- What does it mean to be yourself
when it comes to creating content for the internet
or really just in life in general?
That's what we're gonna talk about.
And we're starting right now.
So this question actually came from Kenny Shellnut.
He says, "Hey Nick! The number one tip I hear
on building a YouTube channel is to be yourself.
Any tips on being better at being yourself?"
This is a great question because
when people start YouTube channels,
a lot of times they think that they need
to act a certain way or present themselves in a certain way,
when it comes to the content that they're putting out.
That idea is usually based on,
watching content creators that they enjoy
and looking at content creators
and saying, hey, this is what somebody else is doing.
So if I wanna do it, and if I wanna be successful,
then that's the way that I need to do it.
And that's not entirely true.
I mean, success does leave clues.
So seeing the strategy that they're taking
and things like that is important,
but when it comes down to the content creator,
when it comes to YouTube,
that is really important because sure people
are gonna come in and they're gonna watch your content.
They're gonna enjoy your content.
But what you really want is people to enjoy the content,
but also like getting that specific type of content from you
because there's so many people on YouTube making
that same type of content.
And that's why it's so important to make sure
that when you're uploading content to YouTube,
that you're being the most you the version of you
that you can possibly be.
But how do you do that?
I have six things that I'm gonna share with you
that are going to help you be more of yourself on YouTube.
The very first item is to not compare yourself to others.
And the reason that you don't wanna compare yourself
to others on YouTube is because other people
are gonna do things in a different way.
Again, like I mentioned before,
success absolutely does leave clues.
But what you don't want is you don't want
to study somebody else and think
that you have to present in the same way
that they do or think that you have
to create your content in the same way that they do
in order for you to be successful.
In addition to that,
comparing yourself with other people on YouTube
can also carry some side-effects as well.
For example, getting discouraged,
because you notice that their channel is doing better than
your channel at this point in time.
And since you're comparing yourself to them constantly,
it can be kind of de-motivating.
When you're comparing yourself to other people,
other things can also happen to where you start noticing
that they're doing specific things
or saying specific things or acting a certain way.
And then you can think yourself like, oh,
well maybe I need to start doing that.
And when you start doing that,
then you start not being yourself
because you're trying to do what they do
and you're trying to be them.
So don't compare yourself to others,
pay attention to what it is that they're doing,
but don't compare yourself to other YouTube channels
in terms of, I need to act that way.
They're acting that way, I'm acting this way.
Why are they doing better?
Do I need to change what I'm doing in order to mirror them?
The next thing on this list is
to speak your most authentic truth,
regardless of any judgment that might take place.
Here's what I mean.
Sometimes as humans,
we do things because we think people will like us better
if we do those specific things.
Other times we do things because we think
it's what we should do because it's the right thing to do.
And other times we will hide specific things
because we're like,
hey, I don't want people to know that
'cause if they knew that,
then maybe they won't like me.
The awesome thing about YouTube, to me,
one of the most fascinating things about YouTube
is that authentic truth that people often try to hide
when they're getting started.
I did the same exact thing myself,
but that authentic truth that a lot of people
will try to hide
that can often be some of the stuff
that people actually come to you for,
the thing that people really enjoy,
or the things that people really enjoy
about your personality and about
how you express yourself through your content.
For example,
your opinions are a great way to demonstrate your truth.
And what I mean by that is when you're not afraid
to share your opinions about things in your videos,
and it doesn't have to be about everything
that you think about everything,
but when you share your opinions,
what you're doing is you're drawing a line in the sand.
And when you draw that line in the sand,
what you're doing is you're actually creating
a stronger connection with the people that think like you,
which is a really important part
of growing a YouTube channel.
If, of course,
you're trying to grow it around your personality,
but speaking your truth really comes down
to just being honest with your opinions on things
that comes down to not bending when it comes
to certain things.
For example,
let's say that you're doing a review video
and you're reviewing something
where you would normally be like, oh my God, this sucks.
Instead, you try to gloss it over
and make it sound a little bit better
because you don't wanna say something that is,
that negatively reflects on the thing
that you're talking about.
Well, what you're doing right there
is you're taking away
from being yourself versus communicating that idea,
how you would normally communicate that idea,
which is this thing sucks,
or this feature or this method or whatever the thing is
just saying, hey,
this sucks and not trying to candy coat it or whatever.
If that's how you normally do things,
then that's being yourself.
However, if you normally candy coat things and all that,
then by candy-coating and all that.
Then you are kind of being yourself,
but you can really start opening yourself up
by just not being afraid if your own opinions
or not being self judgmental about your own opinions.
As they relate to the feedback that you might get
from your comment section.
The next thing is to try really hard,
to not care about what people think about you.
Now, look, I know that just as human beings,
of course we care about what people think,
but when you are just focused on, hey,
I'm just gonna provide value through my content
and some people are not gonna like that.
Some people are going to like it,
and what I'm looking for is I'm looking to connect
with the people that love what it is that I do.
