You Do You

It’s boring.

It’s the same thing everyone else is doing.

If I see another video on “Insta” (said in a quirky teen-like voice) with someone pointing at or reacting to their captions as they appear with a stupid smile on their face, I’m going to vomit all over my mobile device!

No, my office is not well lit. My background is dark!

You know why? Because it’s MY office, not the office I think you think I should have.

For me, it’s more of a study.

It’s intimate.

It’s moody.

It’s an environment where I can get deeply focused.

It’s authentic.

What you see is what you get.

There’s no BS with me.

There’s no pretending I live in some multi-million dollar home with the most incredible office ever.

And most importantly… it’s for me, not for you.

I call this my home office theater, because within seconds I can push my desk chair aside, move back to the recliner behind me, wrap myself in that fleece blanket, and either play video games or stream anything on the internet.

And I can survive in that chair for days without moving, because inside the right arm is an electric panel with a DC plug and two USB ports. And in the left arm, I have a USB switch with ten more USB ports that I can plug in to charge anything that needs charging.

Or, I can relax and read in pure comfort.

I keep reading that comfort is a drug, and I’m calling bullshit. Like anything else, even water, there is a point where it is too much, but comfort is the WHOLE FREAKING POINT, if you ask me.

Comfort and freedom, that is.

Doing things RIGHT (or in other words doing it the way you see everyone else doing it) is probably wrong for YOU!

You do YOU!

This is TRUE self love, as in “this is me, take it or leave it!’

Whenever you do whatever it is that you do, do it with a style that truly reflects who you are!

And let people criticize. And take pleasure in ignoring them. They are likely jealous because they can’t access the freedom that you now can.

They stay locked in a self-constructed prison because they cannot escape the notion that they have to do things the way everyone else does. Like a sheep following the herd has chosen to do things.

The freedom to be yourself.

The freedom to SAY SOMETHING!

Something that is truly your point of view based on your experiences.

That is where your value comes in.

If you LOVE a brightly lit office, then get the brightest damn lights you can find and shine on!

I love my dim lights.

And if I’m being honest, I really want you focused on ME, not what is in my background.

In most cases, I want you focused on what I am teaching. I share my screen so I can show you how to do the things I’ve learned to do that make my life easy.

My bookshelf has stuffed animals hanging around on it. THAT’S who I am.

I love them.

They make me happy

And each one of them has a story.

Each one of them has a separate reason why they put a smile on my face when I look at them and I think about them.

Most of you just have books on your shelves.

And that’s okay if that is a true representation of you.

But I’m guessing in many (maybe most) cases, it really isn’t.

Especially if you haven’t read half of them, which means there are unfinished stories there about how you came to acquire them and why. Specifically this means that the books you show people on your Zoom calls are not an authentic representation of your knowledge.

Now go finish your unfinished stories and bring authenticity to the image you portray.

Read the books you haven’t yet read.

Then make a video and share your story. But don’t waste time waiting until you have the perfect background for your video.

Just.

Do.

You.

Make sure your audio is good, and make sure your video is clear and focused. For some reason, I’ve seen a lot of Instagram reels that were clearly cut out from another video and the result suffers from multiple rounds of compression.

They’re blurry.

Stop that.

That means you spent too much time on the perfect background and not enough time on production quality. Production quality is much more important than the quality of your background. 

And if you ask me, production quality + authenticity goes a much longer way.

I was hired by Intuit again recently to produce an article and video.

The production guy on this one has worked with me before.

He confirmed that the videos I’ve done for him in the past had proven that authenticity counts much more than having a gorgeous and perfect background.

Because people relate better when they feel like they are getting the REAL you instead of some polished up version.

Authenticity is warm.

Overly polished is cold.

So get out there and start doing it WRONG.

F$&% the whole thing up and

Just.

Do.

You!

Thank you for reading and watching.

This has been a presentation of #TalkNerdyToMe productions.