Walt Disney had the following to say about his movie-making process. And I believe we can (and should) adopt his mantra in what we create.
“We don’t make movies to make money. We make money to make more movies.”
There’s a simple reason you’re getting burned out. There’s a reason your spinning your wheels on an idea but somehow can’t make yourself take the next step. You’re too damn concerned with what everyone else thinks. What you think everyone else wants to read. What you think they want to buy. What you think will sell. What you think will be shared and liked and bookmarked and favorited.
As my wise friend and branding colleague Paul Jarvis recently said:
“Trying to follow a formula, script or tactic to get more traffic, sales or followers never works in the long run because it screams inauthenticity. Your goals and desires echo in everything you do, even if you think they don’t. So if you’re focused on going viral or being popular or selling something, it’ll show. Copying what others did to gain success just makes you sound like an echo instead of a voice.
What makes the content you create awesome is that it’s a story told through your unique lens. It’s you, telling a story. It’s you not giving a fuck about anything but telling that story. It doesn’t matter if it’s a blog post about banking software or a video on how to make nut milk, the content will be better if you let your real personality shine.
Your genuine personality, draws people in. Writing to be liked or writing that follows a formula does not. It’s that easy.”
So, then, the key to loving what you do may be a hell of a lot simpler than you think. It may simply mean saying, “fuck it” and instead of doing what you think they’ll love, doing what you know you should do.
I’ll repeat: Instead of doing what you think others love, do what you know you should do. (tweet this)
Write what flows naturally. Develop a product that you believe in. Say what you want to say. Do what needs to be done.
Walt Disney has it right. The best ideas can be forged by first, simply giving a damn about what you do, and not giving a damn about what everyone else may think.
There’s no better time/place/economy than today to start creating the thing – those things – we want to see exist.
For more reading check out my post: Fuck Up, Make Art.