And a quick recommendation for the freelancers and small business owners here. I've partnered with Indy, an all-in-one platform for invoices, payments, contracts, proposals and client work. Basically, the boring-but-important stuff that steals time from the actual work. They're offering the Produced By community one year of Indy Pro for $35, 80% OFF the regular $225 value. Use code TOMAS082026 and grab the offer here.

Speaking of YouTube, I’m still trying to hit 1,000 subscribers this year. There are full podcast episodes, clips, Shorts, these weekly videos and plenty more coming, so surely I’ve earned one tiny click by now? If you’ve been watching without subscribing, I see you. Please help me reach the completely arbitrary but emotionally important number of 1,000. Thank you!

Apparently, you don't keep running out of ideas. Your brain just keeps starting the job and forgetting to finish it. This week's video is about what actually happens between noticing something interesting and sitting down later with absolutely nothing to say. I break down why good ideas disappear, why consuming even more content won't save you, and how to actually finish your thinking:

Freedom by Design: Building Life on Your Terms | 166: Jane Kisnica

Jane Kisnica is a freelance graphic designer and visual branding expert. Known on LinkedIn as “The Creative Assassin,” she helps businesses elevate their visual identity through standout branding, websites, and creative assets that capture attention and build trust. With her bold design style, authentic storytelling, and unapologetic personality, Jane has built a personal brand that is as memorable as the work she creates.

In this episode, Jane shares how she went from an unfulfilling corporate marketing career to building a successful freelance design business on her own terms. We explore why she chose lifestyle over simply following her passion, how she built her personal brand while still working full time, why LinkedIn changed the direction of her career, and how embracing her authentic voice has helped her stand out, attract clients, and create a career around the lifestyle she genuinely enjoys.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-kisnica-graphic-designer

• https://www.janekisnica.com/

Lessons:

• Build the Life You Want. Then Build Work That Supports It.

• You Don’t Have to Quit Your Job to Build Your Future.

• The Moment You Stop Trying to Please Everyone Is the Moment People Start Remembering You.

• Your Best Clients Value How You Think, Not Just What You Create.

• You Don’t Need to Know Every Tool. You Need to Know How to Solve the Problem.

1. Build the Life You Want. Then Build Work That Supports It.

One of my favourite moments from this conversation was hearing Jane talk about passion. Unlike what we’re often told, she doesn’t believe you need to be obsessed with your work. Instead, she focuses on building a career that gives her the freedom to live the life she wants. That shift in perspective really stood out to me because so many of us spend years chasing the “perfect job” without ever asking what kind of life we actually want that job to create. Jane chose to prioritise lifestyle over status, and everything else followed from there.

It reminded me that we often spend more time planning our careers than planning our lives. Before setting your next career goal, take a step back and ask yourself what you actually want your days to look like. Where do you want to live? How much freedom do you want? What kind of work gives you energy rather than drains it? Your career should support your ideal life, not become the reason you stop living it.

2. You Don’t Have to Quit Your Job to Build Your Future.

One thing I really admired about Jane’s journey is that she didn’t wait for the perfect moment to get started. While working full time, she consistently showed up on LinkedIn, developed her skills, built her portfolio, and attracted her first clients. By the time she left her job, she wasn’t taking a leap of faith. She had already built enough momentum to make the transition with confidence.

I think many people see it as an all or nothing decision, but it rarely has to be. The time before you leave your job can become your biggest advantage. It gives you the freedom to experiment, learn, improve, and even say no to opportunities that aren’t the right fit. You don’t have to change your life overnight. Small, consistent actions repeated over months often lead to much bigger results than one bold decision.

3. The Moment You Stop Trying to Please Everyone Is the Moment People Start Remembering You.

Jane spoke openly about sharing ideas that not everyone agrees with, and I think that’s one of the reasons her personal brand feels so genuine. She isn’t trying to be controversial for attention. She’s simply comfortable sharing her perspective, knowing that some people won’t connect with it. Ironically, that’s exactly what makes her memorable.

It’s a reminder that trying to appeal to everyone usually means you’ll stand out to no one. Whether you’re creating content, building a business, or growing your personal brand, your goal isn’t universal approval. It’s attracting the people who genuinely connect with the way you think, communicate, and see the world. They’re the ones who will trust you, support you, and want to work with you.

Psst! A few tools and brands I genuinely use and recommend:

• 🎛️ JamX

• 🔮 Favikon

• 🌊 Riverside

• ♾️ Metricool

• 🕶️ Ra Optics

Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you decide to support the show through them, I really appreciate it. It helps keep Produced By going.

Want to go deeper?

Paid readers get:

• 💬 Two additional lessons from the episode

• 📚 Books, tools and resources from the guest

• ✍️ Standout ideas and quotes that stayed with me

• 🎬 Behind the scenes thoughts and guest reflections

• 🎙️ Next week’s guest reveal and early episode preview

• ✅ Practical ways to apply the ideas from the conversation

Built for creators and professionals building their brand, audience, and career online.
Practical lessons, honest conversations, and useful ideas in five minutes.
👉 Unlock the full section below.

Read more

You Don’t Have Weak Ideas

You’re posting them too early.

Before they’re clear.
Before they’re ready to land.

You Can See… But You Can’t Say

You already see patterns.

But you can’t turn them into something people remember.

That’s the gap.

You’re Posting Drafts

Most creators don’t lack ideas.

They post unfinished thinking.

So it feels right to them but doesn’t land for anyone else.

New Video

I just dropped a breakdown on this.

Why your content feels weak and what actually fixes it.

If your content feels right but doesn’t stick…

Watch this before your next post.

PS: What idea are you struggling to explain right now?

Before you go...

One of the most frustrating experiences as a creator is knowing you have something valuable to say...

And not being able to say it.

You can feel the idea.

You can see the pattern.

You know there’s something interesting there.

But every time you try to explain it, it comes out vague.

Incomplete.

Forgettable.

Most people assume this means they don’t understand the topic well enough.

I’ve found the opposite is usually true.

You understand more than you think.

You just haven’t finished the process of turning understanding into clarity.

🔒 Paid subscribers can keep reading below.

Because understanding an idea and explaining an idea are two completely different skills.

Recognition Is Not Articulation

Most creators spend years building knowledge.

Reading books.

Listening to podcasts.

Having conversations.

Collecting experiences.

Eventually, they start noticing patterns.

The problem is that noticing a pattern isn’t the same as explaining it.

You might recognise something instantly.

But recognition happens subconsciously.

Communication doesn’t.

Communication requires structure.

Language.

Examples.

Context.

That’s why an idea can feel obvious in your head and impossible to explain to someone else.

The Hidden Work Behind Great Ideas

When people hear a strong insight, they often assume the creator thought of it instantly.

Rarely true.

Most memorable ideas go through dozens of invisible drafts.

Questions.

Examples.

Counterarguments.

Rewrites.

Connections.

The final sentence might take ten seconds to read.

But it could represent hours of thinking.

The audience sees the conclusion.

They don’t see the process.

A Test I Use Often

Whenever I think I understand something, I ask myself:

“Could I explain this to a friend in two minutes?”

Not impress them.

Not overwhelm them.

Explain it.

Clearly.

Simply.

If I can’t, there’s usually more thinking to do.

Not more learning.

More thinking.

That’s an important distinction.

Why Content Often Feels Weak

Most weak content isn’t wrong.

It’s unfinished.

The creator stopped at recognition.

They recognised the pattern.

They recognised the lesson.

Then they posted it.

The audience never got the bridge.

And without the bridge, the idea doesn’t stick.

People don’t remember conclusions.

They remember understanding.

Your job isn’t to tell people what you know.

Your job is to help them arrive there with you.

The Explanation Exercise

The next time you have an idea, don’t ask:

“Is this a good idea?”

Ask:

“Can I explain why this is true?”

Then keep going.

Why?

What causes it?

What example proves it?

What would someone misunderstand about it?

What changed your mind?

Every answer adds another layer of clarity.

And clarity is what makes ideas memorable.

From My Notebook

A thought I’ve written down more than once:

The value of an idea is often determined by how clearly it can be explained.

Not how clever it sounds.

Not how complex it is.

Not how original it appears.

Clarity wins.

Every time.

Before publishing your next piece of content, ask yourself:

“Have I finished thinking about this, or have I only recognised it?”

Because most creators aren’t struggling with weak ideas.

They’re struggling with unfinished ones.

