My honest advice to a perfectionist

Ali Abdaal
26 Jul 202426:37

Summary

TLDRIn this episode, Ali, a former doctor turned entrepreneur, discusses overcoming perfectionism, particularly in content creation. He shares his personal struggles and insights, offering practical advice to Andy, who is dealing with overthinking and perfectionism in growing his YouTube channel. Ali emphasizes the importance of creating for the joy of helping others, not just for personal satisfaction.

Takeaways

  • πŸŽ₯ Ali, a doctor turned entrepreneur, has been making YouTube videos for 7 years, overcoming perfectionism along the way.
  • πŸ“š Ali recently wrote a book called 'Feelgood Productivity', which also required overcoming perfectionistic tendencies.
  • πŸ€” Andy, a busy individual with a full-time job and two kids, is seeking advice on overcoming perfectionism in creating YouTube content.
  • πŸ”„ Ali shares his own struggles with perfectionism, including the 'voice of the saboteur' that tries to stop creative endeavors.
  • 🌱 The 'voice of the saboteur' often suggests over-preparation and overthinking, which can hinder starting a project.
  • πŸ“ˆ Ali suggests changing the context or format of the task to see if perfectionism still applies, as a way to combat it.
  • πŸ€“ He recommends asking if the work has the potential to help at least one person as a measure of its value, rather than striving for universal acclaim.
  • 🎨 Ali emphasizes the importance of enjoying the creative process, as it can lead to better work and less stress.
  • πŸ”„ He suggests that creators should focus on the potential impact on others rather than on their own ego or fear of judgment.
  • πŸ“ The transcript highlights the idea of 'reasonable' quality as a goal, rather than perfection, to reduce the pressure of creating content.
  • πŸ’¬ Ali invites viewers to share their struggles in the comments, showing an openness to connect and provide further advice.

Q & A

  • What is Ali's background and how does it relate to the topic of perfectionism?

    -Ali is a former doctor turned entrepreneur who has been making YouTube videos for 7 years and has also published a book called 'Feelgood Productivity'. His experiences with overcoming perfectionistic tendencies in these endeavors make him well-equipped to discuss and offer advice on dealing with perfectionism.

  • What is the main issue that Andy is facing with his YouTube channel?

    -Andy struggles with overthinking and perfectionism when creating content for his YouTube channel. He worries about whether his content is good enough and fears that it might not be valuable to his audience, which leads to delays in posting videos.

  • What is the term Ali uses to describe the internal voice that tries to sabotage creative efforts?

    -Ali refers to this internal voice as 'the voice of the saboteur', which is a mental barrier that tries to prevent action by promoting overthinking and self-doubt.

  • How does Ali suggest changing the context or format of a task to combat perfectionism?

    -Ali suggests that changing the context or format of a task can alter one's perception of perfectionism. By asking how perfectionism would manifest if the task were approached differently, one might realize that the perfectionistic standards do not hold up in a different setting.

  • What is the concept of 'done is better than perfect' and how does it apply to Andy's situation?

    -'Done is better than perfect' is a concept that encourages action over endless perfectionism. It applies to Andy's situation by suggesting that he should post his videos even if they are not perfect, as the act of creating and sharing is more important than striving for unattainable perfection.

  • What is the significance of the phrase 'what would it look like if it were fun' in Ali's approach to dealing with perfectionism?

    -The phrase 'what would it look like if it were fun' is a reflection prompt that Ali uses to shift the focus from the pressure of perfection to the enjoyment of the creative process. It helps to reframe the task at hand into something enjoyable rather than a source of stress.

  • How does Ali define the 'bar' for quality in the context of overcoming perfectionism?

    -Ali defines the 'bar' for quality as whether the work has the potential to help at least one person. This lower bar is more achievable than striving for perfection and allows creators to share their work without the fear of it not being good enough.

  • What advice does Ali give about the relationship between enjoyment and productivity in creative work?

    -Ali suggests that enjoying the creative process leads to better work, more creativity, less stress, and increased productivity. He emphasizes that focusing on enjoyment can improve the quality of work more than trying to optimize for perfection.

  • How does Ali handle the voice of the saboteur when it tries to prevent him from starting a video?

    -Ali acknowledges the voice of the saboteur but tells it that he will record the video anyway, with the understanding that he doesn't have to publish it if it doesn't meet his standards. This approach allows him to overcome the initial resistance to starting.

  • What is the strategy of writing down what the voice of the saboteur is saying, and how can it help with perfectionism?

    -Writing down the voice of the saboteur's messages can help externalize and scrutinize the perfectionistic thoughts. It allows for a more objective assessment of whether these thoughts are reasonable or simply barriers to action.

  • What advice does Ali offer for dealing with the fear of what others might think when sharing creative work?

    -Ali advises shifting the focus from oneself to the potential audience, considering the act of sharing creative work as a service to others. This mindset can reduce the fear of judgment and the pressure of meeting arbitrary personal standards.

  • How does Ali suggest using the concept of 'reasonable' to manage expectations while creating?

    -Ali suggests telling oneself that the current work just needs to be 'reasonable' and that the next one will be good. This approach helps to lower the bar for the current task, reducing perfectionism and allowing for more fluid creation.

Outlines

00:00

πŸŽ₯ Overcoming Perfectionism in Content Creation

Ali, a former doctor turned entrepreneur and YouTuber, shares his experiences with perfectionism, particularly in the context of video production. He discusses his journey of making over 800 videos and writing a book, both of which required him to confront and overcome perfectionistic tendencies. Ali introduces the main subject of the video: addressing Andy's struggle with perfectionism in growing his YouTube channel. He emphasizes that the principles discussed can apply to various forms of perfectionism beyond content creation.

