Latest / Inspirations for Your Life / You’re CONSUMING More Than You’re CREATING (S5) S39:E4 Tuesday

Transcript

You’re CONSUMING More Than You’re CREATING (S5) S39:E4 Tuesday · Inspirations for Your Life

0:23
Well there, hello everyone and welcome to the
0:26
ever-popular Inspirations for Your Life show.
0:28
It is so great to be with you.
0:30
It is still Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026, been
0:34
a little busy of a day, but you
0:37
know I always try to get these out
0:38
before I turn in.
0:39
We had an author signing today in the
0:42
beautiful Ridgewood Public Library with Roberta.
0:46
It was a nice little small group and
0:47
we had some nice refreshments and got to
0:50
tell my story about burnout and hear other
0:53
people's thoughts about what burnout is.
0:56
All right guys, so we'll get into the
0:57
show.
0:58
I have a, well I have half a
1:00
glass of delicious orange juice, really good.
1:07
And don't forget to check out BelieveMeAchieve.com
1:09
for more of my amazing inspiring creations after
1:11
the show is over.
1:11
You can do that 24 hours a day.
1:13
But what I wanted to say to you
1:14
guys, what I think is really important is
1:17
you've got to understand one important thing.
1:19
You know what that is?
1:21
That is the fact that you've got to
1:22
believe in yourself and your thoughts become reality.
1:25
That is really the truth, guys.
1:27
So if you're thirsty or hungry, feel free
1:29
to go grab yourself a snack like I
1:31
did.
1:31
I have a juice here.
1:32
So let's get right into the show.
1:34
I know you're anxious just as I am
1:36
very anxious.
1:37
Welcome everyone.
1:38
But before I finalize the welcome, I want
1:40
to thank you if this is your very
1:41
first time being here.
1:43
Welcome and thank you.
1:44
If you've been here one time, five times,
1:46
10, 100, or even more thousands of times
1:48
or lost track of the count, thank you
1:50
and welcome.
1:50
But I also want to say the words,
1:51
welcome back.
1:53
It's always great to have people that enjoy
1:54
the quality and content of my shows here.
1:56
So welcome to another amazing episode of Inspiration
1:58
to Your Life.
1:58
I am John C.
2:00
Morley.
2:00
I'm a serial entrepreneur, engineer, marketing specialist, video
2:03
producer, podcast host, coach, keynote speaker, a passionate
2:07
lifelong learner.
2:10
And so grateful now to be a published
2:12
author.
2:14
Yes, I'm also a graduate student at Montclair
2:16
State University.
2:17
And it is so great to be with
2:19
everyone here.
2:20
Our weekly master topic is your creativity isn't
2:23
gone.
2:24
You stopped using it.
2:26
Today, we're confronting something that quietly consumes hours
2:32
of our lives.
2:32
We're consuming more than we're creating.
2:35
We scroll, we watch, we read, we listen,
2:39
right?
2:39
We do all these interesting things.
2:43
And there's some questions that get answered every
2:46
few times.
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Some is valuable, some it's not.
2:51
But the consuming sometimes starts feeling like progress,
2:55
even though we aren't producing anything ourselves.
2:57
So that can be a problem when we're
2:59
consuming more than we're producing.
3:00
Your brains need input, okay?
3:03
But it also needs output.
3:05
So let's get right into our points.
3:07
I think this will hopefully make life a
3:09
little bit easier for all of you.
3:11
And hopefully this will make this interesting and
3:14
let you see firsthand what this means.
3:18
You're consuming more than you're making.
3:22
So number one, consuming information can feel like
3:24
progress.
3:25
Learning feels productive and sometimes it absolutely is,
3:29
other times it's not.
3:31
But consuming more information can also become a
3:33
comfortable substitute for action.
3:36
Eventually, you have to do something with what
3:39
you've learned.
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I think that's an important piece.
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If we don't do something with what we
3:42
learn, how do we ever get to the
3:44
next step, right?
3:46
Number two, inspiration isn't the same as creation.
3:51
You can watch inspiring videos all day long.
3:54
And still create absolutely zilch, big zero, okay?
3:58
Nothing.
3:59
Inspiration may give you energy or some direction.
4:03
But creation begins when you turn that inspiration
4:05
into something of your own.
4:09
Number three, please stop scrolling long enough to
4:13
make something, something meaningful in your life, right?
4:16
Can you stop scrolling for long enough or
4:18
no?
4:18
Think about how much you could create even
4:23
with a portion of your time, okay?
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You spend scrolling.
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For the phone, put it down.
4:34
And give yourself enough uninterrupted time to produce
4:36
something.
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I mean, you might say, John, oh, I
4:38
don't scroll that much.
