Grab a sticky note and write “make something today"--stick it to your computer monitor.
Your goal is simply to make something--anything--every single day.
Set the bar low and make it achievable.
Creation will start to become a habit.
Becoming a creator in 2023 will change your life.
Here are 13 tips to make the switch from a consumer to a creator:
Grab a sticky note and write “make something today"--stick it to your computer monitor.
Your goal is simply to make something--anything--every single day.
Set the bar low and make it achievable.
Creation will start to become a habit.
Start documenting your daily creation.
Post it online with a few sentences about what it means to you.
Was it an idea floating around in your head for months? A mini essay you've been meaning to write? Code that you finally figured out?
Document it.
Too often I sit down at my computer and wonder what I should work on. That’s dangerous.
The Trick: Decide what you are going to do beforehand.
Write a to do list beforehand, then immediately jump into that first task.
Remove the guesswork.
Computers are for creating, not consuming.
Go to all your social sites and sign out. Set up your computer as your creation hub.
Use your phone or tablet for consumption.
One device is used for creating, the other for consuming.
If you try to create for everyone you’ll quickly run out of both ideas and motivation.
Instead figure out exactly who you are serving.
Identify your audience and niche. Develop an understanding of your "customer" and what they need.
The ideas will flow.
Take control and reserve time for creating.
Go to your calendar and set aside 30 minutes blocked for focused creation.
Then when you get the notification you already have the time set aside and it is clear what you should start on.
At ConvertKit we have a simple shorthand for informing everyone else you are entering focused work: cmd + Q.
It means "I’m quitting Slack to focus for a while."
I always underestimate the cost of maintaining conversations while creating. It’s hard and I’m bad at it.
Teaching everything you know can be intimidating, so let’s start by teaching what you just learned.
Create a new 30 minute event every Friday that says, "What did you learn this week?"
Look back at your week and share something that you learned.
I built my entire blog through one habit: writing 1,000 words a day.
That turned into writing 3 books and many blog posts.
The key: I built a streak that I didn’t want to break--650 days in a row!
Build a streak of creating every day.
If simply signing out isn’t enough, you can use software to block an entire website.
The SelfControl app for OSX will block a series of sites for a set amount of time.
Signing out is usually enough of a barrier, but this app takes it to the next level!
Don’t just create for the sake of creating.
Work towards something.
Whether it’s launching the course, reaching 500 YouTube subscribers, writing a book, or launching a new feature--have a specific goal to chip away at.
Vision keeps you on track!
It’s not a real goal without a deadline.
Set your launch date in advance. Then give $50 to a friend and have them only give it back to you if hit the goal.
Put some skin in the game. Make sure you feel the pain if you miss your goal!
Even better, make it a public challenge.
I started ConvertKit through The Web App Challenge: my public challenge to build a web app to $5,000/mo in 6 months.
My community rallied around me to help make it happen. All because I took my journey public.
Follow me @nathanbarry for more threads on writing, creators, startups, and business.
https://t.co/dfJtuqFjA9
Becoming a creator in 2023 will change your life.
— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) December 26, 2022
Here are 13 tips to make the switch from a consumer to a creator:
More from Startup
In order to expand their business, startups need to identify and use efficient products (tools). We have listed down Top 5 Products for Startups, and what makes them the top products.😎👇🏻
#prodmgmt #productsforstartups
https://t.co/0IPd51VibU
https://t.co/hICowg9VvP
https://t.co/T3epyQXEoX
https://t.co/Sm8G1JNxx0
#prodmgmt #productsforstartups
https://t.co/0IPd51VibU
https://t.co/hICowg9VvP
https://t.co/T3epyQXEoX
https://t.co/Sm8G1JNxx0
I just gave a talk to the W2021 YC batch. It's my favorite startup audience to talk to. Here are some of the highlights:
Finding product market fit is the critical thing to do in a startup.
Everything else: demo day, what investors you get, how much you raise, what press covers you -- it is all window dressing.