05:03

🀯 The Voice of the Saboteur: Perfectionism's Inner Critic

Ali delves into his own thoughts and the internal struggle with the 'voice of the saboteur,' which he identifies as the internal critic that tries to prevent creative action due to fear of imperfection. He uses the example of filming in an unfamiliar park with background noise to illustrate how this voice can create doubt and delay. Ali also mentions his rebranded newsletter, 'Life Notes,' and encourages viewers to subscribe for weekly insights.

10:03

πŸ”„ Redefining Quality: From Perfection to Potential Impact

The video script explores the concept of redefining one's standard of quality to focus on the potential impact of the work, rather than achieving an arbitrary level of perfection. Ali suggests that if a piece of work has the potential to help at least one person, it meets a 'reasonable' standard. He credits Austin Kleon's book 'Show Your Work' for influencing this perspective and encourages creators to share their work if it can potentially benefit someone.

15:08

πŸŽ‰ Embracing Enjoyment as a Key to Overcoming Perfectionism

Ali discusses the importance of enjoyment in the creative process and how it can counteract perfectionism. He mentions an executive coach, Joe Hudson, who believes that enjoyment leads to efficiency and better work. Ali suggests that focusing on the fun and enjoyment of creating, rather than on the quality of the outcome, can help alleviate perfectionistic pressures and lead to more satisfying work.

20:09

πŸ›‘ The Saboteur's Tactics: Recognizing and Overcoming Resistance

In this paragraph, Ali talks about the tactics of the 'voice of the saboteur,' which often tries to prevent the start of a creative endeavor by suggesting reasons to delay or avoid it. He shares his personal strategy of telling the voice that he will create the work but doesn't have to publish it, which often quiets the saboteur's resistance. Ali emphasizes the importance of starting and trusting the editing process to refine the work into a final product.

25:10

πŸ“š Learning from Others: Strategies for Managing Perfectionism

Ali reflects on advice he received from Cal Newport, a successful author, about managing perfectionism in writing. Newport's strategy of telling himself that each book just needs to be 'reasonable' and the next one will be good has helped Ali and others in dealing with the pressure of creating perfect work. The paragraph highlights the value of learning and applying strategies from those who have successfully navigated similar challenges.

🀝 Shifting Focus from Self to Service

The final paragraph emphasizes shifting the focus from one's ego to serving others as a way to combat perfectionism. Ali suggests that creating with the intention of helping others can alleviate the fear of imperfection. He also invites viewers to share their struggles in the comments and offers to answer questions directly in future videos, highlighting the value of community and connection in the creative process.

Mindmap

Keywords

πŸ’‘Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by a person's striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high standards for themselves. In the video, the speaker discusses overcoming perfectionism in the context of content creation, particularly for a YouTube channel. The concept is central to the theme as it addresses the struggle of creating content without overthinking or overanalyzing it to the point of paralysis.

πŸ’‘Overthinking

Overthinking refers to the act of excessively analyzing or worrying about a situation, often leading to inaction or procrastination. The video's theme revolves around the impact of overthinking on productivity, especially in the creation of YouTube videos. The speaker shares personal experiences and strategies to combat the tendency to overthink, which is a key obstacle to overcome for the individual named Andy in the script.

πŸ’‘Content Creation

Content creation is the process of generating various forms of content, such as videos, articles, or podcasts, to engage an audience. The video script focuses on the challenges faced by content creators, specifically the struggle with perfectionism and overthinking, which can hinder the process of creating and sharing content that adds value to the audience.

πŸ’‘Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where individuals doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a 'fraud'. The script mentions this concept as one of the internal battles that can affect creators, causing them to hesitate before sharing their work due to a lack of confidence in their abilities or ideas.

πŸ’‘Resistance

In the context of the video, resistance is the internal or external opposition to taking action or pursuing creative endeavors. The speaker references 'the voice of the saboteur' or 'the resistance' as a metaphor for the mental barriers that prevent individuals from starting or completing their work, such as creating YouTube videos.

πŸ’‘Value

Value, in this video, refers to the positive impact or usefulness that the content might have on the audience. The speaker emphasizes the importance of focusing on the potential value of the content to at least one person, rather than striving for an unattainable level of perfection. This shift in focus is presented as a way to overcome perfectionism and overthinking.

πŸ’‘Enjoyment

Enjoyment is the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction derived from an activity. The video suggests that focusing on the enjoyment of the creative process, rather than solely on the outcome, can help combat perfectionism. The speaker argues that enjoying the work can lead to better productivity, creativity, and less stress.

πŸ’‘Sabor

Sabor is a term used in the video to represent the internal voice that tries to sabotage one's efforts, often by promoting overthinking and perfectionism. The speaker uses the metaphor of 'the voice of the saboteur' to illustrate the mental obstacles that must be overcome to create and share content without unnecessary delay.

πŸ’‘Service

Service, in the context of this video, refers to the act of creating content with the primary intention of helping or serving others. The speaker suggests that shifting the focus from personal ego to serving the audience can alleviate perfectionism. By viewing content creation as a service, creators may feel less pressure to achieve perfection and more freedom to share their work.

πŸ’‘Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency of an individual's work or the rate at which they produce output. The video discusses the impact of perfectionism and overthinking on productivity, suggesting that these tendencies can hinder the creation process. The speaker shares insights on how to increase productivity by overcoming these mental barriers and focusing on the value and enjoyment of the work.

