I took some time off to reflect on some things. Reflect on the content I have been putting out. To reflect on what would be the next topics, but I wanted to make this next round more personal. I feel like sharing life is something that makes life better than ever. So for Season 2 of the BLOG, YouTube, and PODCAST I am going to be rolling out inspirational and motivational content that hits a bit closer. I will be directly including you into my personal journey. And it all starts... here and now.
So the first season of everything was more than I expected it to be. Between the realization of how much useful information I have to share and the hard work of getting that out in different forms of content, the work was exhausting but also fulfilling. Staying on schedule every week and then promoting everything was a challenge in of itself. But the creation process was no joke. And this is something that all "creators" I am sure can relate to. The chefs, the musicians, the artists, the performers, writers, and etc. can relate. The rush of energy from the completion of something that is yours and ready for the world is amazing. But I found myself doing something I think many people do.
I found myself being held hostage by my numbers. The ambition to reach more people, to get more listens, more views, and just more support was taking away from my purpose a bit. My intentions is to succeed but part of my success is reliant on my audience, the community I am building. The more impact and support I can provide the people watching, listening, and reading the more fulfilling I felt the work would be. And while I would normally say there is nothing wrong with this, as I have been growing so has my perspective. And there is a few things wrong with this, if it is where you are getting the fuel to keep going better than ever.
Because I was basing my success on the results of more people, I needed to get more people. And because I needed to get more people for fuel when i did not it worked almost in reverse of my intent. The effect was that I felt more of my energy was actually being drained. And I did something that i feel is dangerous for us to do, but again many creators and non creators do it. I honed in on my numbers. I zeroed in on what my statistical results were and it changed the energy a bit. Instead of just putting out good episodes, great short reads, killer pictures, or super focused videos I began to think about putting out content for numbers. But once you start doing things because of ulterior motives, or for numbers/monetary value you lose your ethical standing almost.
I began looking at my social media stats even closer, digging deeper into the analytics. But, I was not doing anything with the information. I became so obsessed with growing my product that I started missing opportunities to be grateful. Grateful to not only make the products but to have listeners and viewers...at all. I went back to making my moves based on what could help, not what would help and also get more views. And I am glad I did.
I realized that sometimes our ambition to do more and be better can blind us to the opportunity to be grateful, to be thankful. And I wanted to share what I encountered because of the hyper aggressive focus towards the numbers. I am sure there is at least one person that is reading this, that is refreshing their Instagram page or their Twitter to see how many more interactions they can get right now. The numbers are cool but they are not everything. Do not use the numbers to gauge your success. Your success should be gauged on what you wanted to do and what you get done.
Do like I am going to do. Stop looking at the numbers. Whether you decide to stop for a day, a week, a month, or a year the choice is yours, not anyone else. I have decided to take a more hands off approach this second season of content. I will still be promoting and pushing my product, but I will not be actively looking to see the numbers grow. When they grow, they grow. The important thing is that I know I am still making things to help others, even if it is just for a handful of people.
This is where the inspiration and motivation kicks into high gear for you. Remind yourself of your motives. Of why you do what you do. Disconnect from the results of your work. Connect back with the opportunities you have been blessed with. Be thankful for your gifts, but also be grateful for your fans. And keep going. Keep putting out product even if it seems no one else listening or watching. Because there is someone, somewhere and they are benefiting from what you are providing. So keep providing it how you are, how you wanted to.