You Don't Have to Pick a Lane. You Have to Publish.
I was on a call this week with someone who's been stuck for months. Not lazy stuck. The opposite. Talented, passionate, sitting on a MOUNTAIN of recorded content... and none of it published.
Why? Because they have two sides to their story. Two things they could be known for. And they've been paralyzed trying to figure out which lane to pick before they post anything.
I resonate with this so much, because I fight it too. I do this and I do that and I'm passionate about this other thing, and in my head there's always a voice saying "pick a lane, that's what people want."
But here's what I've landed on, and I said it out loud on this call as much for myself as for them...
Everything about you is what creates this DNA, this unique piece of art that is YOU and nobody else. It's not that you have to pick a lane. It's that you just have to publish.
I know it's cliche and people will disagree with me, but if you publish, they will come. If you publish, you will figure it out. The lane reveals itself on the other side of posting, never before.
Think of it like throwing a net. You put your real story out there, then you look at who you pulled in. THEN you shape the offer around what resonated. Course, community, coaching, whatever it ends up being. Most people do this backwards... they spend months polishing an offer before anyone's paying attention, and then wonder why nobody bites.
Okay, so how do you actually start? A few things that make it way less scary.
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Talk to ONE person. Not "my audience." One person. Somebody real whose story you know, or a fictional character in your head, or you from seven years ago. When you talk to that one person, it comes through. And who cares if everyone else doesn't resonate... that person will. And there are more of them out there than you think.
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Lower the stakes. Post it as a story so it disappears in 24 hours. Or use trial reels that test content on people who don't even follow you. Or run everything through a private account with a few trusted people first. There are so many ways to get reps without betting your whole reputation on post number one.
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Record one video a day. You don't have to POST one a day. Just record one. Post Monday, Wednesday, Friday to start. The daily rep is the habit that matters.
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Story plus call to action. Raw and vulnerable is what people connect with... but don't just leave it hanging. Tell them what's next. "If this hits home, message me." That's it. That's the difference between a diary and a brand.
The stuff you're holding back because you're not sure which lane it belongs in? That's probably your best material. The real, unpolished, talking-from-the-heart stuff beats the produced version every single time.
Stop waiting for clarity. Publish your way to it.
Stay in the fight, Kevin