Why You're Not Making Progress as a Creator
Nov 06, 2026My wife asked me for help with her website.
She had just left a group practice to start her own therapy practice, and she needed a site that sounded like her. I thought about it for a second. Then, instead of writing anything, I put together a short interview and had her talk through her thoughts. What made her a great therapist? What did she believe that other therapists didn't? What makes a great therapist, and what should neurodivergent folks look for in one?
We used her answers to write the copy. Two hours of writing, and the site was up and ready to launch, all within two weeks of her leaving the group practice. Within the week, previous clients had found her new web presence, and a new inquiry came in.
I was happy for her, and very proud of her success. I was also a little frustrated, because I had the same goal for my own coaching business, and it hadn't gone that smoothly. Ten years of coaching and 700 YouTube videos, and I had about 20 subscribers. Half of them were my friends. None of my followers were turning into clients.
So why could I help her get clients right away, and not myself?
Why am I not making progress?
If you're making content with low to no growth or sales, you're spinning your wheels. You're taking a lot of action without the clarity that connects it to where you're trying to go.
That was me. I spent about five and a half years as an automation engineer at Apple, then left in 2019 to coach full-time. I was burnt out on the technical side, so I shut it out completely and focused on making content. I followed the volume advice: put in the reps, post consistently, get comfortable on camera, and it'll work out.
The reps did make me comfortable on camera. They didn't make me any money. I did something 700 times without getting the result I wanted.
Knowledge was never the missing piece
Here's what I noticed when I looked at my wife's site next to my own channel. I applied everything I'd learned about marketing to her practice, and it worked fast. I had the same knowledge for myself. Knowledge was never the missing piece.
What she had was clarity: about her voice, her steps, and who she helps. Her confidence came from speaking in her own voice first, and then the quick wins boosted it.
That's the chain:
- Clarity gives you confidence.
- Confidence lets you take action.
- Action gets you results.
- Results build more confidence, and more confidence gets you more clarity.
It's a cycle. The question is where it's breaking for you.
What is the Confidence Map?
The Confidence Map is a simple grid that shows where you are as a creator by plotting two things: how clear you are about yourself, and how much action you're taking.
Clarity here means clarity about yourself, your process, who you're helping and how you deliver that value. It doesn't mean knowledge gathered from courses. Action is the things you do to realize that in the world.
Put those two on a chart and you get four boxes.
The four boxes
1. Pausing (low clarity, low action). You're waiting for something to happen. You stare at a blank page. You tell yourself, "I can do this later," or, "I'll do it tomorrow." It also shows up as seeking knowledge: "I'll hold off until I know everything about this." Pausing chips away at your confidence, because nothing changes.
The way out is to take action. Watch for action without clarity, though, because that's the next box.
2. Pedaling (low clarity, high action). Lots of action, not moving the business forward. That was me with the 700 videos. I got comfortable on camera, comfortable talking, and figured out how the bits and bobs work, but the content had no teeth.
The way out is finding the right gear, and that's usually clarity about yourself. Hire a coach, journal, get help from someone who can see what you can't. Watch for clarity that stops the action, because that's the next box.
3. Perfecting (high clarity, low action). You're trying to make sure everything's perfect before anything goes out. I had a friend I call the ever-learning coach, who was always one class away from launching. "As soon as I'm done with this, then I'll launch the workshop." The next week, there were two new classes. My friend did this for about five years.
Experts who care, who want it perfect and want to be seen as experts, often live here. The way out is to build or act before it's perfect. Ship it when it's good enough to test, and let the feedback teach you.
4. Progressing (high clarity, high action). This is where my wife landed: clear about her voice and her steps, quick to put the site up, and quick to react to the feedback. Clarity led to action, action led to quick wins, and the wins built more confidence.
The box shows where you are. The cause can sit in another box.
My ever-learning friend looked like they were Pausing, because they kept delaying. The root cause was Perfecting. They wanted everything tied up before they started, so they never tested anything in the world.
So when you find your box, ask one more question: is this where the problem starts, or just where it shows up?
How do you get out of your box?
Here's the rule: add the axis you're missing without dropping the one you have.
If you're clear but not acting, keep the clarity and add implementation. If you're acting without clarity, keep moving and get clear on where it connects. Your voice and your workflow are where that clarity comes from.
For me, getting out of Pedaling took other people. I worked with Kevin from Grow the Show for a year, and then with Jeremy Enns from Podcast Marketing Academy. Both helped me get a clearer premise for my show and my marketing, and better results from the work I was already doing. I had plenty of action. I needed the clarity.
Your turn
Answer these honestly, yes or no:
- Can you say in one sentence who you help and what changes for them?
- Do you know the steps of how you work with someone, start to finish?
- Have you put something out in the last two weeks?
- In the last month, did you share something before you felt fully ready?
Mostly no on the first two means clarity is your missing axis. Mostly no on the last two means action is. Then pick one thing you'll do this week to add it, and one thing you'll keep doing so you don't lose the axis you have.
FAQ
What does "spinning your wheels" mean for a creator? It means taking a lot of action, like posting, recording and publishing, with low to no growth or sales, because the action isn't connected to a clear picture of who you help and how. On the Confidence Map, that's Pedaling.
Will posting more consistently fix it? Not on its own. Volume builds skill and comfort on camera. If clarity is the missing axis, more volume keeps you in the same box.
What's the difference between clarity and knowledge? Knowledge is what you learn from outside: courses, workshops, best practices. Clarity is about you: your voice, your process, and who you're for. You can have plenty of knowledge and still lack clarity.
How do I find out which box I'm in? Take the free Confidence Map. Six yes-or-no questions place you in your box, with the way out of each one.
Get the Confidence Map (free): shawnbuttner.com/confidence-map. Found your box and want help getting out of it? Book a Creator Diagnostic.