And the difference matters more than people realise.

Not because success is bad.

Because success is persuasive.

When something works, we immediately start telling ourselves a story about why.

The strategy worked.

The timing was perfect.

The decision was smart.

The content was great.

The problem is that we usually have far less evidence than we think.

A creator posts 50 videos.

Nobody watches.

Video 51 explodes.

Within days, they are convinced they have discovered the formula.

The hook.

The format.

The topic.

The secret.

But what if the lesson they learned was wrong?

What if the outcome was not proof?

What if it was noise?

Most people think outcomes create knowledge.

Often they create stories.

Stories that make success feel inevitable.

Stories that make failure feel obvious.

Stories that convince us we understand far more than we actually do.

The uncomfortable truth is that the outcome happened first.

The explanation came later.

And once the explanation exists, we become attached to it.

We stop questioning it.

We stop investigating it.

We stop learning.

That is where the trouble begins.

Psychologists call this outcome bias: our tendency to judge decisions based on results rather than the quality of the decision itself. The concept is explored in depth by The Decision Lab’s explanation of outcome bias.

Imagine buying a house without doing proper research.

You ignore warning signs.

You overpay.

You make the decision emotionally.

A year later, the property’s value doubles.

Was it a good decision?

Most people would say yes.

The outcome was positive.

But the process was flawed.

If the market had moved in the opposite direction, we would judge the exact same decision completely differently.

The decision did not change.

Only the outcome did.

Yet most of us evaluate decisions backwards.

We do not judge them by the information available at the time.

We judge them by what happened afterwards.

This happens everywhere.

In business.

In investing.

In relationships.

And especially in content creation.

A creator goes viral.

Suddenly everyone analyses the thumbnail.

The title.

The posting time.

The format.

The platform.

People spend months trying to replicate the result.

Not realising they may be studying the wrong lesson.

Sometimes the topic simply resonated.

Sometimes the timing was fortunate.

Sometimes the audience was ready.

Sometimes luck played a role.

The outcome happened.

The explanation arrived afterwards.

And the explanation is often fiction.

The uncomfortable truth is that success contains more luck than most successful people want to admit.

As investor and author Michael Mauboussin argues in Farnam Street’s excellent piece, Untangling Skill and Luck, many outcomes sit somewhere between pure skill and pure luck. The challenge is knowing which is which.

Not because they did not work hard.

Not because skill does not matter.

Because reality is more complicated than that.

Timing matters.

Context matters.

Markets matter.

Randomness matters.

And all of them influence outcomes.

A founder launches at the right moment.

A creator catches a wave before everyone else notices it.

A podcaster interviews someone just before they become widely known.

The outcome looks obvious in hindsight.

At the time, it was not.

We all know someone who made one good decision and became an expert.

Sometimes that person is us.

A lucky win creates confidence.

Confidence creates certainty.

Certainty creates blind spots.

Before long, we are repeating behaviour we do not fully understand because it happened to work once.

That is why success can be such a dangerous teacher.

It often rewards us before we have earned the lesson.

Failure has an advantage that success does not.

Research from Caltech on learning from mistakes suggests that mistakes play a crucial role in learning because they generate feedback that success often does not.

Failure is difficult to ignore.

When something fails, curiosity appears.

What went wrong?

What assumption was false?

What did I miss?

What could I improve?

Failure forces investigation.

Success often ends it.

Success encourages us to move on.

To celebrate.

To assume we understand why things worked.

That is why many of the biggest mistakes people make arrive shortly after a win.

Not because success is bad.

Because success can reduce curiosity.

And curiosity is where learning begins.

The best creators, founders and entrepreneurs I have met do not obsess over outcomes.

They pay attention to feedback.

They understand that a failed experiment can still be valuable.

They understand that a successful experiment can still be flawed.

Instead of asking:

“Did this work?”

They ask:

“Was this a good decision?”

It is a subtle difference.

But it changes everything.

One question seeks validation.

The other seeks understanding.

One depends on outcomes.

The other survives uncertainty.

The people who improve fastest are not always the people who win the most.

They are the people who learn the most.

Because eventually, good decisions compound.

Luck can influence a single outcome.

It can influence a handful of outcomes.

But it struggles to influence hundreds.

Over time, better thinking has a way of revealing itself.

If you enjoy these essays, you can find more here:

• LinkedIn

• Spotify

• YouTube

• Instagram

Reflection Questions

What recent success might you be learning the wrong lesson from?

What failure have you dismissed too quickly?

Where are you confusing a result with an explanation?

Are you evaluating your decisions or merely their outcomes?

The lesson is not that outcomes do not matter.

The lesson is that outcomes are often the last thing you should learn from.

Success tells you what happened.

Feedback tells you why.

And in the long run, understanding why will always be more valuable than simply knowing what.

Most people assume successful people make better decisions.

The conversations I’ve had over the years suggest something different.

The best creators, founders and entrepreneurs are not necessarily better at predicting outcomes.

They are better at interpreting feedback.

Below are three conversations from the podcast that reveal the same pattern.

Three different people.

Three different careers.

One shared lesson:

The outcome was not the lesson.

The lesson was hidden underneath it.

Continue reading below.

Read more

Apparently, Ausha trusted me enough to write about what actually helped Produced By grow. I shared the things that have made the biggest difference over the years, especially what happens before and after you hit publish. No secret algorithm. No “buy a £997 podcast course” plot twist. You can read it here.

A small favour from me this week. I’m trying to get the YouTube channel to 1,000 subscribers this year, and we’re slowly getting there. So, if you watch the videos but haven’t subscribed yet, this is me politely appearing in your inbox and asking you to fix that. Thank you. You can subscribe here.

And this week’s video is for anyone consuming mountains of content and somehow still saying, “I have no ideas.” Maybe you don’t need more inspiration. Maybe you need to get better at understanding what you’re already seeing. I break down the difference between watching and actually learning, and how to turn what you notice into ideas of your own:

Thinking Beyond Today: Building With Curiosity in a Changing World | 165: Pete Sena

Pete Sena is a serial entrepreneur, Chief AI Officer, investor, and founder who has spent more than 20 years building businesses at the intersection of branding, technology, design, and AI. After launching his first company while still at university, he has helped startups and global organisations embrace innovation, build better systems, and apply AI to create real business value. Today, Pete works with founders and business leaders to help them prepare for the future of work through practical AI adoption and innovation.

In this episode, Pete shares how a childhood curiosity for computers led to building a company that is still thriving more than two decades later. We explore AI, entrepreneurship, creativity, mindset, Ikigai, meditation, and the future of work. Pete also explains why success comes from curiosity, taking action, and consistently putting in the reps, while sharing how he balances ambition, family life, and building businesses with a long term perspective.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersena/

• https://www.petesena.com/

Pete Sena

More tools won't save you. More prompts won't save you. You're optimizing the wrong layer. The founders winning with AI aren't doing more. They're doing LESS. Better. Stop losing 10 hours a week to the wrong approach.

Lessons:

• Curiosity Compounds

• Think Better, Not Just Faster

• Build the Future, Don’t Wait for It

• Agency Shapes Your Future

• Reinvent Yourself Before You Have To

1. Curiosity Compounds

One of the biggest lessons I took away from my conversation with Pete was that curiosity isn’t something you either have or you don’t. It’s something you build over time. What impressed me wasn’t that he was fascinated by computers as a child. Lots of children are. What impressed me was that he never stopped being curious. From teaching himself to code and building his first business while still at university, to working across design, branding, entrepreneurship and AI, the industries changed, but the mindset never did. His career was built by continuously learning, experimenting and exploring what came next.

It’s a great reminder that curiosity is one of the few investments that quietly compounds over time. Every conversation, every book, every experiment and every new challenge adds another layer to how you think. You rarely see the value immediately, but years later those experiences connect in ways you could never have planned. Pete’s journey reminded me that you don’t need to have your entire career mapped out. You just need to stay curious long enough for the dots to connect.

2. Expand Your Thinking, Not Just Your Productivity

One thing I really appreciated about Pete’s perspective on AI was that he spoke about it as much more than a productivity tool. Throughout our conversation, he returned to the opportunities it creates to experiment, explore new ideas and build better systems. That completely changes the conversation. Rather than focusing only on speed, Pete spoke about using AI to experiment, explore new ideas and create more value. I think that’s a much more valuable way to approach technology.

