Why You Should Put More of You into Your Stuff

by Bryan on July 12, 2012 in Killer Tribes with 17 Comments

Last year around this time I was finishing up 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo when I had an epiphany sparked by two specific things.

I had spent the day at the ECHO Conference in Dallas seeing old friends and making new ones, and I was slightly bummed because no one had said anything to me about my latest ventures: The BlogRocket Booster Course and The BlogRocket Blogger Community. A few people had come up to me to say they read the blog and appreciated the humor, but it was like no one knew about the things I had been pouring myself into of late.

While I was having this ridiculous little pity party for myself I sat through Jon Acuff’s keynote talk at ECHO, which killed. There might not be a more suited audience for Jon, and he absolutely slayed them. I sat there in my seat feeling a little jealous because I wished it was me making everyone laugh, and that’s when the epiphany came.

I had gone from being upset because people thought I was funny but didn’t know I was trying to help bloggers with my new company to all of a sudden wishing more people thought I was funny. What the heck? As my friend Chris and I went back to the hotel I was so confused. Am I a schizophrenic or was I just tired from catching a 6am flight?

That’s when it hit me. For me, humor is not something I can turn on and off. Trying to be funny is at the core of everything I do, so no matter what it is, even if it’s writing a blogging book, I have to try and make it funny. I have to pour as much of myself into it as possible.

The funny thing is, as soon as I realized that I instantly became 300% more excited about finishing the book. I made the unorthodox decision to include jokes between every chapter, I put as much humor into each page as I could, and I even included this ridiculous note right before the book’s intro:

Does everyone appreciate the humor? Of course not. I get at least 5 people a month on Amazon who get refunded because the book falls flat for them.

But I love the way the book came out, and as I tweeted yesterday, seeing the book as the first result when you search “blogging” on Amazon will never NOT be crazy to me.

I am so amazed and grateful for everyone who encouraged me, promoted it, and read it.

My whole point in sharing all this is to encourage you to put as much of yourself into the projects you are working on. (and if you’re having a real hard time doing that, maybe you have to ask yourself if it’s a project you should be working on in the first place?)

People are smart. They can sniff out a fake a hundred miles away. The more of you that you can put in, the more authentic your (fill in the blank) will be. So keep striving to find that authentic voice (it can be a lot of work) and keep putting yourself out there even if it’s a little frightening. That fear just might mean you’re doing something important.

The truth of the matter is, in the end we don’t just want something that’s FROM YOU, we want something that’s FULL OF YOU.

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  • http://randomlychad.com Randomlychad

    Bryan, you know I love the work you’re doing. You have helped me find my voice. There was a time when I wanted to be you, or be funny like you. My epiphany was two-fold: God doesn’t want another Bryan, He wants an authentic me. Secondly, trying to funny all the time just wasn’t me–it felt burdensome. What I did instead is what you say above: I put more of me into my posts, and to my surprise found a growing community.

    Thank-you, Bryan, from the bottom of my heart!

    • Bryan

      thanks Chad!

  • http://shawnsmucker.com Shawn Smucker

    Great stuff, Bryan.

  • http://www.sarahmae.com Sarah Mae

    Great advice!

    • Bryan

      Sarah, I owe so much of the book’s success to you. thanks for the guidance!

  • http://deuceology.wordpress.com LarryTheDeuce

    Isn’t it funny that we will tey to hide who we are. We want to present some cleaned up version of ourselvesm. But people eventually see through that and they wanted was the real you all along.

  • http://www.eileenknowles.com Eileen

    Larry mentioned this post in my comments section today and so I clicked over to check it out. So glad I did. I’ve had some of the same “schizophrenic” thinking before. Love your advice to just put yourself in your projects. We waste too much time trying to live up to other people’s expectations.

  • http://www.andilit.com Andi

    All the blogging advice in the world can’t beat this you give here, Bryan. Pour yourself into it. Thanks for that.

  • http://www.zahndrew.com Andrew Z

    Sage advice.

    Not to be confused with ‘sage and citrus’ – a Yankee candle scent.

  • http://www.theisleofman.net Kevin Haggerty

    One thing I’ve always appreciated about you, Bryan, is that you are not fake. there are many bloggers/authors who encourage interaction. They encourage bloggers to respond to comments, tweets and emails, yet they don’t do any of that themselves. From my perspective, you’ve always backed up what you say and are not caught up with yourself and the success you’ve experienced. I appreciate that about you.

    • Bryan

      Thanks Kevin, appreciate that!

  • http://www.brandonclements.com Brandon Clements

    Truth! Your humor is a unique part of your voice and I love it. Thanks for encouraging the rest of us to do the same.

  • http://www.cheaplovebook.com Carrie Starr

    Just what I needed to hear! I’ve been having the same epiphany this week-and it’s freed me to really enjoy what I’m doing. I’ve been playing it safe- saying what I think people want to hear. But I’ve discovered my unique offering is my willingness to say what most people aren’t comfortable saying. Honesty and vulnerability are my strength. Whenever I put fear aside and really speak my mind- I get the best response. Amazing!

  • http://www.indueseason.net skottydog

    Bryan,

    Thank you for the candid advice and the encouragement. This was brilliant. Nice to know it’s normal to feel crazy sometimes. I guess like the “alien on a roller coaster” analogy you talk about.

    This truly rivals the “A Closer Look At My 1-Star Reviews” post.

  • http://www.lovelyspirit.wordpress.com Rachel

    Thanks Bryan! As a new blogger and (hopeful) published author, I can really appreciate your message. It is absolutely critical to put as much of myself as possible into everything I write.

    Peace and blessings,

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  • http://www.jeffdolan.com Jeff Dolan

    Thanks for sharing yourself so generously in all your do. It’s inspiring to know that you are pursuing your dream today not simply telling others how easy it was yesterday.

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