chronology of a pathology (how clinically insane becomes your superpower)

Hi .

So here I was chilling in my garden chair, catching 3 rare rays of sunlight while re-reading every solopreneurs’ cliché bible “The 4-hour work week” by Tim Ferriss, when I suddenly got jealous…

And I mean JEALOUS…

At his “CHRONOLOGY OF A PATHOLOGY” intro to his book.

Well.

You know me: I see, I like, I steal, so….

Here’s my own version of Tim’s remarkably entertaining & ridiculously unconventional success story.

Hold on to your coffee, we’re gonna GO ALL OUT TODAY.

By the end of my way-too-may words, you’ll cheerfully say fuck it in the face of everyone doubting your path.

I mean it. (you can do this)

This newsletter shares the ridiculous sequence of events that led me to become the following:

• First woman to shatter the "no women policy" at a German production company

• Top graduate with 9 honors in a Spanish university program I was told I wasn't ready for

• Editor of an IKEA commercial while still a Master's student

• Producer of the winning video for Google's national "Call to Innovation" contest

• Post-production specialist editing voice talent in 3 languages I don't even speak

• Pioneer who convinced a German television station to allow remote editing during COVID

• Co-director of a documentary about a nearly-homeless guy that screened in German cinemas

• Copywriter whose sales page was declared "the best of 2024" (by me AND others)

• Content creator who built a 1,000+ LinkedIn following in under 6 weeks without posting nudes

• Creator & marketer of a professional GIF course selling to 6% of my list

• Video editor whose film breakdown went viral in 2015 (long before “Internet famous” was a legit career plan)

• Professional rule-breaker who maintained parallel careers in dairy farming & video production for 7 years

• First-time entrepreneur producing 90+ pieces of wall art - mostly cringy girl boss quotes - in 3 months (scoring a grand total of zero sales)

• Self-taught designer & photographer of holiday homes with (approximately) zero formal training

But where do I begin…

Fall 1990.

My mom thinks tracking her temperature is a reliable way to not make babies.

Summer 1991.

I prove her wrong (hi).

1991-1993.

She raises me as a single mother. We move around the country for her work. I’m a rockstar baby:

Always on the road.

1996.

My mom tries reading me bedtime stories, but I keep correcting her words.

I snatch the book from her hands and start reading her the story - word for word (with a smug look on my face).

I’m 4.

1997.

I skip my last year in kindergarten and get into elementary school at age 5. The teachers are sceptical, but I know how to read anyway.

(my mom had me tested)

1997-2006.

I work hard on becoming the villager’s nightmare:

Raising havoc at the local dairy farm and leading the 2 younger farm boys into trouble.

• Stealing boats

• “Borrowing” sheep to go on walks

• Testing cows for horse back riding (due to an acute lack of actual horses)

• Raising money to save cows from the slaughter house (we got as far as 10 euros)

• Locking the farm boys into trash cans and getting locked into the chicken’s stable in return

Good thing I’m small & skinny - and continue escaping through the chicken flap (works well until age 13).

In & outside of high school, I get into athletics and win a few races -

Not because of physical strength or talent (the other kids are older & bigger than me) -

but because 2nd place sounds like a giant waste of effort.

1998.

My writing skills become Exhibit A in a nasty custody battle. My father's lawyer argues 'a 7 year-old couldn't have written letters like these' - forcing my elementary school teacher to testify in court that yes…

I really am that gifted.

First time my writing got me in trouble. Wouldn't be the last.

2010.

I graduate high school as the youngest of my year and need to get OUT of Germany, my family home, and German expectations. I flee to Spain. Don’t know the language or the country.

Oh well.

Guess I’ll find out.

2011.

After having travelled the country, worked as an Au pair and fallen in love with culture & people, there’s no way I’m settling for Germany again:

I’m dead-set on studying in Madrid.

Tiny issue:

I understand, but still don’t speak Spanish -

my local language teacher tells me I won’t make it (perfect start).

Still 2011.

Against common sense and people advising me otherwise, I apply for studies in Audiovisual Communication at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

I get in but the truth is…

People were (almost) right.

The first semester is tough.

I’m struggling to keep up with my Spanish, and lock myself into my shared flat for solid 6 months.

My proudest accomplishment:

Writing a paper about the Roman heritage of the Spanish language - and listing “fancy complex words” like “estantería” (bookshelf).

I’m still sad I didn’t get to see the face of my prof reading……

After an initial period of creative awkwardness, I get praised by my professors for writing “better than the locals”.

(hehe)

2014.

My best friend at university introduces me to 3 nerds with a startup idea: "Google for doctors."

They need a promotional video for Spain's Google contest "Call to Innovation". The team of a neurologist, engineer and (I forgot the other one) have the brains…. but lack the storytelling skills.

We create a 3-minute video with ridiculous budget, minimal experience, and 1 brutal deadline.

What do you know - we win the contest. The team’s invited to California!!

"Medroom" (now Savana Médica) secures millions in funding and revolutionizes medical data analysis across Spain.

I'm still in my second year of university (and pretty clueless we just helped launch something big).

2015.

I graduate with 9 honours top of my class.

What up, 2011 Spanish language teacher.

Oh, and I get interviewed by a blogger about film techniques after my video breakdown of a popular movie goes viral.

(Note to self: Maybe don't answer interviews drunk)

2016.

I graduate my Masters in film & video editing and get freelance work editing a commercial my prof directed:

For freaking IKEA.

