Consumption versus creation

Do you spend your time creating or consuming? Do you watch other people's shows, blogs, radio and consume?  Or do you spend your time creating?   How much time do you spend each week creating and adding value to the world?

Alan creating a script in Santa Monica

Recently I have been cutting down my consumption and working on creating more.  Putting more out into the world!  This article is a rallying call for you to start creating and putting more out into the world!

Where the magic really is...…..

The magic really comes when you create and put it out into the world.  Let me give you two opposite examples. 

Early on in my career I wrote a comedy speech about my trip to Brazil at 21 years old.  I have the film somewhere so I will find it and upload it at some stage.   I won awards for my talk and it gave me so much confidence.  I was a solo-entrepreneur and the year was 2009 and I was invited to a marketing company's Christmas party by a mentor.  

I was at their office and the whole company was getting ready to go out for the Christmas dinner.  The owner of the company was excited to see my talk and asked me to perform in front of the whole company.  I felt so shy, I felt so nervous, I started to sweat and I refused to do it.  In front of the whole company I said I wasn't going to do it and turned him down.  The awkward silence afterwards was burning.   I had a chance to put my creation out into the world and I turned it down.  Not only did I look bad and make things uncomfortable but that mentoring relationship didn't continue afterwards.  I created but I didn't put it out there.  Have you ever felt self-conscious sharing your creations? Poems? Stories? YouTube videos? Art?

In contrast in 2016 I was in Ecuador at a Financial Independence Retreat called Chautauqua and learning all about the FI world.  Several of the participants asked me what I did and I told them about PopUp Business School.  The more people learnt, the more they wanted to know and a few suggested I do a mini-workshop at the event.  This time I was not going to let the opportunity pass me by so I organised a room and did my workshop on "5 ways to start a business with no money".  I took the opportunity to perform and put what I had created out into the world!

The magic that has come from that single event has been unbelievable!  I ended up on the Mad Fientist Podcast talking about starting up, I ended up running a PopUp Business School with Mr Money Mustache in Longmont, Colorado and then ended up running another in Houston with one of the participants of that event. 

The chain of incredible events and amazing opportunities that have come from that one opportunity to put myself out there and share what I had created are phenomenal!!!

What am I trying to tell you?  The MAGIC is in creation and then sharing.

Consumption is important!

Consumption is so, so, so important and I still consume a lot of content, products and different things but if you only consume you aren't going to make progress.  

Let's look at different situations where consumption can be so useful:

• When learning something new - books, courses and YouTube have changed my life beyond measure by consuming educational material 
• Developing a powerful mindset - confidence, energy and motivation are built and there is some amazing content to help you do this
• For fun - I love to watch Netflix and movies and it helps me to relax!
• For inspiration - I consume some YouTube videos, books, facebook posts for inspiration and ideas.  Gary Vaynerchuk's videos have inspired me for years, Tim Ferriss's podcasts have inspired me and lifted me as well as many books.  Consumption for inspiration is key!
• For energy - music, TV shows and certain movies give me massive energy.  Try putting your favourite film soundtrack on as you work and see if it lifts you up?
• For focus -  I consume music whilst I work.  It helps me to focus and write quicker.  Music helps me drown out the outside world so I can focus entirely on what I am writing. I am listening to the Marvel Cinematic Sound Track right now writing this for you!

​Consumption of amazing content is one of the things that has had the biggest impact on my life over the years!  So why am I doing less of it now?  Why am I telling you to do less of it? 

Implementation

The magic comes from implementing what you have learnt!

I have met so many people that have read all the self-help books, listened to all the podcasts and can talk a good game but have NEVER done anything with the knowledge.  What good is knowledge without implementation?

It is great that you have read the book on confidence but are you doing the exercises every day?  It is great that you have read the book on Financial Independence but are you investing in Vanguard mutual funds every month?  It is great that you have watched the YouTube videos about building a YouTube channel but are you actually putting it out there and launching!?

Spend more time implementing and making shit happen than learning.  Learn them implement, learn then implement, learn then implement!

Over consumption

What happens if you spend all your time consuming?
You get NOTHING DONE!!!!
If you want to make progress in life then do things.  Stop thinking and start doing! 

The course I bought to help me to write my script recommended watching movies as good research for writing.  I have met lots of writers and artists that take that to mean they should go nerdy and consume all the movies before writing.  You have to create at some point.  I think a lot of people hide behind preparation and research to put off the actual doing.

Don't sacrifice time you could be creating for consumption.  Turn the TV off, put the newspaper down, switch Facebook off and start creating!

Some questions I would love you to explore:

1. What percentage of your time do you spend creating versus consuming?
2. What percentage of your consumption time is of content that will help you make progress versus entertainment?
3. What can you cut out to make more time for creation?

What are you creating?

Are you creating anything with your time and energy and efforts?  What are you building?  We all have the same amount of hours in our days.  The question is are you building something or are you consuming?

Over the last 12 years I have been creating businesses, creating courses, creating start-up methodologies and ideas and putting it out into the world through the PopUp courses.  Now I am creating a movie, I am creating a blog with articles designed to help people and I am building content to help other people.  I am enjoying creating and building and I am inspired by the challenged to build something of value for the world!

I am inspired by the people who create and get out into the world!

What are you building with your time and energy?

Here are some ideas of what you could build?

• Incredible relationships with your friends, family and community
• A financially free future
• A cool business that makes you money doing something you love
• A blog/YouTube channel/podcast
• A book
• A Movie
• An event

The possibilities are endless.  Just pick something, anything and start building. 

If you build it they will come!

BULLSHIT!  Kevin Coster and Wayne Campbell lied to us!  If you build it no-one will come until you promote it and put it out there in the world.  There is no point building a blog if you don't promote it!  There is no point writing a story if you don't tell it!  There is no point launching a new service or product if you don't sell it and get the chance to make the world a better place by delivering it!

Creation  is only just beginging!  GET IT OUT THERE!  Share it everywhere.  

If you build it no-one is going to come unless you tell them about it!  Promise me that you will share what you have created with the world!?

The challenge

My challenge to you is to create something, anything and share it with the world.  It can be tiny like a photo, a meme, a quote or it can be bigger like an event, a business or a blog.  

I don't really care what you create I just want to challenge you to start creating and getting yourself out into the world

The UK Table read of Alan's movie

The picture to the right is of me and my friends doing a table read of the movie I created!  You can not believe the feeling of joy that comes from creating something and putting out into the world and seeing people's reactions!

Create something and get it out there and let me know what happens!  Please put a comment below and let me know what you are creating!

Love

​Alan