creating content is *itself* a reward! -- don't do it just for future sales.

When one of your audience members reads your article or watches your video, who is truly benefiting? I know it sounds like a trick question, but it's worth reflecting on this. When somebody in your audience consumes your content, who is really benefiting? Now, typically you think, well, most people would think, well, my audience is benefiting because I made something that was useful to them or interesting to them or funny or helpful or in service or whatever. So they're benefiting. I'm doing all this work for them. Okay, that's interesting because for a long time, I've actually had the opposite perspective.

For a long time, I've felt like if you are willing to watch my.

Videos, I am so grateful.

I'm benefiting so much from you being willing to offer your precious attention for 20 minutes or however long my videos that are, when you could be watching so many other much more entertaining or.

Smarter or more heartfelt videos. There's so many others out there, and if you don't know, maybe I can recommend some to you. You don't have to watch me, but your watching my videos is such a gift to me. And of course, the nice thing is, hopefully you get something out of it too. You get something, some upliftment, some education, some perspective shift, and that might help you and your business and in your life.

But.

The problem that so many content creators have is this thing of creating content as a chore. And that's why they don't. That's what stops so many of you from doing it.

If you are creating content because so.

That you can have something else that is external than that makes other people.

Want to buy from you.

You know, of course I understand that logic. Oh, I create content so that I.

Can build an audience, so that I.

Can make some sales or have some.

Clients, so that I can then have.

The life that I want to live.

Like so many steps until you reach.

What you want, no wonder content is a chore. Come on.

I realized this is the key shift that has me showing up on a regular basis, is by creating content, I've already. I felt like I've already won. And I wish this for everybody who creates content. I wish that when you show up to create content, you feel like you've.

Already won in that moment, like in this moment of making this video. I am so grateful that I get to explore my thoughts with you, that.

I get to practice exploring what is my voice.

And by my voice, I don't just mean my physical voice, but also the way that I think I'm exploring that.

Right now on camera, with your support. And that's what happens when you're doing this in front of your audience, too. Whether they're reading your article or whether they're watching your video. Your audience isn't watching or reading with.

This kind of skeptical, like, I hope she screws up, or I wonder when she's going to screw up or wonder when he's going to finally make a good point.

Your audience isn't doing that. Seriously, you think your audience is like, gosh, I hope they do well.

That's what.

That's how everybody every. Like, when I watch a video, I don't go, I hope this video sucks.

Right?

We're all like, oh, I hope this video is going to entertain me.

I hope this video is going to.

Be interesting for me. I hope I'm going to learn something. Essentially, I'm thinking, I hope the person does well. I hope the person is going to be, you know, their best self. Like, your audience is rooting for you. And so when you show up to make a video or to write an article or to make a podcast or whatever, you have already won because you're already getting the benefit that the main benefit is your own personal growth. That is why you're showing up to make content. You already win right there. You know, like I said, all those steps, oh, make content, have new fans.

Maybe get some sales from new fans.

And finally have a business that you love. God, so many steps. Just be happy in the first step. I mean, figure out how to be happy and be successful. Feel successful already in the first step. And I think that's, you know, one of the secrets that I've just discovered.

About why I show up more consistently than most people is I feel lucky every time I get to do this.

And like I said, I've said this before.

I'm uninspired in the beginning, but I'm willing to do it. I'm uninspired, but I'm willing to show up because I know that by showing up, I'm growing. I know that by showing up, I am.

Entering this profound opportunity to explore.

And express my calling. That's why we make content, is to.

Explore and express our life's calling. It's not so that maybe one day you'll buy from me and then I'll get to buy the things that I want. That's too far out there. And that's. And if I start, if this is why so many people, you know, I'm.

Going to read you something that someone wrote on my. On my Facebook page. And this was a public comment. So, you know, I have the permission to read this. This person wrote, I just unsubscribed from a group, a Facebook group where I had been a member for just three months. She was sharing free content. She, the leader of the group, was.

Sharing free content and did a couple of Facebook Live videos. And then a few days ago, she posted that people are taking advantage.

They're not hiring her as a coach.

After consuming her content literally, she said, if you don't want to move forward, just leave.

