Creating content can be stressful, overwhelming, and tedious. It can feel like the biggest obligation, and when you don’t follow through, don’t do it consistently, or if you let a piece sit for weeks on end, it can feel like you’re failing.
Well, at least that’s how it’s felt for me!
Where’s The Content? Bueller?…Bueller?
I’ve been a member of the Breaking Through community — a global collective of business leaders, coaches, healers, and helpers — for about a year and some change, and I love this group. It’s fun to be able to share my insights and expertise, but more so, it’s restorative for me. It’s a space where I can bring all of myself and my silliness, learn from generous, kind-hearted human beings, and be encouraged and supported by them.
In our recent weekly mastermind call, the whole crew felt stuck and uninspired to produce content for the month.
As we talked through our resistance and challenges, a colleague asked if any of us read James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits.
A few had. Some hadn’t.
He went on to share one of his biggest takeaways, and this nugget right here opened the flood gates for me.
“Habits are more important than goals.”
You’d think I just won the $630 million dollar jackpot from the California Powerball! I felt a rush of energy and excitement move through my body as life came back to me. (To be honest, I think that feeling was true for most people on the call!)
Here’s why this was invigorating to me. One of my ongoing practices in my business-building journey is relearning/remembering how to self-honor.
Up until this A-HA, I realized I hadn’t been honoring my own process for creating content.
I put so much emphasis on being a content machine that I lost sight of the fact that I have been cultivating a new skill, which takes time. I was judging myself and comparing my results to everybody else versus acknowledging the fact that content creation is a new habit for me. And it is one that will ultimately lead me to the results I want — a successful business and clients who get their desired results out of our work together.
I can’t tell you just how much I loved hearing those six magical words — “Habits are more important than goals.”
It was a permission slip. It was music to my ears. And I needed to hear it!
A Big Challenge When It Comes to Creating Content
For better or worse, when I’m comfortable and having fun, I’m expressive and long-winded.
I was a theater geek, so storytelling is my jam. That’s how my brain works. But I was making myself wrong for this.
Consequently, I avoided writing blog posts for fear that people would check out about a paragraph into the post because I haven’t fully developed my “conciseness” muscle yet.
Many in the mastermind call were feeling the same way.
And that experience might be true for you too. I know it is for the hearted-centered, impact-focused leaders, entrepreneurs, and business owners I work with.
You have a lot of knowledge and insights you want to share with the world. How do you organize it all and share it in bite-size chunks?!?
Well, like all parts of building and managing your business, you’ll get better by doing it imperfectly over and over again, but you’ve got to start somewhere.
Four Tips for Self-Honoring and Activating Your Content Creation
Below are four tips to help you honor where you are in your own process and catalyze some inspiration for your content creation:
- Acknowledge the resistance and where you are today. Make it an acquaintance. Say, “What’s up?!” even if you can’t make it a friend yet. You’re going to see results as you create more, but content creation is a long game. So just have that in the back of your mind.
- Do it little by little. You don’t have to create a piece of content all in one sitting. Some leaders have that discipline and have strengthened that muscle, but if you haven’t personally cultivated it for yourself, then I wouldn’t recommend holding yourself to that same standard. Start small. Set a 5-, 10-, or 15-minute timer. Write out ideas or bullet points and then go away. Come back and write a few sentences and then go away. Do it in a way that honors YOU and where you are today. Unfortunately, many of my clients stress themselves out thinking they must sit for these long periods of time and produce this clear, coherent, compelling piece of content and they push themselves into overwhelm.
- Find YOUR flavor and outlet for communicating your ideas. You don’t have to be a writer. Maybe it’s easier for you to speak. Create videos. Be a guest on podcasts or create your own if that’s what you prefer. If you’re silly and light-hearted, communicate your ideas in that way. Don’t try to be academic and “professional.” (Trust me…all that re-arranging, people-pleasing, and trying to fit in with “the norm” is exhausting and unfulfilling).
- Let content creation be a practice. Let it be a new habit you are cultivating. Which means let it suck at first; aim for failure. Then, next time, find one thing you want to do better in the next piece you create, and so on.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but although your content is meant to support your ideal prospects and clients, it’s also meant to honor who you are as a business owner, a leader, and where you are in your unique leadership or business-building journey.
My wish for you is that you continue to give yourself permission to build your content creation muscles incrementally and imperfectly, show yourself some grace when it feels all over the place, and give yourself the gift of letting it be restorative and fun!
Here’s to creating more soul-nourishing, life-changing content…and doing it your way!
If you’d like to learn more about how I can support you in the growth and marketing of your business, schedule your complimentary 45-minute Life Maximizer Discovery Call.
© 2022 Donell Hill
About Donnie Hill
Imagine a world where business and community leaders are well-rested, well-paid, and deeply appreciated not only for the work they do, but for who they are. Donnie believes business and leadership development can be paths for healing, wealth creation, and community restoration. He is the Founder and CEO of Life Maximizer LLC, a coaching and consulting company dedicated to personal development, business growth strategy, and mental health / burnout recovery for leaders.
Donnie’s work as a restorative leadership and business advisor allows him to combine his former work as a Certified Cancer Coach, his personal healing journey and his trauma-informed approach with his Stanford University education and experience as a communication coach, a marketing strategist, and a sales facilitator. He now supports impact-focused leaders build their business and thought leadership presence in a strategic and sustainable way so they maximize their contribution without sacrificing their wellbeing and burning themselves out.