Why "just start" is terrible advice

The reality of having no plan

Do you have a dream?

A dream to do more with your life. To achieve something important?

Maybe you want to make an impact. You want to start some kind of business, or some online type thing.

Dreams always begin with desire.

You desire a certain outcome because you see someone doing something which is attractive to you.

It’s aspirational!

This sparks a seed of hope within you that maybe you could do that thing as well.

You imagine how your life would look like if you started a project online and gained a following. You could reach millions of likeminded people around the world who liked what you had to say and showered you with amazing comments.

Once you have that reach - money, fame, status will follow. You’ll have brands wanting to pay you thousands of dollars to work with them. People will literally start sending you free stuff. That sounds pretty cool right?

This is the dream that is being sold to you online.

For a dream to seem achievable there are a few things which need to be set up.

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Number 1.

The outcome of that dream needs to have massive tangible benefits. For example wealth, popularity, status, sex, power. The usual things which humans crave.

Number 2.

Achieving that dream needs to seem easy. It is sold as “just taking a few small steps” the first of which is “just start.” Just start and you can figure it out as you go.

This is how you hook a complete beginner with a strong desire to achieve an end result. And this is where the dream begins to crumble and shatter.

This is something I’ve learned the hard way.

After pouring 2 and half years into a YouTube channel I’ve realised 3 things.

1. Not every niche can be meaningfully monetised.

2. If you don’t pick a niche a niche will pick you.

3. If you don’t have a clear goal you will be coopted by audience capture.

This is all my fault. I “just got started” without a guiding strategy which is why this advice gets to me.

Especially when it is top of funnel for a sales pitch leading to an online course. Just getting started leaves everything to luck. Maybe your first post will take off but most probably it won’t.

Most probably you will have to put years into this. People won’t tell you this because that’s not what you want to hear.

Although if you are reading this you probably have more realistic expectations than most.

It could be so much easier and faster if you followed a simple strategy, had a goal, managed your expectations and explored your curiosity.

I am not here to shatter your dreams I am here to keep them alive.

False expectations dashed on the rocks of reality die on impact.

Real expectations mounted on of wheels of genuine curiosity only continue to grow.

If you want to succeed you need a strategy, a plan and a vision. In school this is all done TO you. Sometimes it lands sometimes it doesn’t.

Now it is time to help yourself.

You have the power to strategise, decide and implement.

If you want to start a business would you start by going to the bank and asking for a loan? No. If you did they would ask to see your business plan and hear your sales pitch.

So why do people think it’s any different with starting a YouTube channel X page or newsletter?

Asking people for their attention is no different than asking people for their money. You have to give them a real reason to give it to you.

The first thing that you need to understand is that this takes time.

The best advice stands the test of time. Preparation is 80% of the battle.

Content creation requires a steady and consistent flow of content. Just making random videos or posts when you feel like it is not going to get you anywhere.

So here are 6 key strategies to use as guard rails when you first start out.

1. Do it for yourself - make sure your intentions are pure

The incentives for content creation or an online business are all money front loaded. Money is the reason to start, it’s the desirable outcome that fuels initial interest.

The reason you are thinking about starting is probably because you saw someone online who has the kind of lifestyle that you would like and they talk about how they achieved this by making content online. That’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But you are seeing the end result not the starting point. Most of the largest creators online today have been doing it for a minimum of 5 years. Many are already a decade in.

What’s their secret?

They enjoy it. They never started for the money. Because back when they started money wasn’t on the table.

What they don’t tell you is that they enjoy the process. They are drawn to that type of work and they have built up a set of skills to get them where they are today. Some of them don’t even realise this because it’s second nature to them.

Most people would love the salary of a CEO but there are very few people that would love the lifestyle and work routine of a CEO.

So As I mentioned in my previous letter this starts with imitation. Pick someone that you like and copy their style. If it’s a writer then write a blog post every day for a month.

If it’s a YouTuber then keep a daily video Journal to learn how to talk to the camera. If you want to start a podcast record voice notes.

Do it for yourself. This is not for public consumption. This is your grass roots lab work. An artist will go through hundreds of copies before they start to improve their technical skills.

Doing this will give you valuable data points to plan the launch strategy of your online business/creator career.

1. Do you enjoy the process of creating articles, YouTube videos or podcasts?

2. Content creation requires a constant and consistent flow of content. Can you find a way to make it sustainable. i.e can you fit it into your existing life or do you need to make significant changes?

3. This is a project which forces you to learn quicker. If you want to start a YouTube channel but don’t know how to edit, trying to edit a video is the best way to learn.

This does not need to be seen by the world. “Build in public” is advice for intermediate to advanced entrepreneurs who already have a vision and are executing on a strategy.

Do this everyday for one month. Assess the results and assess your progress. Did it give you meaning? Did it make you feel connected and fulfilled or stressed and anxious?

This is important because when you start to build in public whatever you feel now will be magnified 10 fold.

