The Shift Started With a Name Change
Three months ago, when I first started my blog, it was originally known as “Plans2Action.” I don’t know how I got it in my head—maybe because I realized that every day I sat in traffic, I wasn’t getting paid passive income outside of my retirement and investing accounts—but I had the great idea that, when I created my first ever blog, it would help bridge that passive income gap.
At the time, it was an idea that got me to write whatever came to mind and hit publish.
I had no service, no book, no merchandise to sell, so this was pretty ambitious for someone starting at ground zero. I had no idea how I was going to bridge this elusive money gap, but that wasn’t going to stop me from trying.
The Persona I Started With
In the beginning of this journey, I stopped myself from trying to figure it out…
“Plans2Action’s” persona that I tried crafting it around was the “villain hiding in plain sight.” I was using Google Gemini to help me and I was struck with inspiration to write like a villain laying out their plans of chaos, routine, and being an inconvenience to everyone.
I hated it.
I know that I’m not a hero type, but calling myself a villain or a mastermind in training would turn my mood foul. It grew stronger when I made it through my first week of writing and I wasn’t getting much views, likes, subscribers, or shares.
Yeah, I know, sounds delusional, right?
I felt my soul getting crushed by another outlet outside of my mind-numbing job and the expectations of what “success” is supposed to look like.
I wanted to quit. I had quit a lot of things before:
- wrestling after a knee injury and fear of my “teammates,”
- supporting the Invisible Children program,
- quitting BJJ due to finances being tight and a back injury from working too much and poor lifting mechanics,
- and I had been a job hopper after staying for 6 months to 3–8 years with each job.
Every time I stopped something, I grew numb that I’d never stick with anything, and I hated myself for being a quitter.
“Winners never quit and quitters never win” hammered into my head until it was engraved as my default mode of thinking.
I’m a quitter. I’m a loser. I can’t do anything right. This blog is already a failure because I am a failure. What evidence do I have that says otherwise?
With writing? Even though no one was reading my early work, I realized I was publishing from a desperate lens, not an open or welcoming one.
This had been the wake up call that slapped me awake that I didn’t realize had whacked me to widen my eyes and thinking.
From Desperation to Curiosity
Somewhere between my first and second month, something shifted. I stopped trying to make my blog sound like a performance and started letting it sound like me.
I stopped writing to “capture” attention and started writing to connect.
That’s when Plans2Action stopped feeling like a name and started feeling like a costume I didn’t really like wearing.
I wasn’t laying out villainous plans; I was recording my life, my observations, my frustrations, my curiosities, and my hopes.
This wasn’t about action for action’s sake anymore. It was about strategy, thought, and reflection — not just “plans” but the archive of someone actively becoming something more than they ever were.
Why The Stratagem’s Archive
I can’t remember how I came up with The Stratagem’s Archive as my new name. I wanted to have “archive” in it, though I guess Plans2Action was lingering when I discarded it. Even though this sounds like some Helldivers fan page, it became something I ran with and grew.
And it sounded cool to me.
Eventually, the name clicked because it gave me permission to treat my blog as a living library rather than a sales funnel.
It gave me the space to be messy, vulnerable, and honest without forcing everything into a neat conclusion.
And ironically, when I stopped chasing clicks, the writing became easier, the posts more authentic, and the small but steady growth began to happen naturally.
Takeaway
This blog has become my record of showing up — even when no one was watching, even when my stats plateau, even when it would be easier to give up.
It’s proof to myself that I can build something slowly, imperfectly, and on my own terms.
And maybe that’s the real shift: not just rebranding a blog, but rebranding how I see myself. Not as someone who quits, but as someone who’s still here, building a portfolio, proof that I was done with letting fear rule what I did and didn’t do.
A Gentle Ask
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. Truly. Every like, share, or comment helps this little corner of the internet reach more people who are tired of cookie-cutter stories and want something real.
If this resonated with you, consider subscribing or sharing this post with someone who might need to hear it.
New subscribers get direct access to my newsletter, “Letters from the Void”, access to my manifestos, and behind-the-scenes projects I’ve been working on from the trunk of my car and in the dead of night.
When others are typically asleep, I’m awake in the stillness.
You’re not just reading words on a screen. You’re part of this archive, too.
Other Reflections Below
I’ve reflected on other things regarding finances, feeling worn down, and never enough in these posts below. Exploring them will show you more of the archives, and potentially help you articulate something you might have had trouble thinking on.
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