About 8 months ago, I really got into this podcast called Dissect. This podcast dedicates an entire season to one particular music album and every episode in the season is a track-by-track analysis and breakdown.
Last season, the podcast dissected Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Every episode is 35-45 minutes breaking down a 3-8 minute song and the guy really goes deep.
When I started listening, I had these two conflicting, intense emotional responses:
- This is so crazy good — I am raising my personal bar to make things this good
- How could I ever make anything this good?
Sincerely, it’s some of the best “media” I’ve ever “consumed.”
For the first two seasons, the host was working a full time job to support his family while spending ~40-60 hrs per episode on the nights and weekends. He started a Patreon profile for listeners of the show, and last winter hit his Patreon goal to quit his job.
When he hit that threshold, he tweeted:
For some reason, that has really stuck with me. I’m believing more and more that we are really only rewarded for what we produce. And if we are not producing and sharing our thoughts, ideas, voice with the world, we are missing a huge opportunity and leaving a lot on the table.
And so as much as I love “consuming” the thoughts and ideas of others — from books to podcasts to Netflix — I’m really seeking a balance of production and consumption.
Tim Ferriss called this “just in time” consumption vs. “just in case” consumption. I dig that. And not only that, but my mental and emotional health feels better when I’m creating.
Just keep putting out your signal — we need it!