I’ve seen so many people start and quit with short-form video creation. I think this tip can help…
It’s hard to get started because we’re overwhelmed by everything that is hard, that we don’t want to do, or that intimidates us. And then we start and we struggle to continue because of that same lack of confidence.
Strip away all of the things that have the potential to become excuses.
Worried about your lighting? Don’t. You don’t need the equipment yet. Find some natural lighting. Get outside. Or maybe your lighting will suck. It really doesn’t matter.
Worried about the audio? Stop. You don’t need to buy a mic yet. The sound will be imperfect at first. Don’t use it as an excuse.
Don’t know how to edit? Don’t edit.
You’re intimidated by the app and not sure what to do in it? Just come up with an idea, turn on your phone camera, and record.
There’s no reason to worry about any of these things yet. Just create videos. Make it as easy as possible for yourself to create those videos. Limit the things that become excuses. And stop being your own worst critic who prevents you from creating anything that’s less than perfect.
The more you create, the more confidence you’ll get. You’ll learn more about what you like and don’t like. You’ll get more efficient. You’ll get better. And you’ll start to figure out on your own what equipment you actually need.
Don’t worry about any of this stuff before you need to. I truly believe this is what keeps so many people from creating and continuing to create more than a handful of videos.
I can say from first-hand experience that the only reason I was able to overcome the fear, overwhelm, and intimidation of recording was that I embraced that I was going to create lots of bad and imperfect videos before I started creating some good ones.
But even today, I know that I want to create more than I’m creating now and one way to do that is to be okay with less polished videos that take less time. This video was an example of just that.
This same tip can apply to any type of content. It could be blogging or podcasting. Don’t worry about it being perfect at first. Just strip away the barriers and create. You’ll get better with experience and confidence.