As AI becomes part of our everyday lives, it’s easy to become obsessed with speed and efficiency. But producing more isn’t always the same as creating more value. The real opportunity is to use these tools to challenge your thinking, see problems from different perspectives and become more intentional in the way you work. The people who benefit the most from AI won’t simply be the fastest. They’ll be the ones who become better thinkers.

3. Build the Future, Don’t Wait for It

One thing that became clear throughout my conversation with Pete is that he doesn’t see the future as something to predict. He approaches it by building. Throughout his career, he has consistently explored new ideas, embraced emerging technologies and experimented long before they became mainstream. Whether it was starting a business at university or helping companies adopt AI today, his approach has remained remarkably consistent. Stay curious, experiment often and learn by building.

I think that’s one of the biggest lessons from this conversation. It’s easy to wait until you feel ready before starting something new, whether that’s learning a skill, launching a project or embracing a new technology. But certainty rarely comes first. Progress does. Pete’s story is a reminder that the people who shape the future aren’t necessarily the ones who predict it best. They’re the ones willing to build, learn and adapt while everyone else is still waiting for the perfect moment.

Psst! A few tools and brands I genuinely use and recommend:

• 🎛️ JamX

• 🔮 Favikon

• 🌊 Riverside

• ♾️ Metricool

• 🕶️ Ra Optics

Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you decide to support the show through them, I really appreciate it. It helps keep Produced By going.

Want to go deeper?

Paid readers get:

• 💬 Two additional lessons from the episode

• 📚 Books, tools and resources from the guest

• ✍️ Standout ideas and quotes that stayed with me

• 🎬 Behind the scenes thoughts and guest reflections

• 🎙️ Next week’s guest reveal and early episode preview

• ✅ Practical ways to apply the ideas from the conversation

Built for creators and professionals building their brand, audience, and career online.
Practical lessons, honest conversations, and useful ideas in five minutes.
👉 Unlock the full section below.

Read more

You have a learning problem.

You’re watching content every day.
Scrolling, saving, taking notes.

It feels like you’re doing the work.

But when it’s time to create, nothing comes out.

You’re doing the work… but not the right kind.

The Gap

Most creators think more input will fix it.

More posts.
More inspiration.
More ideas.

But content doesn’t give you answers.

It gives you signals.

And signals don’t explain themselves.

They force you to think.

The Shift

The difference isn’t what you see.

It’s what you understand.

That’s where ideas come from.

And most people never get there.

I just dropped a new video breaking this down properly.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, this will change how you think about content.

PS: What are you avoiding?

Before you go...

One of the easiest traps for creators to fall into is mistaking consumption for progress.

You watch a video.

Save a post.

Highlight a newsletter.

Take a few notes.

At the end of the day, it feels productive.

You learned something.

Or at least it feels like you did.

But then the next morning you sit down to create...

And nothing comes out.

No ideas.

No insights.

No clear direction.

That’s because information and understanding are not the same thing.

🔒 Paid subscribers can keep reading below.

This is the biggest lesson I’ve learned about turning content consumption into original ideas.

The Learning Illusion

Most creators consume far more than they realise.

Podcasts.

Newsletters.

YouTube videos.

LinkedIn posts.

Books.

Tweets.

Articles.

The problem isn’t the amount.

The problem is that most of this information passes straight through us.

We recognise it.

We agree with it.

Then we move on.

Recognition feels like learning.

But it isn’t.

Learning happens when information changes the way you think.

And that requires a step most people skip.

Reflection.

The Missing Middle Step

Most creators operate like this:

Input → Output

Consume something.

Create something.

Repeat.

The problem?

Nothing has time to develop.

I’ve found the better model is:

Input → Reflection → Extraction → Output

Input gives you information.

Reflection helps you understand it.

Extraction turns it into something useful.

Only then do you create.

Most people are skipping the two most important steps.

The Question I Ask After Consuming Anything

Whenever I finish reading, watching, or listening to something interesting, I try to answer three questions:

What stood out?

Not what was useful.

What grabbed your attention?

Curiosity is often a signal worth following.

Why did it stand out?

This is where the thinking begins.

What belief did it challenge?

What assumption did it expose?

What pattern did it reveal?

What does this change?

This is the question most people never ask.

If the answer is “nothing,” then you probably haven’t learned much yet.

If the answer changes how you work, create, think, or communicate, you’ve found something valuable.

Why Most People Run Out Of Ideas

They aren’t running out of ideas.

They’re running out of processed thoughts.

There’s a difference.

Ideas are rarely created from consuming more information.

They’re created from spending more time with the information you’ve already consumed.

That’s why two people can watch the same video.

One forgets it by tomorrow.

The other creates ten pieces of content from it.

The difference isn’t intelligence.

It’s reflection.

A Simple Challenge

This week, consume less.

Think more.

The next time you save a post or finish a video, don’t immediately move on to the next thing.

Spend five minutes with it.

Write down:

• What did I learn?

• What do I disagree with?

• What surprised me?

• How does this connect to my own experience?

You might be surprised how many content ideas emerge from a single piece of input.

From My Notebook

One observation I’ve come back to repeatedly:

The creators with the best ideas are rarely the people consuming the most content.

They’re often the people spending the most time thinking about the content they consume.

Information is everywhere.

Insight is much rarer.

The difference is usually reflection.

Before searching for another idea this week, ask yourself:

Have I fully explored the ideas I already have?

For most creators, the answer is no.

And that’s where the next breakthrough is usually hiding.

The biggest lesson wasn’t about recording more episodes. It was about what happened around them.

For a long time, I thought creating a good episode and publishing consistently would be enough.

Over time, I realised I was underestimating one of the most important parts of podcast growth: distribution.

• How you introduce an episode.

• How you keep the conversation going after it’s published.

• How you repurpose it.

• Where you choose to show up.

• And how you give people more than one opportunity to discover it.

I recently had the opportunity to share what has actually worked for me in a guest article for Ausha.

Rather than another list of podcast growth hacks, I wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned from growing Produced By, including what worked, what didn’t and what I’d approach differently today.

If you’re growing a podcast of your own, I hope there’s something in there you can take away and apply.

Read the full article here:

https://www.ausha.co/blog/podcast-produced-by-grow/

And a big thank you to Laura and the Ausha team for the opportunity and for being so helpful throughout the process.

What’s made the biggest difference to the growth of your podcast or content?

I’ve been quietly building something behind the scenes. It’s exciting, slightly scary, and probably one of the bigger things I’ve decided to take on in a while. I’m not quite ready to share it yet, but I will be soon. For now, that’s all you’re getting. Annoying, I know!

I’ve also been playing with Jitter’s new Superagents to give Produced By a bit more movement. I turned moments from 7 of my 170+ conversations into a short animated showreel, then let the AI agents have a go at different motion ideas using plain English. Some were great. Some got a little too excited. The nice part? Everything stays editable, so the AI can throw ideas at the wall while I still get to decide what actually sticks.

Finally, this week’s video is about burnout. Or, more accurately, why content probably isn’t what’s burning you out. When every post becomes a test of whether you’re good enough, interesting enough or getting enough engagement, of course it gets exhausting. Maybe you don’t need another break. Maybe you need to take the pressure off. I talk about it here.

Where Creativity Meets Data: Finding Your Place in Marketing | 164: Sakshi Sureka

Sakshi Sureka is a marketing professional, LinkedIn creator, and Paid Social Specialist at WPP Media. Originally from Kolkata, India, she moved to the UK to study Marketing after changing direction from science and economics. Along the way, she navigated the challenges of building a career as an international student while documenting her journey online. She shares practical insights on personal branding, content creation, marketing, and career growth with a LinkedIn community of more than 15,000 people.

In this episode, Sakshi shares how moving from India to the UK changed her life, why building a personal brand on LinkedIn became one of her biggest career advantages, and what she learned while trying to break into the marketing industry during one of the toughest job markets for graduates. We also explore LinkedIn growth, storytelling, networking, content creation, and practical ways to stay consistent, build genuine relationships, and create career opportunities through authentic personal branding.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sakshi-sureka/

• https://vizzy.com/@sakshisureka

Lessons:

• Why the Best Careers Are Discovered

• Building a Career That Actually Fits

• The Best Careers Are Never Planned

• Finding Your Place Takes More Than a Plan

• The Journey to Finding Your Place

1. Your career is something you discover, not something you plan.

One thing that really stood out to me from my conversation with Sakshi was how honest she was about her career journey. It wasn’t a perfectly planned roadmap. She started in science because it was the expected path, moved into economics, and only later realised that marketing was where her creativity and analytical thinking finally came together. Looking back, it all makes perfect sense, but at the time it was simply a series of decisions, experiments and moments of curiosity that gradually pointed her in the right direction.

