What’s your ultimate goal when trying to write? Or trying to produce videos? Or make podcasts? Or take pictures?
Everyone's answer will be subjective and distinct — my answer, is I'm trying to make it a habit. I’m trying to incorporate it into my daily routine similarly to everything else that I do regularly. My morning stretches, making my fancy Drip Coffee in the morning, going to the gym, doing my work, etc. I want and need content creation to just become second nature, so I'm trying my absolute hardest to just push something out as regularly as humanely possible.
I try to stay away from being too laser-focused on content creation for money-making (although that is something in the back of my mind). I’m convinced if your sole focus on any endeavor is money-making — you will ALWAYS be disappointed. Content creation is a long haul.
Ali Abdaal (Youtube Productivity Guru) preaches regularly about the actual way to build a secondary income stream from content creation. The sad but true reality of the matter — is that all good things worth doing, take time…. Lots of time.
He managed to amass a massive YouTube following through the relentless pursuit of content creation. Content creation needs to be about one thing and one thing only — creating content. As soon as your urge to create becomes driven by money (at least early on) you're setting yourself up for failure. Noone achieves overnight success or fame, and I can guarantee you that those who seem to have achieved success overnight — have been trying and failing for a VERY long time. Ali Abdaal had been creating content in many forms (articles, videos, podcasts, etc.) for well over 5 years before he was able to make a real income from it. That’s the real price of success — relentless effort.
You can scour the internet and yield endless results on any of the following topics:
- How to become a productivity expert
- How to Make Money Online
- How to create an online business
- How to quit your job and make 100k in 5 seconds (lol)
Do I need to go on?
The real kicker is coming — there is no BIG secret. The courses on the internet and these self-proclaimed “gurus” positioned to teach you how to make gobs of money in no time at all are only selling the messages that are most readily marketable.
Imagine you have two different people offering you two different classes:
Class A: “How to make a 6 figure living working only two hours a day” @ $5000 a class
Class B: “How to make LITERALLY NO MONEY AT ALL FOR A COUPLE YEARS then maybe make some money later on if your consistent” @ $0.
The average consumer is choosing Class A — Every. Single. Time. Hell, if I didn’t know any better, I’m also choosing Class A.
Class A is so much more palpable because there’s the promise of instant gratification. Class B is a lesson in delayed gratification.
It sure as hell isn’t true for the large majority of content creators, but content creation is a damn grind of constantly pushing out content for the sake of creation. I guess such is the plight of the artist (lol I’m not an artist).
NOONE wants to hear (let alone buy a course) telling you that you have to sweat and cry for years pushing out content that most likely no-one will read, view, or listen to. No-one wants to hear that their “brilliant” and “insightful” writing probably isn’t that good RIGHT NOW, but if they stick around and keep grinding, it will most certainly get better.
Class B is the class that your really signing up for — and I think it applies to not just content creation, but life in general. All good things come to those who wait. And it is she who is patient, who will ultimately arrive at the end goal. Class B represents a shift in focus from the fruits of your labor to a focus on the labor itself. Again, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment if you are only ever creating content so you can make the big bucks. Focus on the art of writing, or podcast recording, or video producing, or whatever your respective creative medium is; and just keep pushing out content. Don’t bog yourself down with whether or not you think it is good or bad (barring the ridiculous and offensive) JUST KEEP PUSHING CONTENT.
Do what you love and the money will come. Focus solely on the effort, on the endless and tireless pursuit of creation, and I PROMISE YOU, you’ll get to where you want to be. It won’t happen last all fast, nor will it necessarily be lucrative, and hell it will probably look a lot different than what you imagined that success would look like. But keep at it, and you will get there.
Class B is shitty news, but c’mon — the internet is full of enough fluffy BS. Isn’t it refreshing for some realness?
KEEP ON CREATING