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Content creation is a fascinating thing. The creators I respect most are those who continuously make the things they love. Starting out, 99% of creators do this (myself included), but as creators grow, it can be hard to hold onto this. As my platforms have grown, I’ve felt increasing pressure to create what others love rather than what I love. To be clear, I’m writing this article as a reminder to myself as much as it is a reminder for you: it’s crucial to resist the urge to conform to what others want you to do.
The simplest way to remind yourself of this is that it’s your platform for a reason. Years ago on YouTube, I apologized for not uploading a video in a while. I genuinely felt bad, like I was letting people down. And while part of that is true, one comment on that video stuck with me. One of my subscribers pointed out that I didn’t need to apologize; that it was my channel and no one else’s. To this day, that comment has stayed with me. After all, they’re right. While I love making content and felt bad that I hadn’t made a video in a while, if I wanted to never upload again, that’s my own prerogative and within my right to do so. I think the reason these feelings tend to arise for creators is that they eventually start viewing something that was a passion or hobby as a business instead of just a creative outlet.
There’s nothing wrong with running businesses, but I’ve found there is a problem in trying to make everything a business and this is something I struggle with. It’s hard for me to find and do activities I enjoy simply for the sake of enjoying them. As I’ve gotten older, I routinely feel guilty for doing things simply for the sake of “fun.” Luckily, this doesn’t extend to activities with friends, but whenever I’m alone I find it hard to relax and play video games, watch a movie, or do other “normal” things without feeling guilty about the opportunity cost of what I could be doing that’s more “productive.” Similar to these feelings, as my platforms have grown I’ve felt increasing pressure to graduate them from something that’s fun to something that generates revenue. On one hand, this is great. On the other hand, this is a slippery slope to turning something that energizes you into something that drains and stresses you.
Content creation reminds me a lot of stand-up comedy. Starting out, while nerve-wracking, isn’t that bad because your expectations are likely through the floor: you have no idea what you’re doing, your jokes are half-baked, and most importantly, you don’t expect anyone to be there watching. But as you improve, things begin to change: the house begins to fill up, you can’t explain away flopped shows due to inexperience, people have grown to expect things from you (a specific level of humor, specific jokes, etc.), and venues are selling tickets with your name on them. Because of this, it’s no wonder why comics who reach this level prefer to workshop new material at certain locations, unannounced, and prevent the crowd from recording. They’re protecting the creative process from the weight of expectation.
I don’t mean to complain, I’m just trying to share my thoughts on how I’ve been feeling. And maybe more importantly, I think the first step required in changing how I’m feeling is identifying what I’m feeling and why. Writing proves useful for that. After a lot of reflecting, here’s the beauty in what I’ve now internalized: if you keep doing what you love, you’ll eventually win.
Anything of value that I have achieved has come from working at something for a long period of time. The way to create content for a long period of time is to continue making things I love. The tricky thing about content creation is there is no “apex” the way there is in the NFL (i.e., winning a Super Bowl). What’s fun about this is you get to define your own apex, and I’ve defined mine:
Grow a large audience while making the things I love.Making the “right” things comes from first making enough things. There’s no need to over complicate things, I just need to find things I love and make content about them. If I can keep this in mind, and make content for long enough, I think I’ll land somewhere pretty decent.
Here are some points for future Kevin to remember:
Nothing is that serious
Creating is better than contemplating
Not everyone will enjoy your content, and that’s okay
Where you can find me online:
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Loved the reminder as we grow to keep creating things we love. Don’t just do things because you think other people expect it.
I’ve struggled with this as my own audience grew, especially since I’ve changed from engineer to engineering manager and wondered if people would still follow me if I wrote about that.
Great reminder and thanks for sharing, Kevin!
Nice read! Thanks for sharing.