I think many of us put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to have everything figured out. We feel like we need a detailed plan before taking the first step, when in reality most careers are built through exploration rather than certainty. I’ve noticed that the people who end up doing work they genuinely enjoy are rarely the ones who planned every step. They’re the ones who stayed curious, tried different things and paid attention to what gave them energy. Instead of asking yourself what the perfect career looks like, ask yourself what you’re excited to learn next.

You don’t find the right career by thinking longer. You find it by exploring further.

2. People connect with stories, not advice.

One of the reasons I was looking forward to speaking with Sakshi was because her content has always felt different. It never comes across as someone trying to become another LinkedIn guru or chasing the latest trend. During our conversation she shared that one of the best compliments she’s ever received is that reading her posts feels like talking to a friend. I think that’s exactly why her content stands out. It feels human.

It’s easy to believe you need to have all the answers before creating content, but I think the opposite is true. The content I remember most isn’t packed with tips. It’s the content that tells a genuine story, shares a lesson and makes me think differently. Before writing your next post, ask yourself what you’ve experienced recently that someone else could relate to. It might be a mistake, a conversation or a small realisation that changed your perspective.

Advice is easy to forget. Stories are much harder to ignore.

3. Sharing the journey creates the community.

One of my favourite parts of this conversation was hearing how Sakshi’s personal brand actually began. She wasn’t trying to build an audience or become a creator. She simply needed somewhere to share the reality of job hunting, rejection and uncertainty. Ironically, those honest posts became the reason people started reaching out with encouragement, referrals and opportunities. She didn’t build a community by chasing followers. She built it by letting people see the process.

I think that’s something many of us overlook. We often wait until we’ve achieved something before talking about it because we assume people only care about success. In reality, people connect with progress. Whether you’re building a business, changing careers or learning a new skill, don’t wait until everything looks perfect. Let people follow the journey, ask questions and celebrate the small wins with you. Those are often the moments that create genuine relationships.

People don’t join a community because you’ve made it. They stay because they’ve grown with you.

Psst! A few tools and brands I genuinely use and recommend:

• 🎛️ JamX

• 🔮 Favikon

• 🌊 Riverside

• ♾️ Metricool

• 🕶️ Ra Optics

Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you decide to support the show through them, I really appreciate it. It helps keep Produced By going.

Want to go deeper?

Paid readers get:

• 💬 Two additional lessons from the episode

• 📚 Books, tools and resources from the guest

• ✍️ Standout ideas and quotes that stayed with me

• 🎬 Behind the scenes thoughts and guest reflections

• 🎙️ Next week’s guest reveal and early episode preview

• ✅ Practical ways to apply the ideas from the conversation

Built for creators and professionals building their brand, audience, and career online.
Practical lessons, honest conversations, and useful ideas in five minutes.
👉 Unlock the full section below.

Read more

Every Post Becomes A Test

• Is this good enough

• Will this perform

• What will people think

So you write.
Delete.
Rewrite.
Delay.

And call it burnout.

The Real Problem

It is not volume.

It is pressure.

Pressure creates overthinking.
Overthinking creates friction.

That is what makes something simple feel heavy.

The Shift

Write one clear idea.
Post it.
Move on.

Final

You are not burnt out from content.

You are burnt out from how you think about it.

PS: What are you trying to prove every time you post?

Before you go...

I’ve noticed something interesting.

Most creators who say they’re burnt out don’t actually stop creating.

They stop publishing.

The ideas are still there.

The notes are still there.

The observations are still there.

What’s missing is the willingness to hit “Post.”

That’s why I’ve become sceptical whenever someone says they’re burnt out from content.

More often than not, they’re not exhausted from creating.

They’re exhausted from carrying the emotional weight they’ve attached to every post.

🔒 Paid subscribers can keep reading below.

Because I think there’s a question most creators never ask themselves

Read more

They don’t.

And the more they try to fix it with discipline, the more unstable their execution becomes.

Because discipline was never designed to sustain behaviour.

It was designed to override failure in the system.

Not replace it.

The uncomfortable truth is this.

You can know exactly what to do, believe in it fully, and still not do it consistently.

Not because you are unclear.

But because execution depends on conditions that most people never design properly.

And that is where everything breaks.

The illusion of discipline

We treat discipline like a personal trait.

Something you either have or don’t.

But in reality, discipline is just what you rely on when systems fail.

When structure is missing, you step in manually.

When friction is high, you force behaviour through effort.

When clarity disappears, you compensate with willpower.

That works temporarily.

But it does not scale.

Because anything that depends on constant effort will eventually collapse.

The real problem is not behaviour

Most people are not stuck because they don’t know what to do.

They are stuck because knowing is not the bottleneck anymore.

Execution is.

And execution does not fail randomly.

It fails at predictable points:

• when friction is too high

• when action requires too many decisions

• when behaviour depends on emotional state

• when identity and action don’t align

This is where systems are supposed to take over.

But most systems are incomplete.

Why systems alone are not enough

Even well designed systems fail in practice.

Systems thinking shows that behaviour is shaped by the structure of the system itself, not individual effort.

Because systems do not operate in isolation.

They operate inside behaviour.

And behaviour is not neutral.

It reacts.

It resists.

It hesitates.

This is where most people misunderstand systems thinking.

A system can be correct on paper and still fail in reality.

Not because the system is wrong.

But because something interrupts execution at the moment of action.

The hidden failure point

There is always a moment where action has to move from intention to behaviour.

That moment is where most systems collapse.

Not because people forget.

But because action has meaning attached to it.

It exposes uncertainty.

It creates commitment.

It removes the option to stay in abstraction.

And that is where most systems collapse.

At that point, the issue is no longer structural.

Internal conflict between belief and action is a key reason behaviour breaks even when intent is clear.

It is psychological.

Why consistency breaks even with systems

Even when systems are in place, behaviour can still fail if internal alignment is missing.

Because systems require consistent execution.

But execution requires psychological permission.

If action conflicts with identity, hesitation appears.

Not as confusion.

But as resistance.

And resistance always wins in the short term.

Where identity enters

At the deepest level, behaviour is not just structured by systems.

It is constrained by identity.

Some behavioural models describe this as identity shift, where behaviour stabilises only when self-concept changes.

If your system requires a version of you that you have not fully accepted yet, you will unconsciously avoid it.

Even if it is logical.

Even if it is efficient.

Even if it is designed correctly.

Because behaviour does not start with planning.

It starts with permission.

And most people never resolve the identity tension that blocks it.

What actually creates consistency

Consistency does not come from discipline.

It does not come from motivation.

And it does not come from better planning.

It comes when three things align:

• Structure that reduces decision making

• Psychological resistance that is understood

• Identity that does not conflict with action

When those three align, execution stops feeling like effort.

It becomes default.

Proof from practice

If you want to understand how this plays out in real situations, I’ve broken down similar patterns from conversations here:

• LinkedIn insights

• Podcast episodes

• Video breakdowns

Each one shows the same pattern.

People don’t fail because they lack clarity.

They fail because they are trying to execute without alignment.

Closing insight

Most people are trying to solve inconsistency with effort.

But effort is not the problem.

Structure is incomplete.

Psychology is unaddressed.

Identity is misaligned.

And until those three are resolved, discipline will always feel necessary.

Not because you are lacking it.

But because the system is forcing you to compensate for its absence.

Questions worth sitting with

Where in your life are you relying on discipline instead of design?

What would still break if your motivation disappeared tomorrow?

What part of your routine only works because you keep deciding to do it?

Discipline was never the problem.

It was always a substitute for design.

So the real question is not whether people have clarity.

It is whether they are willing to act without it.

Because clarity is not something you wait for.

It is something that only appears after movement begins.

And most people are not stuck because they lack information.

They are stuck because they are waiting for certainty that action is supposed to create.

Below are three real conversations that show what happens when people stop waiting and start moving anyway.

Read more

Before we start, a little bit of shameless self promotion. If you'd like to see what happens behind the scenes, I've been sharing a lot more over on Patreon. The ideas that never become posts. The experiments that flop. The podcast process. The random thoughts that probably shouldn't leave my Notes app. It's a bit messier, a bit more honest, and a lot more fun. You can join here.

