You’re Already Interesting

You say the biggest challenge you have when it comes to publishing consistently online is finding the time. I don’t believe that, and I say that because I’ve been there too. I think I don’t have the time to write a post, or upload a video to my blog, or crank out a podcast. I think there are other things I should be doing that are considered “real work”, so I put publishing off while I go do other more important things like check my email and watch another episode of Pawn Stars.

Bull$#!&. Not publishing because you don’t have time is an excuse.

I’m not interested in hearing any longer that you don’t have the time to publish. Because in actual fact, publishing doesn’t take that long. I will write this post in about 20 minutes. You might take 30, or 10. You might create a video, which literally takes 5 minutes to record and post. And everyone, no matter how busy their job is, or how many kids they have running around, can find 5 minutes, or 10, if they think they have something to say and they really want to say it.

Nope, in actual fact, it’s not about time at all. You’re not publishing because you don’t think you are interesting enough.

Where does this fear of not being interesting come from? I think it stems from the fact that we humans inherently compare ourselves to others. The dawn of the social Web has exacerbated this trait in us. Now, not only are we comparing ourselves to the peers and colleagues and loved ones in our presence, but we are comparing ourselves to thousands upon thousands of people in the virtual world too. We see the A-list bloggers pumping out stellar posts multiple times a day and racking up hundreds of thousands of devoted followers and we don’t see how we can ever be as interesting as they are.

So we back away to our corner. We look at our lives and our work and we don’t see how it could possibly matter to others. And the days, weeks, months go by, and we don’t publish. Then we use the excuse that we don’t have time, and we wonder why we’re not getting as far as we’d like with the things we’re doing.

So, you need to stop, right now, comparing yourself to Jimmy A-Lister and Sally Superstar. Because when you do, you’ll realize a very, very important thing:

You are, and always have been, interesting.

Why? Because you’re you. And every aspect of your life’s experiences up until this point are different from everyone else’s. And that makes your story (and mine, and theirs) completely unique. And you know what unique is to people?

It’s interesting. YOU’RE interesting.

And because you’re interesting, it means that you have plenty to tell people about the way you are experiencing your life. Your perspective on your passions, your work, things you’ve learned, and the people you care about are one of a kind. And that makes you utterly compelling.

If you really, REALLY want to publish, then you need to eliminate that thing inside you that compares yourself to others and makes you feel uninteresting. If you do that, you’ll suddenly feel a whole world of possibilities open up. You’ll have lots and lots to talk about.

So find your space at some point today. Sit down. Stop comparing. Write down three things about yourself or your business that you would like other people to know about. Then create it. Then hit publish. And let me know what you come up with by linking to it in the comments below.

[photo by Kevin Dooley]