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Attention is wealth, both being able to keep it and command it.
I’m often asked, “Why, as a 33 year old man, did you create a YouTube channel?” It’s a foreign concept to those not aligned with the value of the creator, which is still very much being defined.
My YouTube channel is the result of my desire to test two hypotheses, and of course my love for filmmaking / storytelling:
- Building in public allows you to test, iterate, and scale quicker than building in private, because you’re constantly opening yourself up to feedback from your target audience / customer
- Those that can command attention and keep their audience engaged, for the collective benefit of the community, will be the most influential individuals in 2024+
I’m referring to real people for #2, not robots – and I believe the people capable of both will be considered ‘the new wealthy’.
Fortunately, I also believe that those that can keep their attention on the creation of a real person or brand will also fall into this category of ‘the new wealthy’.
So the future is bright for us all, if we’re able to create interesting stories and keep our attention on the interesting stories of our fellow human beings.
There is no denying the rise of something inhuman. Which is somewhat interesting, and terrifying, and unnecessary, and will likely lead to the dissolution of our sense of selves – unless we’re creating for ourselves!
Which is why I created my YouTube channel. To show, not tell, the stories I was interested in sharing, and to delay the inevitable dissolution of my sense of self by way of artificial intelligence making decisions, solving problems, and telling me “good morning”.
We are all Creators
Creators are the zeitgeist. Creators are the antithesis of AI. ‘Creators’ is also just another word for you and I, in that we are the creators, and we intend to create value through our desired medium.
If you create like me, then you’re sharing regular short films on YouTube to practice filmmaking and to test the two hypotheses above.
Or you write, or take photographs, or dance, or you’ve yet to identify yourself as a creator. Don’t worry, you’re far from behind.
Please use this newsletter as the first of many opportunities to remind yourself that everyday as a child you created something of note, and shared the story of the creation with anyone that would listen.
Where did that playfulness, that unconscious desire to create go?
Somewhere along the way, after hearing ‘no’ a few too many times, we ignored the desire to create and unwillingly accepted the way of the subordinate.
Nonetheless, the desire to create is innate and connects us all. The first step to escaping subordination is to recognize the desire to create. Then, with a conviction that requires practice and dedication, give that desire to create your attention.
You must start now though. For two reasons:
- Becoming dedicated to creation requires practice – anything outside of subordination requires practice
- This is a provocation, because eventually this opportunity to ignite your passion for creation will no longer be optional
And despite what may come off as a touch comical, this is a serious note: I’m the first reformed, a survivor of the desire to create wealth without offering any real value to the world. My shift wasn’t optional, and I often found myself unfulfilled, depressed, and quietly desperate.
Creative Concept Journaling
For 10 years I struggled with attention. I still struggle, my struggles are just far less severe now and, after finding myself in that distracted spiral, I’m capable of quickly undistracting myself.
In those 10 years, I journaled everyday – affirmations, manifestations, desires, and mantras. Hundreds of my journals are filled with this noble, yet frivolous practice. I attempted and failed at all productivity hacks and stood by as time melted before me. Despite a written desire for change, the only change happened to me and not because of me.
Until last year.
Sometime at the start of 2023, I changed the focus of my journal practice to write a creative concept everyday: to focus in for 20-30 minutes and concept a creative idea that had existed only in my mind before. I have hundreds a day, and the ones that made the notebook were often actualized in the form of a YouTube video, feature film script, or a new business (see Dos).
This also led to clearer thinking throughout my day, and the ability to undistract myself regularly and effectively.
The practice led to my ability to keep my attention on the creative projects I outlined in the notebook, one of which is this newsletter (hooray!).
The practice also led to my YouTube channel, full circle moment and shameless self promotion. Because of that, I must add a third hypothesis to the above:
- Despite a lack of interest from the YouTube platform (329 subscribers, 400 avg views per video) can creating short films on YouTube keep my attention long enough to reach a place of impact through that channel?
The experiment is occurring in real time, right before the readers of this newsletter. And although this newsletter is very personal to me, and my beliefs around attention, it was also an opportunity to test your ability to keep your attention?
So… did you make it this far?
How to Train Attention
There have to be opportunities to actualize the teachings of this newsletter. For Week 1 those opportunities come in the form of training techniques for focus, interest, and attention. I’ll disclose that I’m not an expert, simply an enthusiast, and the efficacy of these teachings has only been tested on my close community. Nonetheless, the risk is small for a massive reward: being able to keep your attention.
Start here:
Take a moment to gather yourself. For the first time attempting this practice, follow along…
Sit for 5 minutes. Don’t meditate, don’t pick up your phone, don’t occupy yourself with frivolous nonsense. Just sit. Let the thoughts flow, all of them.
Sit with the angst. Sit with the discomfort. Sit with your breath, in and out through the nose. You’ve been with yourself since birth, enduring thousands of moments more excruciating than this 5 minutes of stillness. So keep sitting.
You possess millions of hours of historical data to remind you of and support your interests, the initiatives that inspire you, the moments that have held your attention. Use all of your mental energy to identify those data points now – the ones that interest you. Find the one or the several. Focus on them. Picture them. Then focus some more.
One last deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
I’d write those interests down. If I’m fortunate enough to keep your interest this year, I’ll work with you to turn your interest into attention.
Thank you for letting me sit with you.
– mills