I also started a free LinkedIn Podcast Club. It's nothing fancy. Just a place for people who love podcasts to chat, swap ideas, ask questions and occasionally overthink microphones. If that sounds like your kind of people, come and join us.

Anyway, onto this week's video. I keep hearing people say they've run out of content ideas. I don't buy it. I think most of us are surrounded by ideas every single day, we're just looking in the wrong places. This one is all about spotting what everyone else overlooks and turning everyday moments into content worth sharing. Watch it here:

The Storytold Method: Turning Stories Into Authority | 163: Jack Dyer

Jack Dyer is the Authority Architect and CEO of Storytold™️. Storytold helps founders, CEOs and business owners turn LinkedIn into a trust-building, lead-generating platform. With a background in design, UX and brand communication, Jack helps leaders find their voice, tell better stories, and build authority online without becoming full-time content creators.

In this episode, Jack shares how he went from working as a designer in a 9-to-5 to building Storytold. He talks about discovering LinkedIn, posting every day even when nobody cared, and growing from 740 followers to nearly 58,000. We also discuss real authenticity online, leading a team, ambition, sacrifice, creativity, and creating a business with intention.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackjddyer/

• https://www.storytold.co.uk/

Lessons:

• Your Story Is Hiding In Plain Sight

• You Learn By Doing It Badly First

• Design Is How People Understand You

• Small Details Make You Memorable

• Build The Company You Wish Existed

1. Your story is usually hiding in the things you think are normal

One thing I really liked from this conversation was Jack’s view on storytelling. A lot of people think they are boring, or that they have nothing interesting to say online. But often, the story is already there. It might be a small memory, a lesson from childhood, a moment from work, or something you went through years ago and never thought much about.

That stood out to me because it is easy to underestimate your own story when you are the one living it. What feels normal to you might be exactly what helps someone else connect with you, trust you, or remember you. Sometimes you do not need a completely new story. You just need to look at your own experiences differently. And that is a big part of what Jack does with Storytold, helping leaders find their voice, tell better stories, and build trust by sounding more like themselves.

2. You learn by doing it badly first

One of the most useful parts of Jack’s story was hearing how he started posting on LinkedIn while still working a 9-to-5. He committed to showing up every day, even when the posts were not great and the results were not really there. He was not pretending it was perfect. He was learning by doing.

I think that is such a practical reminder. Most people wait until they feel ready, but the learning often comes from the messy stage. You post, you test, you notice what works, and you get better. That applies to content, business, creativity, and probably most things in life. Jack’s growth did not happen because he waited for the perfect strategy. It happened because he showed up before he had it all figured out.

3. Design is not just how something looks. It is how people understand you

What I found really interesting about Jack’s background is that his move from design into storytelling makes complete sense. For him, design was always about communication. It was about helping people understand something clearly, whether through visuals, user experience, branding, or the way a message is presented.

That is a useful way to think about personal branding too. Your website, content, profile, words, visuals, and even small details all shape how people understand you. If the message is not clear, people may not see the value of what you do. It is not enough to just look professional if people do not understand what you stand for. Jack’s journey is a good reminder that branding is not just about looking good. It is about making your story easier to understand and trust.

Psst! A few tools and brands I genuinely use and recommend:

• 🎛️ JamX

• 🔮 Favikon

• 🌊 Riverside

• ♾️ Metricool

• 🕶️ Ra Optics

Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you decide to support the show through them, I really appreciate it. It helps keep Produced By going.

Want to go deeper?

Paid readers get:

• 💬 Two additional lessons from the episode

• 📚 Books, tools and resources from the guest

• ✍️ Standout ideas and quotes that stayed with me

• 🎬 Behind the scenes thoughts and guest reflections

• 🎙️ Next week’s guest reveal and early episode preview

• ✅ Practical ways to apply the ideas from the conversation

Built for creators and professionals building their brand, audience, and career online.
Practical lessons, honest conversations, and useful ideas in five minutes.
👉 Unlock the full section below.

Read more

You consume all day.
Then say:

“I’ve got nothing to post.”

Wrong.

You just didn’t notice anything.

Content Starts Here

Not ideas.

Signals.

What To Look For

• What repeats

• What feels hard

• What gets reactions

That’s content.

The Shift

If it shows up five times, you’re missing it.

That’s not noise.

That’s demand.

You don’t need more ideas.

You need to stop missing what’s already there.

PS: What did you notice this week that you ignored?

Before you go...

Most creators spend their time looking for ideas.

I’ve found the better question is:

What am I not paying attention to?

Because ideas rarely appear out of nowhere.

They usually arrive disguised as something ordinary.

A repeated question.

A frustration.

A conversation.

A mistake.

A pattern you keep noticing.

The problem isn’t that these signals are rare.

The problem is that they’re easy to dismiss.

We assume they’re too obvious.

Too small.

Too insignificant.

Then we keep searching for inspiration somewhere else.

🔒 Paid subscribers can keep reading below.

Because some of the best content ideas I’ve ever had started as things I almost ignored.

Read more

Produced By is where I ask the questions. Unproduced is where I try to answer a few of my own. Every Wednesday, I share shorter episodes with raw thoughts, unfinished ideas and whatever's been on my mind lately. You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Substack if you'd like to listen.

Unproduced

Thoughts before they are polished. Honest notes on building, training, creating, overthinking, staying healthy and trying to build a life I am proud of.

By Tomas Loucky

I recently collaborated with VEED to bring a very patient sticky note to life, which is not a sentence I expected to write this year. The result was a short AI-generated story, and they’ve also given me a 30% discount to share: use code TOMAS30 for 30% off your first month or year of VEED. You can check it out here.

Lastly, there's a new YouTube video called Why You Can't Come Up With Content Ideas. I don't think most people have an idea problem. I think they start writing before they've had time to think. If that sounds familiar, you can watch it here:

The Authority You Earned Offline: Turning Reputation Into LinkedIn Visibility | 162: Martina Kikic

Martina Kikic is the Founder and CEO of The Peace OS. She is a LinkedIn Authority Advisor for senior leaders, founders, and C-suite executives. Based in Dubai, she helps people turn the reputation they have already earned offline into a clear, trusted, and visible LinkedIn presence. Not through empty numbers, generic content, or performing for the platform, but through clarity, positioning, trust, and authority that already exists.

In this episode, Martina shares how she started on LinkedIn with no network, found her voice, changed her niche, and built a business around helping others become easier to find online. We talk about LinkedIn psychology, why generic content does not build trust, the mission behind The Peace OS, and what it means to show up without losing yourself.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/martina-kikic/

• https://thepeaceos.com/

• https://thepeaceos.com/vanilla

Lessons:

• Your Reputation Does Not Travel Automatically

• The First Post Is Not Really About Strategy

• Safe Content Protects Your Ego, Not Your Authority

• LinkedIn Is Not a Stage

• Peace Is Part of How You Build

1. Your reputation does not automatically travel with you

One thing that really stood out from my conversation with Martina is the gap between who people are offline and how they appear online. You can have years of experience, strong relationships, real credibility, and a reputation that people trust in the room. But if none of that is reflected online, the right people might never get close enough to see it.

That does not mean you need to become louder or turn yourself into someone you are not. But it does mean you need to make your thinking easier to find. Your profile, your content, your comments, and your conversations all leave signals. If those signals do not reflect the level you have already earned, people are making decisions based on an incomplete version of you.

2. The first post is rarely about strategy

I really liked how honest Martina was about the fear of posting. Before we even get to hooks, formats, comments, profiles, or content strategy, there is often a much simpler fear underneath it all. What will people think? Will my colleagues see it? Will anyone care? Will I look silly for trying?

It is not just fear of strangers. Sometimes it is fear of people who already know you seeing you try. That is why the first step is often not a platform problem. It is a mindset problem. You can learn the tactics later, but at some point you still have to press publish, leave the comment, or send the message. Most people do not get stuck because they lack ideas. They get stuck because they are waiting to feel completely comfortable before they start.

3. Safe content protects your ego, not your authority

One of the strongest points Martina made was about safe content. The kind of content that sounds polished, sensible, and impossible to disagree with, but also says very little. It might feel comfortable to write because it does not reveal too much. But that is also the problem. If there is no voice, no opinion, and no real perspective, there is nothing for people to remember.

