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Watch ‘My Forgotten Films’ here!
Output > Input
Before we begin Week 4 I must celebrate my mother’s 64th birthday. She is unequivocally the greatest personification of resiliency, and all of my days are inspired by her love.
She is also one of 84 readers of this newsletter, according to analytics through Week 3, and thus this note is dedicated to her.
Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.
In the spirit of output being far greater than input, this week’s YouTube release is a collection of forgotten films in Montana that didn’t make the ‘How 2 YouTube’ film – from the cutting room floor, as industry folk say.
I set out to Montana in late July with several projects incubating in my mind, most of which were filmed in unfinished little pieces and left for me to ruminate on throughout a long and ambitious autumn. The Mills McQueen YouTube project is self funded, and creating and releasing all visuals is imperative to experience a return on investment.
Thus far, that return is experienced in joy created within myself.
This film, ‘My Forgotten Films’, includes recorded memories accumulated during a special summer with friends, family, and my cinema camera. The decision to create a film from unfinished pieces is my way of honoring the thesis of this week’s note:
Output is greater than input.
Create like a Child
On Christmas Eve I visited with my sister, Megan, in Dallas, Texas. She is a mother of two animated boys, Clayton and Carter.
Clayton, 3.5 years old, is quite vocal and motivated. Throughout the entirety of my visit, he kindly demanded to show me the various creations he had constructed in his home.
A lego set. A mini soccer pitch. An impressively assembled doctor's office. All of which came with a roaring explanation of the process from start to finish. All of which he was insatiable to share.
None of which he asked for my input on.
He only asked that I look at his creation, prior to explaining the intricate construction of his next endeavor.
Nonetheless, naturally, I responded to each phenomenon with praise and admiration for his output. I wasn’t simply trying to appease the young man – I was genuinely impressed with how much he had created.
To see such ambition, such conviction to create, and such little care for the input of others sat with me my entire drive back to Austin. I was, and still am, inspired by a 3.5 year old.
Create and Release
There are several learning opportunities from the ingenuity of my 3.5 year old nephew. Perhaps the simplest to actualize, for those of us that can read, is to create and maximize output.
It’s a noble pursuit to create output. Creation of all kinds is advantageous, however the ‘create and release’ method is the impetus for a much grander system of benefits.
The universe, and more specifically the universe as it relates to you, rewards consistency. Consistency is the key to the most desired outcomes in your life.
A consistent output: writing, designing, dancing, singing, throwing clay, filming, editing, painting, picture taking, speech giving, doesn’t need to be rewarded with anything more than the conviction to create more, for good work leads to more work.
Nonetheless, the release of this work leads to opportunity. When your creation is in the world it is available for others to consume, be inspired by, and seek collaboration with.
The more output you release, the more opportunities you create for the work to be seen. Your work being seen is dependent on the frequency and quality of your output.
The quality of your work coincides with the frequency of your output.
Because,
Output leads to Input
It’s a simple equation, output = input. More specifically, create + release = receive input.
We can’t control the ways in which we receive input, or the quality of the input we receive. However, with consistent output in a given pursuit, the frequency of constructive input will increase.
Despite my indifference to the networks that dominate our existence, they are tools for distribution and input. These platforms are designed to create niches, or containers based on the type of output we produce.
My feed on YouTube and Instagram resembles that of a cinema-obsessed, novice filmmaker. Although I consider myself just above novice, the benefit of that digital ecosystem can be found and maximized.
I create and release on both of those networks. The algorithms distribute content to inspire and humble me, in consecutive scrolls. By consuming and interacting with this type of content, I’m affirming my interest in the categories that YouTube and Instagram associate me with.
And I oblige so that my time on these platforms is short, sweet, and productive. If I constantly, well hopefully not constantly, confirm I’m interested in film, then when I release my films on these platforms they will be shown to others interested in film.
This output will lead to input. And output is essential to receive quality and critical input.
Be Your Own Network
Prior to launching my first e-commerce business, MINERAL, I was quite green to the process of finding and acquiring customers online. It was far different than the ways in which I acquired partners to work with creatively, in media and design.
My creative work has always been stimulating, conversation inducing, and thus the opportunity to do more work came from the work I put out. Output led to more significant output.
Without prior experience, and effort, I sought the input of others. The recommendations were all the same: create value propositions in your content and pay, per impression, this or that network to distribute the content.
It’s a system that almost all brands utilize to create revenue, and in the process create billions for this and that platform.
It’s advertising and although the networks have evolved, the system is archaic.
Fortunately there is the rise of the creator, as we discussed in Week 1, and the decentralization of the need to compensate these networks with cash for attention.
Rather than paying YouTube to advertise, a brand or a creator can utilize financial resources to create output and use YouTube to distribute the output, capturing attention in the process. That output will lead to input, yes – and, more advantageous, the creation of your own network.
In your own network, you will create value for those that subscribe and follow you. An individual enjoys your story that you produce, shoot, edit, create and release. That joy is valuable and will lead to conversations, and connection, and if you so desire: commerce.
Output, by all intents and purposes, can lead to financial gain. Being compensated for your art, for your creation is one of the most rewarding transactions in this life, and is only accomplished by releasing it into the world.
Output for the sake of Output
Now I must directly contradict myself: I can’t encourage creation for the sake of producing commerce. Others may do so, and I have no opinion of that recommendation.
I’m not a nihilist, nor do I believe money is evil. Money is necessary and the ability to create it is a skillset that is imperative to cultivate.
Still, I believe that art, the release, is the benefit. The money that may or may not accompany the output is wildly unpredictable and thus shouldn’t be considered when creating.
I will share that the more output you create, the more opportunity you will create to make money.
Nonetheless, we create for the sake of creation. To rid ourselves of demons, and express our love for others, to challenge and change perspectives.
Creating improves our capacity to love, to care, to express ourselves.
So create and release your art like a 3.5 year old. Show the world. Put it on display. Write, dance, sing, play, and if you sit at a desk working for someone else, create the most valuable output possible related to your roles and responsibilities.
I believe in a world where we put out more than we consume.
Thank you for letting me sit with you.
– mills
YouTube
MINERAL
Dos
mycro
Ceremony