πŸ’‘Fear

Fear, in this video, is associated with the anxiety or apprehension that creators may feel about sharing their work and being judged by others. The speaker mentions that fear, often linked with perfectionism, can prevent individuals from taking action and suggests strategies to overcome this fear, such as focusing on service and potential value to others.

Highlights

Ali, a doctor turned entrepreneur, shares his experience overcoming perfectionism in content creation.

Ali has made over 800 YouTube videos and written a book, 'Feelgood Productivity', both requiring him to battle perfectionistic tendencies.

The episode discusses Andy's struggle with perfectionism in growing his YouTube channel and Ali's advice for overcoming it.

Andy's goal is to help busy people create space in their lives for what matters most through his YouTube channel.

Ali emphasizes that the principles discussed apply to various types of perfectionism beyond just content creation.

Ali shares his personal insights on battling the voice of the saboteur, which tries to prevent creative action.

The 'voice of the saboteur' is identified as an internal voice that tries to halt creative endeavors due to fear of imperfection.

Ali talks about the importance of recognizing and dismissing the voice of the saboteur to move forward with creative projects.

He suggests changing the context or format of a task to see if perfectionism still holds true, as a way to overcome it.

Ali recommends asking if the work has the potential to help at least one person as a measure of its value.

He shares a strategy from Austin Kleon's book 'Show Your Work' about sharing work that can help others.

Ali discusses the importance of enjoying the creative process rather than focusing solely on the outcome.

He suggests that enjoyment can lead to higher efficiency and better work than striving for perfection.

Ali talks about the benefits of pressing record and creating content without the pressure of publishing it.

He mentions that the editing process can transform a rough recording into a valuable final product.

Ali shares advice from Cal Newport about accepting that one work just needs to be reasonable while the next will be good.

He concludes by emphasizing that overcoming perfectionism often involves focusing on serving others rather than one's ego.

Transcripts

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hi my name is Ali I'm a doctor turned

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entrepreneur and I've been making

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YouTube videos for the last 7 years I've

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made over 800 videos which has required

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overcoming a lot of perfectionistic

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Tendencies and I also recently wrote and

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published a book called Feelgood

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productivity and that also required

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overcoming a lot of perfectionistic

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Tendencies and so in this episode of not

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life advice we're going to be looking at

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a guy called Andy and he's going to

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share some of his perfectionistic

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struggles as it relates to growing his

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YouTube channel for example and I'm

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going to share my honest advice for

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someone who's a perfectionist in that

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sense now just a quick caveat uh Andy's

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problem specifically relates to feeling

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like overthinking e and perfectionistic

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when it comes to making YouTube videos

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but I think the same principles apply

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with whatever type of perfectionistic

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Tendencies you're struggling with not

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just if you're a content creator so

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let's get into Andy's question hey my

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name is Andy I am currently working

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full-time I have two kids I lead a

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pretty busy life and my goal is to

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develop a a YouTube channel um that

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helps busy people create space in their

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life to do what matters most this has

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been something that's been on my heart

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in my mind for quite some time because I

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just want to help people that's all I

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want to do my problem right now is that

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I get caught in overthinking and

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overanalyzing the things that I want to

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post and so I have a bit of uh

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perfectionism in there where I uh

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overthink all of my content and I think

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is it good enough is anybody going to

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see this and it takes me so long to

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actually post something and I just want

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to post

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something but it's never good enough so

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so I have posted a few videos sometimes

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I just post because done is better than

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perfect

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and yeah so how do you

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overcome overanalyzing and

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overthinking um content or things that

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you need to do thank you so much for all

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the help that you've put out book was

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awesome by the way thanks for that still

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going through it highlighting for like

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the second or third time thanks have a

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good one all righty so that was Andy

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asking a question about how to overcome

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perfectionism how to stop overthinking

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and just doing the thing rather than

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thinking about doing the thing so let's

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talk about

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that before I answer this question I

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want to let you guys into a little bit

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of insight into my own mind around these

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things because you know people start

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people ask me for advice about this sort

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of stuff and yeah I think it's it it it

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might be useful for you to hear what's

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what's currently going through my mind

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so what's currently going through my

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mind is that it is 7:00 in the morning

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I'm here in Boise Idaho in the US uh to

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speak at the convert kit craft Commerce

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conference but because of jet lag flying

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in from London I woke up pretty early um

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and I decided to go for a little walk

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outside and then cuz it was a nice day

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and I had this little mini camera with

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me I thought oh why don't I film a video

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and I saw Andy's question and thought Oh

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okay this could be a fun one to do now

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what's currently going through my mind

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is O you know maybe I need to actually

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be sad at my desk because when talking

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about imposter syndrome and

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perfectionism and overthinking like you

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know I'd love to be able to draw like

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diagrams and stuff to to think about it

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so maybe now is not the right time to

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film this video another thing going

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through my mind is like I'm in this

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random Park in Boise Idaho I've never

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been before in my life and it's a super

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nice park but the freaking lawnmower

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people are like all around the park like

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there's like a dude there and a dude

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there and a dude there and there's this

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like kind of background audio

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and I can hear it really loudly and I've

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got this thing so I don't know how much

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it's like canceling the audio and so

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what was going through in my mind is you

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know maybe I have some things to say to

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Andy's question but you know there's

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lawnmowers in the background so maybe I

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so so so maybe I shouldn't make this

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video right now why don't I wait until

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tomorrow and then you know I'll just

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wake up early tomorrow and come for

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another walk and then hopefully tomorrow

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like surely they can't be mowing the

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lawn two days in a row maybe it's just

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like I don't know on a Wednesday where

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they mow the lawn so like maybe I

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shouldn't make this video then there was

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also part of me that was thinking oh you