So I left because I sensed anger and lack. Okay, this is how so many people think about creating content. They are doing it from the perspective of the ends should justify the means. I've said this before, and this is so important, I'm going to say this again. This is the core, I think, of where evil and suffering comes from. The ends justifies the means. This is where corruption comes from. This is where suffering comes from. And this is, I think, the core of evil is the ends justifying the means.

I'm doing this so that I will get that.

That's why I'm doing this thing. This action that I'm taking right now is for a future reward, a future gain. Now it sounds like. What are you talking about? Isn't that what discipline is? Isn't that what delayed gratification is?

That's where I have some problems with.

Delayed gratification too, is that sometimes the gratification doesn't arrive. And what will you do then? What will you do then? Then you'll be resentful, you'll be cynical, you'll be jaded, and you will that. Of course, that creates emotional negativity that makes you do bad, other bad things or get into addiction or whatever.

What if you had a life where.

The very thing you're doing right now is. The thing you're doing right now is. Is. Is the reward right now. What if you lived for the moment? And I think that's where all good comes from with a capital G. That's where good comes from. That's where innocence. So I'm starting to create this philosophy here. Corruption versus innocence. The ends justify the means versus the means justifies the end. And that's innocence and that's goodness. Right? You think about it that way because the very thing I'm doing right now is worth doing. And. And yes, there is thought about the future. This thing tends to have good results. But no matter what the results are, I'm detached from the results. I'm detached from the results. Yes, I'm intelligent, I'm an adult. I do think ahead to say, if I do this, this kind of stuff tends to happen. And that's good. That's good. So maybe I'll come to a third synergy. It's like pure innocence. It's just the means justifies the ends. This thing is fun. I'm going to do it, okay? And pure corruption is the ends justifies the means. But let's come to a synergy. Being an adult, which is wisdom, which is okay, I understand what the ends typically are. So I'm going to choose. I'm going to choose an action that probably has good ends, but now I'm going to detach the ends and just focus on the goodness of this action. I'm going to bring my love to this action. I'm going to bring my best self to this action. I'm going to see the benefit of this very action in this very moment, no matter what happens afterwards. So let's apply this to content creation and making sales and getting clients and having full. Right. If you create content from this perspective of gratitude. Exploration, right? Exploration. Exploring your own calling and your own voice and how you think and how you express yourself and how to be confident on camera or in writing and how to be love, you know, on a video or in writing, how to be your best self in that moment of creating the content. If you focus on that and if you be that, then guess what? Of course your, your content tends to have more presence. Of course it's going to have. Tend to have more resonance.

And of course the people that are.

Meant for you are going to say, there's something special here with you. There's something special with you. I don't know what it is. I can't describe it even maybe, but I'm going to keep on watching you, reading you, listening to you, and you tend to build an audience of true fans.

And when you have an audience of true fans, when you have people's attention, you can build any kind of business you want. To be honest with you, people are so myopic. Oh, I'm going to create a free Facebook group for a free 30 day challenge so that I'm going to get clients for this particular coaching package. It's so myopic.

It's so sales funnel. A sales funnel is completely myopic.

And say with my limited ego, human mind, I'm going to manipulate human beings from this end through these steps and then there must take this action.

Otherwise somehow my funnel has failed.

Somehow my sales wasn't no.

And somehow I should be resentful. No.

Come on. Human beings have their own timing, have their own.

And you can't manipulate human beings the way you think you can. You manipulate them. You're going to fail, or they're going to feel manipulated at some point, or you're going to feel like you're a manipulator. None of that feels good. So instead, why don't you just create content with an exploration with the very purpose of the content creation? The action itself is so worthwhile, no matter what happens. And then if you get people's attention and they're watching you or they're reading.

You, you should be incredibly grateful because they have everything else they could be doing in the. But they're watching you or they're reading you. My God, what a privilege. And then if they come back and read you again, what a miracle. Okay, now, once you have people's attention, what can you do? You can now have a conversation with them. This is why I always talk about.

You should be doing fan interviews on a regular basis. You should be talking with your fans and not just conversing with them about whatever you're talking, but also ask. Learn about what they are buying in the realm of your expertise. What kind of coaching programs are they buying? What kinds of books are they buying? What kinds of retreats are they going to?

