How to build a content creation system and never stare at a blank screen again

The math of repetitive activity and process leading to successful outcomes

As I sit down on my committed rendezvous (appointment, for all my non-Frankophonic Friends) with the Monday Muse, I look back in time.

I was sitting down for hours in front of the Frankfurt Old Operahouse.

It was a warm and welcoming spring day and I was walking about town for 2 days with no specific aim.

None other than to soak up the vibe of the first blooming trees.

I got stuck there on my way to ol' US of A, sporting no vaccination certificate.

It appears that's still frowned upon for all non-US passport holders.

Instead of losing my marbles for having to change my travel itinerary and opening my wallet wider for this last-minute direct flight, I did what I know best.

Go into explorer mode.

Walk around looking for nothing in particular and observing everything with amusement.

So back to the opera house.

I sat there for hours.

Soaking up the sun.

Observing the funny-shaped colorful pallet of human beings. Each in their own specific vibe going about their daily activity.

This state of mind is a special place I strive to visit frequently.

It's my own little ritual space for communing with the creative muse. An opening of the communication channel for high-bandwidth downloads.

These downloads often look like a one-sided monologue. A long-winded narrative that sparks within me like a wellspring of inspiration.

Every single idea and instruction coming from this space feels exciting and brilliant.

It could be mistaken for an appointment with an invisible mentor.

It was at that moment when the skies opened up with divine insight:

Crystal clear and crisp as a spring afternoon that still carries with it the winter chill, blanketed in a burrito blanket of sun rays.

"Schedule a regular appointment with the Muse, every Monday. Because Monday doesn't need to represent the dreary death and decay of a corporate death row mill.

Monday is whatever you make of it.

And what I want to make of it is an appointment with the unconscious self.

The day of the Moon (Moon-day) serves as an obvious symbol for communing with the unconscious self.

That is the moment when Monday Mastery Muse was born.

The very newsletter you're reading at the moment.

A very simple, yet consistent practice (and process which translates into a system) that gave rise to my content creation practice. It informs not only the weekly newsletter but also daily posts. Those are sawn across the several tentacles of social media platforms.

Today marks the 24th issue of MMM, meaning a full 23 weeks, or 161 days of content creation.

It's now become an impulse.

A muscle that flexes on autopilot almost.

It is now etched in my behavior pattern, which looks like a consistent activity.

This is what gives rise to a process that can be reverse-engineered, examined, optimized, and improved for higher impact.

A process then also becomes a system.

A content creation system in this case.

Which happens to be one of the primary business processes/systems of a creative business.

Why am I sharing this?

To deliver the following message:

Discipline, Structure, Constraints, and Limitations needn't feel limiting and impeding on your sense of liberty.

And if you're anything like me, liberty is one of the highest, if not the highest virtue in my value constellation.

I have struggled with balancing out these energies for a long time. I found myself oscillating from one extreme to the other.

This behavior pattern and personality trait are what allowed me to develop a highly structured executive career in corporate sales.

I was able to dive in headfirst into this warrior-mode state of consciousness.

It's what enabled me to thrive in these roles. I could focus on the process and do the math.

The math of repetitive activity and process leading to successful outcomes.

But it depleted me.

It wasn't sustainable.

I always reverted back to an extreme sense of emptiness and void of meaning in this repetitive action.

Taking a break from it all and catering to my intuitive expansive, non-directional self.

Communion with my unconscious and intuitive creative aspect is in direct alignment now. Collaborating with the directive, conscious self.

Which is what gives birth to this creation.

Not a starving artist, but a warrior artist.

Having support and process structures in place that enable this creative expression.

In a more practical sense:

The key takeaway and practical nugget of this story is the simplistic formula for creative execution.

1. You start whatever it is you feel called to do by making a CHOICE

2. You double down on that choice by making a solemn COMMITMENT to it, because you know how it goes, you quickly skip a day for some mundane life situation. And you find it quickly unravels into yet another unfulfilled decision.

3. You embrace the CHALLENGES that inevitably come with your newfound resolve to make a change. You can frame those as tests to your resolve, making sure that this is something you truly want.

4. You focus on the action, seeing the process, and observing the repetitive pattern. And with time, you'll forget about the result that you actually wanted out of this. May it be a creative business or a more fit body. Then, a few months down the road, you'll see that things actually CHANGED.

Thank you for journeying with me thus far.

Reply to this email and let me know what your creative practice rituals look like.

I'd love to hear from you.