And for the people that don't, whatever,
they'll find somebody that they connect with.
But for the people that I'm trying to connect with,
I'm trying to resonate with them
and I don't care what everybody else thinks.
And look, this comes down to how you look, how you speak,
how you do all of the things that you do as a human being.
The really important thing to make sure
that you're thinking about is
this is how you operate.
This is how you get friends.
This is how people like you in the real world.
And by being yourself, being the true version of you,
that's how you get people to like you on YouTube as well.
It's the same it's just digital
and no real physical contact,
for high fives and fist bumps and all that good stuff.
Now this next one is really important
and it can cause you to quit your YouTube channel.
If you're not being mindful of this,
it can cause you to just not pursue anything you
actually wanna pursue in your life.
If you get caught up in this and the thing is,
don't neg out on yourself,
don't be negative towards yourself.
Be constructive,
but don't be negative
and don't have negative self-talk,
for example, when you're making videos and you have
to remake things several times,
just say you're on camera like I am right now
and you have to retake the same thing a handful of times.
And after a while, you might start to think yourself like,
oh my gosh, I can't believe it's taken me this many times.
I must be so stupid.
I can't believe I can't get this outright or whatever.
Or if you're on voiceovers to where you have
to do the same take over and over and over again
in order to get it right,
the same exact thing could be
to where you just give yourself a hard time about it.
Like, oh gosh,
like why can't I get this out right?
Same thing for playing a game, right?
Let's say you're playing a game
and you have a live stream going,
you got some people in there,
the game just gets started and right out of the gate,
you do something and you end up dying quickly.
Well, in that situation,
you might beat yourself up about it.
Like, oh my gosh,
I can't believe that just happened
when I had all these people watching my live stream.
Oh my gosh, I got, I just, ugh.
Be constructive, not self-destructive.
And what I mean by that
is when you're being self-destructive,
you're using the language like I suck, I can't do this,
I can't believe I made that mistake.
I can't believe I did this.
This is gonna to take me forever things like that.
When you're being constructive yourself talk,
looks more alike, I've had to record a bunch of these clips,
but it's okay 'cause I'm just trying to find the best one.
People didn't respond to my last video,
man, I wish they would have,
however, that simply means that I have more to learn.
I have more videos to make,
and I'm just getting better at this.
So I'm embracing the learning curve.
So what can I learn from this video
that didn't perform well?
But that difference in how you're talking to yourself
can make a really big difference
on how you're moving forward
and how you are being yourself.
Because when you start having
all of that negative self-talk,
then what you're doing is you're limiting yourself
and you're hiding behind all of these insecurities
that come with negative self-talk however,
when you are being constructive, then in that case,
what you're doing is you are encouraging yourself
and you're encouraging yourself to be
the best version of yourself that you can be,
or just the version of yourself that you are,
that you're giving to the people
that are watching your videos.
The next thing on this list is gonna help you be yourself,
is to have a good time.
So when you're making content,
try to have a good time making the content
because you know how it is when you're having
a good time and you're out with friends
and what happens is,
you're relaxed and you're loose
and you're just having a good time
and in that process is when friendships are developed
because you're being yourself at that point in time
and people get to know each other through that.
And on the other hand,
if you're making videos and you're being all stiff
and you are trying to project this image of yourself,
that you're not really then one,
you're just gonna get exhausted from,
trying to play that person that you're not.
But two in addition to that,
making videos is gonna be a chore and you don't want this
to be a chore.
Like if you're making content for YouTube,
then I'm guessing that you're doing this
because it's something that you enjoy.
You're making content about something
that you're passionate about.
And when you make it a chore,
then that takes the joy out of everything.
Because then it's something that you have to do
versus something that you want to do.
The next thing on this list as a bonus is possibly
the most important that's why I saved here to the end,
for those of you that are watching this to the end.
But the most important one here is also relaxing
before you do your videos or having some type
of routine that you go through
before you make your content to get yourself
in the mental zone to do what it is that you're doing.
And to also just be yourself and express who you truly are.
For me before I make videos,
my routine is that I will shower.
Sometimes I'll listen to some good music,
so I can get myself just kind of moving around a little bit,
jamming out to the stuff that I enjoy,
but I listened to some music.
And then of course,
I'll come in and I'll get everything set up.
But after everything set up,
then I'll also just kind of sit here for a moment.
I'll chill.
I'll take some deep breaths in order
to just get myself kind of
in the moment so that I can make sure
that I'm here communicating with you instead
of making the video here
but my mind being elsewhere,
thinking about other things.
For me that's really helpful
because by the time I actually hit record,
I'm in a good mood.
I'm like loosened up a little bit.
And I've kind of went through that routine,
which has gotten me ready to just kind of express myself
in whatever way that I express myself
while I'm talking to you through these videos.
To learn more about the mental side
of being a YouTube content creator,
click into this playlist right here,
where I just discuss different topics based around your mind
and things like we talked about in this video
and if you haven't yet, make sure you subscribe.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'll see you next time.