So I’m putting together this lecture series.
Several lecture series actually.
One of them is an introduction to Shakespeare. And I want to cover every single Shakespeare play. That means a couple of introductory, hour-long, lectures followed by one on King Lear, then Othello, then Hamlet, then Much Ado. And so on.
Plus there’s the Read Like A Writer Lecture series, which kicks off with in-depth discussions on Aristotle, Aesop, and Adler, complete with reading and writing assignments. Not to mention all the other stuff I’m doing for Hardcore Literature.
Overwhelming?
Well, it could be. But you just follow that tired, tried, and true Anne Lamott bird-by-bird advice.
I’m working on ONE lecture and trying not to think of all the other lectures that are going to follow. Just do the best damn job you can do on that ONE lecture. And when the time comes, you’ll do the same for lecture number two.
It’s the same for getting into the YouTube biz. My marketing and business advice has shot more than one person to online fame and fortune. And now I’m following my own advice for my own stuff.
Just one video at a time. Doesn’t matter that no one’s watching yet. Just do another, and another. Keep on going. People will turn up when they turn up. And if they don’t, so what? Don’t be in such a rush.
Sometimes you have material, and a lot of it, and don’t even realise. Like me. I was sitting on a pile of unedited video footage. When I’d filmed them, I’d only considered them as part of maybe 3-4 long form videos. But thank goodness I waited a few months before even looking at the footage. Because there’s about 30-40 videos here.
You just cut them up. Because that’s what you’ve got to do. More content = better (so long as you don’t sacrifice quality). But here’s the thing about quality – you actually can sacrifice it somewhat.
Do a bad job. That’s the best advice I can give you. Because if you give yourself permission to do a bad job, you give yourself permission to create and produce. It’ll probably come out okay. And, if it doesn’t, you can always clean it up. And if it comes out real bad, you can consider it practice and move onto something else.
Then once you’ve cut up all your material, cleaned it up a little, packaged it nicely (without overthinking things), it’s time to fire fast. That’s how you create momentum.
It used to be that I’d tell myself there was no way I could keep up a blog posting schedule of 2-3 new articles per week what with a full-time job, writing career, tons of projects in the pipeline, and an active lifestyle. But then I said to myself: ‘Hey, how about a blog post per day?’ I thought I was crazy. But I started doing it. And once I started doing that, I got a little less anal. I started pushing out more than one per day.
And I came to a realisation. The same realisation I had reading Ray Bradbury. It’s okay not to be perfect. In fact, it’s actually charming. Let the people see your blemishes!
Anyways, that’s how you get started. And that’s the blog post for the day for me.
Ben, I’ve been meaning to write to you for a while to encourage you to keep going in developing your business. I have been loving your content and so much of it has inspired me. You are by far and away one of the most motivational mentors I have come across on the web in quite a while. You have inspired me to start reading again. You have turned me away from grazing constantly on social media, and you are really making me change habits, and engage in learning and improving like never before. Love the deep literature insights, but most of all how we can convert it to lessons to change ourselves, whether its, the advice in “Letters to a Young Poet”, building a “Mind Palace” or life advice for introverts. I’m loving all of it. My very best wishes for developing your business. You are a true inspirational guy.
Hi Andrew! Thank you very much for such kind and encouraging words! You’ve made my day. I’m so happy to hear that you’re reading again and getting value out of my stuff. If there’s anything I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Have a great day!
Hi Benjamin
I have just read your WHM review and wondered how relevant it still is to your life 4 years on. Has it evolved over time?
Hi Georgie! The Wim Hof Method is still very relevant to my life, though it’s more of a “tool” in my arsenal rather than a daily practice. I used to do the breathing and cold therapy every day, typically in the morning, and it primed me fantastically for a great, happy, productive day. I also didn’t get sick and my recovery from training was crazy.
I’ve been lax recently, using the breathing more of a last resort if I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed – and it always does the trick. I’ve done a few ice baths and cold shower blasts during lockdown when I’ve felt sore from running or unable to sleep (rare these days), and they’ve helped there too. I also find that my breathing is better no matter what I’m doing unconsciously. Most people don’t know how to breathe correctly, and luckily the course taught me that very well. I’m sure I’ll be getting back to a more daily practice soon.
Hi Benjamin, Thank you for the rapid feedback.
I heard about Wim a couple of years ago and and was fascinated by/in admiration of him. He has recently come back to my attention, so I’ve been circling his course but reluctant to take the plunge, literally.
I’m thin and feel the cold acutely. The cold shower regime holds me back more than the breathing part. I go blue from the cold and am prone to disabling foot and calf cramps doing a weekly 2km swim at the pool and I’m talking 27 degree water, so the idea of cold showers fills me with malaise. I’m not sure how compliant I’d be left to my own devices, ie with no group accountability.
I wonder whether pranayama, meditation and yoga would be a better fit for me.
Anyway, I wrote to you to see how much you’d integrated his course into your subsequent life, to get a sense of whether it was a fad or something that you’d really taken on board after the initial high had died down.
Cheers, Georgie
Take the plunge, Georgie! Wim’s course, particularly his latest one (Fundamentals), really eases you into everything. There’s no shock to the system. It’s all systematic. And bit-by-bit, you’ll quickly discover that you no longer acutely feel the cold. A little bit of cold water therapy should definitely be a huge help to your swimming training. I would say that pranayama isn’t particularly comparable, though I used that to relax and improve concentration for finals at university – so definitely worth checking out along with meditation anyway. Yoga’s a good idea too. The great thing about Wim’s course is that he combines all of this stuff together. Good luck, and let me know how you get on!