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know something like a a video like this

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this you know I I really should film it

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in my desk because cuz then when I'm at

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my desk I can sort of think about what

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what I want to say and what the the the

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points for preparing this video are and

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all of these thoughts were going through

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my mind and one thing that I've Gotten

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Good at over time is to recognize when

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the voice of the sabur is holding me

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back I I so I talk a lot about this

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thing with my CEO coach Eric partaker

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you should check him out on YouTube and

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blinked in and stuff and Eric calls it

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the voice of the sabur in all of our

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minds in all of our brains there is this

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voice that is hellbent on sabotaging

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whatever creative thing we are trying to

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do in the war of art by Steven

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pressfield he calls it the resistance

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the voice of the sabur it is not my

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voice that's saying oh you know maybe I

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should wait till tomorrow when the

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lawnmowers are gone it's not my voice

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that's saying you know maybe I should

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wait until I'm at desk so I can draw

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diagrams and it's the voice of the

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sabur that is trying to stop me from

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doing this creative

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thing the thing with perfectionism

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imposter syndrome overthinking generally

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it does get better when you have

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expertise in something right like I no

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longer feel that much impost of

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perfectionism overthinking when it comes

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to videos about about like how to grow

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on YouTube which I'm filming at my desk

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like I know how that works right

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it's not that hard but this format of

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video to me is is a little bit different

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it's like I'm filming a video for the

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main Channel I'm not doing it with the

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whole fancy camera setup I'm doing it in

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a park while walking around there's

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people running and cycling around me

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feels kind of awkward and so this is an

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area where I have I don't have enough

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reps to be able to feel to feel

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ridiculously confident doing the thing

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and therefore in those instances the

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voice of the sabator is coming online so

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I wanted to share that first of all

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because I think it might be interesting

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to hear that like someone probably looks

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at at this YouTube channel we' Got 5 and

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a half million subscribers and think

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that oh yeah Al's made 800 plus videos

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over the last seven years he's got the

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down but no like when it comes to

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when it comes to making a video that

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feels a little bit outside of my

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wheelhouse and even often for videos

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where I'm sitting at my desk I also feel

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that voice of oh this isn't good enough

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oh maybe we shouldn't make this video oh

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maybe I need to prepare more oh by the

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way in case you have not heard my weekly

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email newsletter used to be called

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Sunday Snippets it's having a bit of a

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Rebrand it's now called Life notes it is

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a weekly-ish email that I send for free

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every single week where I'll be sharing

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notes that I am taking throughout life

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so it's notes from books I'm reading

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podcasts I'm listening to videos I'm

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watching conversations I'm having and

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stuff that's going on in the business

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there'll be a link down below if you

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want to subscribe or scan this QR code

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and anyway let's get back to the video

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the voice of the sabur never says don't

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do the thing it says we can do the thing

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but we need to work a lot harder we need

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to prepare a lot more and that's where

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all this sort of overthinking kind of

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stuff comes in you know if the sabator

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was saying don't do the thing at all you

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suck it's it's actually easier to

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dismiss that either you just listen to

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it or you just dismiss it and so you

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either do the thing or you don't do the

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thing and it's like a lot easier to deal

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with the sabur but when the sabur says

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things that are Broad reasonable like

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hey this video might potentially be seen

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by a few tens of thousands of people

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potentially even hundreds of thousands

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of people holy you know we've got a

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responsibility here we want to make sure

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the content is good we don't just want

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to speak from the heart because like

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what the do we know we don't want

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to do it while walking around in a park

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because like the lighting's a bit off

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and there's like sh lawn mowers in the

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background nah we should totally wait we

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should wait until tomorrow we should

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wait until next week when we're back in

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London cuz we can always film this video

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later and you know what it's like a

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12-hour Journey back to London so why

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don't we this is really interesting

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video idea how to how to think about

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like perfectionism and uh overthinking

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and like how to actually do the thing so

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like really we should think about it for

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another 12 hours before we sit down and

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actually make the video this is the

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voice of the sabur we all have this

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voice of the sabur inside us Andy I know

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you have the voice of the sabur inside

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you that's probably telling you with

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regards to your YouTube videos it needs

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more preparation I do not currently have

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enough value to give what if people what

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if I'm wasting people's time what if

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they

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think when when you really start writing

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these things down this is a a strategy

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that that can often help just like

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literally writing down what the sabur is

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saying like Andy if you were to figure

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out like what the sabur is saying and

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actually write it down it might say

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something like I must prepare this video

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for another 20 hours otherwise it's not

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valuable enough huh interesting but like

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if a friend were to ask you Andy you

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know have you got any tips and you know

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you're you're a dad you got two kids you

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got a job you want to you're starting a

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YouTube channel man how how do you make

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time for it all would you would do you

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say to the friend genuinely over coffee

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oh sorry mate um i' I've got to do 20

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hours of preparation on that before I

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can even give you a vague semblance of

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an answer cuz I'm just really worried

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I'm not providing enough value to you no

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of course you wouldn't if you were

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talking to a friend and that friend was

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asking you that specific question you

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would be able to just give them a

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response you would speak from the heart

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you wouldn't be overthinking

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it there's something about putting stuff

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out there on the Internet or submitting

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a work assignment or a homework

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assignment or whatever the thing might

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be where that context of doing the thing

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is so different from us just being asked

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a question question by a friend and if

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we were asked a question by a friend of

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course we'd have a great response to the

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thing so that is one Hack That I Found

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really helpful like genuinely is is

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thinking whenever the voice of the sabur

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the voice of perfectionism is in my mind

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thinking to myself

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okay if I were to change the context

