I’ve been sort of joking for a while that there are a couple things I really like — coffee and sushi — but I’m really not much of an expert. I’ve told people, “I know what’s bad and what’s good…but I can’t really taste a difference between good coffee and great coffee. I don’t have the palette.”
And that’s fine for most people. “Good” may be good enough.
But if you’re a coffee junky or a sushi aficionado, you want the best. You notice the subtle differences, and of course you’re going to look for the best options. You may even travel places based on getting the best of the best.
It’s true for other products too — from winter jackets to books to watches to education.
In the internet age, we can find the best regardless of geography. Sure, some things like coffee or sushi you’ll need to visit in person to experience…but with digital products or things you can have shipped to you, if you want the best, you’re going to find it.
Google’s whole business model is predicated on helping you find and rank the best solutions to whatever problem you have.
So what’s my point — I’m thinking about this a lot with my own work. It’s been a blast this past year working with clients all over the country, traveling to do speaking gigs (even in another country!), talking with entrepreneurs all over the country for the podcast, etc.
And it’s exciting to do work that can be appreciated all over the world. Writing, audio, video, speaking…everything.
But it also really makes me consider the quality of my work. For Eric and I, we’ve had national attention for our podcast, invited to take part in SXSW and CES, and more.
To keep improving and playing with other major podcasts, we really have to have excellent production quality and content for our show if we want people to keep growing, because we’re competing for attention with shows like How I Built This, The Pitch…every show.
And with the work I’m doing for Linkedin Learning, for me to be a successful author on that platform, I have to bring some insights to the table alongside other course authors who are university professors, book authors, international speakers, and more.
The same goes with my personal writing and working with clients through Unreal. I’m starting to see how the major professionals approach their work, and the level they play at, and it’s pretty intimidating. But that’s the ring I want to play in.
I’m doing a lot of planning for 2019 for the next two months, and a big part of that will be approaching my work with clarity instead of intensity. I probably won’t get back into daily writing, but what I do send should be held to a higher standard.
Because people find the best work. And they share the best work.