R&D for Creators

Hey honeys and hustlers,

Every great invention starts as an idea. But ideas are meaningless without action. So how can you take an idea from inspiration to execution, without plagiarizing the original creator? Today, I’m sharing how I would use the items on my mood board to do a little creative R&D, a term I developed when I spoke with Jes Averhart and she told me how she developed her signature course. It all starts with a system, which is refined by questions, and then created by convenience. The system has two parts:

1. Swipe file. This is where you capture ideas for inspiration. I have a database in Notion and use the Notion web clipper tool (which works on mobile as well) for this. It makes it easy for me to capture inspiration on the go, and sort social media posts, podcast episodes, newsletter articles, websites, and more with a few clicks.

2. Rip off and duplicate. In my Notion swipe file, I have columns in the dashboard where I can choose what the source is (i.e. Twitter, Linkedin, Website, Podcast) and what that piece of inspiration may inspire (i.e. an element for a website, a format for a social media post, a video editing style I want to try).

So how do you “Rip off and duplicate” or “steal like an artist?” These questions from James Clear offer some guidance:

• If I wanted to cut the price in half, what would I do?

• If I wanted to cut the time in half, what would I do?

• If I wanted twice the quality, what would I do?

Sometimes the work you’re inspired by is done by a team of people much larger than the one you have access to. Sometimes the work you’re inspired by is done with a much bigger budget than the one you have access to. Sometimes the work you dream of creating is done with resources and experience you haven’t yet gained. Sometimes the work you can’t stop thinking about is done by someone who has more time to dedicate to making it droolworthy. That doesn’t mean that you can’t create something that you’re not proud of. It just means the scope of the creative project may look different based on your circumstances. And it will always be different when you’re putting your brand, voice, and perspective into it.

Bonus: Here’s how to make your creative process easy to access. One of the biggest hurdles to doing a workout is getting to the gym – it’s why so many people have home gym equipment. It decreases the distance between wanting to work out and starting your workout. The same thing is true when you want to create something. If you can make creativity more convenient by having a dedicated filming or writing space, then getting started will be much easier. I clamped my podcast mic to my desk with a boom arm, making it easy to swing into place when I’m ready to record an episode. I also have a light clamped to my desk, reducing the time I spend setting up a big softbox. How can you make your space convenient for creating?

In Readworthy News

// 1 Billion users watch podcasts on YouTube each month. That is an absolutely massive number. I used to say that if you’re an audio-only podcaster, you didn’t need to create a video version of your show if that’s not a medium that feels natural to you. I don’t know if I still stand by that statement. YouTube is the place for podcast discovery, and they’re putting the world on notice.

// Instagram may launch Reels as a separate app. Instagram smells blood in the water with TikTok, and they’re capitalizing while the iron is hot. To be fair, they’ve had a separate app for InstagramTV (IGTV), so this could just be an updated version of that app. It could be cool to see Instagram be a greater photography companion for Threads and make photos and/or maybe photo and video carousels a priority in the algorithm. Wishful thinking that they would do anything that would benefit creators who don’t want to simply feed their video algorithm, but here’s hoping.