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does that change how I feel about the

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thing I had so much perfectionism when

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it came to my book right because a book

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is like a serious thing it's like a a

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piece of paper that's out there in the

play09:56

real world and in bookstores and stuff I

play09:58

still have yet to see it in a bookstore

play09:59

myself I've had photos from friends send

play10:01

it to me from various different

play10:02

bookstores oh my goodness people can

play10:04

review it on Amazon oh my goodness what

play10:06

if people don't like the book then

play10:07

that's going to be absolutely terrible

play10:08

okay there's a lawnmower in that

play10:09

direction so let's go back this way

play10:11

that's going to be absolutely terrible

play10:12

what if people don't like the book holy

play10:13

and so one thing I would say Andy

play10:14

or anyone else struggling with imposter

play10:16

syndrome perfectionism

play10:17

is what would it look like if you

play10:19

changed the format and does your

play10:21

perfectionism still hold true if you to

play10:23

change the the context or the format of

play10:25

the thing that you are doing tactic

play10:28

number two for dealing with

play10:28

perfectionism essentially for me when I

play10:31

feel that sense of perfectionism it's a

play10:33

sense of okay I am making something at

play10:36

this level of quality and I want the

play10:38

thing to be at that level of quality and

play10:40

it's not yet at that level of quality

play10:42

therefore I must work to get it from

play10:44

here which is a sh level quality to

play10:45

there which is a good level of quality

play10:46

you know that that kind of idea and this

play10:49

idea is you know it's it's again

play10:50

reasonable it is not unreasonable to say

play10:52

that like you know my work is here and I

play10:54

want to get it to there and therefore I

play10:55

have to do more work to to get the thing

play10:57

there the way that I personally get over

play10:59

is I tell myself that the bar is does

play11:01

this thing have the potential to help at

play11:04

least one person who is watching it or

play11:05

reading it or listening to it does this

play11:07

thing have the potential to help at

play11:09

least one person it doesn't even have to

play11:11

help that one person because actually

play11:12

helping them is outside of my control

play11:14

but does it have the potential to help

play11:15

at least one person does this video that

play11:17

I'm filming from the heart Without

play11:18

Really any preparation just sort of

play11:20

answering this question that Andy's

play11:21

brought up does my answer here does my

play11:24

Spiel however long it ends up being have

play11:26

the potential to help at least one

play11:28

person now if you watching this then by

play11:30

definition you have found the first bit

play11:33

of this video sufficiently valuable to

play11:35

keep watching right that's a weird kind

play11:38

of thought for me because right now I'm

play11:39

just here on my own in this random Park

play11:41

in the middle of nowhere in Boise Idaho

play11:42

and so I I I don't know how people are

play11:43

going to respond to this video but all I

play11:45

know is my bar is does this have the

play11:47

potential to help at least one person

play11:49

and if it does then I'll post the thing

play11:51

and if it doesn't then I won't post the

play11:53

thing me photographing a photo of my

play11:55

coffee and posting it on like a YouTube

play11:56

Community post does that have the

play11:58

potential to help at least one person

play11:59

probably not so I wouldn't post a random

play12:01

photo of my coffee on a YouTube

play12:02

Community post this is an idea I stole

play12:04

from Austin cleon's amazing book show

play12:05

your work show your work is a book I

play12:07

read in 2016 I've reread it multiple

play12:09

times since then I would really

play12:10

recommend Andy or whoever watching this

play12:11

if you haven't read show your work by

play12:13

atin Cleon it's really really good that

play12:14

was the book that really helped me get

play12:15

over the fear the

play12:17

perfectionism the fear you know let's

play12:18

call it fear like you know uh

play12:20

perfectionism and fear are basically the

play12:22

same thing um it helped me get over the

play12:23

fear of starting a personal website cuz

play12:25

I had s all sorts of like overthinking

play12:27

about it etc etc and your work taught me

play12:30

if your work has the potential to help

play12:31

at least one person along in in their

play12:33

Journey then there is almost a moral

play12:34

obligation on you to share that thing

play12:36

and to do that thing and to post that

play12:37

thing so Andy Andy you who is

play12:40

overthinking these videos that you're

play12:41

posting on your YouTube channel it's

play12:42

worth defining what is your bar for

play12:44

quality is the bar for Quality I think

play12:46

this has to be really good because that

play12:47

is actually a really hard bar to meet

play12:49

especially if you're new to the thing

play12:51

especially if you're you know a little

play12:52

bit harder on yourself than you would be

play12:54

on your friends what is the bar really

play12:56

for me the bar is does this have the

play12:57

potential to help at least one person

play12:58

and also

play12:59

am I proud of it um for me being proud

play13:02

of something yeah I put more work into

play13:04

it often I'm more proud of it but often

play13:06

being proud of something for me I I

play13:08

found a way to turn it into like I am

play13:10

proud of a thing if it has the potential

play13:12

to help help at least one person I don't

play13:15

overthink my kind of I I try not to

play13:17

overthink my production value or making

play13:19

sure I've got like multiple cinematic

play13:20

shots or making sure that like

play13:21

everything is super super tight in the

play13:22

edit cuz I've tried doing that and and I

play13:24

realized in in periods of my life where

play13:27

I was really overthinking my content the

play13:29

content was just worse and I was

play13:31

enjoying it less and one of the B one of

play13:33

the major principles of the book feel

play13:34

good productivity is that if you can

play13:35

enjoy your work you become better at it

play13:37

you become more creative you become less

play13:38

stressed become more productive but you

play13:40

also have more energy to give to the

play13:41

other important areas of your

play13:43

life I was at this uh retreat thing in

play13:46

San Francisco a couple weeks ago and

play13:48

there's this executive coach whose name

play13:49

is Joe Hudson absolute Legend um he's

