An overview of my fireside talk delving into the common hurdles of filming yourself talking (and of just creating things in general).
Recently, a few friends of mine have expressed their desire to share more of their lives, create more video content, or just be more comfortable being themselves on camera. This inspired a fireside talk, “General thoughts on creating videos, especially videos of yourself talking.“
Whenever someone asks me about this subject, I’m quick to encourage them to “just do it” – which, ironically, is advice I would say but haven’t been doing. So what better way to kill two birds with one stone than filming myself talking about my mindset when it comes to creating things?
I wrote this article for my friends who prefer to read, or the ones who just want “the good stuff,” or who don’t have the time to listen to some guy in a flannel breaking down those all-too-common hurdles. So here were the top 5 things that came to mind:
1. It’s Not Uncommon
I felt like this was an important thing to address right off the bat: your apprehension of filming yourself or coming out with more personal content is normal. I talk about this all the time, but photos and videos are literally called exposures. If I were to tell you to “expose” yourself or that you’re getting to get “exposed,” it would make sense to be hesitant about it. You are being very reasonable by finding yourself between positions of “I want to do this” and “I’m feeling uneasy about it.”
The camera is a powerful tool, and permitting yourself to self-expose can be a lot of pressure. Allow yourself to recognize those feelings of apprehension and understand that they are normal. You are very much human. These are very common feelings. Do not run from them. Be kind to yourself. They are there to protect you from overexposure. You do not need to “defeat” those feelings but help them feel a bit more comfortable in allowing your “light” to shine a bit more.
2. The 80% Rule
Another massive hurdle is the pursuit of perfection. You hear it all the time: I’m a perfectionist, this work just isn’t quite right, if only I had XYZ then it would be so much better. This typically doesn’t hinder you from doing the thing you want to do, but having a final product and sharing it with the world. So you must, I repeat: you must follow the 80% rule:
If it’s 80% good enough, it’s good enough. I misattributed (AND botched) Da Vinci’s final words in the video, which were:
“I have offended God and mankind. My work did not reach the quality it should have.”
THAT’S DA VINCI. He knew. There is no such thing as “perfect.” And while getting your work between 80% – 99.9% perfect is noble, it’s a waste of time. It’s more important for yourself as a creator to find yourself in the feedback loop of creation than it is to spend time creating something “more perfect.” So once your work finds itself in the B- territory, you are good to go. It’s a much better approach in the long run than grinding yourself to a halt in pursuit of an unattainable task. (Also, the good news is your 80% is a sliding scale. As you get better, you have a higher ceiling, so your 80% becomes higher too).
3. “If only I had the right equipment“
If you are in any creative space, especially in creating video content, you know the feeling of “if only I had the right equipment.” It’s not entirely untrue, but it operates more as a smokescreen than an actual reason. Almost relating to the 80% rule, if you have an iPhone (or relatively recent smartphone) your videos will come out good enough. It’s more worthwhile to practice being in front of the camera, learning how to tell a good story, and engaging with an audience than it is to spend your money/time/effort on equipment.
Now, don’t get me wrong – having more capable equipment, becoming more technologically savvy, and having some foundational knowledge about camera stuff is probably a good long-term goal. But it can become a money pit and a headache. So it’s best to accumulate those things slowly (you’d be surprised with how many things just eventually find you) and just tell yourself “Right now, I have everything I need to accomplish whatever goal is in front of me.”
4. The importance of marination
Another hurdle I’ve recognized with myself and others is the desire to __________________, now. We want to be the best speaker, the best video-er, the best creator, and whatever outcomes follow as soon as possible. But when we only focus our energy on affecting things now, we overlook the process of just letting things marinate.
Marination is a process seen throughout our nature: planting a seed, preparing a meal, starting a fire. The cool (and a bit annoying) part of becoming better at something is that you really just need some time and too much effort usually increases your chances of messing it up. So, do your best, don’t force it, and recognize things (you, your creation skills, etc.) just need some time to grow. Every video is like a seed, who knows what it can become? Plant it, put it around some good soil, and water it. Then, step away, DON’T TOUCH IT, and just let it be.
5. THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE IS TO DO IT IN JOY
I almost want to write this whole paragraph in caps. It’s that important. You need to live by this rule: have fun.
Now, “having fun” is a very broad term. It doesn’t mean easy. Or rudimentary. So in my video, I made the distinction that it’s the kind of fun that fills your heart and soul (I equated it to doing CrossFit’s Murph workout). Whatever you’re creating, video-ing, doing, whatever – if it’s filling your soul, if you’re enjoying your time in a “flow state,” if you can’t wait to see what it becomes – THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS.
We all have a limited amount of time on Earth. Forget everything else. As you start creating videos, you will understand that sometimes you’re in a spot when you’re having fun (the MOST fun) and sometimes you’re in a spot when you’re having no fun. If you’re not having fun, change it up or leave whatever situation you’re in. The best videos are fun videos. Do not mind others’ opinions – this is YOUR TIME. And DO NOT SPEND ANY MORE TIME THAN YOU HAVE TO DOING THINGS THAT DON’T SET YOUR SOUL ON FIRE.