It takes a long time to achieve clarity because if you haven't done anything yet, written no articles, posted no notes, created no courses, you don't know what you like doing.
And of course, what resonates with your audience and what is doable in the time you've got.
It's a lot of mucking around in the fog, like you say.
I've only recently got clarity on what I'm doing (including a resource for paid subscribers with each long form post and writing my first asynchronous course) but again, once I've done this for a while and looked at whether it's worked, things might change.
Everything you write, Ben, feels that way. I enjoy and learn so much from your posts and since I’m fairly new to figuring it out they are a great help.
As I have found myself in the natural moment of lull, this is reminding me to go back through my own work and let it speak back to me to see what really resonates and let it inspire the motivation and dormant drafts.
Love this - I’ve been a serial course enroller for over a decade and I still find it difficult to not click on all those free webinars. I know the drill too - the free webinar will be at least a quarter sales pitch for the online course (at the $597 or 997 price point, of course) but I seem to have this fear of missing out on that next great idea to will change everything 🙄.
It's so easy to take the easy way. But the only way forward for a life full of integrity is what you mention here.
If I could break it down, it's all about becoming the version of yourself you want to be. And so every day chip away at those hard questions, and you finally return to yourself. Just a tiny bit clearer.
such a beautiful piece. We keep blaming creators for chasing empty metrics, but the platforms are designed to make clarity unprofitable. An unclear creator buys more courses and produces more noise to feed the machine.
This was beautiful and on point, I will come back to re-read it now and again. I loved many parts, including this "Let the work show you who you are" - essentially the point of my recent "not a brand" post.
It also reminds me of this:
Rumi said “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
"The fog has its comforts. When you’re unclear, you can stay in motion without ever moving forward. You can experiment endlessly, switch directions when things get hard, and call it curiosity. But most of the time, it’s avoidance." This landed. Spot on and ouch.
Thanks Ben, I needed to read this today and I’m so guilty of over consuming content and getting curiosity overload. I am also so used to going deeper at any opportunity, clicking the hyperlinks to read more about the references and thinkers referenced in the articles and find myself lost in deep research. As I read this I wondered why there were no hyperlinks , no CTAs (well very few), very little noise!!
You were helping me stay here, stay focussed, read the full article and it worked!
It takes a long time to achieve clarity because if you haven't done anything yet, written no articles, posted no notes, created no courses, you don't know what you like doing.
And of course, what resonates with your audience and what is doable in the time you've got.
It's a lot of mucking around in the fog, like you say.
I've only recently got clarity on what I'm doing (including a resource for paid subscribers with each long form post and writing my first asynchronous course) but again, once I've done this for a while and looked at whether it's worked, things might change.
That’s exactly it. Getting clarity takes a lot of work and the main thing is to find joy in that process
That was first class, I read it twice. Lots of excellent insights and what felt like truth. Thank you Ben, much appreciated.
Thanks Kai. It was written from the heart
Everything you write, Ben, feels that way. I enjoy and learn so much from your posts and since I’m fairly new to figuring it out they are a great help.
Thank you Lulu. That means a lot
Damn, friend. You have been nailing them lately. Sounds like you are following your own "aha". Nice work.
As I have found myself in the natural moment of lull, this is reminding me to go back through my own work and let it speak back to me to see what really resonates and let it inspire the motivation and dormant drafts.
Love this - I’ve been a serial course enroller for over a decade and I still find it difficult to not click on all those free webinars. I know the drill too - the free webinar will be at least a quarter sales pitch for the online course (at the $597 or 997 price point, of course) but I seem to have this fear of missing out on that next great idea to will change everything 🙄.
Oh yes, you are an ideal customer for some😉
Thanks for the read. Clarity is here.
It's so easy to take the easy way. But the only way forward for a life full of integrity is what you mention here.
If I could break it down, it's all about becoming the version of yourself you want to be. And so every day chip away at those hard questions, and you finally return to yourself. Just a tiny bit clearer.
such a beautiful piece. We keep blaming creators for chasing empty metrics, but the platforms are designed to make clarity unprofitable. An unclear creator buys more courses and produces more noise to feed the machine.
This was beautiful and on point, I will come back to re-read it now and again. I loved many parts, including this "Let the work show you who you are" - essentially the point of my recent "not a brand" post.
It also reminds me of this:
Rumi said “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
Clarity doesn’t come before action.
It comes from action.
"The fog has its comforts. When you’re unclear, you can stay in motion without ever moving forward. You can experiment endlessly, switch directions when things get hard, and call it curiosity. But most of the time, it’s avoidance." This landed. Spot on and ouch.
Thanks Ben, I needed to read this today and I’m so guilty of over consuming content and getting curiosity overload. I am also so used to going deeper at any opportunity, clicking the hyperlinks to read more about the references and thinkers referenced in the articles and find myself lost in deep research. As I read this I wondered why there were no hyperlinks , no CTAs (well very few), very little noise!!
You were helping me stay here, stay focussed, read the full article and it worked!
Thank you 🙏
That is interesting that you say that, because I really did want this one to be sleek and slimmed down with as few distractions as possible
Great post. Lots to think about. . . Combines two bit of great advice . . . Keep it Simple, No wasted words . . If a word isn't working dont use it