4:39
But what if you just took a portion
4:41
of the time and said, wait a minute,
4:42
I could actually make something with all the
4:43
time I'm scrolling, at least some of the
4:45
time you're scrolling.
4:46
I think that's the important thing, right?
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We feed our minds information.
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We give our minds opportunities to respond.
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We write.
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We design.
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We build.
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We solve.
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We experiment.
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We speak.
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We draw.
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Or we develop a new idea.
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So let something come out of that great
5:02
brain of yours.
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Number five, create before you consume each day.
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Try giving your ideas the first opportunity to
5:11
speak.
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Before checking what everyone else created, spend some
5:16
time creating something yourself.
5:18
Protect your original thoughts before outside input fills
5:23
the space.
5:27
Number six, guys, turn inspiration to action quickly.
5:31
Can you do that?
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Turn inspiration into action and do it quickly.
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When something inspires you, don't only save it,
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ask what you can do with it.
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Write a note.
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Start a project, test an idea, or make
5:45
something while the energy is still there.
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Yeah.
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While the energy is still there.
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I think that's an important thing.
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Energy is our life, okay?
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And you have to act while the energy
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is still there.
6:06
Number seven, don't save hundreds of ideas you're
6:10
never going to use.
6:12
A collection of saved ideas isn't the same
6:14
as creativity, guys.
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No.
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Go through what you've captured and choose something
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to develop, to innovate.
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Ideas become valuable when you engage with them.
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Only when you engage them.
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If you don't engage with them, guys, you
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know what happens?
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You don't build anything.
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Number eight, choose one idea and develop it
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thoroughly.
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You don't need to work on 20 million
6:44
ideas simultaneously, okay?
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Or even just 10 ideas.
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Choose one, give it your undivided attention.
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Ask what the next step is, and then
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move it forward.
6:57
Focus turns possibilities into something tangible.
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Something tangible.
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Something that you didn't realize you had the
7:10
power to change.
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Number nine, watching somebody creating something isn't creating.
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Okay?
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You might say to me, John, well, that
7:26
doesn't matter.
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It does matter.
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Watching someone paint doesn't make a painting.
7:32
Watching someone build a business doesn't build your
7:34
own.
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Watching someone make videos doesn't create your video.
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Eventually, you have to roll your sleeves up
7:42
and participate, guys.
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That's absolutely true.
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Number 10, reading about creativity isn't practicing creativity.
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You might think it is.
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But you're being, let's say you're being disillusioned.
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I think that's a hard stop for a
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lot of people, that you're being disillusioned.
8:01
Okay?
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You can learn techniques, and you can study
8:03
creative people.
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But creativity develops through the use.
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Close the book occasionally, and apply something you've
8:11
actually learned.
8:13
Can you do that?
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I know a lot of people that they
8:16
spend time trying to share something with others.
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But you know what happens?
8:24
They're not doing it with integrity.
8:27
They're doing it with the concept of trying
8:29
to fool people.
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Okay?
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And that eventually will catch up with you.
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Number 11, stop waiting for another tutorial.
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There will always be another video, article, course,
8:45
or even an expert.
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At some point, additional information produces diminishing returns.
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Use what you know, and learn from doing.
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Number 12, use what you already know.
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You probably know enough to begin something today.
9:01
You don't need every answer before taking the
9:04
first step.
9:06
Start with your current knowledge.
9:08
And allow experience to show you what you
9:11
need to learn next.
9:13
So yeah, guys, I'm saying you need to
9:15
be humble, guys.
9:17
You need to be humble.
9:19
Number 13, give yourself a daily creation window.
9:24
John, what the heck is a daily creation
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window?
9:28
Hmm.
9:30
Set aside a period when your job is
9:33
simply to do nothing but create.
9:35
It doesn't have to consume your entire day.
9:38
Consistency matters more than waiting for a perfect
9:40
three-hour block that never arrives.
9:42
So I have certain posts I get out
9:44
several times during the week.
9:46
And that creativity window might be 15 minutes
9:49
to create and to post those things out.
9:53
But I do it religiously, okay?
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You have to do that.
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Like I said, it could be a simple
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5-minute, 10-minute.
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It could be a three-hour window.
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And you will be creative in that time.
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Number 14, protect creative time from distractions.
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I know a lot of people are saying,
10:16
well, how do I protect that nonsense?
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If you create a time for your ideas,
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defend it.
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Notifications, messages, e-mail, and interruptions can destroy
10:26
concentration really quickly.
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Treat creative time as something valuable.
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Number 15, put the phone away when ideas
10:37
need attention.
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Your phone gives the entire world access to
10:40
your attention.
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Sometimes creativity needs that door closed.
