3 Obtainable Goals Every Content Creator Should Strive For
If you’re playing the long game, these will make you better
There’s a reason people fail.
A set path to failure can be identified from the very start. We tend to ignore the low probability of success when goals are in plain sight.
The problem is, while goals are noble causes to strive for, there’s often no consideration for what it takes to get there. It’s like going backpacking for a couple of nights.
If you don’t bring enough food, you’ll have to stop the trip early. Overstuff your pack, and you’re carrying 50 pounds up a steep mountain.
When you don’t make it to the top, you wonder why. You didn’t make it obtainable for yourself.
Content creators do it too. If you want 2022 to be “your year,” keep reading.
Slow down and study hard
Textbooks are for nerds, am I right?
All jokes aside, creators are students of the game. Just because you graduated university years ago doesn't mean you know everything,
The most intelligent person in the room listens the most.
They speak when they have something to add to the table, not regurgitate something somebody already said to look like they know what they're doing.
Now, we know this. We know it’s important to learn from those who have come before us. The thing is, some people are better at studying than others,
I’ve been building more content than consuming it for the past couple of years.
In 2020, I felt the pressure. It was like there was a steaming hot iron in my gut that would turn on and burn my insides if I wasn’t being productive. I guilted myself into shooting photos and writing blog posts about the most random things.
I didn’t create from a place of love; I made it because I felt like it was the only way to find satisfaction in my life. While I have rekindled my appreciation for writing in the past year, I’ve also refocused my attention.
Of course, I’ll keep building, but I want to read and study more this year.
The key difference is my productivity tolerance. I don’t want to feel bad about slowing down.
My advice: don’t feel guilty because someone wrote a book and you didn’t. It’s a fair feeling to have, but reading is just as productive as writing. Read that a few times for good measure.
How do you think the best writers learned to write? From the best writers. They found inspiration, then took that spark and used it.
Spend time in the library before you head to the lab.
Be 1% better every day
The good kind of self-improvement has a compounding factor.
The trick is to recognize what aspects of your life seep into one another. A school project with your kid can impact your work in the office.
When I played sports, the footwork drills I did at football practice made me a quicker outfielder during baseball games. No one skill, experience, or memory is locked into itself.
Now, plenty of people say, “oh yeah, just be 1% better every day.” It’s not so simple when you don’t know what it even means. Let me give some examples.
Improving by just 1% looks like:
Cleaning your roommate's dishes without them asking
Saying you're sorry and trying not to do it again
Taking an extra 2,000 steps per day
Writing for 10 minutes instead of 0
Cooking a meal when you’d usually go out
None of these actions, alone, seem significant, but what happens when you do something once, then again, and then all of a sudden it’s a habit?
When that 10 minute writing time becomes a habit, it becomes a part of your baseline activity. The next step is to be just one percent better and write for 12 minutes.
I know the math is off.
Here’s an action item: recognize the value in your day-to-day.
I know my failures in photography eventually got me the job I have now. Maybe not directly, but one photo led to another, and one picture ultimately got in the line of sight of an employer.
Being 1% better is a process, not a goal. Because once you hit a milestone, it’s time to strive after another one
Give in to a 5-year plan
Close your eyes and think of where you were last year.
How many followers did you have? What did your content look like? Were you proud of what you were creating?
Think of the current version of you. How many more email subscribers do you have? Do you still enjoy the process of creating?
If you don’t, it’s because you don’t do it on your terms. The only reason you create is that you want to make a career out of it. While it’s a great gig, it’s only a great one for a select few.
The rest get lost in a dark place that is hard to get out of. They create because they need to depend on their platforms' pennies to survive.
Here’s the hard truth: most content creators need a job. Heck, I have a job. Tie me to the stake or 24 hours, and I’ll yell it to the masses.
I'm proud of my job.
I’m also proud of the blog posts I put out. I’m pleased that I put my physical fitness at the forefront of my life, and I’m happy to continuously improve my mental health by seeking what matters most and deleting what doesn’t.
Giving myself time, aka, a five-year window to see any sort of financial results from my “side hustle,” has brought me so much relief.
Try it for yourself. It’s a hard pill to swallow. There’s a period of denial before realizing it’s okay to focus on an established career for a while before pursuing the life of a sole content creator.
Find your level on content creator contentedness.
Thank you for sharing great insights, Ryan!
As a content creator, I got some save advice from you!
Here's a list of my highlights that I really resonated with from this article and my notes:
> The problem is, while goals are noble causes to strive for, there’s often no consideration for what it takes to get there.
> The most intelligent person in the room listens the most.
✍️ Note: The wise listens more and speaks less.
> don’t feel guilty because someone wrote a book and you didn’t. It’s a fair feeling to have, but reading is just as productive as writing. Read that a few times for good measure.
✍️ Note: productivity tolerance. I really love the concept of slow reading and read really good things for many times.
> The good kind of self-improvement has a compounding factor.
✍️ Note: I really like and believe in the power of compounding effect!
> Giving myself time, aka, a five-year window to see any sort of financial results from my “side hustle,” has brought me so much relief.
Thank you again!
Reference: https://glasp.co/#/kazuki/?p=bRdWLnFhl2UCyAxXZFJ5