Are phones making us better creators?

A quick crowdfund update: We have one week left on our crowdfunding campaign! At the time of writing this, 79 supporters have helped us reach 123% of our goal, equalling $4940! Can we reach 100 supporters by the time we finish this campaign? Maybe 200% of our goal?! I don’t know, but I do know that our community has shown up in incredible ways and we can’t wait to see you on the other side of the finish line.

We have less than a week until the end of our crowdfunding campaign, and everyone who donates will get complimentary tickets to the film screening (likely happening in Durham). No donation is too small and all shares of our campaign are deeply appreciated (like this one!). Jordan, Sharon, Taylor, and I really appreciate your support of this film and we can't wait to share it with you!

If you’d like to support or share our campaign, you can do so here.

P.S. We’re looking for corporate and foundation sponsors who want to help make an impact with this film as part of their social responsibility mission objectives or corporate giving campaign. We’d love to partner with organizations working at the intersection of health, wellness, mental health, access to nature, health disparities, and more. If you have connections to organizations with the capacity to give, please connect us!

The screen you’re staring at while reading this

is likely in front of your face more than you’d like to admit, despite all the screen time notifications you happily ignore. From scrolling to watching to typing to…wait, what was I doing again? Oh yeah, getting pleasantly distracted for way longer than I planned. But I’m not here to judge or be the phone curmudgeon. I think phones, and social media in particular, offer two things I highly appreciate (but sometimes need a break from) in spades: inspiration and information. Because we’re constantly near our phones or some kind of screen, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by both of these, even though they can be great for creators and entrepreneurs who engage online strategically and intentionally. So let’s break down how to make the most of the things you learn and are inspired by online.

Information

While many Twitter bros and LinkedIn gurus are insufferable, there are quite a few people I learn from regularly while casually scrolling on social media. I’m also a YouTube junkie and will indulge in an audio-only podcast on long road trips. My favorite way to use the information I learn is to synthesize it into actionable steps or valuable information for others (which you would know if you were subscribed to PHR+, but I digress). There are also a few questions I ask myself:

• Does this apply to me? If so, how can I act on this?

• Is this necessary to act on right now?

• Who else would benefit from this?

• How am I tailoring this information to my unique experience and/or known challenges in the creative entrepreneur space?

Sometimes, the reality is that the answer to one or more of these questions is no, and the information goes into a Google Keep note (well, now a Strut document) that I can recall whenever the information is more timely. And by timely, I mean when I’m researching how to best execute an idea. Which leads me to…

Inspiration

I feel like I’m constantly in a state of allowing ideas to flow to me. The problem is that I don’t always have the time, resources, or money to act on some ideas. Ideas come in many forms: social media posts, Substack articles, YouTube videos, how to package a podcast episode or other long-form piece of content, creative projects, business ideas, and the list goes on. So what do I do to determine idea priority? These questions help me gain clarity and remain focused:

• What ideas does this spark for me?

• Where can I place these ideas to act on later?

• Do I have the capacity to act on this idea?

• Is this an idea I have the expertise, resources, or connections to act on?

• Do I have an audience or community that would be interested in this idea?

• Does this idea fit into what I'm currently doing and focusing on?

• Can this idea be repurposed into another format?

• Is this an idea I need help realizing?

Remember that Shiny Outcome Syndrome we talked about? It’s a constant battle of staying focused on your own path, vision, and goals. I ask myself significantly more questions under this umbrella because let’s face it, no information is ever truly lost or useless. But ideas are a dime a dozen, and what makes something a “good idea,” all comes down to execution.

What are you working on right now? Let us know in the comments!

In Readworthy News

Lots of sports media incoming. They’re having a moment, I have to honor it!

• Candace Parker has retired from the WNBA and signed on as the new president of Adidas Women’s Basketball. This news reminded me to watch her documentary, Unapologetic, and you should too. It’s available on ESPN+ and Hulu.

• Naomi Osaka, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Angel Reese were featured in the new Beats by Dre ad campaign. We love it when the girls come together!

• Lewis Hamilton announces the schedule for the Denver Broncos in this social video. I love this video and digital rollout for the upcoming season!

• Not to be outdone, the Chicago Bears also made a storytelling-centric social video announcing their upcoming season schedule. Sports media teams duking it out in the best way possible.

• Whoop’s CEO Will Ahmed has built incredible brand loyalty through his podcast. I feel like he’s a health-tech founder who has truly understood media from the jump. To be honest, I like the media his team creates even more than the products. He shared a short video podcast episode clip with a major endorser, Christian Ronaldo on Linkedin. I think he sees the potential in LinkedIn’s new video feed being rolled out to all users soon.

• Johnnie Legs is the new face of Kith, and this 4-minute video commercial is completely on brand. It’s also posted in the 4:5 image ratio that Instagram made popular for all the wrong reasons. The North (read=photographers) remembers. Intriguing creative choices all around, and I can’t say I don’t love them.

I hope you didn’t miss me too much on Monday. I’m back and I hope you found this article enjoyable, or at least valuable. I’m rooting for you (to enjoy your weekend!).

Please Hustle Responsibly,

🤙🏾✨

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