The problem with safe content is that it often protects you from criticism by removing the very thing people could connect with. This does not mean you need to be controversial for attention. It means your content needs to sound like it came from you. Your experience, your thinking, your stories, your way of seeing the problem. Safe content might protect you from judgement, but it also protects you from being chosen.

Psst! A few tools and brands I genuinely use and recommend:

• 🎛️ JamX

• 🔮 Favikon

• 🌊 Riverside

• ♾️ Metricool

• 🕶️ Ra Optics

Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you decide to support the show through them, I really appreciate it. It helps keep Produced By going.

Want to go deeper?

Paid readers get:

• 💬 Two additional lessons from the episode

• 📚 Books, tools and resources from the guest

• ✍️ Standout ideas and quotes that stayed with me

• 🎬 Behind the scenes thoughts and guest reflections

• 🎙️ Next week’s guest reveal and early episode preview

• ✅ Practical ways to apply the ideas from the conversation

Built for creators and professionals building their brand, audience, and career online.
Practical lessons, honest conversations, and useful ideas in five minutes.
👉 Unlock the full section below.

Read more

Open a blank page…

And try to come up with something insightful.

That’s the mistake.

Most people post to figure out what they think.

The Real Issue

If you think while you write, you default to what’s obvious.

Safe ideas.
Generic lines.
Things you’ve already seen.

That’s why everything sounds the same.

The System

Good content isn’t about better ideas.

It’s about better thinking.

Input.
Reflection.
Extraction.

Most people skip the middle step.

What It Looks Like

“People struggle with consistency.”

That’s surface.

Look closer:

They struggle to start.

That’s the insight.

The Shift

Same topic.

Different thinking.

The Point

If your content feels repetitive, this is why.

You’re posting before you think.

Fix the thinking.

The content follows.

Question

Be honest, do you think before you post, or post to figure out what you think?

Before you go...

One of the easiest ways to spot an inexperienced creator is this:

They publish their first thought.

Experienced creators rarely do.

Not because they’re smarter.

Not because they have better ideas.

Because they stay with an idea longer.

They question it.

Challenge it.

Pull it apart.

Look at it from different angles.

Most people stop thinking the moment they find an answer.

The best creators keep going.

🔒 Paid subscribers can keep reading below.

This is the exercise I use when I feel like my content is becoming repetitive or obvious.

Read more

It isn’t.

Every day you delay making a decision, publishing the post, launching the project, starting the business, applying for the role, or having the difficult conversation, you are teaching yourself something.

You are gathering evidence.

Not evidence that you can’t do it.

Evidence that you don’t.

And over time, that evidence becomes a story.

A story about who you are.

A story about what you’re capable of.

A story about what you do when things feel uncertain.

Most people think they are waiting for the right moment.

The truth is they are waiting for proof.

Proof that it will work.

Proof that they won’t fail.

Proof that they won’t embarrass themselves.

Proof that they are making the right decision.

The problem is that proof rarely arrives first.

Action does.

The illusion of readiness

Most people believe they need to feel ready before they begin.

• Ready to post.

• Ready to launch.

• Ready to speak.

• Ready to ask.

• Ready to leave.

• Ready to start.

It sounds sensible.

Responsible, even.

But readiness is one of the most misunderstood concepts in personal and professional growth.

Because readiness is not a requirement for action.

It is often the result of it.

The people you admire were rarely certain when they started.

They simply reached a point where moving felt less painful than staying still.

Why waiting feels productive

This is where waiting becomes dangerous.

It disguises itself as preparation.

You convince yourself you are researching.

• Learning.

• Planning.

• Optimising.

• Gathering information.

• Thinking things through.

And sometimes you genuinely are.

But often, thinking becomes a substitute for doing.

The brain loves this trade.

Thinking feels safe.

Action creates exposure.

Thinking protects your identity.

Action tests it.

The hidden cost of waiting

Most people think waiting reduces risk.

In reality, waiting often increases it.

Because uncertainty does not disappear while you stand still.

You simply become less comfortable navigating it.

The longer you wait, the more importance your mind assigns to the decision.

The more importance it assigns, the bigger the decision feels.

And the bigger the decision feels, the harder it becomes to act.

This is why people can spend months thinking about a post that takes ten minutes to write.

Or years considering a decision they could test in a weekend.

The uncertainty never left.

It just grew in your imagination.

Why action creates clarity

Most people think clarity comes before action.

But clarity is often created by action.

• You do something.

• You learn something.

• You adjust.

• You try again.

• And slowly, the fog lifts.

This is true in business.

It is true in content creation.

It is true in relationships.

It is true in careers.

The people who look confident are rarely people who had all the answers.

They are people who collected enough evidence through experience.

The confidence came later.

The clarity came later.

The certainty came later.

Action came first.

What people are really waiting for

Most people say they are waiting for the right time.

But if you listen closely, they are usually waiting for something else.

They are waiting to feel confident.

• Waiting to feel qualified.

• Waiting to feel less scared.

• Waiting for permission.

• Waiting for a guarantee.

• Waiting for certainty.

And that is why waiting can become a trap.

Because the things people are waiting for are often created by the action they keep postponing.

The person who wants confidence gets it by speaking.

The person who wants clarity gets it by trying.

The person who wants certainty gets it by experiencing.

Not by waiting.

Proof from practice

If you want to see how this plays out in real situations, I’ve explored these themes across multiple platforms:

• LinkedIn

• Podcast episodes

• Video breakdowns

Across all three, the pattern is remarkably consistent.

People rarely regret acting.

They regret waiting.

Questions worth sitting with

What decision have you been postponing because you want more certainty?

What proof are you waiting for?

And could that proof only be created through action?

For paid subscribers

Most people think waiting is about timing.

It isn’t.

It is usually about fear.

Fear of failure.

Fear of judgement.

Fear of making the wrong choice.

Below are three conversations from the Produced By archive that reveal what waiting actually looks like in practice.

Read more

A surprising number of people have asked me what actually happens after I press stop on a podcast recording. The answer is: quite a lot. I wrote about the whole process for The Podcast Host, from one conversation to weeks of content. Massive thanks if you’ve already had a read (or shared it). If not, you can find it here.

If you’re the kind of person who likes seeing how the sausage is made (strange saying, I know), I’ve been sharing early podcast episodes, behind-the-scenes bits, upcoming guests and other work-in-progress over on Patreon. It’s basically where everything appears before it escapes into the wild.

Lastly, there’s a new YouTube video called You Are Posting Faster But Saying Nothing. Slightly provocative title. Deliberately. It’s about why posting more isn’t the same as saying something worth reading, and why most content problems have very little to do with consistency.

Anyway... onto this week’s newsletter.

More Than a Colour: The Story Behind the Yellow Queen | 161: Real Desmond

Real Desmond, also known as the Yellow Queen, is a Brand Identity Designer and Brand Manager helping businesses and professionals build brands that are seen, trusted, and remembered. From starting an online thrift business to working with clients across 11+ countries, she has built a distinctive personal brand on LinkedIn through consistency, clear messaging, and her instantly recognisable use of yellow.

In this episode, Real shares how she discovered her passion for branding, how LinkedIn transformed her career, and why becoming memorable is about far more than logos and visuals. We explore what it takes to stand out in a crowded market, attract opportunities through trust and consistency, and build a brand that reflects both your value and your purpose.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/realdesmond-branddesigner/

• https://www.realdesmond.com/

• https://www.instagram.com/real__desmond/

Lessons:

• Give People a Reason to Remember You

• One Message Beats Ten Different Ones

• People Remember Associations, Not Explanations

• Recognition Comes Before Opportunity

• Don’t Work So Hard That You Forget to Live

1. Give People Something to Remember

One thing that stood out to me during my conversation with Real was how intentional she was about becoming memorable. Most people spend their time trying to reach more people, create more content, or offer more services. Real focused on something different. She gave people something to associate her with. A colour. A message. A clear area of expertise. Over time, those associations became stronger than any individual post or piece of content she shared and eventually evolved into the identity many people know her for today, the Yellow Queen.

It’s easy to assume that standing out requires being louder, posting more often, or constantly reinventing yourself. This conversation reminded me that the opposite is often true. The people we remember are usually the ones who consistently reinforce the same message over time. If someone came across your work today, what would they remember a week from now? If you can’t answer that question clearly, that’s probably the first place to start.

