What is your American Idol story?

I watch more American Idol than you may expect for a man in his 30s.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creative Companion]( Presented by [TimStodz.com](=) Hello my friend! I watch more American Idol than you may expect for a man in his 30s. Mallory got me into it when we started dating and just like live sports, there's something special about knowing you're tuning into something live with the rest of the world. It's cozy, OK??? And not only do I enjoy the show for its talent and entertainment, but I love thinking about the business and marketing machine that is American Idol. As the season progresses and the judges whittle down the field to a top 20 or so, you start to notice that the show invests a LOT of time and effort into constructing vignettes (pre-recorded segments) about the contestants. [Chayce Beckham story](=)Click to watch the vignette of last year's winner ​ And every vignette focuses on the unique, emotional, even troubled part of their past. They want us to see ourselves in these singers – the parts of ourselves that struggle, get discounted, or have made mistakes. The whole idea is to show that regardless of your background, challenges, or mistakes, you can overcome and reach absolute heights as an American Idol! This contestant overcame a terrible diagnosis. This contestant survived a drunk driving incident and gave up alcohol. This contestant grew up in a small town and just felt different from everyone else. And as the contestant goes deeper and deeper into the competition, you can feel the producers turn those stories up to an 11. They REALLY dig into those mistakes and challenges. The cynical part of me sees this as putting singers in a box and even over-dramatizing their story for the purposes of marketing and entertainment. But then I started to see this type of storytelling all over the creator world too. I'm from Columbus, Ohio, so I've been following Lewis Howes for a while. I've literally watched the story on his [About page]() change over the years to emphasize a couple of key moments in his development: ​ “How an awkward boy from Ohio became a Times best selling author…” ​ “Growing up in the small town of Delaware, Ohio, I overcame feeling dumb, feeling lonely, and being bullied for being in special needs classes by dedicating myself to becoming the best athlete I could be.” In recent years, he's started leaning into the story of his dad's accident and how that impacted his life and journey as a creator. ​[Another great example](=) comes from Tiffany "The Budgetnista" Aliche: [Tiffany Aliche story](=)​ ​ Tiffany's story focuses on her start working at a daycare, a financial scam that left her in terrible debt, and how she overcame that debt. What I've come to realize and appreciate more and more is the power of storytelling. Storytelling is how we connect to people. It's how we see ourselves in others. ...and as a self-obsessed species and culture, we NEED to see ourselves in your story to care. So it got me thinking... What is my American Idol story? What are the most relatable, pivotal moments in my creator journey that I can use as signposts to show people that I've been on their path and can help show them the way? What are the human aspects of my story that emphasize the struggle more than the victory? People aspire to victory...but we understand and empathize with the struggle. Yet, we tend to emphasize our accomplishments almost like a resume on our About page. And that may be great for social proof and showing that you're an impressive person with a lot to teach... But do we want to learn from you? While we may aspire to your same success, we want to know that you understand OUR path to get there. We want to see ourselves in your story. And if you're just showcasing your accolades...we may not be able to identify with that. So now it's your turn... What is your American Idol story? ​ Share This Essay: [Share via facebook]() [Share via twitter](=) [Share via whatsapp]() Your personal share link: [ ​ ​ ​ [Sponsor Image](=) PRESENTED BY TIMSTODZ.COM Stop trading your time for money. Instead of trading your time for money, you can build assets that do the work for you. And long-time creator and entrepreneur Tim Stoddart is here to help with a weekly newsletter that teaches you how to create multiple streams of income. Tim is the CEO of Stodzy Inc, the owner of Sober Nation, and partner in Copyblogger. And every Friday, Tim will send you 10 best resources to help you generate more income by creating productized services, building niche media sites and investing in online companies. I'm a recent subscriber myself! [Sign up for free](=) ​ ​ CLICK WORTHY 🔥 Consume This 🎥 [Making a Portable Mac Mini](=) – This is an incredible video by Scott Yu-Jan building his own mini laptop by combining the Mac Mini M1 and iPad Mini. It's one of the most cinematically beautiful YouTube videos I've ever seen. (7 mins) h/t [Sara](=) for sharing this with the Creative Companion Club --------------------------------------------------------------- 🤳 [Daniel's Wall on TikTok]() – I met Daniel at CEX this week and really love his TikTok content. He does some really great research and talks about the entertainment industry. --------------------------------------------------------------- 📊 [Nudge](* – Nudge is the engagement analytics platform any serious creator should try. Start for free, install the code. Then get fresh insights into how engaging your content is. *This is a sponsored ad --------------------------------------------------------------- 🔨 [Opal C1 Professional Webcam]() – I got a beta version of the Opal Camera this week and it's crazy. Incredible video quality for a $300 camera and far exceeds the Logitech Brio. ​ THIS WEEK ON CREATIVE ELEMENTS #101: Arvid Kahl [Empowerment] From SaaS founder to full-time creator [Creative Elements Cover Art](=) Arvid Kahl is the creator of The Bootstrapped Founder. The Bootstrapped Founder is the home of his Twitter course [Find your Following](=), the books Zero to Sold: How to Start, Run, and Sell a Bootstrapped Business and The Embedded Entrepreneur, which is an audience-driven book teaching you how to build an audience-driven business. Previously, Arvid was the co-founder of FeedbackPanda, an online teacher productivity SaaS company, with my partner Danielle Simpson. FeedbackPanda was sold to SureSwift Capital in 2019. In this episode, we talk about the start of FeedbackPanda, a speaking opportunity that opened up a new world for Arvid, the transition from founder to creator, his unconventional approach to Twitter, the difference between creating a course vs. books, and why he’s on a personal mission of Empowerment. CREATIVE ELEMENTS • EPISODE 101 Arvid Kahl [Empowerment] From SaaS founder to full-time creator =[Play episode](=) Apple Podcasts]( Spotify]( ​ ​ LAST WORD 👋 Thanks for reading! I spent a few days this week at the first ever Creator Economy Expo (CEX)! It was a blast. I met several members of the [Creative Companion Club]() in person, got really great feedback on my presentation, and even hosted a private dinner! [Justin Moore and Jay Clouse] ​ ​ It really reminded me how much I miss in-person events like this. It's amazing how quickly you can build a relationship sitting face to face, sharing a meal, and talking in real time. I was thankful to meet so many members of the CCC in person, and it has me thinking about how to create more in-person opportunities for online communities. I won't get there overnight, but piggybacking on existing events that folks want to travel to seems like the best first step! Cheers, Jay PS: Want to [be featured in an upcoming issue]( of Creative Companion? 👀 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse]( Jay Clouse [Say hi 👋 on Twitter]() or [Instagram]( ☎️ [Book a 1:1 call with me]( Thanks for subscribing! You can reply to this email or [contact me]( anytime. Want to [sponsor this newsletter](=)? Too many emails? [Change your preferences]( or [unsubscribe here](. Want to say thank you? [Buy Me A Coffee]() or send a note to P.O. BOX 797, Worthington, OH 43085 This email was sent with [ConvertKit]() and designed using [Palladio]().