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Put the device somewhere else and let yourself
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stay with an idea.
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Create something before checking the reactions.
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Don't allow likes, views, comments, or other people's
10:57
opinions to determine your next thought.
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Make something because you believe it's worth exploring
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before asking the audience what they think.
11:06
Number 17, don't let algorithms decide what occupies
11:11
your imagination.
11:12
Algorithms are extremely good at offering more of
11:15
what keeps you engaged and scrolling.
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But if an algorithm constantly decides what you
11:20
see, it can also influence what occupies your
11:23
attention.
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That may not be what you want.
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Choose some of your inputs deliberately.
11:29
Don't let a social media calendar or even
11:34
a platform decide what you see.
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Number 18, constant input leaves little room for
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output of original thought.
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I know that sounds hard to embrace, but
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it's the truth, guys.
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It's absolutely the truth.
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It's the truth.
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When every quiet second is filled with somebody
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else's voice, when does yours actually get heard?
12:02
Your mind needs some open space to connect
12:05
information, wander, question, and generate new ideas.
12:11
Have you thought about that?
12:13
Are you bombarded by constantly doing work 24
12:16
-7 that you never get a chance to
12:17
actually figure something out?
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Just being honest.
12:21
Number 19, give your own ideas a chance
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to speak.
12:25
Let them grow a little bit, and I
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think you're going to find that that's going
12:29
to change who you are.
12:31
Your ideas may initially be quieter than everything
12:35
competing for your attention.
12:37
Give them room.
12:39
Sit with your thoughts.
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Write them down.
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Follow them before immediately replacing them with more
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content.
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Pay attention to your ideas.
12:50
When we're quiet and we focus, sometimes focusing
12:55
on nothing will actually help us focusing on
12:58
a lot.
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You might say, John, I have no idea
13:01
what you're talking about.
13:02
When you focus on nothing, things can change.
13:18
I think sometimes people get stuck with this
13:25
concept.
13:29
People don't understand what it means to be
13:30
quiet.
13:31
People think that when you're quiet, you actually
13:34
don't do anything, but that's wrong.
13:39
Your mind is always solving challenges, even when
13:44
you're not aware of it.
13:46
Number 20, stop filling every quiet moment with
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content.
13:50
You don't need entertainment while waiting 30 seconds.
13:54
You don't need to scroll through every pause.
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Sometimes a quiet moment is exactly where an
13:59
interesting thought begins.
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I think sometimes people say to me, hey,
14:03
John, you know, I don't have the thought
14:06
today, but I know what I'm looking for.
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That's enough.
14:15
That's enough.
14:18
And if you knew what that was, then
14:22
would you change how you act now?
14:29
Or not?
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Would you change how you act now?
14:38
Number 21, guys, produce more than you did
14:42
yesterday.
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Now, I'm not saying that you need to
14:45
spend like 24-7 producing content.
14:48
But what I am saying is know that
14:57
you're getting better at what you're doing.
14:58
And as you get better with things, life
15:01
changes.
15:03
You know, once you know how to do
15:04
the setup once, next time you do it,
15:06
it's going to be a lot easier.
15:07
And that's just the truth.
15:09
So this doesn't mean exhausting yourself to the
15:13
point of you can't not be able to
15:14
do anything.
15:14
It means deliberately increasing your creative output.
15:18
Write another paragraph.
15:19
Make another sketch.
15:20
Develop another part of the project.
15:22
Small progress, it compounds, guys.
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It compounds.
15:28
Number 22, turn notes into projects.
15:33
How many notes are sitting on your phone
15:35
or computer right now?
15:36
Choose one and ask what it could become.
15:40
A note might become an article, a presentation,
15:42
a video, a product, a conversation, or an
15:45
experiment that you didn't bother to think about.
15:53
Our mind allows us to connect to things
15:55
that can really make a difference in our
15:58
lives.
15:59
Number 23, turn the sketches into prototypes.
16:03
A sketch doesn't have to remain a sketch.
16:07
Build a rough version.
16:10
It doesn't need to be beautiful or perfect.
16:13
A prototype lets you interact with an idea
16:16
instead of only imagining it.
16:18
It's a rough concept.
16:21
Number 24, turn thoughts into words.
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I've already said thoughts become reality.
16:30
But if you don't understand that, then you're
16:33
missing a big part of life.
16:35
A big part of life.
16:39
That's important.
16:47
Thoughts disappear quickly.
16:51
Capture them.
16:53
Writing forces you to clarify what you actually
16:56
are thinking about.
16:58
It gives you something you can examine, improve,
17:02
and develop.
17:04
That's our key.
17:05
Number 25, turn possibilities into experiments.
17:12
Life is a game.