play13:51

featuring on the Pod shortly he is like

play13:53

an executive coach to some of silicon

play13:54

Valley's biggest CEOs that you will have

play13:56

definitely heard of and his whole shtick

play13:58

is that

play13:59

enjoyment is efficiency if you can find

play14:02

a way to enjoy what you're doing and

play14:03

optimize for enjoyment of the process

play14:06

you will actually do better work than if

play14:08

you are optimizing for trying to do

play14:10

better work so Andy a question I would

play14:12

put to you or anyone else watching this

play14:13

if you're struggling with perfectionism

play14:15

is what if you weren't concerned about

play14:16

the quality of the thing and your main

play14:19

goal was in just enjoying the process of

play14:22

creating the thing whatever the thing

play14:24

might be what if you weren't concerned

play14:26

about how good it was What If instead

play14:27

you were only concerned with how can you

play14:29

personally enjoy that process as much as

play14:32

possible Dar I say what would it look

play14:34

like if it were fun this is my phone

play14:36

wallpaper what would this look like if

play14:38

it were fun what would it look like if

play14:40

it were fun you know this is this is the

play14:42

whole stick what would it look like if

play14:43

it were fun finding the fun is another

play14:46

way of combating perfectionism and this

play14:49

overthinking that we get around posting

play14:50

stuff there's a few other strategies I

play14:52

find helpful for dealing

play14:56

with this sort of thing cuz I deal with

play14:58

it a lot

play15:07

the microcosm of this video that you are

play15:09

now watching is a great example of

play15:11

dealing with dealing with perfectionism

play15:13

and and stuff the other thing I think

play15:16

is the the the voice of the sabur for me

play15:19

often stops me from even trying um like

play15:22

before picking up this little camera to

play15:24

film this video the voice of the sabur

play15:26

was in my mind saying nah nah nah we

play15:28

don't need to film come on like you know

play15:29

it's 7:00 in the morning we should wait

play15:31

until we get to the desk etc etc the

play15:32

voice of the sabur was stopping me from

play15:34

hitting record but once I've hit record

play15:36

I've now been recording for 19 minutes

play15:38

I've enjoyed myself I'm getting the

play15:39

steps in it's super nice scenery it's

play15:41

great Vibes and if I hadn't pressed

play15:44

record I wouldn't have come I wouldn't I

play15:47

wouldn't have made this video which by

play15:49

definition if you are watching this then

play15:51

you've found the last bit sufficiently

play15:52

valuable in a bit of a it's a bit of a

play15:54

Trippy thought but the voice of the

play15:56

sabur was stopping me from pressing

play15:57

record and so the thing that I've gotten

play15:59

really good at is just telling the voice

play16:02

of the sabur like I'm I'm just going to

play16:03

record it and I don't need to publish it

play16:05

I'm going to create the thing but I can

play16:07

always decide to scrap the thing if it

play16:08

sucks and that often shuts up the sabur

play16:11

cuz then the sabur is like oh okay

play16:13

well

play16:15

fine uh but are you sure like aren't you

play16:18

really tired like you've got a bit of a

play16:19

zit on your nose like do you really want

play16:21

to film the thing right now can't we

play16:22

just wait till tomorrow oh wow look at

play16:24

this it's a freaking

play16:27

River this is so nice

play16:30

guys is this what every random American

play16:32

city is like town city Boise

play16:34

Idaho the voice of the savitur is trying

play16:36

to Pro it's trying to stop me from H

play16:37

hitting record but if I can just

play16:38

convince the voice that hey um we don't

play16:42

need to publish this we're just going to

play16:44

create it and see what happens then you

play16:47

know it's it's hard for the sabot to

play16:48

stay in sabotaging mode what I find with

play16:50

a lot of YouTubers is that there's a lot

play16:52

of resistance to pressing the record

play16:53

button I get this as well even for

play16:55

filming filming proper videos uh when

play16:57

I'm sitting at my desk there a lot of

play16:59

resistance to just hitting record but

play17:01

once I hit record and once I start

play17:02

talking then like I don't know the

play17:04

creative spirit moves within me or

play17:06

whatever terminology you want to use for

play17:07

this now that I'm 20 minutes into the

play17:08

video I kind of know in my mind oh okay

play17:11

actually I think I think this might

play17:12

actually be a reasonable video

play17:13

reasonable just being the bar for I

play17:16

think this video might potentially add

play17:18

value to at least one person who's

play17:19

watching

play17:22

this one thing that I find when it comes

play17:24

to YouTube videos is

play17:25

that for more than 50% of the videos

play17:28

that I've ever filmed

play17:30

after filming it I have felt like uh

play17:32

that was

play17:33

terrible but then for about 98% of

play17:35

videos once it's been edited and I've

play17:38

had like a couple of weeks to not see

play17:39

the video and to not be so in my head

play17:41

about it um it then I then think oh

play17:45

that's actually not bad

play17:48

because when when we're filming videos

play17:51

and when we're doing a first draft of a

play17:52

book or a manuscript or a thing whatever

play17:54

the thing might be when you're in the

play17:56

creation of it it's a very messy process

play17:58

process this process right now of

play18:00

creating this video feels very messy to

play18:01

me I'm sort of pulling stuff in from

play18:03

different different areas of my life

play18:04

from different parts of my brain and I'm

play18:06

like I don't I don't really know how

play18:08

it's all going to fit together but I've

play18:10

done this enough times now that I trust

play18:12

that from first from rough cut from

play18:14

first draft from raw video recording to

play18:17

finished product there is actually a

play18:19

large amount of magic that happens in

play18:21

post that happens in the edit where we

play18:22

can chop out any ums and rs and mistakes

play18:25

and sometimes we'll artfully leave the

play18:26

mistakes in because the mistakes are

play18:27

nice and humanizing and stuff I know

play18:29

that the end product post editing is

play18:32

often quite reasonable and so I've done

play18:34

this enough times that when the voice of

play18:35

the sabur says don't film the video it

play18:37

might suck I'm like I'm going to film

play18:40

the video anyway if it sucks I can

play18:41

always delete it but I generally I would

play18:43

if I if I were to put money on it I

play18:45

would I I I would to say that this video

play18:47

is a video that we're going to publish

play18:48

on the main Channel probably it's