I then accidentally get a job for a Spanish video production company dubbing kid’s stories kids in Italian, Portuguese, English and French.

Spanish youth’s unemployment rate? 60+%.

(most of my fellow graduates were lucky to get a job at Mc Donald’s)

Fall 2016.

I move back to Germany, and, well…

My ambition meets small-town reality.

Germany is Germany, and every day you breathe needs to be covered by health insurance…

So when I visit the employment agency for bureaucracy reasons, they take one look at my credentials and advise solemnly:

"Change careers ASAP. Impossible job market here. You can work in a call center until you figure something out."

Right.

My solution: Milk cows at 6AM and plot my next move.

(remember me managing mischief at the dairy farm? It’s time to give back)

Spring 2017.

I apply to exactly one company in town… that just so happens to be the most-wanted production film production company around.

Thing is I don’t know that yet…

What I also don’t know is the next thing they’re famous for:

A notorious “no-women policy”.

God bless my ignorance (I get the job).

I later learn my new colleagues at the TV station were jealous af – apparently getting hired there was a rare privilege.

Cool I guess?

My new schedule:

Farm work at dawn, Spanish company remotely, 9-5 by day.

(Sleep optional)

Spring 2019.

After 2 years and a peak 267 hours-month at the film production company, sleeping in my car in front of a police station and pulling 17-hour shifts at events in an editing container (wihtout counting the cows), I find out that I’m the only person in the company holding a university title, while also being the lowest paid -

and continuously getting shit from my colleagues for being “hired for being my boss’s type”.

Instead of directing commercials, I’m stuck teaching the interns directing the commercials how to fix their mess in post, and lent out to edit news on television to make the company money (them keeping 75% of the profits).

On a Friday, I confront my boss. The next Monday, I quit.

Making company history as…

The first woman to get hired AND the first person ever to quit the firm.

Summer 2019.

After my 3-month non-compete expires, I start freelancing for the same television station I'd been lent out to – only keeping the full profits this time.

Word spreads. I secure another TV station through reputation alone.

Suddenly I'm the "most called editor in town" – both a job and a title I don’t want (but hey I’m racking up clients to survive).

Between days on the news, I start working with a journalist on a documentary about a nearly-homeless guy.

It would take 3 years to complete.

2020.

COVID hits.

My friend calls me out: "You're the only person I know who is actually happy about this pandemic."

Am I that horrible a person?

Turns out I am…

Finally left to my own devices (no forced socializing and small talk on the job), I nerd into HTML, motion design and build website between the occasional editing gig.

Remember my colleagues sneering at me for getting the job for being hot?

I’ll show you hot…

And teach myself bellydancing.

To Eminem.

In my Nikes.

Conclusion: the 9-5 world suddenly looks so optional…

2021.

Karma put a pause to my happiness: it’s my time to catch COVID.

Worst timing ever: I’d just secured an editing gig on TV that was traditionally reserved for employees only……

Naturally, I don’t feel like passing it to another editor.

I research my options and convince production to let me work remotely – becoming their first-ever home-based editor.

(think public broadcasting in Germany. That’s huge)

High on Ibuprofen, I’m fighting to hit broadcasting deadlines. Little do I know this is gonna be my last big project…

Before walking away (yet again).

2022.

I speed-teach myself photography for a real estate project and continue building graphics between television gigs.

(Still milking cows at the farm)

Remember nearly-homeless guy?

Our documentary finally premieres in local cinemas – my co-direction, graphics, and editing making it to the big screen despite…

A budget that barely covers coffee.

(yay)

2023.

I finally got enough of freelancing, corporate and the news.

I say "fuck it" to the real world and build a personal brand on Twitter. Start a blog and a newsletter (with little idea what i’m actually up to).

During the upcoming year, I teach myself copywriting, platform strategy, marketing & basic automation while continuing freelance work. I flood the platform with GIFs and meet cool people.

Still unable to answer what I do for a living……

2024.

X’s algorithm tanks. It’s time to pivot (yet again).

I hire a team (a software engineer & a sales coach), build & launch a GIF course, and start over on LinkedIn from absolute zero.

Build 1,000+ followers in six weeks… And meet more cool people. Start working with clients from the Internet.

I learn AI (love-hate relationship). Double down on copywriting.

I keep failing upward with remarkable consistency (or so they say).

2025.

So now you’re telling me LinkedIn tanks, too?

Well. Time for self-reflection, really…

After jumping around 17+ creative fields, it low-key hit me what’s been there all along:

The skill that made my mom grin at age 4, got me in trouble at 7, earned me honors (and disbelief) in Spain, and now allows me to keep pursuing the path for insane people…

→ Writing words that make people do stuff. ←

(hehe)

The secret to my success?

Knowing when to walk away.

From exploitative jobs, limiting beliefs, dying platforms, and paths that others insist you must follow.

In 2025, I’ve doubled down on email copywriting, focused on my newsletter (and that of others), relaunched my course (Valentine’s edition) but well…

What’s next?

I DON’T KNOW YET (and that’s exciting part).

I’ll do what I do best: keep writing my own rules.

Will you?

But the real reason I’m telling you this:

I want you to stop taking crap.

I’m first-hand proof that you

1. Define your own success and expectations.

2. Can choose to walk away from people and situations that will never serve you.

I haven’t been unemployed since age 14… believe me when I tell you -

There’s always a way.

So, …

Stop settling for average.

Walk your own path.

xx Lessa

PS - What expectations do you choose not to live up to?