How to Step Off the Hamster Wheel and Create with Greater Power: A Rant on Track 1 vs Track 2 Content
After we initially begin to create our work and teach others or tell stories to inspire them, I think we presented with two potential “tracks” of content that can help us elevate. Our careers might grow better if we visualized them more often — and certainly, my bias is that one of these tracks can help us STOP feeling so burnt out, because it’s the kind of work that gets us off the hamster wheel.
The hamster wheel is only stressful because it goes nowhere. But there is a type of content that takes us, our audience, and our industries somewhere better.
Here’s my rant on what I’m calling Track 1 and Track 2 content:
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I am picturing a kind of visual where there are 2 upward trajectories possible in our careers, after starting out with a foundation of content that looks like mainly sharing how-tos and prescriptions (which most of us create when we begin). I think we mainly slot into either of these tracks at the exclusion of the other, though of course exceptions exist.
THE TRACKS:
Track 1 is you remain in the realm of the prescriptions/how-to content and practitioner-level audience, but you use some combination of entertainment value and sensationalism to continue. (not just the clickbaity type of sensationalism, but also in the sense that you focus on famous names, big brands, and hot topics, as well as lean into fomo and promote urgency and/or focus on discussing timely things).
Track 2 is you move up that pyramid, and your audience changes (even if you take with you or find new practitioners, they think of you as aspirational and eventually, they too move up the pyramid). The work looks less like prescriptions and more like questions, more like a journey to change or understand something. The ideas are bolder because you’re challenging the status quo vs. pandering to it. You give people what you know they need, rather than what they think they want (i.e. you are more than simply answering their questions on Google. You are answering questions they didnt even think to ask but really ought to be asking).
PROS AND CONS:
Track 1 is easy to do well, but even if you do it well, it’s hard to differentiate and hard to charge a premium. It’s typically connected to lower margin sales, and less market influence for the org/individual creating the content. Track 2 is hard to do well, but if you can do it well, it’s easy to differentiate and easy to charge a premium. It’s typically connected to higher margin sales, and more market influence for the org/individual creating the content.
WHICH I PREFER:
Track 1 feels exhausting to me, like you have to play someone else’s game to elevate your career (e.g. YouTube’s algo/best practices). Track 1 content also dances too close to being in the business of churning out popular hits (viral content) or even overpromised, hype-filled nonsense … all at the expense of the other stuff I love, which is found in Track 2. Again, not that all Track 1 content does this.
Track 1 is Jay Clouse. Track 2 is Jay Acunzo. Track 1 is Gary Vaynerchuk. Track 2 is Seth Godin. Track 1 is Patrick Campbell (who is a friend). Track 2 is Jason Fried (who I probably wouldn’t like as a friend) Note that all of the above do good business and have a blend of high and low margin sales, and varying degrees of market influence (but all have influence).
Just trying to make clear there’s not a “good vs bad” here. But I do have a bias towards pursuing Track 2 personally, and also prescribe others try it, because it’s rare enough as to be more needed — and feels more hidden to even recognize as possible to pursue, compared to the very visible Track 1 work.