Imposter syndrome is probably the realest psychological complex afflicting creators. The creeping feeling that we are too incompetent, too underqualified and too inarticulate to share our content with the general public.
I felt it too. It was only after I survived the largest non-nuclear explosion in history that I picked up a pen and started writing. Even then it felt weird; I somehow felt ostentatious in expressing my grief, paranoid that I might appear like a self-absorbed prick and naïve in broadcasting a call to action. Nonetheless, the pain of surviving the blast ignited an urge to express myself.
Since that time and after a soul-destroying stint in the sanitised world of corporate media, I was once again, without a creative outlet and the conviction (or courage) to continue my creative pursuits. I no longer had the “Why?” that had been provided by the explosion, nor did I think I could output anything of value.
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
At which point, I stumbled upon content-creator extraordinaire, Ali Abdaal and his review of Austin Kleon’s “Show your work.” For anyone who knows Ali’s story; this is a guy who has forged a multi-million-dollar media empire by blogging and Youtubing. So if he’s recommending a book on content creation, it might be worth copping it. Cop Austin’s book I did, which might be the only reason why the takedown is a thing.
The book demystifies the pursuit of content creation, stresses the importance of process over product and takes aim at imposter syndrome throughout. The truth is, you don’t have to be outputting Tim Ferris’s Four Hour Work Week on a daily basis to share something of value. Nor do you have to harness your inner social justice warrior to stay relevant and garner clicks. You don’t have to seek clicks at all actually. On the other hand, it’s not a crime to promote yourself through your work or seek success and financial freedom through creating. As Austin Kleon puts it, “even the renaissance had to be funded.”
Another concept I liked in Show your work was the idea of letting readers in on how “the sausage is made.” Peeling back the curtain on the creative process and not being afraid to share the secret sauce that goes into it. Really and truly, not everyone is craving a magisterial masterpiece in their daily digest. Increasingly it’s the every-day and simplistic (yet useful) content that people of our generation most value. In other words, don’t let your quest to create Michelangelo’s David prevent you from creating Ali’s empire.
When I created the takedown, I purposefully kept its description open ended so I wouldn’t be restricted in what I created. I think that works better for what I’m trying to achieve and is a truer representation of my personality. I’m a science graduate who loves combat sports and geeks out on everything from coffee to cold showers. It might not be everything you want at once, but I’m gonna do my best to keep it real the whole way. Lest we forget, content is king.