2. Consume, Digest, create

Saturate your mind with valuable ideas. Read books, watch lectures. And take notes. Curate your algorithms to feed you organic wholesome non processed information. Avoid content that relies heavily on retention editing or manipulation tactics.

We already discussed transcending consumer compulsions in the previous letter. This is a critical and necessary step for a beginner creator. Behavioural change starts with thoughts first. What you consume both physically, as in your nutrition and mentally, as in the information, has a massive impact of the types of thoughts and ideas you produce.

If this seems overwhelming just focus on the basic fact that you need to go from passive to proactive consumption.

Do not allow algorithms to serve up content that does not serve you.  Go after new ideas, take notes, rehash and become aware of how your body responds to this process.

3. Vision, Strategy Execution

Once you’ve practiced the process of creation and you’ve built a habit of healthy consumption then it’s time to build your vision. Create a strategy and execute on it.

These three core principles are what will decide the fate or success of your creator journey. I will write a whole letter on this in the future but the basics are. What is the big goal? What problem are you trying to solve? How do you want to solve this? And how can you do this in a sustainable way through written and visual content.

My goal is to integrate content creation into my existing life in a sustainable manner. My vision is to attract other beginner creators by putting myself out there and contributing to building a more authentic and wholistic culture through my writing.

I am not interested in optimising everything to the max. If anyone tells you that you need to cut friends and family out of your life and focus solely on the online business and content creation alarm bells should start ringing.

You have to first live your life before you can write about it and you have to first solve your own problems before you can solve anyone else’s.

Life live and share whatever useful lessons you learn with your audience along the way. Your creator business is your vehicle for learning and growth.

By having this project it encourages you to learn and go deep on topics which already interest you. The best way to learn is to teach and the best way to market is to inspire.

4. Systemise

The biggest content creators are not creating pay check to pay check or just when they feel like it. They systemise everything and follow a content strategy.

This is where “Just start” falls flat. You need to think about your creator journey in terms of years and months not individual pieces of content. If you can’t come up with 20 video/newsletter ideas, including the structure framework and how you want to market them it is going to be very hard to plan out pieces of content that coherently belong together and tell an overall story.

This is why you need a content strategy and system from the start. Running out of content ideas or loosing interest in the topics you talk about is the number reason that creators fail. They don’t think far enough down the line and they narrow their content so much that it’s very difficult to broaden and branch out later into different topics.

If this seems overwhelming at this point don’t worry I have another letter on the best content idea generation system coming soon. For now just see how easy or how hard it is to come up with 20 long form content ideas that you could talk about right now.

If you post once a week that’s about 5 months of content. It’s important to stick to this at the beginning before pivoting or making any other changes down the road.

5. Emotional and expectation management

We are getting really detailed here. It is not my goal to overwhelm you but to prepare you for what’s to come. Content creation is tough on your mental health.

There’s no other career that’s quite like it in this respect. Everyone has an opinion of you and what you’re doing. If you don’t have a guiding vision and strategy you will start to second guess yourself, you’ll loose confidence and things will get pretty dicey.

The best way to manage these emotional ups and downs is the plan in advance and focus on the process. Having a vision and executing on a strategy is not just about productivity and achieving milestones like clicks, views or subscribers.

The greatest benefit of this is that you don’t loose focus, you don’t have an emotional melt down and you don’t give up and quit.

Running out of content ideas creates a lot of stress and it’s the number one reason why creators quit.

6. Pace yourself

This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. This is not a zero sum game. You are developing a lifestyle. You are integrating being a creator into your existing life and using it as your vehicle for learning growth and fulfilment.

This whole philosophy of hustle and grind is directed at teenagers who can’t get out of bed in the morning.  If they manage to clean up their room that’s a big achievement.

Hustle porn can be valuable for the right person. But if you have a career and have already worked for over a decade you just have to be smart in how you plan your time and manage your energy levels.

Cutting out friends and family, stopping going to the gym, doing nothing but your full time job and your creator side hustle is a recipe for disaster.

Pace yourself. Think sustainably. This is a longterm lifestyle choice. It’s not a blow up strategy or get rich quick scheme.

The message of “just get started” is a sure fire way for you to really really struggle.

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So that was a lot.

To summarise the main points of this letter:

Consume, Digest, create - move away from passive consumption and actively  seek out valuable and meaningful source of inspiration.

Vision, Strategy Execution - Through reading, self study and learning your vision and strategy will become clearer - this is something which you should spend a lot of time on because it will determine the trajectory of your creator path.

Emotional and expectant management - Imposter syndrome, ego games, dopamine overload. Ready yourself for the emotional roller coaster

Pace yourself - we are in it for the long run. Zoom out and look at your creator journey in years not individual pieces of content.

Take action - sit down and plan out 20 content ideas that have a cohesive structure and feed into each other.

If you’re looking for more guidance on how to get started and which strategy to implement ether reply to this letter or you can get in contact with me on X HERE

Enjoyed the ret of your day. Bye