The Most Fulfilled Creators Have a Hidden Ally You Already Have Too

Here's what you need to know it and let it help you.

I’ve been creating content since 2010. If someone asked the usual question “what would you have liked to know when you started?”, I’d say “listening more to make gut when making decisions”.

And, as a corollary, “constantly training my gut”.

Becoming a content creator is like setting off on a path that keeps fracturing into ten new directions at every step. So many hard decisions to take.

Now, my YouTube channel is growing steadily and constantly attracting good clients. But it wasn’t always like that. Over the years, I tried many supposedly “best” tactics that either didn’t work or cost me a lot.

All those times, I didn’t trust my gut. Or sometimes my gut didn’t even have better advice for me.

If you’re a new creator, you probably feel confused and stressed. You probably hunt daily for the best tactic, look for gurus with all the answers to your questions.

You can have less anxiety and make better choices. But you need to trust your gut. You need awareness.

Too much noise

Creators have a very good problem: online there are endless winning recipes.

I ran many different projects, tried different kind of content on different platforms and sold products and services of every form and size. I studied hundreds of creators.

There’s no single “success blueprint”. If you look carefully, you’ll find people succeedng with every possible combination of tactics.

And that’s the problem: most tactics work, but only a few work for you.

As a new creator I didn’t feel I have enought competence to choose the best tactics. That’s why I was constantly online, discovering daily some new “surefire” trick that cotradicted my current actions.

You can’t find success by just following the most convincing guru:

• you lose days, weeks, months, jumping from one tactic to another,

• you waste time and energy on actions that don’t suit you,

• even if you succeed, it’s and empty wing that leaves you unfulfilled.

And worst of all…

You can’t fake it

Our success online revolves around our content. It builds an audience and shows our personality, our value. It often is the core of our products.

But you attract the right audience only if your content resonates. To resonate, it must convey your passion for the topic.

If there’s a disconnect between what you do and what you feel, your audience will sense it. Your results will suffer.

A few years ago, our YouTube channel, products and services helped small businesses and freelancers with online marketing. We hadn’t found a winning offer yet.

We saw some innovative marketers talk about a new technology: Messenger Chatbots. They automated communications on Facebook Messenger, turning into a great marketing channel.

No one was talking about this in Italy, and it looked promises. So, we started publishing content and developing offers around it.

We made some money, but not that much. And in the end we had to pivot because the technology didn’t get traction. Worst of all, I see those years as a wasted slice of my life.

I didn’t enjoy any step of the process. I think our viewers and prospects noticed it.

Two kinds of awareness

Success for creators is not just about the numbers. It’s also about building a fulfilling and exciting life and business.

All the guests of my interviews strive for that. They may not have a picture-perfect life or a 7-figure business. But they enjoy what they do. And their situation is constantly improving.

These interviews prove a theory I developed over the years. The most accomplished creators have a high level of awareness.

More precisly, they are aware of two things:

• the context,

• themselves.

They know what platforms are best, their audience needs, the best monetization strategies, the hacks. But they also know the topics that light them up, the kind of content that comes natural to them, or the offers and sales tactics they are comfortable with.

They haven’t perfect knowledge, they still make mistakes. But they are aware enough to be able to course correct and constantly improve.

Can everyone learn this skill?

A framework for building awareness

I loved my conversation with Landon Poburan. We nerded about self-improvement for an hour.

But what’s more striking is his story. A few years ago, he ran a thriving consulting business. But he was burnt out.

His therapist told him that to recover completely, people in his situation took 3-6-12 off from everything. He didn’t have that luxury.

So, he asked himself “how can I carve out enough rest in my days to recover without having to stop completely? How can I create enough leverage to be able to totally unplug for at least a few weeks in the future without financial repercussions?”

He studied. He talked with the right people. He experimented.

First, he reduced client work and started publishing content. Then, he landed on Substack. Then he started selling digital products. Then, he decided he didn’t want to overcharge his audience. So, he chose a topic that allowed him to attract a large audience.

Now, he works 5 hours a day, at most. And he makes the same amount of money he did when he was overworking himself every single day.

He achieved this outcome following a four-step framework:

• Learn widely

• Experiment daily

• Observe honestly

• Choose courageously

Learn widely

I must admit that, at the beginning of my journey, I could have spent less time learning about internet marketing online businesses. I was looking for the silver bullet and constantly second-guessing myself.

But one good thing I did was to learn widely: I didn’t fixate on a single platform, approach, or kind of content.

This way, I collected many different tools. The variety helped finally find what worked for me by trial and error.

And I was also able to find patterns that saved me a lot of time when I stumbled it the same old information, just revisited.

But be careful: learning widely doesn’t just mean “learn everything possible about writing” or “about Substack”. It also means learning about self-improvement, productivity, psychology. Everything that helps your understanding of yourself and your context.

Landon did exactly that. He escaped his unhealthy life because he knew many ways out. He learned them learning widely.

But he also implemented the second step…

Experiment daily

I could spend all my life learning. Upgrading my knowledge is addictive.

But it’s also too easy. The problems arise when you try to put theory into practice. We wasted years chasing strategies that worked in the US but just weren’t realistic in Italy, where people have far less to spend.

Improvement happens when you pair constant learning with constant experimentation. As a lifelong A student, I thought I needed to cover the full state of the art before starting anything.

Now, I’m closer to the opposite: as soon as something seems promising, I start playing with it.

My Italian Youtube channel and business exploded when I sarted talking about automations and AI for businesses. But it started much earlier, because I started playing with automations out of curiosity.

So, save a portion of your time for experiments. When you learn something interesting, something that could help your content, your business, yourself, start implementing as soon as possible.

You’ll learn if it works, how to make it work, if you like it. It may become a permanent part of your strategy.

Observe honestly

The goal of any experiment is to gather data to understand what works.

Every time you try something, obviously watch the outcomes: are you getting the expected results? How much are they costing you?

But also watch something else: how does it make you feel?

You don’t want to follow a winning strategy if it makes you miserable. The creator burning out after posting too often, for too long, is basically a meme by now.

And remember that we are the easiest to fool. Right before burning out, those creators were surely celebrating their wins on every podcast.

Choose courageously

If you observe honestly, you’ll discover uncomfortable truths.

When the main topic on my YouTube channel was internet marketing, it was hard to sell. I realized that the audience preferred another kind of competitor. The kind living in a Jacuzzi and sleeping in a Lamborghini.

I could have concocted a similar offer. I wouldn’t have been able to look at myself in the mirror if I did. So I didn’t.

You could similarly learn that something you love and is working doesn’t fit your desired lifestyle, your values, or the needs of the people around you.

Making the right choice will cost you. But you’ll get back everything with interest over the long term.

Ready to weave a future fitting you like a glove?

I see too many creators paralyzed in indecision. Too many creators falling for “experts” that have only one part of the solution.

I was one of them.

I hope you take the time to develop your awareness, to find exactly what works for you, as you create your audience, your business, your dream life.

Remember the framework:

• Learn widely

• Experiment daily

• Observe honestly

• Choose courageously

Repeat every day. Forever.

Let me know your questions in the comments. I always reply!

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