2. One Message Repeated Well Is Better Than Ten Messages Repeated Poorly

One of the biggest mistakes people make when building a personal brand is constantly changing direction. One week they’re talking about one thing, the next week something completely different. Real’s journey was a reminder that recognition is built through repetition. Not repeating the exact same words every day, but reinforcing the same core idea from different angles until people naturally associate you with it.

Most people underestimate how long it takes to become known for something. They switch topics too early, abandon strategies too quickly, and mistake consistency for stagnation. What stood out to me was how patient Real was in building those associations over time. The lesson isn’t to say the same thing forever. It’s to give your audience enough time to actually remember what you want to be known for.

3. People Remember Associations, Not Explanations

One of the most interesting parts of Real’s story is that people don’t remember her because of a carefully crafted elevator pitch. They remember her because of the associations she created. Yellow. Branding. Consistency. The Yellow Queen. Those associations became shortcuts in people’s minds and made her instantly recognisable long before many people knew the details of her story.

I think this applies far beyond branding. Most people spend a lot of time explaining who they are and what they do, but much less time creating memorable associations around their work. If someone mentioned your name in a conversation tomorrow, what would immediately come to mind? The strongest brands are often built when people can answer that question without needing an explanation.

Psst! A few tools and brands I genuinely use and recommend:

• 🎛️ JamX

• 🔮 Favikon

• 🌊 Riverside

• ♾️ Metricool

• 🕶️ Ra Optics

Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you decide to support the show through them, I really appreciate it. It helps keep Produced By going.

Want to go deeper?

Paid readers get:

• 💬 Two additional lessons from the episode

• 📚 Books, tools and resources from the guest

• ✍️ Standout ideas and quotes that stayed with me

• 🎬 Behind the scenes thoughts and guest reflections

• 🎙️ Next week’s guest reveal and early episode preview

• ✅ Practical ways to apply the ideas from the conversation

Built for creators and professionals building their brand, audience, and career online.
Practical lessons, honest conversations, and useful ideas in five minutes.
👉 Unlock the full section below.

Read more

That’s the problem.

You’re doing everything right

You’re posting more.
More consistent.
More disciplined.

And yet…

Nothing is really changing.

What most people don’t realise

You’re not improving.

You’re repeating.

Why it feels off

Most content isn’t bad.

It just doesn’t hit.

Because it’s obvious.

Safe ideas.
Familiar opinions.
Things everyone already knows.

The real gap

You’re producing more.

But thinking the same.

What this creates

More posts.

Same level.

The shift most creators never make

The problem isn’t output.

It’s thinking.

There’s a difference between surface content and real insight.

Most people never cross it.

Inside the video

I break down:

• Why your content still feels average

• What actually creates insight

• The simple filter I use before posting anything

Be honest

Are you improving your content…

Or just repeating it?

Watch this

If your content feels stuck, this will show you why.

Before you go...

One of the hardest truths about content creation is this:

Creating more content does not automatically make you a better creator.

It can.

But it doesn’t have to.

I’ve seen creators publish hundreds of posts and still sound exactly the same as they did a year ago.

Not because they aren’t working hard.

Because they’re practising output instead of thinking.

The content gets better formatted.

The hooks improve.

The writing becomes cleaner.

But the ideas stay the same.

🔒 Paid subscribers can keep reading below.

This is the simple filter I use whenever I want to know whether I’m developing insight or just producing more content.

The Insight Test

When I finish a piece of content, I ask myself one question:

“Is this something I’ve observed, or something I’ve heard?”

Most content online falls into the second category.

Advice repeated.

Lessons recycled.

Popular opinions rewritten.

None of that is necessarily bad.

But it rarely creates memorable content.

The creators who stand out usually have one thing in common:

They notice things.

They don’t just consume ideas.

They generate them.

Where Insight Actually Comes From

Most people think insight comes from reading more.

I’ve found the opposite is often true.

Insight usually comes from paying attention.

To conversations.

To mistakes.

To patterns.

To experiences.

To things that don’t make sense.

To things everyone else accepts without questioning.

The goal isn’t to become more informed.

The goal is to become more observant.

A Simple Exercise

The next time you consume a piece of content, don’t ask:

“What can I post about this?”

Ask:

“Do I agree with this?”

Then go one step further.

Why?

Or why not?

That’s often where original thinking begins.

Not in the information itself.

But in your reaction to it.

Most creators stop at consumption.

The interesting creators continue into reflection.

Three Levels of Content

I’ve noticed most content falls into one of three categories.

Level 1: Information

Sharing what you’ve learned.

Useful.

But easy to copy.

Level 2: Interpretation

Explaining what something means.

Adding context.

Adding perspective.

Harder to copy.

Level 3: Observation

Sharing something you’ve personally noticed.

A pattern.

A contradiction.

A lesson from experience.

This is where the strongest content usually lives.

Because nobody can copy your observations.

They belong to you.

Why Most Creators Feel Stuck

They keep improving their delivery.

But not their thinking.

So every post feels slightly different.

Yet somehow exactly the same.

The hooks change.

The structure changes.

The format changes.

The underlying idea doesn’t.

That’s why growth eventually plateaus.

Not because you need a better strategy.

Because you’ve stopped developing new perspectives.

From My Notebook

One sentence I’ve been thinking about recently:

The internet rewards people who notice what others overlook.

Most creators are trying to become better writers.

Fewer are trying to become better observers.

Writing helps people understand your ideas.

Observation creates the ideas in the first place.

This week, before creating another post, ask yourself:

What have I noticed recently that other people might have missed?

That’s usually where the interesting content starts.

It’s the starting point.

Every conversation contains far more value than a single podcast episode. A LinkedIn post. A newsletter. Short clips. YouTube. Social media. All from one conversation.

Over the past few years, I've built a workflow around that idea. I recently had the opportunity to contribute a guest article to The Podcast Host and it's the topic I chose to write about.

A big thank you to Matthew and everyone at The Podcast Host for the opportunity. It was a pleasure to contribute, and I'm grateful to have my first guest article published with them.

If you’re a podcaster, creator or anyone trying to get more from the content you already create, I hope you’ll find something useful in it.

Read the full article here:

https://www.thepodcasthost.com/planning/how-i-turn-one-podcast-episode-into-weeks-of-content/

I’m always curious how other creators approach this.

Do you repurpose your content, or do you prefer to start fresh each time?

Apparently waiting a month for new podcast episodes is overrated. That’s one of the reasons I launched Patreon. I’m sharing fresh episodes before they go live, behind the scenes updates, upcoming guests and all the bits that usually stay hidden. If you’d like an early look at what’s coming, I’d love to have you there.

The Podcast Club on LinkedIn is slowly becoming proof that the internet can occasionally be a nice place. It’s free, it’s growing, and it’s full of podcast hosts, guests, listeners, and curious people sharing great recommendations and conversations. You’re more than welcome to join us.

This week’s YouTube video is for anyone who somehow turns a 15-minute idea into a three-hour content session. I break down why creating content takes so long for most people, and the simple shift that makes the whole process a lot easier:

More Than Marketing: The Story Behind Chief Martian Officer | 160: Julius Bieliauskas

Julius Bieliauskas is a B2B Growth Strategist, Co Founder of Inter Consulting and Inter Pro, and a specialist in personal branding, LinkedIn growth, sales, and AI solutions. Over the past eight years, he has gone from creating videos and running paid advertising campaigns to helping companies build trust, generate leads, and grow through LinkedIn, strategic marketing, and technology. Today, he works with businesses across different markets while building companies focused on branding, lead generation, and AI.

In this episode, Julius shares how a recommendation from his dad led him to LinkedIn, the lessons he learned while building his personal brand, and how one of his clients eventually became his business partner. We discuss trust in the age of AI, attracting clients through LinkedIn, building meaningful relationships, and the mindset behind growing businesses while preparing for his first triathlon. You’ll also discover why he’s known as a Chief Martian Officer and the unusual hobby that perfectly reflects his belief that standing out is one of the most valuable skills you can develop.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/julius-bieliauskas/

• https://www.instagram.com/julius.martian/

Lessons:

• Nobody remembers ordinary people

• The best partnerships begin with a simple conversation

• What AI changed and what stayed the same

• The things that make you different matter

• The opportunities curiosity creates

1. Nobody remembers ordinary

One of the first things I noticed about Julius was his title. Not Chief Marketing Officer. Chief Martian Officer. It immediately caught my attention because it was different, slightly unusual, and impossible to ignore. During our conversation, I realised that was exactly the point. It wasn’t a gimmick. It was a reflection of a mindset that has influenced the way he approaches business, personal branding, and opportunities. While many people spend their careers trying to fit into existing boxes, Julius has intentionally built a reputation around standing out.

