Welcome to my YouTube Journey—a place where I share the story of creating 1,000 videos in 1,000 days. This journey is more than just uploading videos; it’s about building consistency, embracing challenges, and learning every step of the way. Through this challenge, I’m pushing myself to develop discipline, overcome obstacles, and unlock my full potential. If you’re curious about why I started this challenge, you can learn more on my Entrepreneurial Journey page.
It all began on March 25th, 2024, when I uploaded my very first personal YouTube video. Looking back now, it wasn’t great—but I hope you’ll see that we all have to start somewhere. This was my starting point: creating presentations, presenting them to the camera, and putting them out into the world—all while speaking in English (which isn’t my first language; I’m from The Netherlands).
When I began, I had no idea what I was doing. I would create a presentation, turn on my Loom, and present it to the internet, uploading the video to my YouTube channel. To make the video a little better, I used the free version of CapCut to cut out all the silence and mistakes. For thumbnails, I relied on Canva, thinking that posing in the video and grabbing a screenshot with the title overlay was a good approach. Looking back, it was definitely a bit rough, but hey—everyone starts somewhere, right?
After uploading my first video, 24 days later I decided to step up my game and try something new: sitting in front of my camera and creating an entire video without a script or presentation. It was a huge step for me, and although it feels awkward to watch now, it was a pivotal moment in building my confidence as a YouTuber.
Once I had uploaded 28 videos, I created my first YouTube Journey Recap video, where I also introduced my new camera: the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 with the Creator Kit. This is the camera I still use for all my YouTube videos today.
At the beginning of my journey, I made the mistake of mirroring my image in my videos because I liked how I looked. However, I quickly realized that this meant I couldn’t properly show something on my phone because it was mirrored! After a few days, I decided to switch it around, and it took some getting used to. Now, when I show my phone in my videos, everything is clear and visible, just as it should be.
The 50 Videos Later Recap Video:
After video 50 I kept making the videos where I was setting in front of the camera and talking straight into it. But on May 31, 2024 I tried something new, the confidence that I built sitting in front of the camera now went to another level because I tried to film my first ever “vlog” room tour video. I owned a lot of items back then, I don’t think I have counted my total items back then. But when I’m now looking at it, I decluttered a lot of my items haha.
After the youtube video I made also a very cool video about my iPhone Setup. This is now already very old because my phone has changed a lot since then. But it was still I think a very valuable video for people to get started with making their phone less distracting.
After this video I went back to making presentations again. I wanted to show more information and I thought the best thing I could do is go back to making presentations and presenting that on the internet and trying to make better thumbnails. So that is what I did from video 70 till video number: 103.
In video 80 I opened up more about my self improvement journey and showed also the things I wanted to improve. It’s also the video where I have changed my hairstyle, it had a lot of ego in it and now it’s just a little bit simpler. The time I’m writing this it’s even simpler: 6 MM on top with a fade on the side (and yes it’s sounds simple but 1 time in Thailand they really screwed up my haircut, haha). I also talk about building a Uniform that I later implemented into my life, I like it very much.
The 100 Videos Later Recap Video:
In video 100 I already made plans for the improvements I need to make, and especially what I’m going to do in Thailand as-well: VLOGGING. And in the video I also talk about: Changing up the scenes. That is what I did in video number 104, where I sit with a very cool angle in the backyard of my parents house. This was all possible because I bought a magnet for my camera, so I can basically stick it everywhere to create a cool shot.
By now I already learned a lot from doing youtube everyday and uploading videos everyday. My english was already way better then it was in the beginning. Also the momentum I had with my videos is what I really liked and especially the routine I had around it. Film a video in the morning, edit it right afterwards and upload it to Youtube. Some days I was fully booked with things to do so that made it possible to make more videos in one day and then have a day off to do other things I needed to do. I found ways to keep uploading consistent and I don’t wanted to already lose my streak that I have built. I made a few videos in the backyard to try things out, also working a little bit on color correction and learning that within CapCut to find a style I wanted to go for with my camera and the total look.
This one was pretty raw:
This one was a little bit to much with the colors:
This one is the color correction I still use today, only made slight changes and improved it a little bit to make it even better:
After these videos I went back to making the presentations. In video 122 I made another change in my content, not a big one but for the total look of the video It looked I little bit better. I switched to a white background in the presentations and not a dark color, I know, BIG MOMENTS.
The 150 Videos Later Recap Video:
The next big step into my Youtube journey was quitting my vacation job. I was a lifeguard for almost 9 years in my local swimming pool. It was a nice job but way to comfortable. So I made the decision before I go to Thailand that I will quit my job and never go back. I also changed my room layout a little bit so there was more natural lighting in my videos and that is what you can see in the new thumbnails as-well.
The next big video I made was a new updated Minimalist Room Tour Video. The confidence I have in this video compared to the other Minimalist Room Tour Video is insane to see. Also that my english is already way better. It’s also nice to see that there is a big difference in the items I have in my room. That you can truly see how I constantly ask myself if something gives me value or not, and if not I will declutter it. This day I owned 170 items in total. That has changed a lot already, you can see that on my Minimalism Journey Page.
After this video was uploaded the next chapter of my Youtube Journey began: VLOGGING in Thailand. And that already went pretty good for my first try if I say so myself. I also made new thumbnail designs and the daily vlogging phase of my Youtube journey has started.
The 200 Videos Later Recap Video:
After the 200 videos later I changed my thumbnails again to a new better design. This design is what I now still use for my videos and I like it a lot. I have 2 different designs currently for my Youtube channel.
Thumbnail design 1:
Thumbnail design 2:
I think this looks pretty professional and I like it as well.
Another big moment after video number 200 is that I started creating Short form content. I started doing this after video number 202. That is also the day that I switched to CapCut Pro to make my videos better and also use way more functions that I need within the program.
Video 239 was another big day for my Youtube channel. I bought a new extra camera for my videos, the Insta 360 X4. This is a camera I’m going to use more for the action shots in more extreme conditions, sometimes it’s pretty hard to film with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 while doing something, like riding a scooter. With the insta 360 X4 it’s a little bit easier because you can reframe the content later and don’t have to worry about the shot, just stick it with the invisible selfie stick in the air in 360 filming mode and you can focus on riding your scooter haha!
After I upgraded my camera I also became more aware and interested in upgrading my video game. So I went to the next level to make animations within my video to structure it a little bit more. I like the animations in my videos and also the sound effects I now have within my CapCut Template. I made it very easy for myself in the editing so I only have to drag & drop it into my timeline to structure my videos way more.
The 250 Videos Later Recap Video:
Now I’m still on the trajectory to Vlog everyday. I’m now back from my trip from Thailand and trying to figure out how I can make it work back in The Netherlands. Because one thing I want to keep in mind is that I want to respect my friends, family and loved ones. I may have changed as a person in Thailand and got new perspectives on how I want to live. But now when I’m back I don’t want to point my camera in everyones faces haha. So this is another challenge within my challenge to make the overall 1000 day challenge work.
I’ll continue writing on this page in the next big milestone or pivotal moment.
Let’s go champs!