Over a decade in highway construction with a focus on merging technology and innovation. There may be more trucks and heavy equipment in my day to day, but the approach works for all businesses on Main Street.
Binging on content? Learn how to create content from what you learned.
Binging on content? Learn how to create content from what you learned.
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So It’s been a while since I’ve written a post. You know it’s the usual, life’s busy, the holiday season has come and gone, and quite frankly having two kids, one the age of 2 and the other just days away from turning 4 years old can make writing tough sometimes.
Or shall I say tough to find the time?
Oh well, onward we go… we just keep moving, working, and living.
As life goes on, I’m learning who I am and what makes me tick. One thing that I’ve always told myself is when I feel my “obsession” kick in…just to roll with it and see where it takes me.
I have a belief that when you get obsessed with a topic or a passion. That obsession can help you take a deep dive into a topic. That’s where new skills and learning come from.
The “obsession”
Growing up I was absolutely obsessed with baseball. Like many kids, I had dreams of playing professional baseball, but looking back I realized no one had to push me. No one made me workout, no one made me practice. No one told me to stick with it when I struggled.
I remember begging my dad to purchase that MLB package on TV, and I would record the games and I would go back and rewatch the Atlanta Braves games that I missed, and imitate every player in the lineup.
When it was all said and done, I think it worked out for me. I ended up being a pretty good college baseball player.
But that’s what sticks with me today, the discipline you develop is the foundation for success in any goal that you pursue. I feel that the start of that discipline comes from being so obsessed over something that, that’s all you can think of.
So anytime I get this urge to learn, I let the obsession and that momentum take me as deep as it wants to go.
Similar to Netflix binging, but not quite.
I call it binge learning, very similar to binge watching a Netflix series, except YouTube helps facilitate this binge learning. Typically, I use the search bar on YouTube and from there I mostly watch the recommended videos.
This was confirmation to me when I was listening to the Next Generation Podcast, with Alex Garcia, who happens to be an interesting guy, a former athlete, who's currently building a modern day media business. Alex also worked at The Hustle and is currently working at Gumroad.
Looking at his resume and accomplishments there’s quite a bit of experience to draw from. As I mentioned before I have two kids, so I'm really trying to figure out how to get a lot done in the course of a day.
This is a good one, there’s insight into how he organizes his day using Notion. I mean he has a job at Gumroad, he works out, and has a growing newsletter that’s making money.
You gotta see if there is anything you can learn from that kind of planning and organization.
Also, the tip about letting YouTube’s recommendation algorithm work for you is a wonderful research hack.
YouTube recommendations led me here…
Since I’m on the topic of binge learning and YouTube recommendations. This led me here to my new favorite YouTube Educator...
His videos are high quality, but what I noticed about his content is he’s actually curating content. Curating content is a popular method now for creating content. Ali is giving his audience recommendations from the content he consumes.
That’s amazing. And again he does a great job of doing so.
…I ran across one of his videos.
How Writing Online Made me a Millionaire
Such a good video. He touches on some of the major insecurities that someone confronts when they decide to write online.
From what to actually write about, to imposter syndrome, to perfectionism.
He mentioned the book that helped him get through those thoughts. A book by Austin Kleon titled Show Your Work. And it boils down to whatever you are working on, share it…
Document the process.
If you need help with how to document the process and how to create more consistently…
Read this thread from Nathan Barry
https://twitter.com/nathanbarry/status/1479463607649792004?s=20
Alright folks, that's all I have this week. Hope this is helpful...
Love + Peace and stay safe 😷
Podcast/YouTube/Book Recommendations
Here are a few podcast, book, and YouTube recs that I enjoyed over the holiday break.
How to build a media business in 2021| The Next Generation, Eps. #46 with Alex Garcia
Building in Public: Maintaining a Positive Self-Image | The Boot Strapped Founder - Arvid Kahl
The Truth About the “Creator Economy: A Copyblogger Experiment” | Copyblogger with Tim Stoddart
YouTube Recommendation: YouTuber Ali Abdaal
Book Recommendation: Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
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Ben Lanier|The Digital Inc.
Over a decade in highway construction with a focus on merging technology and innovation. There may be more trucks and heavy equipment in my day to day, but the approach works for all businesses on Main Street.
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