play18:49

probably going to be good enough and you

play18:51

know what if it's not we'll put it on

play18:52

the second Channel either way this video

play18:53

is going to get published somewhere on

play18:54

the internet and I hope it'll add value

play18:56

to at least one person that's a thought

play18:58

that's in my mind mind as I'm

play18:59

confronting the

play19:04

sabur principal number six or seven or

play19:06

whatever we are now I have even lost

play19:08

count but that's okay cuz we're going to

play19:09

fix it in post right editing team please

play19:11

thank you um principal number whatever I

play19:14

am on is a phrase I heard from Cal

play19:16

Newport who is the Mega bestselling

play19:18

author of The book's deep work and so

play19:20

good they can't ignore you and most

play19:21

recently slow productivity which is a

play19:22

great book and Cal gave me some advice

play19:24

about book writing a couple years ago

play19:26

when I was in the throws of writing my

play19:27

own book I asked him you know how how

play19:29

often do you deal with perfectionism and

play19:30

like how do you you know don't you think

play19:32

that your work sucks uh in the sense

play19:34

like don't you think it sucks in the

play19:36

process of of of making it and like I

play19:38

was I was having all of these thoughts

play19:40

um that my book was crap and that it was

play19:42

wasn't worth publishing and stuff and

play19:44

Cal said to me and he's been writing for

play19:45

like two decades um so about 10 times

play19:48

longer than I have he said to me oh I

play19:49

get that all the time I tell myself one

play19:51

thing this one just needs to be

play19:52

reasonable the next one is going to be

play19:54

good this one just needs to be

play19:56

reasonable the next one is going to be

play19:57

good so when Cal was working on his

play19:58

books productivity he told himself you

play20:01

know what slow productivity doesn't need

play20:03

to be a good book it just needs to be

play20:04

reasonable the next one is going to be

play20:06

good and he says he and he told me that

play20:07

he repeated that thing to himself for

play20:08

every book that he wrote and he's

play20:09

written like six seven of them now and

play20:11

is super successful at it this one just

play20:13

needs to be reasonable the next one is

play20:14

going to be good so Andy when it comes

play20:17

to that thing that you are struggling

play20:19

with that thing that you're feeling the

play20:21

perfectionism the overthinking the

play20:23

overanalyzing the I can't put this thing

play20:25

out there what if you just lowered the

play20:28

bar if you said this one just needs to

play20:29

be reasonable and reasonable again you

play20:31

can Define as it just needs to have the

play20:32

potential to help at least one person

play20:34

that's reasonable this video I think

play20:35

this is going to be a reasonable video I

play20:37

don't think it's going to be a good

play20:38

video because I don't like thinking of

play20:39

my videos as good but that's fine it

play20:40

just needs to be reasonable the goal is

play20:41

not to make a good video the goal is to

play20:43

add value to someone else's life which

play20:46

leads me to the next point which maybe

play20:48

the final point which is that I think a

play20:49

lot of perfectionism um stems from sort

play20:53

of a focus on the self and a focus on

play20:55

one's own ego that I can't possibly put

play20:58

this thing out there because if I put

play21:00

this thing out there then people will

play21:01

think of me as bad in some way um

play21:04

because the thing might be bad or

play21:05

whatever it's not usually from speaking

play21:09

to people and from hearing it myself

play21:11

that it's not usually this thing would

play21:13

be completely useless to everyone who's

play21:16

watching it it's not usually that

play21:18

because because usually that's an easy

play21:19

one to to eliminate like really it's

play21:21

going to be completely useless so people

play21:23

will watch it they'll sit through it and

play21:25

they will find it 100% of people are

play21:27

going to find it completely an UT

play21:28

useless to the point they're going to

play21:29

get zero shred of value from it that

play21:32

seems a bit unlikely usually we're not

play21:34

actually being perfectionistic because

play21:35

we care about the audience so much

play21:37

because we really value their time like

play21:39

oh my goodness I'm so perfectionistic

play21:41

about my PhD dissertation because I

play21:42

value the time of my examiner and I

play21:45

don't want to be mean to them in

play21:46

creating a shitty product it's like it's

play21:47

usually not that it's usually I don't

play21:50

want this thing to go out there because

play21:51

I am afraid I will be thought of as bad

play21:54

for having put this thing out there

play21:56

which does not meet some arbitrary

play21:58

standard

play21:59

and usually we find that our own

play22:00

standards for oursel are like

play22:01

ridiculously high and often excessively

play22:03

high and often unhelpfully high it's

play22:06

it's it's a focus on the self and at

play22:08

least for me what I found as a way of

play22:10

combating perfectionism is to remove the

play22:13

focus from myself and put it on someone

play22:15

else again just this idea of I'm I'm not

play22:17

creating this video for myself you know

play22:19

I can I can do other things for fun if I

play22:21

were trying to have fun I'd be watching

play22:22

YouTube videos I'd be watching finishing

play22:24

the last of us the TV show I'd be I

play22:27

don't know playing on my nintend

play22:28

Nintendo switch that's what I do for fun

play22:30

I am not doing this video for me I'm

play22:32

doing this video because I think it

play22:33

potentially has the potential

play22:34

potentially has the potential to help at

play22:35

least one person it is about the other

play22:37

person that I could potentially help

play22:38

with this video it doesn't matter if the

play22:40

thing is not perfect um you can just ask

play22:43

yourself like have you ever gotten value

play22:45

from a YouTube video that the that the

play22:47

Creator might have thought is not

play22:48

perfect probably maybe if you're

play22:50

watching this Andy or whoever you are

play22:51

watching this this is not a perfect

play22:54

YouTube video this is not the sort of

play22:55

YouTube video a YouTube guru I.E me

play22:58

would tell people that oh yeah you

play22:59

should make this video to grow your

play23:00

channel but the fact you're here and

play23:02

watching this means that you have found

play23:03

enough value from this video to continue

play23:04

watching it which is very gratifying so

play23:07

thank you for being here so far so Andy

play23:08

again it just comes down to this thing

play23:10

when you're being perfectionistic about

play23:12

