• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 667 0

Now you almost have to measure the amount of content mashups with String Theory. Look for the crossroads of your interests to create a niche. Do you have any other interests besides yarn? YES! You also have a He-Man action figure collection and a fascination with the nineteenth-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Why not mash up all of your seemingly disparate interests into one thing? Personally, I would buy the SHIT out of a crochet tapestry of Beast Man’s headshot over the phrase, “The universe is not a rational place.” The more interests you have the better. Pull from all of your emotional sources to create a point of view the world hasn’t seen before. In comedy we call this “finding your voice,” and it is ESSENTIAL for success in the stand-up biz.

CHARACTERCIZE

Write down holes—or specific areas not being serviced—in your field.

Can you think of ways to fill one or more of them?

What are all of your interests?

Does mashing some of them together create a unique point of view?

What’s the story that got you to this POV?

Write it down.

Attach it to your niche.

MULTICASTING

“Multicasting” is a snazzy-sounding word that I co-opted for this book! In the computer world, it refers to sending a single transmission of data to a network of computers simultaneously. While you’re juggling your various projects, oftentimes you can find clever ways to produce multiple results from a single source. Naturally, here’s an example:

In the summer of 2010, I received an offer from my friends at Revision3, a great Nerd channel of web video content. They wanted to know if I was interested in interviewing Ozzy Osbourne for a show called Digg Dialogg. Yes! I was, in fact. “Yowzers! He’d sure make a fanfuckingtastic podcast guest,” I thought to myself out loud in the grocery store to the confusion of others at the deli meats counter. “But I’m sure he won’t want me to interview him TWICE. Oh well . . .” “Wait, Brain!” I says. “Digg Dialoggs are edited down to twenty minutes . . . if I can sssssstttttttrrrrrreeeeettttttcccccchhhhhh the interview to forty-five, I can put out the unedited interview as a Nerdist podcast? Digg & Rev3 will get their shorter video and everyone gets something! I’ll bet I could even squeeze a blog post out of it and a plug on Attack of the Show!” And that’s what happened. Every outlet agreed, got the piece of the content that suited it, and I had stuff to put in four different places.

The key is to always look for opportunities and connections. Can you afford to take on various projects? Can your current slate of projects feed each other? If you have three projects feeding off of one source, you’ve just decreased your workload by roughly two-thirds and increased your income by who knows what. It’s all about finding creative ways to engage your passions while repurposing content, but in a way that doesn’t feel redundant. In fact, if you do it properly, the platforms should all complement each other. Hone your macro- and micro-focus skills—be aware of your big-picture surroundings to see what opportunities are available to you, and then be aware of the assets you have to fulfill them. If you can learn to do this, you will be an unstoppable T-1000 of productivity.

CHARACTERCIZE

How can you dissect a project to disseminate it to different outlets?

What outlets are you currently servicing?

Are there any you’d like to add?

Managing your time with calendar structure, constructive maintenance, and goal attainment should be a lifelong pursuit. As it yields more and more of the results you are looking for, it will feel less and less like work. You are now the designer of your life’s game!

Congratulations! Give yourself another 50 XP points for completing this section!

RECURRING THEMES OF THIS BOOK

Whether intentional or unintentional or merely subconsciously intentional, there are a handful of recurring themes in this book besides penis jokes and swearing. I believe this handful of guiding principles can be applied to most anything, to the extent