Here’s something that no one’s going to tell you when you first get started writing or creating things on the internet…
Someday, a new generation of creators will come up behind you, and they’re going to be better than you in a lot of ways.
Sometimes, their work will be better than yours. Other times, it will be worse, but they’ll be better at getting attention, and so eclipse you that way. A few will be both. Others will be better at tapping into the new thing people care about – the thing you think is pointless.
The list goes on…
When this happens – and it will happen to you – you have two choices about how to go forward: You can be small, and defensive; guard the secrets of your trade, and try to deny newcomers the admiration they’re earning with their work. Or you can go the opposite way, and decide that you’ll always do your best to help them succeed.
As you can probably guess, the first path offers nothing for you in the long run, except maybe a little comfort for your ego as you slowly slide into irrelevance. It’s the second path we want.
The second path is tougher, because it forces you to grow as a creative person. It forces you to look at your work, and the work being done around you, and to ask (possibly for the first time in years) what you actually bring to the table that’s unique these days.
It forces you to acknowledge that other people can do some of the things that made you special years ago. It forces you to confront and maybe even kill off parts of your ego.
But if you can do it, you’ll be much better off for it. Because above all, this approach forces you to abandon any kind of scarcity mindset, and when you do that, your work gets better, and you, your peers, and your readers all benefit.
Two people have really helped form my thinking on this.
The first is Tim Ferriss. I’ve been a fan of his for almost two decades, since the publication of his first book, The 4-Hour Workweek. His work inspired entire generations of other writers to talk about solopreneurship, remote work, lifestyle design (a term he coined), and more. And yet, he’s stayed relevant through it all.
I think there are two key factors.
First, he doesn’t hold back information. A lot of writers are scared that if they share everything they know, their audience won’t need them anymore. So consciously or not, they hold back or try to drip ideas out slowly in order to hold onto attention.
But what this really is is a fear that if you say the one big truth you know, you won’t have anything else to say.
I’ve done this. It’s a mistake. It keeps you from writing at the edge of your ability, and what you don’t realize is that by holding back, you’re just being less helpful to readers, which opens the door for someone else who’s willing to tell-all to come in and scoop them up.
Tim tries to write the definitive book on each topic. He doesn’t hold back. As a result, people continue to follow him because they know that he’ll teach them everything he learns along the way.
Your readers are always running into new problems – new issues every damn day. If they think of you as someone who always teaches the maximum they can, they’ll continue to look to you for help with each new issue they face.
That brings me to the other aspect of Tim Ferriss’ long-term relevance, which is his focus. He doesn’t chase trends. Instead, he’s focused on solving the problems he’s encountering in his own life. Then he writes about that, trusting that some segment of his audience will benefit.
So those two things – teaching everything you can, and focusing on the things you’re facing in your own life, rather than chasing trends – those are two good ways to stay relevant for a long time, even as other great writers come onto the scene.
I think they speak mostly to the craft itself; to keeping your work relevant to the audience.
The other person who’s really formed my thinking on this is Joe Rogan, because of how he treats other creators.
Whether it’s podcasting or comedy (both areas in which he’s a dominant player) he’s not just accepting of others coming into the craft, but he actively tries to promote them and make them as successful as possible.
He’s typically pretty subtle about this publicly, but finally shared his thoughts in a recent conversation with Cameron Hanes and Steven Rinella (starts at 2:15:04)
“I don’t think of comics ever as competitors,” he said. “I try the best I can to get them more famous. I want them to be huge.”
What a great mindset.
I wanted that for my career, and frankly, for my day-to-day life. To be free from that useless anxiety over competition, and instead start from this place of abundance. So I chose that, and cultivate it regularly.
These two guys helped.
I also found it helpful just observing my interaction with their work as a reader or listener. In almost two decades, no one has replaced Ferriss in my mind, even though I’ve read and admire many other writers who’ve come up in his wake. No one’s replaced Rogan.
You’re not competing for mind-space in the way that you think you might be.
The only thing that makes you irrelevant are the bad decisions that come from fearing irrelevance. So put that out of your mind, and get back to work.