How I Came Across a Brilliant Idea — Kicking Consumer Habits
An idea is nothing without execution.
This is actually why I’m writing this article right now. I’m practicing what I preach so that I can show that the idea is not just another thought that amounts to nothing.
I’m solidifying the idea.
The idea came today when I forced myself to write notes on several educational videos I watched about sending cold emails.
I decided to write these notes for several reasons.
Reasons:
- I wanted to have these notes for quick reference if I needed to review these concepts later.
- Taking the notes would help me to absorb more information in the process of watching the video.
- The notes would help me identify and categorize the concepts that I have reviewed in the past.
For the most part, I wrote these notes for a way to organize my thoughts. Kind of the same reason I’m writing this blog right now.
Now for the last couple of weeks, I have really been thinking about my life, goals, and where I want to start building a brand for myself.
I know I want to build a brand for myself, but I always have this feeling that I have either nothing to talk about or I have no niche audience to speak with.
I feel stuck in not knowing what content to create.
I like video games, but do I really want to create content around just that?
I watch a ton of educational marketing videos, but do I really want to be the marketing guy?
So what happens is an endless cycle of me consuming all of this content. Stuff I like enough to consume for hours and hours, but feeling there is no place I want to create.
This is a huge problem for me. I don’t want to stop consuming this content, but I also need to start producing content for myself if I ever want to truly become involved in a community and build a brand for myself.
This is where my idea comes in.
I thought “I’m writing all these notes for an educational video, I should make these notes look pretty and share it in the comments. While I’m at it, I should do this for every educational video I watch today.”
And so I did. And it felt good. It felt like I was creating something valuable for people.
I thought again “People would see these notes and be able to instantly organize the main points all because I created this document for them.”
And that to me is the idea.
I have just stumbled upon a concrete way of kicking bad consumer habits. To focus on one niche and produce my very own content in that instant.
By doing the small task of writing notes and sharing them to the world, I am one step closer to being the content creators I love to watch.
The benefits to doing this then started rolling in my mind.
Benefits:
- Being focused on one video for a lot longer and one niche for longer.
- Enjoying one piece of content more because I will break it down deeper.
- The natural “good” feeling that comes when you give value to the world.
When I am in consumer mode, it’s such a pain in the ass to open up a google document and start writing notes. I have to have my computer open and listen to the video in a separate browser while I take notes.
This means I can’t ever multitask. Play video games while listening to podcasts or read a book as I walk.
I also can’t binge watch videos until I’m numb. I have to break down every video. In the time I can watch 10 videos, I may only get to 3 or 4.
It’s a lot of work. But when I push through the initial struggle to getting into creation mode I feel a weight has been lifted.
I enjoyed the feeling I got today every time I completed each video notes document and shared it in the comments. It gave me a feeling of accomplishment and reduced the numbing feeling of consuming.
At the end of the day, creating those notes may not help toward building my personal brand, but I do feel good in knowing I created something that may help someone.
I’m excited to execute more on this idea daily and curious to see where it will take me.
One more thought…
We have so many thoughts, ideas, and consume not only through media, but through everyday life situations. This is where a daily blog comes in handy.
Who knows, maybe someone can relate to my day and that is all the justification I need to organize all of my thoughts and share it to the world.