your YouTube videos I suspect if you're

play23:14

anything like me it's because uh you

play23:16

don't want your ego to be bruised from

play23:19

the thought that God forbid you might

play23:21

put something out there but you might

play23:22

put out something there that uh is

play23:24

that's not meeting some arbitrary

play23:27

Quality Bar that you've created for

play23:28

yourself in your own mind but if you

play23:30

were to remove that Focus From the self

play23:32

and think about it from the context of

play23:33

the people that you're serving because

play23:34

this is an act of service making a

play23:36

YouTube video it's not an act of

play23:37

selfishness it's an act of service and

play23:39

when you do anything in the spirit of

play23:40

service that is also one of the things

play23:43

that stops the voice of the sabur from

play23:45

um creating these like perfectionistic

play23:47

narratives that eventually that end up

play23:50

leading to lives that we don't

play23:51

particularly enjoy anyway one of the

play23:53

things about being a YouTuber one of the

play23:54

things about doing any creative act is

play23:55

that there is a balancing act between

play23:58

the soul and the numbers or the sto or

play24:01

or the or the soul and the

play24:03

statistics and often Soul comes from

play24:06

being under optimized in in how you do

play24:08

things I hope that when this video comes

play24:12

out and when I see the edited version it

play24:14

will feel like a Soulful video it'll be

play24:16

like oh this was merely oi talking from

play24:19

the heart going for a walk and sharing

play24:22

stuff that he's found useful that's nice

play24:24

this video is not going to go viral

play24:26

right the goal of this video is not to

play24:28

try and get get 5 million views the goal

play24:29

of this video as I've said repeatedly is

play24:31

simply to potentially provide value to

play24:33

at least one person who's watching it

play24:35

and so as I was thinking about huh what

play24:38

should my end screen sales pitch be for

play24:40

this particular video because that's

play24:41

what you should do as a YouTuber I'm

play24:43

like you know what actually I can let go

play24:44

of that I can let go of that need for

play24:46

the statistics you know obviously we'll

play24:48

still title and thumbnail this video in

play24:49

a reasonable way and we'll do like a bit

play24:51

of a hook at the start and stuff like

play24:53

fine there are sensible things we can do

play24:55

to increase the reach of this video

play24:56

because then it helps more people and

play24:58

framing it framing it in that sense

play25:00

helps me feel less icky about doing like

play25:04

algorithm hacky type stuff retention

play25:06

hacking and like trying to keep people

play25:08

interested in the video um so if you are

play25:10

here at the end of this ridiculously

play25:11

long video you are the sort of person

play25:13

that I would probably Vibe with because

play25:15

we probably have good things to talk

play25:16

about but I'd love to hear in a comment

play25:18

down below what is one thing you're

play25:19

struggling with cuz I love making these

play25:21

sorts of videos where I'm just sort of

play25:22

speaking from the heart and sharing

play25:23

stuff that I found useful and often a

play25:25

lot of the struggles of you guys um are

play25:27

things that I've been through various

play25:28

stages of my life and still probably go

play25:29

through today and so I like being able

play25:32

to share from the heart and just

play25:33

chatting about things that might

play25:35

potentially as I said help at least one

play25:37

person so what is something that you are

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struggling with that you might like my

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take on if you can leave that as a in in

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in a comment as a question that would be

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super helpful um also if you would like

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to submit a video question in the same

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way that Andy did we'll put a link to

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that video submission thingy I want to

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do more content like this where it's

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just really fun for me to be able to

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answer someone's question directly and

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turn it into like a freaking 35 minute

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long sermon um it's just fun you know

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what would this look like if it were fun

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I asked myself this question about my

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YouTube channel a lot and one of the

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things I've landed on is oh well if it

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were fun I'd be answering questions from

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the audience I wouldn't just be coming

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up with a video topic and then deciding

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to make videos about it I would be like

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yeah answering a question from the

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audience so that I can feel that there's

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genuinely someone on the other end

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because it's otherwise it's hard to

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appreciate like the numbers and what

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that means um in terms of there being

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real life people on the other end and

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now because we might as well do the

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retention thing uh if you have not yet

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seen my video my honest advice for

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someone wanting Financial Freedom you

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might like to check out that video over

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there otherwise thank you very much for

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watching and hopefully you got some

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value out of this and I'll see you in

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the next one bye-bye

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