While I’m not sure if that’s the truth, I certainly know we all have a hard time believing that statement.
But here’s my honest opinion — your thoughts have been thunk before. Your ideas have been implemented before. Your challenges have been dealt with before.
You just need to look for these old ideas and create new ones from them instead of waiting for someone else to hand it over to you. Or worse, expecting that you’re going to come up with something that’s never been thought of, never been done or never been accomplished.
We’re lured into this concept of being an “original.” That’s probably the reason why I keep spending money on information products only to be disappointed and ask for a refund. They said it was groundbreaking, but hell, it’s the same stuff as the other book I read last month!
Did they rip me off? Absolutely not! It was my fault to actually believe that I’m buying something that’s fresh, new and something that’s never been discovered before. Sure the copy was promising and so were the product-launch-formula styled webinars but what I brought in the end wasn’t all that good. At least for me.
There are times I wonder if the whole online business idea is a sham. But I know better. It’s not, there are people who’ve made a great living by creating and sharing great content. These are the people who have high traffic blogs (owing to solid content than SEO), podcasts and thoroughly researched information products or a flagship event that provides immense value to the attendees.
I think the online world is made up of three archetypes: marketers, creators and wannabes. Yeah, I made them up, but not without a reason.
Marketers make all the noise! They’re the ones actively pursuing or implementing internet marketing strategies, sales funnels, content marketing hacks, free webinars and creating Black/White/Purple Friday offers! And god knows what not.
The creators work hard to build a reputation for themselves. They are simply the ones who create — blogs, podcasts, books, white papers (thoroughly researched not random riff-raff), highly valuable events and seminars. You won’t find their emails in your inbox introducing a new product or a hack or perhaps an offer that you “can’t resist.” An occasional newsletter or an important (and they mean it) announcement, but that’s it! You consume their content and share it further with your friends, helping them increase their user base and spread their message.
I think they would make the perfect case studies for Kevin Kelly’s 1000 true fans!
And here’s the crazy part — not everything that creators make is original. They are master curators and through researchers but the “value” they create by putting what they find together is compelling and grossly useful to nerds like myself. Who’re always looking for quality stuff. Creators have a take on what’s already out there and the work they’re putting out. And they give credit where it’s due.
But the question isn’t what’s new and what isn’t. It’s how marketers can promise you the moon while delivering a sub-standard product/service while the creators ask you to support them by buying their product if you think it’s useful to you. That’s one heck of a divide!
Then there are the “wannabes.” Let’s not talk about them because you already know who they are. Perhaps you’re one of them? If yes, that’s great! Now you have a chance to become a “creator” instead of a “marketer”! Remember, creating doesn’t mean “from the scratch” but creating value by catering to your audience’s needs.