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Lately I've been struggling with something I never thought I'd say out loud to myself, and that's what's the point in creating anymore. AI can answer questions faster than I can. Social media feels like it's lost its punch, and some days it's hard to believe that this podcast even matters or any of the work I do matters.
And that voice in the back of my head creeps in. It says, does this even help anyone? Is this relevant? Should I just stop? Should I go back to being a software engineer? And that's scary. And it's the kind of resistance that makes you stare at the mic or stare at a blank page or just want to walk away.
And if you felt that way lately, whether you're just starting your creative journey or this is your full-time gig, you're not alone. And I've been right there too. [00:01:00] But here's what I know after years of creating and coaching is that every time the world shifts, there's a new wave of creators that rise.
There's always a way forward, especially for creators who know how to stay grounded, how to adapt, and how to make their voices count.
In this episode I am sharing my struggle in thinking about this, what's been helping me keep going, and how you, yes, you can crush it even if it feels like nothing's working.
So let's talk about what it really means to keep creating what it feels like it doesn't matter, and why it actually matters the most.
Welcome to Creators that Crush the show that helps you go from crushed to crushing it as a creator. I'm your host and certified high performance coach, Shawn Buttner. And the goal of this show is to help content creators with their performance or [00:02:00] everything outside of the craft that gets in the way of them having a business and career where they thrive
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lately.
Creating for the podcast has felt a little bit harder than normal. You know, there's this voice in the back of my head that says, does this even matter anymore? Because I feel dejected or like burnout, and ultimately I feel that I have to stop doing what I'm doing and get a traditional job and walk away from the podcast and my coaching business.
But I didn't quit. And the reason why is I had this belief that like working for a company in the environment right now, especially in software, feels even harder. And people are, cutting workforce. The, abundance I [00:03:00] experienced early on in my software career has evaporated as people have focused on shifting workforce to ai and I.
Ultimately too, like I want control over my time, my impact, and how I help others. So why do so many creators feel this way now? was listening to Creator Science Podcast by Jay Clouse, and he has talked about recently about stepping. Away a little bit from social media 'cause it's just not giving him the impact and results for his business as much.
Uh, you know, audience growth is getting a little bit harder. The algorithm has been completely changing as AI has been flooding timelines and impacting how SEO works for creators. There's a lot of things that are in flux right now and. Here's what I've seen the last five years in as a creator and even as a [00:04:00] software engineer, is that the market and environment is constantly shifting.
And every time that there's a big shift, whether it's social media exploding and changing how creators work, or YouTube or TikTok or any of these platforms, the folks that can stick with it and figure out the new rules have a huge breakthrough and. This uncertainty for us as creators is part of the job.
And if you're willing to stay in the game, it can actually be part of the fun. You know, when you figure it out and it clicks because the environment shifted it, it provides an opportunity for you to lead in your space and to deliver enormous impact and value for your audience. if you're just starting out as a creator, right.
So I feel like there's three different levels of creators, essentially the beginner, the like middle, and then the established. And if you're a beginner creator, you [00:05:00] might see folks like Jay Clouse Or Alex Harmozi, or any big creators out there that are crushing it.
And you might think like, what chance do I have? I don't have the time, the resources, the experience, the, skills in order to thrive right now, but. Again, anytime there's a disruption in the market, like a new technology comes in, say chat, GPT, there's a huge opportunity to figure out how to utilize that in a way that's a little bit more nimble and how to stand out and how that ultimately lets you win later.
And if you are someone that's been creating for a while, this is probably more like me. And you feel like you have your cadence down and you have an idea of what works for you. it's really important now to focus in on what is working really great in this [00:06:00] moment, and what do I need to let go that maybe worked six months ago or a year ago.
focus on. Where you feel resonant the activities and things in your business as a creator that are energizing to you or the things that you find useful because as the world shifts with AI and its impact on everything. It, that's what's going to make the difference for you, and that's what's gonna keep you in the game, right?
Feeling energized, feeling connected to the work, and seeing the things that actually get you results. And for the established folks, as I'm looking out to them, you have to remember to not get it too attached to one format or a particular channel for creating, uh, still double down on what's working, and then let go again of what's not guilt free.
So what's been helping me right now [00:07:00] work through this disruption and shift, in the the creator space is to show up every day. In spite of it, sometimes feeling pointless. You know, I have a, a mindset of, I might not have figured it out yet, but I'm staying in motion. I'm trying new things and I'm reminding myself that there's only one me.
And that can't be commodified by a tool or trend or tactic. And so. How do I accentuate that in the things that I create? How do I make a podcast where I'm speaking into a mic or speaking into a camera and make it seem or not seem to actually be more connective, more engaging, more,
differentiated to folks? That sounds like a business term 'cause it is. but, but you know, how is listening to this show or this podcast really going to help people in a way that [00:08:00] only I can, that's kinda what I'm thinking of. And so the challenge that I issue to you directly is what's one way you can make.
Yourself shine in this environment, or you can show off your unique personality or experiences or stories in a way that you know, no matter what's happening in structurally in the market, that you will succeed or you'll shine. You'll stand out and people will be drawn to you because of you and who you are.
And so. If that's you, or you need help figuring out how to shine in the environment, or you're in a funk or you've plateaued, or you're wondering if you should keep going, let's talk. let's book a free 30 minute, uh, creator strategy session at Shawn Buttner dot com and we'll, we'll work what's holding you back.
We'll figure out how [00:09:00] you can distinctively show up. In your market, in your business, in your topic, then the things that you create so that you have that staying power because, I know this coaching process can work and it's one of those things that it's agnostic of tools and strategies and my, that if we can make you the best you, that's going to make the best positioning for you to shine uniquely in your space.
So just offering that shawnbuttner.com. Check it out. Okay. I invite you to this free call.
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to conclude today, the world doesn't need more recycled content or AI clones. It needs you, it needs your insight, it needs your voice, it needs your way of helping people. So if you've been asking, what's the point, this is it.
It's staying in the game long enough to figure it out to thrive, to make your difference and impact with others [00:10:00] because it's the human connection that's really going to make the difference. Okay, hope you enjoyed this episode, guys. We'll see you next week. And creators that crush, this is Shawn Buttner signing off.
One more thing. If you loved this episode of Creators the Crush, please make sure to su subscribe on wherever you're listening to this. apple Podcasts helps me the most, but you can do Spotify or any of the other platforms. I'm not too picky, but Apple really does help me out.
And if you do their, if you do that too, consider giving us a rating, a five star rating or leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you, hear what you think of the show and yeah. With that, we'll see you guys next time on Creators The Crush.
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