Things are moving.
After a long 12+ months,
the stress of building a business and generating income has subsided
(in my own mind more than anything)
and I can finally breathe again!
When I'm breathing, I approach content creation much more purely
(authentically, cough cough)
because I have no expectations of myself.
For me, content takes 3 main forms:
- writing
- short-form video
- long-form video
Writing is an important part of any healthy routine (imo)
because it gives us a chance to catch up with ourselves.
I do it every night before sleep in a little turquoise journal
and I really should be doing more of it in the mornings
because it helps me stay on top of what I'm actually working on from an external perspective
(as I'm technically writing for an audience).
I've also been integrating morning walk VLOGs into my routine
(you can learn a bit about it and try it yourself with the 7-Day Authentic Video Challenge)
which is also a great way to catch up with myself each morning
and process what's going on in my head and heart.
As basic as it is, having a little portfolio of short-form video content start to build itself like this actually feels really good, because
- I'm learning what people like most from me (look at the view counts!)
- I can see the results of the habit.
As I build out this word-of-mouth content agency, my brand's only offer now is to basically support people to get started exploring their own voice and vulnerability through video content,
so this content also supports that aspect of my brand in a frictionless way.
No expectations!
And then there are the long-forms.
Long-form video is a great way to implement strategic thinking and planning into creative efforts.
I try to delegate the editing on these now, but quite enjoy piecing the stories together--
I get to use skills that don't show up in content writing or short-form video.
For example, this deep-dive into ayahuasca was a 6-month collaborative effort that started as a podcast episode and evolved into an entirely different beast:
I'm pretty proud of this one. Stefano and I worked hard to pack it full of the information most people have never heard of when they think about ayahuasca.
It was a huge undertaking and I think there are many important takeaways.
Meanwhile, it's also a beautiful time to be alive indeed when just as uniquely valuable can be an hour-long, unedited conversation!
This live-streamed episode with Michael sums up what we've been learning by working together for months now.
(Tangentially, the material here is also an important case study for my work, too!)
For anyone curious about the meeting point of personal development, brand development, and video, there's a lot to takeaway from this episode as well.
(Both of these are available audio-only on your favorite podcast app, just search for Sovereign States of Mind or click here for all the app links)
I'm excited about the next few episodes of the podcast, as they will also be epic quasi-journalistic endeavors into other obscure but fascinating topics.
Above all, regardless of the medium, format, genre, etc,
creation is the most rewarding activity I know.
Any kind of bad mood, negative attitude, or funk can be remedied by spending 45-minutes creating something.
It's a habit we could all use a little more of in our lives,
no matter our goals
and the best part is that there need be no expectations.
Just create.