The lesson isn’t that you need a strange job title or a personal brand built around shock value. It’s that the things that make you different are often the things worth highlighting. Most people hide their unusual interests, perspectives, experiences, or personality traits because they worry about looking unprofessional. Yet those are usually the things people remember. Whether it’s Julius knowing every flag in the world, preparing for his first triathlon, or calling himself a Chief Martian Officer, the point is the same. Being memorable is often far more valuable than being perfectly polished.

2. The best partnerships start as conversations

One of the most interesting moments in the conversation was hearing how one of Julius’s clients eventually became his business partner. It was a good reminder that some of the biggest opportunities rarely begin with a grand plan. More often, they start with a conversation. A message. A call. A relationship built over time. In a world obsessed with funnels, automation, and quick wins, it was refreshing to hear a story that came back to something much simpler: trust.

I think many people underestimate the value of genuine relationships because the results are difficult to measure in the short term. We focus on transactions when we should be focusing on people. The client you help today could become a partner tomorrow. The conversation you almost didn’t start could lead to your next opportunity. Julius’s story reminded me that while technology, platforms, and trends continue to change, relationships remain one of the most valuable assets you can build. Often, the opportunities that change your life begin with a simple conversation.

3. What AI didn't change

When I asked Julius what advice he would give to someone struggling to find clients, I expected a complicated answer. After all, we spent part of the conversation discussing AI, personal branding, LinkedIn growth, and marketing. Instead, he came back to something much simpler. A clear profile. Useful content. Meaningful conversations. That’s it. No secret automation. No revolutionary strategy. No magic shortcut.

What stood out to me was that this advice came from someone who actively works with AI and modern technology every day. Despite all the tools available today, the fundamentals haven’t changed. People still want clarity. They still want trust. They still want genuine conversations. It is tempting to believe the next platform, tool, or tactic will solve everything. More often than not, the biggest improvement comes from doing the boring basics consistently and doing them well.

Psst! A few tools and brands I genuinely use and recommend:

• 🎛️ JamX

• 🔮 Favikon

• 🌊 Riverside

• ♾️ Metricool

• 🕶️ Ra Optics

Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you decide to support the show through them, I really appreciate it. It helps keep Produced By going.

Want to go deeper?

Paid readers get:

• 💬 Two additional lessons from the episode

• 📚 Books, tools and resources from the guest

• ✍️ Standout ideas and quotes that stayed with me

• 🎬 Behind the scenes thoughts and guest reflections

• 🎙️ Next week’s guest reveal and early episode preview

• ✅ Practical ways to apply the ideas from the conversation

Built for creators and professionals building their brand, audience, and career online.
Practical lessons, honest conversations, and useful ideas in five minutes.
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Most people think they are slow at content.

They are not.

They are just trying to think, write, and edit at the same time.

That’s why one post takes hours.

What I see all the time

Blank page.
One line. Delete. Rewrite.

Nothing moves.

You sit there thinking:
“Why is this so hard?”

The real problem

It’s not your ideas.

It’s the way you’re trying to create.

You’re forcing clarity before you have it.

The shift

You don’t need more ideas.

You need to stop creating everything in one go.

What this changes

In the latest episode, I break this down properly and show you a simple way to turn messy thoughts into content faster without overthinking every line.

If this sounds like you

If content has ever felt slow, frustrating, or heavy, this will change how you create.

Question

What part of content creation slows you down the most?

Before you go...

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started creating content was assuming that writing was the hard part.

It wasn’t.

The hard part was trying to do everything at once.

I’d sit down with an idea.

Then immediately start editing it.

Then judging it.

Then rewriting it.

Then questioning whether it was worth posting at all.

The result?

One post could take hours.

Not because I lacked ideas.

Because I was switching jobs every few minutes.

Creator.

Editor.

Critic.

Creator again.

It’s exhausting.

🔒 Paid subscribers can keep reading below.

Here’s the simple content workflow I wish I had years ago.

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They don’t.

They already have enough information.

Enough tools.

Enough frameworks.

Enough plans.

The problem is not the system.

It is the gap between the person they are today and the person the system requires them to become.

In fact, some of the most frustrated people have excellent systems.

They have the right routines.

The right tools.

The right plans.

The right goals.

And yet they still struggle to execute consistently.

Not because the system is broken.

But because the person operating it hasn’t fully become the person the system requires.

And that changes everything.

The illusion of systems

We love systems because they make life feel predictable.

If the process is right, the outcome should follow.

At least that’s what we tell ourselves.

• So we optimise.

• We organise.

• We automate.

• We colour-code calendars.

• Build routines.

• Create frameworks.

• Download templates.

• Design workflows.

And for a while, it works.

Until it doesn’t.

Because systems solve structural problems.

But they don’t automatically solve human ones.

A system can tell you what to do.

It cannot make you become the type of person who consistently does it.

Why people abandon systems they built themselves

This is the part that confuses most people.

You built the system.

You believe in the system.

You know the system works.

And yet you still avoid it.

You delay.

You negotiate.

You procrastinate.

You tell yourself you’ll start tomorrow.

Not because the system is wrong.

Because behaviour is not driven by logic alone.

If it were, consistency would be easy.

The real issue sits beneath behaviour.

And that is where most productivity advice falls apart.

The hidden conflict

Most systems operate at the behavioural level.

They tell you what actions to take.

But behaviour is constrained by identity.

Identity answers a different question.

Not:

“What should I do?”

But:

“Who am I?”

And whenever those two layers disagree, identity wins.

Every time.

You can build a content system.

But if you still see yourself as someone who is inconsistent, you will resist it.

You can build a sales system.

But if you still see yourself as someone who hates selling, you will avoid it.

You can build a fitness system.

But if you still identify as someone who never sticks to routines, you will eventually abandon it.

The system is asking for a behaviour.

Your identity is protecting a story.

And those two forces collide.

Why resistance feels irrational

This is why resistance often feels confusing.

You know what to do.

You agree with the plan.

You even want the outcome.

Yet something keeps pulling you away from execution.

Most people interpret that feeling as laziness.

Or lack of discipline.

Or lack of motivation.

But often it is none of those things.

It is identity friction.

The discomfort that appears when behaviour starts moving faster than self-belief.

The system is trying to pull you forward.

Your identity is trying to pull you back toward familiarity.

And familiarity is powerful.

Even when it is limiting.

The mistake most people make

When execution breaks down, most people redesign the system.

New routine.

New app.

New framework.

New productivity strategy.

But the problem was never the structure.

The problem was the relationship between the structure and the person expected to follow it.

So they keep rebuilding.

And rebuilding.

And rebuilding.

Looking for a system strong enough to overcome an identity that has not changed.

That system does not exist.

Because systems create opportunities for behaviour.

They do not create belief.

What actually closes the gap

The answer is not more discipline.

And it is not more motivation.

It is evidence.

Small, repeated acts that prove a new identity is true.

This is why lasting change often feels slower than people want.

Identity changes through evidence.

Not declarations.

Not affirmations.

Not intentions.

Evidence.

One action.

Then another.

Then another.

Until the old story becomes harder to believe than the new one.

Proof from practice

If you want to see how this plays out in real situations, I’ve broken it down here:

• LinkedIn insights

• Podcast episodes

• Video breakdowns

Across all three platforms, the pattern is the same.

People rarely fail because they lack information.

They fail because behaviour and identity are moving in opposite directions.

Closing insight

Most people are trying to build better systems.

But better systems are rarely the missing piece.

The real challenge is becoming the person the system was designed for.

Because behaviour rarely rises above identity for long.

And until identity changes, even the best system will eventually feel like a battle.

Questions worth sitting with

• What system in your life do you already know would work if you actually followed it?

• Where is your identity resisting behaviour?

• What story about yourself are you still carrying that your actions no longer support?

For paid subscribers

So the real question is not whether your system works.

It is whether your identity supports it.

Because every meaningful change eventually reaches a point where structure stops being the bottleneck.

And self-concept becomes the constraint.

Below are three real conversations that show what identity resistance actually looks like in practice.

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