What kinds of online courses are they buying?

Oh, interesting. They bought that. Oh, they went to that event.

Oh, they bought that book.

Oh, isn't that interesting? Well, maybe I should create stuff that's more similar to that. Because whatever they are buying, whatever your audience is buying is your market.

That's your market because you have these people's attention. And where are they spending their money is literally your market. So when you have the privilege of their attention, you get to have the conversation that helps you understand your market.

And by understanding your market, you can then create products, service products and services that match your market. And that is really what marketing is. Marketing is understanding your market so that.

You create products, services that match the market, so that you can then simply.

Whisper, oh, I've got these things now. Oh, my God.

They want that because they've already told you that.

They want it because they've already told you where they're voting with their dollars. People get marketing wrong.

People think marketing is being. People think marketing is. Now that I've created my product and in my closet, you know, in my own head, okay, in my own head, I've created these products and services because I'm so excited about them. Oh, I'm so excited. I'm so brilliant. Or I have these peak experiences I have in my closet. I've created these things without anybody's feedback, right?

Without the market's feedback.

I've created these brilliant things. And now I'm going to employ some.

Marketing coach to use clever copywriting and.

Brilliant graphics and amazing sales funnels to shove it down your throat.

To shove it down your throat, make.

You buy it, to force you, persuade you, scare you, scarcity you into buying.

My thing that I've created in my closet without your feedback. That's what marketing is supposed to be. I don't want any part of that. And as a consumer, you know what that feels like.

It sucks. Bad. Marketing is so trying to be persuasive.

Trying to.

Trying to interrupt us, trying to find. Force us to do this or that.

Nobody wants that. Not the.

Not the consumer, and not even the marketer wants that.

Right.

They're just doing it because they thought.

That'S how it's supposed to be done. They forgot that marketing is about intimacy with the market and therefore aligning ourselves with the market so that we're really in service. Being in service is not creating something in your own. That's literally a closet, by the way. Okay. It's not creating something in your own closet and then trying to shove it down people's throats. That's not service. Being in service is to be with people, understanding them, and go, oh, that's what you want? Well, let me create something you want. That's also, of course, something that I am excited by. It's the calling, as I always say, is the intersection between your passion and the market's wants. That's where the magic happens, and that's where no yelling is needed. That's where no persuasion is needed. That's where no graphic design, fancy graphics so that you'll finally buy something. None of that's needed. It's just, oh, I know you want that. So I've got this for you. Yeah, I hope this is helpful. That's how you create content and get clients eventually. It's by first being happy, just creating content, and then from there, things start to fall in place. I hope this helps. And I'm gonna take a look to see if there are any comments or questions from those who are watching this live. As always, I'm grateful just for you watching this, and I'm also grateful for any comments that you want to offer. Anything, whether this is helpful, whether you have any questions. It's all good. So thank you. I see the comments here from Katrina and Lisa, so thank you for your, for your comments there. Katrina says, you know, for a couple years I have been creating content without any connection to money. Now I'm trying to tie the content in the business and she's asking whether she has a block in her mind about that. I don't think it's a block. I think it's. Well, I hopefully have just explained to you the steps and there's a blog post that I invite you to read that's associated with this video, which is what you've done wonderfully is creating content. Congratulations. You've gotten in that rhythm. But now you need to utilize the audience that you have now, the attention that you have. You need to become intimate with what they are buying. You need to become intimate with their wants because you need to become intimate with your market. And that is having conversations with your audience members one on one, sometimes in a group. Well, that's why you've heard the term focus group. Right. But as small business owners, we can have conversations one to one that's much easier to schedule as well and to find out what they're buying in the realm of what you want to offer and then creating something more similar to that, the intersection between what they're buying and what you are passionate about. That intersection. That's the magic. So, Katrina, I hope this is helpful and let me just take a quick peek to see if anyone else has any other questions here. Thank you all for joining me, Anna and Chiara. And anyway, that's all I can see here for now. I look forward to seeing your questions and updates. And until next video, I hope you will find joy in the actions that you are doing day to day, no matter what it is. Whether or not whatever the results are, find joy within those actions themselves. Be well.