Why
This is what determines if your truly being authentic or not.
And I know you’ve probably heard the word authentic more times than you would like but it really is that important.
People know when you’re bs’ing and people don’t want to work with bs-ers.
It’s more than just being honest and it’s more than saying controversial takes.
You need to understand the “why” being your content and turn it into a mantra. (a one line sentence that every video relates back too in some way.)
Mantras create measurable intention.
And that’s what makes a brand feel cohesive, it’s the reason being that “feeling” you get from watching your favorite creators post.
But it’s hard to just come up with your mantra by yourself. Where do you even start?
CREATING YOUR MANTRA
Now throughout this course I will reference writing stuff down in a journal.
If you do not have a journal you need to get one.
The main reason for this is:
You learn to connect your thoughts, and therefore ideas, better.
You can brain dump with as little friction as possible.
You remember little details from things you would otherwise forget.
It helps your visualize concepts quickly and in an organized manner.
This was my first journal when I started doing content. (keep in mind your journal is 100% prefrence.) |
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Now, with your journal in front of you write down and answer these questions in as much detail as possible:
What have I gone through?
What are some of my personal experiences?
What do I do that is extraordinary or one of a kind in my space?
What do I want to be known for?
Why does my work matter to me beyond money?
What is the overlap in what I believe and what I do?
What do people come to me for?
What is easy for me and hard for others?
What is something I want to be?
From these answers you should have a really easy time filling out your Ikigai. It is a Japanese concept that translates to “reason for being.”
In this case it’s your reason for creating.
Grab a notebook, draw four overlapping circles, and fill them out aligning with your answers (going outside → in.) What’s left will be your Ikigai or “why.”
The last part of this exercise is assemble everything into one sentence.
This sentence is your mantra.
I know the circles can be hard to get proportionally correct, so here’s how I did mine from about a year ago →
