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⚡️ Stop planing: This story can change your life
Hey 👋 Creator! I used to have a bad addiction: Planning 🫣 My brain liked the happy feeling from coming up with new ideas, making long lists of things to do, and watching lessons on different subjects. But when it was time to actually produce content, nothing happened. I would usually blame the way I was doing it or my template in Notion, and would go back to watching lessons and reading books. What ended my addiction? This story of two creators (actually, it’s a story of two fishermen, but I swapped them for creators so you can better relate to the story) 👇 The first creator was a proper planner. He headed straight to the local camera store for the best gear he could afford. New fancy camera, new premium lenses, new filters, and a new MacBook. He maxed out his credit card because some dudes on the internet called it an “investment.” And that’s exactly what he did. Right? And from there, he spent hundreds of hours reading up and watching videos on everything there is to know about filmmaking and content creation:
He bought books, courses, and digital products related to this topic. And of course, he was watching the successful creator channel every night for hours, learning from the best of the best. After 6 months of preparation, he felt like he was ready to create and finally find new clients. So the next day, he started calling and contacting all the local companies, offering them his services as a full-time content creator and filmmaker. But after 100 calls, he didn’t get a single client. Each of them already had a freelancer or an agency they were working with and didn’t need another one. So what happened? Turns out, the second creator got almost all these local clients. How? One day, the second creator grabbed her camera and her lens and started creating videos just for fun and for her portfolio. She knew nothing about cinematic looks or sound design. After some videos, she realised that her videos weren’t as good as those from her favourite creators. So she sat down, watched some tutorials, and started implementing new knowledge immediately. She improved one video after another. Step by step. She asked family and friends if she could film their weddings, birthday parties, and other events. She didn’t buy any new gear until then. She just created with what she had, and often she got very creative about it. One day, her cousin’s boss called her and asked if she could make a small corporate video for his company. She did it and received a really cool reference and a little bit of money. She reinvested this money in better gear. And then clients started coming in, one after another. 6 months later, she was the go-to creator in her area, and almost every company wanted to work with her. Sure, the first creator felt really productive by watching YouTube tutorials and reading books. He was “learning” after all, right? But there was one difference: practicing and feedback. Every day, the second creator filmed something, tested her new skills, asked people for feedback, and improved if something didn’t work. This way, she became so skilled at her craft that every company wanted to work with her, and nobody knew anything about the first creator. The moral of the story? Start taking action as soon as possible! When you find yourself looking for the perfect gear or watching a new tutorial, stop. Instead, grab the gear you have and start creating. *** I read this story back in February 2018. Up until that point, I had planned to start my own business later in August. I wanted to be all prepared, watch some tutorials, and make some extra cash for new gear. But after reading this story, I was like, “Screw it! I’m doing it right now and figuring things out as I go.” So on March 17th, 2018, I jumped into the freelancer life, and man, I never looked back.
Hope catch you next time. It'd mean the world to me. Open up your heart. Stay creative and free. |
SERGE BLACK
Become better creator, gain more freedom, self-control, and personal growth. Join my newsletter for a free tip every Sunday morning.
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