We spend years upon years planning our future, masking our true beliefs, and stuffing our emotions with trivial things that it becomes difficult to know what we truly want in the moment…this moment…like why we want to be a content guru in the first place.
The literal translation of a guru is someone who dispels darkness. A guru offers hope. Sincerity. Peace. Authenticity.
Here are 5 ways to be a content guru:
1. Show up.
A guru shows up.
A content guru dispels darkness by showing up.
I remind myself to show up…especially on the days I don’t feel like it. Because the light can’t get through when you’re barricaded by your own bullshit.
Here’s how I look when I show up to stand on stage to give a Keynote at Google in NYC:
Showing up: It’s simple. And it can be a bit abstract when not put into context. But it’s where the magic lives.
In a world that tells you that you need to be “ready” before you’re even seen, showing up (even from behind a screen) short-circuits your brain to believe you’re ready.
And you’re ready. But only if you…
2. Practice.
Here’s a list of things I practice:
1. Yoga
2. Surfing
3. Writing
I practice because I fall in yoga poses. And because I wipe out regularly on my surfboard. I practice because some days I can’t form a single sentence.
But here’s the secret: you can’t practice without showing up.
It’s so simple a concept. And it’s all too easy to slip into an excuse.
Show up to practice. Practice to show up.
Dispel the darkness. Let in the light.
So that you can…
3. Release the mask.
Most masks that we wear in the real world don’t keep you alive. They drown you. They’re the facade that we wear because we want to coordinate our meaningless clichés. These masks bring you deeper into the dark waters and don’t allow you to see.
Then there are the other masks that help to keep you alive. These masks will help you to see when worn underwater. Look, here’s me while wearing a mask in the Caribbean sea: 
I traveled to Turks and Caicos for the first “Stars. Space. Future” unconference hosted by the gracious Jeff Pulver. The irony was that I had one goal when I arrived: To release my mask. I wanted to thrive minus the masks, makeup, and makeshift conversations.
Achievement unlocked both above land with incredible humans. And also when I was by myself with creatures under the sea.
I will never forget how it feels to be so wild and alive (for the full story on this photo, check out my instagram).
4. When you can’t create, you can work.
I recently stumbled across Henry Miller’s work schedule. And it’s pure gold.
One of my favorites is #5: “When you can’t create, you can work.”
Anyone who is super creative or a multi-passionate entrepreneur gets this: You exist to create. You create to exist. But some days you can’t create. It just does not happen. On those days, use your right brain…your logical brain.
I wrote about the difference between the right brain and left brain and how you can use this knowledge to improve your content marketing strategy here for The Content Marketing Institute. It’s still one of my most favorite articles (and most shared!)
5. Let creativity flow through you.
It’s hypocritical to write about creativity…especially about letting it “flow through you.” And it requires even more chutzpah to write an article about how to “be a content guru.”
But when we write about what we don’t know, we explore what’s at our core.
And creativity is the foundation to explore.
When you possess a logical understanding of what it takes to be creative (truly freakin’ creative!!) through using your right brain, you get out of the constraints that you unknowingly set up. Sometimes people will hate you for this.
Because here’s the thing: We all see the world through different lenses.
If you communicate through your:
- Heart: people who process information through their heads will think you’re cray.
- Head: people who process information with an open heart will think you’re rigid.
The key is in knowing that we all process things differently. And when you show up with empathy, respect, and understanding for yourself and for others, creativity can more easily flow through you.
And then you’ll be more OK with letting life (and articles!) unfold the way they’re meant to – by being a content guru…simply by being you.
here’s to letting in the light,
j.a.
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