The Mindset of a Creator Is Only Acquired by Creating | I Realized I Had Become Someone Who Could Answer

Hello! This is Yu, the work-from-home worker.

The world has entered Golden Week, hasn't it?
Today, with the blue sky and the almost hot weather,
the weather feels so nice, like "It's a holiday!"

But at my place...
My husband works for a company that operates year-round,
so there's zero sense of a long weekend (lol).
He's working today just like normal,
and tomorrow and the day after
will be our usual "weekend."

Well, today,
I'm going to talk about "How do you acquire the mindset of a creator?"

To give you the conclusion first,

you only acquire it by creating.

...No, that's not an answer, is it?
You probably thought that (lol).

But this is really the truth.
It's something I only understood after I tried it,
so today I'd like to write about that honestly.

As a former know-how collector,
how did I feel the changes?
I'm sharing this in the hope that it gets across.

At first, I had zero awareness of being a "creator"

When I started releasing paid notes,
I didn't think of myself as a "creator" at all.

"Someone who just tried writing"
"Someone who would be lucky if it sold"

That was the feeling.

Even with free articles,
at first, I was writing them out of a sense of obligation that I "had to write something."

"Is it okay for me to say something like this?"
"Shouldn't someone with more of a track record be saying this?"

I was only thinking about things like that.

Because I, a socially anxious shut-in,
thought that standing on the side of telling others something
didn't suit me no matter how I looked at it.

But then, something strange happened

Even so, I just kept writing.

I released paid notes,
and I also steadily posted free articles.

At first, I thought, "I'm not the kind of person who can answer readers' questions."

But as I wrote free articles with the mindset of, "If I were asked, I'd probably answer like this,"
before I knew it,
I had truly become someone who could answer.

I was surprised by this myself.

For example,
suppose someone asked, "What do you do when you can't find ideas for articles?"

The old me would have just ended it with, "I don't know either..."

But now,
I can convey it in my own words, saying, "This is what I do."
And it's not a forced answer, either;
it comes out naturally from the things I've actually done.

Through creating, "experience" had accumulated within me.

The "Creator Persona" Wasn't Something to Act Out

Before I started creating,
I thought "creators" were people who were dignified, confident,
and good at speaking in front of others.

I thought, "That's a type I'll never be in my life."

But what I think now is that
the mindset of a creator is something that follows later.

You don't need to have that persona from the start.

As you write, you gradually become that way.
If you keep conveying things in your own words,
there comes a moment when you realize, "Oh, this is my stance."

In my case,
the stance of "quietly, but surely delivering"
solidified while I was writing.

It's not like anyone taught me that.
It happened naturally as I continued to create.

I'm still socially awkward. But—

Even now, I'm not good at socializing.
Real-time interactions still make my stomach tighten,
and I want to quietly close the lid on invitations for online calls (laughs).

So, I haven't changed my "earn quietly" path.
I probably can't change it, and I don't think I need to.

But,the courage to createhas increased significantly.

"Is it okay to write something like this?"
"Maybe no one will read it."
"What if I get criticized?"

To be honest, I still have anxieties like this.
But I no longer stop completely like I used to.

I have a version of myself that thinks, "Well, I'll give it a try."
This might seem modest, but I think it's a huge change.

This wasn't something I could get from study materials.

Actually, this feeling is something
I could never feel no matter what study materials I read until now.

Study materials contain methods.
They have know-how, techniques, and procedures.

But the "realization that I am changing as a creator" is something
you can never get unless you try creating yourself.

I've realized this is what "tangible results" feel like.
This is what "experience" is all about.

I've been thinking about this deeply lately.

I want to tell the version of myself who read many study materials
and thought I "understood" it all.

"Understanding" and "being able to do" are different.
And "being able to do" only comes to those who have tried.

When you try, you start to see "yourself"

Before I started creating, I didn't really understand myself.

What am I good at?
What kind of expression is true to me?
Who do I want to reach, and what do I want to deliver?

Everything was vague.

But as I continued to create,
the outlines gradually became clearer.

Seeing the reactions to the articles I wrote,
I realize, "Oh, this is the kind of topic that is needed."
Reading back the text I wrote myself,
I notice, "This way of saying things feels like me."

This was something I couldn't see no matter how much I thought about it in my head.

Only after you put it out there do you start to see yourself.

I think creating is not just about delivering to others,
but also an act of knowing yourself.

If you are currently thinking,
"I want to try creating, but someone like me..."
then...

It's okay.
I was the same way at first.

You don't need to have the mindset of a creator from the very beginning.
It's okay if you can't convey things well.
You don't need to have the perfect answer.

As you write, you will gradually become that way.
Before you know it, a moment will come where you think, 'Oh, have I become someone who can answer?'
That moment will arrive.

That feeling is something only those who have done it can experience.

So, if you want to try it even a little bit,
I hope you will start small.

I have an article that summarizes the entire process of creating a paid note from scratch, so
if you think, 'I want to take the first step and put something out there,' please
take a look.

Thank you for reading until the end today as well!