Write the blogs you want to read

“Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done”.

– Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist (p.48)

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I recently decided to start a podcast with a friend of mine. We had been talking about the idea for a few days, and we finally took the plunge and scheduled a date to record our first episode. But the question both of us had on our minds was: What in the world should we talk about on the podcast?

The first idea we had was to base it around our careers. My friend is a personal trainer, so he’d be talking about fitness and diet, and we’d combine it with my knowledge on design and art. But we both weren’t sold on the idea; it just seemed too safe (and boring).

So we took a few days to brainstorm potential ideas; some were based on what each of our skills were, some were based on the potential of making money, and some were just plain terrible. But none of them successfully scratched our itch or got us excited enough to start recording.

So we decided that we’d talk about the thing that both of us had a longstanding interest in and loved talking about: self-improvement. We took it a step further and organised the episode using ‘hacks’ - actionable advice that could be implemented into someone’s life in under 2 minutes. We chose this idea because it’s the podcast we wished existed.

Since then, we’ve recorded over 20 episodes, with 15 episodes live on Spotify and Apple podcasts. Although our downloads are nothing to boast about, and we aren’t making any money from it, it still doesn’t stop us from showing up every week to record another episode. It’s just plain fun for the both of us.

If you’ve always wished there was a blog you could read that talked about dinosaurs or wished there was a YouTube channel reviewing the best restaurants in London, then create it yourself!

Don’t compare your ideas to other people or feel pressured to change them. Do it because it’s the thing you want to see. Lead by example. Be the change you want to see in the world, do the work you want to see done.

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