Hey Reader!

This week is my first newsletter; honestly, I’m not entirely sure what to write about. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time, but I have a few neat things I can share from the last week and some insights about what I am doing next week.

There are links throughout the email to the books and creators that shared this information with me and at this point nothing is sponsored or affiliate links so just sharing because I thought the content was worth sharing.

🧠Show Your Work

I released a new YouTube video about Austin Kleon’s bestselling book Show Your Work, which I learned about from Ali Abdaal’s YouTube channel. **In the video, I described five actionable tips that you can take today to broaden your community and share your work with others. The challenge of sharing your work is potentially not being accepted or judged; on the other side, the benefit of sharing is you may be able to help people or explain a concept to others that are struggling with the same thing. Here I’ll share an expansion of the video to explain how I used these actions today.

🎬The five actionable tips from the video are:

🤯1. You Don’t have to be a genius

Kleon’s first rule destroys the myth that only ‘gifted’ people can be successful creators. He says everyone has something unique to offer. It’s more about the process than about divine inspiration.

I am new to YouTube, writing blog posts, and newsletters, but I am not new to engineering, business, and program management. I can apply the topics I know a lot about to areas I know not so much about. One of my releases in the coming weeks is going to be about setting up a micro-studio to shoot YouTube videos, partially because I am going through the struggle of doing that now, but also because that struggle is new and fresh in my mind. What settings did I use for OBS, the camera, which microphone did I use and why.

As time goes on, I anticipate my focus to move from the novelty of starting this channel, and more to explaining engineering, leadership, and management concepts to a new manager. But right now, this is a project that I am starting out, and no better time to share your progress than when it is happening.

🗄️2. Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosities ✈️🤿👟📷🚢

We all have interests and fascinations that might not seem to be directly related to our work. But sharing these can show a more authentic, relatable side of us.

If you ask my wife, I have too many expensive hobbies… I counter that I just have varied interests whether it be flying, diving, or fumbling around a golf course, I enjoy learning all the intricacies of anything that I am doing. Every one of your interests connects you to another group of people, pilots, scuba divers, cyclists, runners, photographers, engineers, etc. Every interest is a point to connect with someone else and may offer a means to teach someone about a tip or trick to make your interest a bit more fun. I can promise that it will be a very long time before I share fitness tips.

📖3. Tell Good Stories

People connect with stories. Kleon urges us to share the stories behind our work - our struggles, triumphs, inspirations, and failures.

A good story is captivating, it enthralls people and drives them to learn more or try something. I am not a great storyteller… yet. As an engineer, I tend not to share the progress of my projects while they are still in development because of fear. It is not perfect, it isn’t working, I could have done something better. Showing your work is about sharing the process of what you have done, how this thing should help society, and why you decided to embark on an endeavor. There is so much more about creating than the end result, the process is captivating. Connect with people on a deeper level by sharing the why behind your decisions.

👨🏽‍🏫4. Teach What You Know

Kleon believes in the power of teaching. When we share our knowledge, we learn more, we connect better with our audience, and we establish our authority in our field.

Teaching someone about something you know nothing about is challenging and inauthentic. To connect with people teach them about something you know. An alternate view, selling people on something is easier when you know the product, when you believe in a product, and when you can share authentic experiences with a product. The same is true when sharing the ins and outs of a process that you’ve developed or experienced.

📩5. Share Something Small Every Day

Kleon urges us to share ‘bits’ of our work regularly, even if it’s a work in progress. Don’t wait for the big reveal.

This one is probably the easiest action to complete, but also the most fear-inducing. Sharing something small every day is not difficult (a tweet, a blog post, a newsletter) just talking about the progress you made on a project. This quick note is to engage with people that are following your steps and are interested in learning more about your work. This does not mean giving away trade secrets or the magic sauce that is your competitive advantage. It does mean that you will be more open and authentic with people.

What’s Next?

Next week I plan on delivering a video about this book 👇

The Family-First Entrepreneur

Next week I’ll review The Family-First Entrepreneur by Steve Chou, a book I heard about while listening to Nick Loper’s Side Hustle Show featuring Steve Chou.

Well, that’s it for this week. I hope this was helpful to someone, and until next time keep creating, keep sharing, and stay inspired.

Cyle H.