:It's really become a beautiful community and a body of work. And I noticed as I was writing the book that my vision for off the grid was shifting. It was actually expanding because it didn't just feel like marketing without social media anymore. Right? I'm not sure it's ever been just about marketing without social media, but that's certainly a way that I've talked about the show.
Amelia Hruby:And as it evolved, I realized that there was much more of an ethos here. I had more to say. I wanted it to be for more people, and I felt like Off the Grid could really embrace all of the listeners of the show. Some of whom have businesses and some who don't. I have always said that all of my work is about getting free, whether that was the selfies for self love practice groups that I taught back in 2018 or the feminist affirmations that I created an illustrated journal of in 2020 or the work of off the grid where we question big tech and we opt out of extracted platforms together.
Amelia Hruby:It's all about getting free. And I do think that self employment can be a way of getting free. I do believe that working for yourself can be a site of liberation. It isn't always, but it can be. So I think that it fits in the broader view of off the grid, but I don't think it's the only thing off the grid is about.
Amelia Hruby:So over the summer, I sat down and I was like, what if I wrote a vision statement for off the grid? Like, what is this really? And I took inspiration from sister Carita Kent's 10 rules, which if you haven't read them, I highly recommend it. I will link to them in the show notes. And those are rules for an art department.
Amelia Hruby:They're rules for making art. But what if I had rules for a podcast? What if I had a list of 10 rules for the world of off the grid? I asked myself that question, and I ended up writing a 10 vision statement for the show. So in this episode, I want to share that with you.
Amelia Hruby:If you are a very savvy listener, you might have already spotted it on the website. It's been there since I think August. And if you wanna read along as you listen, you can go to offthegrid.fund/vision to see the full vision statement. But it feels important to share this here on the podcast feed where it all began as well. And I think that it really ties into my book launch because Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media is a book about a lot more than creative business.
Amelia Hruby:There are certainly mentions of employment and self employment and tech tools that I use in my business in the book. But the book is for anyone grappling with social media, and I think that off the grid can expand a bit too. Now if you're a business owner listening to this, don't worry. We're still gonna talk about marketing. That should be evidenced by the feed this month where I have two episodes about email.
Amelia Hruby:So the marketing is still here, but I invited myself into a bigger picture, and I wanna share that vision with you today. So pull up the site if you wanna read along offthegrid.fund/vision or cozy into your couch if you're listening from home or sit up a little straighter if you're driving your vehicle. Whatever your best listening posture might be, I invite you to join me there. And let's dive in to the new vision for off the grid. Off the grid is a rallying cry to break free from the attention economy and reclaim your agency.
Amelia Hruby:It's a vision of the Internet where we create, connect, and make money online without extractive algorithms. Here's our 10 manifesto. Number one, your attention is sacred except on social media. Extractive social media algorithms have eroded our capacity, creativity, and communities through digital surveillance and behavioral manipulation. Renegotiating your relationship with social media or exiting the platforms entirely is the first step toward reclaiming your attention and cultivating new creative patterns.
Amelia Hruby:Number two, your life is a universe. Your creative practice is an ecosystem. Your business is a portal. Everything is interconnected. We have an interstellar perspective, and we map our creative ecosystems to remember how they benefit from depth, diversity, and regeneration.
Amelia Hruby:Your business is just one piece of this picture, but it's a crucial piece because it's the portal of exchange from where you are now to where you want to be. Number three, relationships are everything, but not the only thing. Social media promised to connect the world, but it made us feel more isolated than ever. Rather than catering to algorithms, we center people and relationships in everything we do. We also remember that our work has to be great to activate a network of support.
Amelia Hruby:So we're always improving our craft and spreading the word. Number four, creativity yields multiplicity. No niche required. People are not personal brands, even if we do love a good brand. We embrace multiplicity, nonlinearity, and diversity in many forms.
Amelia Hruby:We center specificity, but we'll never tell you to niche down, pick a single medium, or build one signature offer. Number five, art and business are friends, not enemies. We don't believe art and business are in an either or relationship. Instead, we embrace the secret third thing and craft reciprocal cycles of transaction and transformation where our art business can be of service to ourselves and others. Number six, self employment is a spectrum.
Amelia Hruby:Your only options aren't have a full time job or have a full time business. Self employment is one way of reclaiming agency around money, work, and our day to day lives. It's a rejection of the norms around working for the man, and it can take many forms. Number seven, success is a cycle. We've never discovered a milestone or a metric that makes you a success forever.
Amelia Hruby:We connect with our deeper desires to cultivate a sense of ongoing satisfaction. And we remember that there's no success without failure. So let us invite you to fail more often. Number eight, big tech won't save us. We don't judge any tech you use, but we opt out of tools from Meta, Google, and Amazon whenever we can.
Amelia Hruby:As long as digital surveillance and ad sales are their primary monetization methods, their services will always be extractive. Venture capitalists prioritize profits over people. So privately owned, publicly traded tech companies aren't the answer to social problems. And AI isn't the answer either. Number nine, radical generosity plus energetic sovereignty equals the only, quote, unquote, secret.
Amelia Hruby:So many people will promise you the secrets to creative success, but the only one we've figured out is to offer our creative work generously and share it with autonomy. That means working on our personal relationships with self worth, visibility, value, and money, and stepping away from apps that mine our data, extract our resources, and steal our work. And finally, number 10. Freaks, weirdos, softies, geniuses, and dropouts are welcome here. Racists, supremacists, meanies, and haters are not.
Amelia Hruby:We don't function in the business as usual way. We welcome your unique brilliance and discernment, but we don't tolerate hate, discrimination, or spam. Okay. That's the new vision statement. How did it feel to hear?
Amelia Hruby:What do you think? I am so open to your reflections. You can send them to me through the Off The Grid website. Just go to offthegrid.fund/contact, and I welcome you in my inbox through there. It was a really clarifying and expansive process to write the new vision statement, and I am excited to see where it guides the show and all of the off the grid offerings in 2026 and beyond.
Amelia Hruby:For now, of course, that's gonna be about my book, Your Attention is Sacred except on social media, which you can purchase at offthegrid.fun/attention. I hope that you'll get a copy. I hope that you'll come to the retreat, and I hope that there are many, many more episodes and conversations and workshops in our future. Thank you so much for tuning in to Off The Grid and sharing in this new vision with me. And until next time, you know where you'll find me, off the grid.
Amelia Hruby:Thanks for listening to off the grid. Don't forget to grab your free living social media toolkit at offthegrid.fun/toolkit. This podcast is a softer sounds production. Our music is by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter of Making Audio Magic, and our logo is by N'Atelier Studio. I'm your host, Amelia Hruby.
Amelia Hruby:And until next time, I'll see you off the grid and on the interweb. The grid bed.
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