Many founders don’t want to talk to their customers because it makes them vulnerable, because it's hard work, because it's scary. Creating a tight feedback loop with customers is the one thing that will help you discover PMF.
If a customer isn't one of your cofounders, try to create a customer panel that allows as tight of a loop as possible. Call them daily. Put them in your Slack.
My Twitch cofounder Emmett Shear has a great analogy on PMF here: it's like rolling a boulder downhill.
Finding product market fit is the critical thing to do in a startup.
Everything else: demo day, what investors you get, how much you raise, what press covers you -- it is all window dressing.
Many founders don’t want to talk to their customers because it makes them vulnerable, because it's hard work, because it's scary. Creating a tight feedback loop with customers is the one thing that will help you discover PMF.
If a customer isn't one of your cofounders, try to create a customer panel that allows as tight of a loop as possible. Call them daily. Put them in your Slack.
My Twitch cofounder Emmett Shear has a great analogy on PMF here: it's like rolling a boulder downhill.
1/ What is \u201cproduct/market fit\u201d? I\u2019m not sure I can give you a definition. But maybe I can share what the subjective difference is in how it feels when you have it and when you don\u2019t. Founding a startup is deciding to take on the burden of Sisyphus: pushing a boulder up a hill.
— Emmett Shear (@eshear) July 27, 2019
The dirty inside secret most first-time entrepreneurs don't know.
14 tools I use to steal from competitors, and build million-dollar businesses.
Housekeeping note:
Don't do anything that destroys your reputation. Copying what works is a simple & practical strategy, but don't cross any boundaries.
In this thread, I'll show you how to steal your competitors' traffic, product ideas, and customers in a 100% fair way.
1. Steal their social media traffic
Drop your competitors' url in https://t.co/n4squ8fjHh
It will tell you what % of their web traffic comes from which social media platform
Looks like this
Generally, this traffic will be from ads and not content. To steal their social traffic, you'll need to steal their ad strategy.
If they're getting their traffic from Facebook...
2. Steal their Facebook ads
Go to Facebook Ad Library and find ads that your competitor has been running for 6+ months.
All of these ads are likely profitable https://t.co/bgqtSOvAe2
14 tools I use to steal from competitors, and build million-dollar businesses.
Housekeeping note:
Don't do anything that destroys your reputation. Copying what works is a simple & practical strategy, but don't cross any boundaries.
In this thread, I'll show you how to steal your competitors' traffic, product ideas, and customers in a 100% fair way.
1. Steal their social media traffic
Drop your competitors' url in https://t.co/n4squ8fjHh
It will tell you what % of their web traffic comes from which social media platform
Looks like this
Generally, this traffic will be from ads and not content. To steal their social traffic, you'll need to steal their ad strategy.
If they're getting their traffic from Facebook...
2. Steal their Facebook ads
Go to Facebook Ad Library and find ads that your competitor has been running for 6+ months.
All of these ads are likely profitable https://t.co/bgqtSOvAe2
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A brief analysis and comparison of the CSS for Twitter's PWA vs Twitter's legacy desktop website. The difference is dramatic and I'll touch on some reasons why.
Legacy site *downloads* ~630 KB CSS per theme and writing direction.
6,769 rules
9,252 selectors
16.7k declarations
3,370 unique declarations
44 media queries
36 unique colors
50 unique background colors
46 unique font sizes
39 unique z-indices
https://t.co/qyl4Bt1i5x
PWA *incrementally generates* ~30 KB CSS that handles all themes and writing directions.
735 rules
740 selectors
757 declarations
730 unique declarations
0 media queries
11 unique colors
32 unique background colors
15 unique font sizes
7 unique z-indices
https://t.co/w7oNG5KUkJ
The legacy site's CSS is what happens when hundreds of people directly write CSS over many years. Specificity wars, redundancy, a house of cards that can't be fixed. The result is extremely inefficient and error-prone styling that punishes users and developers.
