Inventing the next "hand job" or web tool VS. building a platform

[proHappyJim]

MJ and Fastlane Friends,

I have been digging, searching, overturning every rock... looking for that next solution I can invent (my experience has been in web development, business building, writing).

I find myself diving headlong into starting up a podcast, building up my following on social media, and finishing my next book.

Often I wonder: Am I just going down the "be exceptional" path... trying to be the best in a talent? I remember MJ mentioning many times [in Millionaire Fastlane] that it's much easier to invent something than to compete against those who are exceptionally talented (at sports, music, entertaining, making people laugh, moving people, etc.).

Am I slipping down the wrong path? It is essential that I force myself to stay on the inventing path and not get sucked into the "build a following/be exceptional" path?

 

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[Dark Water]

This doesn't sound like it has to be an either or. Many people chip away at fastlane endeavors while working in the slowlane. You could look at it in a similar light.

I also think going down the path of being exceptional has crossover - granted you are managing your time and not letting it be all-consuming. With that said, exceptional almost by definition has a comparative factor to it. What if you take that out and decide to just be the best you can be during the time you dedicate to it? It's like going to the gym - I know if I busted my a$$ or not during that one hour session and I know how well or how poor I ate all week. Growth will come accordingly based on that, not whether I was more or less exceptional compared to the guy next to me.

Anyways - I think you can podcast, write a book, and "build a social media following" alongside inventing. I put build a following in quotes because I think everyone wants to do that, but it doesn't really mean anything. I don't remember any of the posts I liked last week, on LinkedIn, on Facebook, or even here on the forum. I don't remember what I liked. I don't even know what pages I follow. Those people's numbers may have went up but in the end it doesn't really mean much. It is self-evident if what you are putting out in the world is providing value or not, and you need not depend on a following to validate it.

Just make sure you are focused on providing value so that you can create your own luck/opportunities.

 

[trylks]

I don't like content creation as a business model, or the attention economy as a whole. When I "generate content", it is after many repetitions, to settle something and stop repeating myself, e.g. tweet.

Having said that, a following may be useful as part of a funnel, i.e. not for direct monetization, but to have an initial core of "consumers" (customers, clients, users, people paying,...) to bootstrap a productocracy from there.

The bigger the "initial population" is, the faster and earlier you will escape the "extinction risk" area.

Having said that, putting too many resources in the funnel may weaken your product[ocracy]. I would consider focusing on the product, and making the funnel with the "scraps" of the product-building-process.

Having said that*, if you have extensive experience in business building, and you are "world class" in some way, you may already be exceptional in fact. I know for sure there are many people that want to learn about business building ("from Zero to One"?). If you do not need the money, you may consider this "expert business model" for fun, "meaningfulness", and [potentially] profit. But then you would be doing content creation as a hobby, not as a business model.

I don't like content creation as a business model, or the attention economy as a whole.

I feel like I should add to my posts the disclaimer: "[I think] I know the theory, I do not have first hand experience myself yet."

* I am considering to adopt that as a signature expression. Every model is wrong (some are useful), meaning: after laying the main model, there is always some consideration: "but, in case of...". I have to consider myself if this is "adding epicycles".

 

[tigerbalm]

Nobody doesn't like a good hand job