Content Creation is a fun, but confusing journey.

If you do it, you know this:

For some reason, your content’s quality and how much you enjoy it varies.

Why is that?

Well, there are number of reasons - and I’ll be sharing them with you.

At the end of this newsletter, you’ll have a better understanding of

• why your content’s quality and mood vary

• how to keep the quality on a higher average

So, let’s go ahead and start!

1. Your mind makes what you feed it

That’s the first rule you should be aware of.

What does it mean?

Well - it means that to create better content, you need amazing influences (the more, the better).

Obviously, you shouldn’t consume all day. I personally take between 10 and 90 minutes every day just to consume consciously.

Consciously means not just mindlessly watching garbage media…

But finding media you’re actually passionate about yourself.

For me - that’s all kinds of movies and anime.

And not just watching/listening/reading - but observing it.

Take some notes, screenshot, recordings, just saving what you liked a lot.

I

• take screenshots when I love visuals/dialogue

• write reviews/thoughts about media that touched me

That alone can already improve your own style, visuals and vocabulary - it’s that impactful.

Now back to the original question - why is this rule connected to varying quality?

Well, quite simply, because you gotta keep learning and observing.

For Twitter, I can bet, you sit there sometimes with zero ideas on one day - and infinite on the next.

And that’s very likely because you aren’t consistently consuming content (and unaware of it).

If you have a great idea rush, maybe you watched a great video or saw great Tweets the day before.

Become aware of the Input-Output Reaction and take some time to learn daily.

Consume, what’s actually meaningful to you, not just the newest Dan Koe video.

If you master this part, content quality will already greatly improve.

2. Your Ego makes your quality vary

Ego doesn’t mean being a narcissist - if you’re apart of more than 99% of the population, your Ego is gonna be working that way.

So, what exactly does the Ego do?

Let me explain it with my experiences with this cycle:

I’ve just made a great video, I’m feeling amazing, like I’m at my best. The next day, I make another video, trying something new. I finish it and…it’s pretty average.

I’m feeling kinda disappointed now. My last video wasn’t my full potential. So the next day, I put in a bit more work. And - the video is good! Definitely better than the last, more creative too.

So, I make a couple more videos which are pretty good. Then I get an amazing idea. I’m excited as hell. I work all day and make it and it turns out incredible. I’m so proud.

The next day, my new video is pretty average again.

See the cycle?

And the thing is - I already expect this cycle now. For me, the bad videos are just as important as the best videos. It’s always a learning experience - a stepping stone towards an amazing creation.

So - what’s the lesson with this point?

On the basis, your content’s quality will vary, it’s uninevitable.

But don’t let that become a limiting belief yet.

You can still enjoy making the meh creations.

How?

By raising your standards and keeping a consistent amount of effort.

And that’s what we’re gonna be going over in the next point:

3. More volume, more time, more effort

Since March, I’ve made 18 short films.

And right now, I’m planning to start a challenge for myself to make a video every day.

Crazy right?

Well, at this point, it’s natural to me.

I fucking love making videos - and I adore every part of it.

But even with my long experience with it, I still make a lot of mistakes.

And to make it easier to understand, here are some quick Lessons I’ve learned:

Lesson 1: You will be happier when you put in that extra time and effort.

One of my biggest mistakes was always not listening to my Intuition, which told me to improve something.

Whether I wanted to

• refilm a certain part

• change the music or dialogue

• add sound effects or some visual

A lot of times, I didn’t.

And I always regretted it.

Whenever I watched the video back, I got this weird disappointed feeling.

So, now, I just do that extra work.

If I want to do it, I’m gonna do it, even if it means working an hour or two more.

This is perfectionism - but in this sense, it’s entirely for your benefit.

You don’t really have a time limit as a creator, so what’s the rush?

That force that just wants to finish is not the one to rely on - it won’t satisfy you.

I always feel fulfilled as hell when I just do what my Intuition says - even if it means working through all my free time.

Extra Effort brings Extra Fulfillment.

And back to the point of varying quality:

Putting in that extra effort for every piece of content will rise the quality of every single one.

The best creations are always those you work a long time on - and put the most effort and love into.

Lesson 2: Thinking of what you want your project to be is endless motivation.

You won’t always have good days.

On some, you have no ideas and no motivation to work.

On others, you might have an idea, but no motivation (and vice verca).

On days with neither ideas nor motivation it’s alright to take some time off and fill your creative storage with some content - that’ll lead to new ideas and refilled inspiration.