The PWA's CSS is generated on-demand by a JS framework that manages styles and outputs "atomic CSS". The framework can enforce strict constraints and perform optimisations, which is why the CSS is so much smaller and safer. Style conflicts and unbounded CSS growth are avoided.
Legacy site *downloads* ~630 KB CSS per theme and writing direction.
6,769 rules
9,252 selectors
16.7k declarations
3,370 unique declarations
44 media queries
36 unique colors
50 unique background colors
46 unique font sizes
39 unique z-indices
https://t.co/qyl4Bt1i5x
PWA *incrementally generates* ~30 KB CSS that handles all themes and writing directions.
735 rules
740 selectors
757 declarations
730 unique declarations
0 media queries
11 unique colors
32 unique background colors
15 unique font sizes
7 unique z-indices
https://t.co/w7oNG5KUkJ
The legacy site's CSS is what happens when hundreds of people directly write CSS over many years. Specificity wars, redundancy, a house of cards that can't be fixed. The result is extremely inefficient and error-prone styling that punishes users and developers.
The PWA's CSS is generated on-demand by a JS framework that manages styles and outputs "atomic CSS". The framework can enforce strict constraints and perform optimisations, which is why the CSS is so much smaller and safer. Style conflicts and unbounded CSS growth are avoided.
Facebook originally a CIA program called "LifeLog".
LifeLog, via DARPA, terminated on Feb 4th, 2004.
Facebook was launched on Feb 4th, 2004.
Many of the LifeLog team became execs at FB.
Zuckerberg is a figurehead.
CIA allowed Cambridge to help Trump win
https://t.co/enzOXDCogV
Pentagon Kills LifeLog
LifeLog, via DARPA, terminated on Feb 4th, 2004.
Facebook was launched on Feb 4th, 2004.
Many of the LifeLog team became execs at FB.
Zuckerberg is a figurehead.
CIA allowed Cambridge to help Trump win
https://t.co/enzOXDCogV
Project: Lifelog
— Robert Horan (@Robby12692) December 13, 2018
Started by DARPA in 1999, the goal of Lifelog was to create a database on civilians without their knowledge, and track everything they do.
The project "ended" on Feb 4th, 2004.
Facebook began the exact same day.
The CIA funneled tens of millions into Facebook. pic.twitter.com/r7hwF0v9kh
Pentagon Kills LifeLog
"I lied about my basic beliefs in order to keep a prestigious job. Now that it will be zero-cost to me, I have a few things to say."
We know that elite institutions like the one Flier was in (partial) charge of rely on irrelevant status markers like private school education, whiteness, legacy, and ability to charm an old white guy at an interview.
Harvard's discriminatory policies are becoming increasingly well known, across the political spectrum (see, e.g., the recent lawsuit on discrimination against East Asian applications.)
It's refreshing to hear a senior administrator admits to personally opposing policies that attempt to remedy these basic flaws. These are flaws that harm his institution's ability to do cutting-edge research and to serve the public.
Harvard is being eclipsed by institutions that have different ideas about how to run a 21st Century institution. Stanford, for one; the UC system; the "public Ivys".
As a dean of a major academic institution, I could not have said this. But I will now. Requiring such statements in applications for appointments and promotions is an affront to academic freedom, and diminishes the true value of diversity, equity of inclusion by trivializing it. https://t.co/NfcI5VLODi
— Jeffrey Flier (@jflier) November 10, 2018
We know that elite institutions like the one Flier was in (partial) charge of rely on irrelevant status markers like private school education, whiteness, legacy, and ability to charm an old white guy at an interview.
Harvard's discriminatory policies are becoming increasingly well known, across the political spectrum (see, e.g., the recent lawsuit on discrimination against East Asian applications.)
It's refreshing to hear a senior administrator admits to personally opposing policies that attempt to remedy these basic flaws. These are flaws that harm his institution's ability to do cutting-edge research and to serve the public.
Harvard is being eclipsed by institutions that have different ideas about how to run a 21st Century institution. Stanford, for one; the UC system; the "public Ivys".