Two things holding you back

Feel like others are getting ahead while you're falling behind? Read this.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creative Companion]( Presented by [Podcast Like The Pros](=) Hello my friend! It's been a really great year for my business. Objectively, I know that to be true. But, more often than I'd like, doubt and frustration still creep in. It's mostly due to comparison – looking at other creators I'm modeling after and comparing my success to their success. What are THEY doing that's so much better than me? Why are THEY getting so much engagement? Sometimes I even get critical about the work of others. Scoffing at the fortune cookie Tweet that got 1,000 retweets (while secretly wishing mine would have the same outcome). I'll tell myself stories like, "Well, they built relationships. They have OTHER high-profile creators replying and re-sharing their stuff...THAT'S why they're successful." or "They've just built a better distribution engine than me..." Then I beat myself up for thinking those things, because it's not zero sum. We can ALL win, and them winning is not my loss. When I'm back to my objective mind, I realize there are TWO things that separate us from the outcomes we're trying to achieve: belief and quality. ​ Belief Our culture is obsessed with stories of the modern-day Icarus – people who flew too close to the sun only to fall into the ocean. Over the last few years, we've seen documentaries about Fyre Festival, WeWork, Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, Anna Delvey, the Tinder Swindler... ​ ​ I love a healthy dose of schadenfreude as much as the next guy. But do you know why I think we really love these stories? Because the characters (criminal as many of them are) were able to pull off incredible, bizarre things. Things we can't imagine doing ourselves. Things that make us think, "How could they ever get away with it??" But the answer is simple and it's not inherently bad. The answer is they believed they could do it. That's it. Belief. The non-criminal creators you look up to have a similar ability to believe they can achieve what they are trying to achieve. And that belief pushes them to do the things required to make that dream come true. Without belief, we play small. Without belief, we don't take risks. Without belief, we don't push the envelope. A lot of people loved [my interview with Nathan Barry]( because of his Skyscraper vs. Strip Mall analogy, but there's another quote that I think about often: Have you given this every possible chance to succeed? I watched King Richard last week – the story of Venus and Serena Williams's dad. I couldn't believe how hard he worked (and how much he got rejected!) trying to talk tennis professionals into coaching his daughters. I asked myself, "Would I go that far?" We often have the urge to quit. Or the urge to point fingers at our "bad luck" or the unfair advantages of others. But if we're honest with ourselves and ask, "Have I given this every possible chance to succeed?" we may arrive at a different answer. ​ Quality After 100+ interviews with some of the best creators on the planet, I've noticed a lot of patterns. But maybe the most important pattern is this... The most successful creators maintain a high-level of quality week in and week out over the course of several years. Not everything they create is A+ work (to use James Clear's language) but they do often hit A+ work. And their average is probably still in the B+ to A range. Do you hold yourself to the same standard? Not just in terms of their long-form content, but they are students of creation. They know what will work well natively for each platform. They create with the lenses of 1.) value and 2.) shareability. If you're honest with yourself, is your work good enough to get the outcomes you're looking for? Because it's unfair to expect the same outcomes of top creators if you aren't creating the same quality of work on a CONSISTENT basis. Not just one-off pieces here and there, but CONSISTENTLY high-quality work that values the viewer. If you're not hitting that bar, it's OK. It may require some more time before you ship. It may require more time honing your craft so you have the ABILITY to create work of that quality. It's good to hold yourself to a high standard, but if you don't have the same level of experience as someone else, you shouldn't compare your results to theirs. ​ Conclusion I hope you don't feel attacked. This was written as tough love to myself because I feel the same things you do. And when I'm honest with myself, I'm not creating work at the level of quality that I need to. I'm not believing in myself in taking King Richard-level risks. As my friend Zach likes to say, "Every system is perfectly designed to achieve the results it achieves." So, if you don't like the results your system is achieving...it's time to change the system. And that probably comes down to believing in yourself and creating higher-quality work. ​ Share This Essay: [Share via facebook](=) [Share via twitter]( [Share via whatsapp](=) Your personal share link: [ ​ ​ ​ [Sponsor Image](=) PRESENTED BY PODCAST LIKE THE PROS Learn how to produce a high-quality podcast with a small team or a small budget Podcast Like The Pros is my most popular course. In this 36-lesson, 5+ hour course, I take you behind-the-scenes and let you look over my shoulder as I produce an episode of Creative Elements. I share the tools I use and the exact processes I follow using those tools. You'll leave the course with an exact playbook for how I produce a high-quality, professional-sounding show with a small team. I also cover podcast networks, selling sponsorships, hiring an audio engineer, and more. Save 25% this week using promo code SAMPARR. [Learn more](=) ​ ​ CLICK WORTHY 🔥 Check these out 🎥 [What Am I Doing With My Life?](=) – Ali Abdaal shares a breakdown on how he's building his business, the goals he has for the business, building a team, and how he's balancing it with his personal life. (43 minutes) --------------------------------------------------------------- 👨‍🏫 [Social profile advice from Justin Welsh](=) – Justin breaks down some tips for how to setup your Twitter and LinkedIn profiles to set you apart and attract more followers. Very tactical, very good! --------------------------------------------------------------- 📊 [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 --------------------------------------------------------------- 💌 [State of the Creator Economy 2022]( – This report by ConvertKit breaks down the results they found in their 2022 survey of 2700 creators. ​ THIS WEEK ON CREATIVE ELEMENTS #103: Sam Parr [Asking Questions] From legendary email newsletter to top business podcast [Creative Elements Cover Art]() Sam Parr is the co-host of My First Million and the founder of The Hustle. My First Million is one of the top business podcasts on the planet, generating more than 1 million downloads per month. The Hustle is a business and tech newsletter that had 1.5 million subscribers when it was acquired by Hubspot in February 2021. We don’t know what the terms of the deal are – Sam has said that he’s taking the number to the grave. But Axios reported that The Hustle was valued at $27 million. In this episode, we talk about the start of The Hustle, how Sam learned copywriting, how he does research, the growth of My First Million, the platforms he sees with the biggest opportunities for creators, and why he’s never been afraid of asking questions. CREATIVE ELEMENTS • EPISODE 103 Sam Parr [Asking Questions] From legendary email newsletter to top business podcast [Play episode]() =[Apple Podcasts](=) Spotify]( ​ ​ LAST WORD 👋 Thanks for reading! I'm getting married this week!! It's hard to believe the big day is finally here. Mallory has done an incredible job getting this thing ready to roll...meanwhile, I went and developed Shingles last week! 😩 We caught it early and got on an aggressive treatment plan quickly...so I'm hoping I'm back to full speed by the big day. But boy, life comes at you fast. Soon we'll be heading to Europe on our honeymoon! More on that to come, but I'm taking a little bit of time off (as Shingles would dictate). But with some major major announcements coming this summer, you'll be hearing from me soon. In the meantime, be sure to connect with me on [Twitter]() and [Instagram](=) so you can follow along with all the beautiful wedding and honeymoon fun! Cheers, Jay --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse]( Jay Clouse [Say hi 👋 on Twitter]() or [Instagram]( ☎️ [Book a 1:1 call with me]( Thanks for subscribing! 📬 Reply to this email or [contact me]( anytime. [Edit your profile]( or [unsubscribe here](. This email was sent with [ConvertKit]() and designed using [Palladio](=). Want to say thank you? ❤️ ☕️ [Buy Me A Coffee]() or send a note to P.O. BOX 797, Worthington, OH 43085. [Sponsor this newsletter]( to get your message in front of 12K+ creators.