On days with an idea but no motivation, my favorite technique is just pushing through. I just know it’ll feel satisfying as hell when I finish.

Whatever the day is, you gotta keep these 3 words in mind:

- Flexibility

- Patience

- Persistence

They are at the top of the principles that will give you the most satisfaction.

Be alright with taking a day off to learn and refresh your passion.

Be alright with taking twice as long as you thought.

Be alright with working even through struggle.

And for all 3, thinking of a greater vision for that project is always highly effective.

A vision of an amazing piece will make you happy to struggle, wait and work for a longer time.

4. Know the cycle, but act upon it too

Now, after all this information it’s easy to say.

“Oh great. That means I can put in less effort for those projects since I know they’ll suck”

But that’s not what I’m trying to share here.

If you only wait for that one best piece to be passionate about, you won’t enjoy the others.

It’s always important to actually make projects you care about. Now whether they turn out better, worse or the same is less important.

As long as you know you put in the work and tried to realize an idea you were interested in - you’ll be satisfied.

But even then:

When you have that one project you know will be a banger, give it extra love.

Be willing to work through all your free time for that special one.

And for that, I highly recommend to do the following things. All of these will make you love work and be happy to do it a lot (helped me a lot personally).

Refreshing motivation and looking back

This is what I’ve been doing for the past weeks a lot.

• Watching movies from my childhood I loved

• Watching my own videos back

Watching childhood movies always brings back what I actually love about videos:

• the amazing storytelling

• banger soundtracks

• incredible visuals

• cool characters

A few weeks ago, I watched the 2011 animated movie Rango and I loved it!

Now, whatever your reason of pursuing a journey is - there is always that one special creator/book/movie/song/etc. that started it off.

Watching that kind of stuff back once a week or month is one of my infinite sources of motivation.

But the second way is pretty unusual right? Watching your own content back?

But it’s actually highly effective!

When I watch my content back it’s not to say “oh, the good old days” 😂.

I do it to

• A: become aligned with what I actually want out of content.

• B: See what I did right for my favorite pieces.

For one of my videos, I thought:

“Okay, my last ones were good, but not amazing. For this one, I’m gonna do what I did for my favorite ones: A lot of action, cool characters, amazing music and way more invested time”

And guess what? That turned out to be highly effective.

I made my best video (of that series) so far!

Becoming realigned with your original love for content is probably the most effective way to stay persistent.

Visualization

Again, I’ve preached this a hundred times before - but it’s the habit that brought me the most ROI.

A few months ago, I struggled to work for hours a day, since my motivation always ran out.

Now, I do it way easier.

I have my folder of short movies I make. In the 3 years before March 2023, I made about 23 videos.

Since March, I’ve made another 23 VIDEOS! In just 2 months, I doubled my amount of videos.

And this is simply because my mind is constantly refreshed, full of ideas and motivated.

And Visualization was a huge part of that.

So, if you’re not doing it already, go watch this video! It’ll introduce you to this amazing concept in the best way possible:

Go watch that here or on YouTube - it’ll make a huge difference in how you do your work (and how motivated you are for it).

5. Don’t attach yourself to one video

Well, at least not always.

And here’s why:

I see people every day, whether in school or on Twitter be so attached to one piece.

• “My masterful thread failed completely”

• “My best project and nobody cared”

• “I put so much effort in and I got a C”

All this.

Here, I’m telling you not to do that.

Because it’s just another way to unnecessarily ruin your mood and how you move on your journey.

Here’s the truth:

One piece of content is irrelevant. So is one grade, one Offer or whatever.

Of course it hurts when people don’t appreciate your effort.

But that never means it was useless.

For me, it’s always most important I enjoy my videos myself.

If you know you put in that effort and are proud of it, why would you let some outer metric or opinion ruin it?

And you know what?

After my worst creations (where I put the most work into), a lot of times my best ones came.

Because you realize what people don’t want and have new lessons to use for the next piece.

Don’t underestimate how much failure or experience can do for your content.

So, at the end, I just wanna let you know this:

You do need a balance for everything.

The best content comes when you utilize and balance all 3.

So, never forget to

• consume amazing content

• experiment on your new projects

• be inspired by amazing creations and visions

If you manage all 3, you’ll utilize some of your highest potential.

Keep that in mind, watch the Visualization video (If you haven’t already) and I wish you an amazing week.

Until next Saturday!