17:15
You have to choose which chess pieces to
17:18
move and when.
17:21
Instead of endlessly wondering whether something you're doing
17:29
could work, create a way to test it
17:32
first.
17:32
Experiments move you from imagination phase toward evidence.
17:41
And give creativity something practical to come home
17:47
to.
17:50
I think when we do these kinds of
17:51
things, our minds are like, hey, what are
17:53
we doing?
17:53
Why are we doing this?
17:55
And it's not to scare anybody.
17:56
It's to say, you know, you are worth
17:58
a lot.
18:00
It's just you don't give yourself a chance.
18:08
I think that's an important piece that most
18:12
people don't understand.
18:19
Does that make sense to you?
18:26
That's important, guys.
18:28
Very, very important.
18:30
Number 26, small creations, they still count, guys.
18:37
Not everything needs to become a book, a
18:40
company, an invention, or the masterpiece.
18:45
A paragraph counts too.
18:48
A sketch counts.
18:49
A new recipe counts.
18:52
A solution to your everyday problems counts.
18:55
Your exercise and creativity counts.
19:01
Everything counts.
19:03
I think when we recognize what counts, we'll
19:07
get more in our life that counts.
19:08
You know what that reminds me of?
19:09
You know, if you think about this, and
19:11
this is really interesting, you think about what
19:16
counts in your life, right?
19:20
You give meaning to things, and they count.
19:26
It reminds me of something.
19:29
When we're grateful for things, more things in
19:32
our life will show up that we can
19:34
become grateful for.
19:36
Number 27, you don't need to publish everything
19:39
you make.
19:40
It's nice, but you don't have to.
19:43
There's no reason for it.
19:46
It's probably the best thing to say.
19:51
Creation doesn't require an audience.
19:54
Some things can exist simply because you felt
19:59
like exploring them.
20:00
Removing the pressure to publish can give you
20:03
greater freedom to experiment.
20:04
I'm not saying don't publish, but don't let
20:06
publishing put you into the place where you
20:09
can't do stuff.
20:12
That's the most important thing.
20:16
That's an important piece, an important thing that
20:20
a lot of people just don't get.
20:22
And the reason they don't get it is
20:25
because they think they have to react now.
20:42
That's interesting.
20:48
I think sometimes other people will say this
20:52
is a problem, and then they'll just give
20:55
up.
20:59
And when that happens, you have to ask
21:05
yourself, am I giving up because of something
21:10
I know?
21:11
Because of something I perceive?
21:13
Or because of just something someone said?
21:25
That's important, guys.
21:27
Very, very important.
21:32
Number 28 is build the habit of producing.
21:35
Don't make creativity dependent solely on inspiration.
21:41
Develop the habit of producing regularly.
21:43
When creation becomes part of your routine, notice
21:46
that it becomes a little bit easier.
21:49
I'm not going to say it gets done
21:50
for you automatically, but it becomes easier.
21:54
Easier than you thought.
22:00
Number 29, your creative confidence grows through creation.
22:05
It morphs.
22:06
It changes every single day.
22:11
Sometimes by the time you get back, you're
22:12
like, wait, I didn't realize it changed.
22:14
I didn't know it was like this.
22:17
I had no idea that this was like
22:19
this.
22:21
Confidence doesn't usually arrive before the work, guys.
22:24
It develops because you've done the work repeatedly.
22:29
Every time you create, experiment, finish, and even
22:32
learn something, you gather evidence that you can
22:36
do it again and again and again.
22:41
When our mind notices that we can do
22:43
something, we have more confidence for it to
22:46
happen again, again, again, again, again.
22:52
Interesting, isn't it?
22:54
But why is it people don't think about
22:56
this?
22:58
Maybe because they don't know how to respond.
23:06
Maybe they feel that if they look at
23:08
it too deeply, that maybe they're going to
23:11
become overwhelmed.
23:14
These are fair, but they shouldn't stop you
23:20
from your journey.
23:23
They shouldn't stop you from your journey.
23:25
Number 30, please, please, please, please, I beg
23:29
you, stop watching everybody else create the life
23:32
you could be creating.
23:35
One person, wise person said to me a
23:37
long time ago, John, work on building your
23:40
own dreams or you're going to spend the
23:42
rest of your life building someone else's.
23:46
It's important.
23:48
This is the big one.
23:49
It's incredibly easy to watch other people build
23:51
businesses, produce shows, write books, create art, launch
23:56
projects, learn skills, and pursue ideas right before
24:01
you.
24:02
You can watch so much of somebody else's
24:06
journey that you forget you have your own
24:10
or should.
24:12
Their creativity should never become a replacement for
24:15
yours.
24:16
Use other people's work for inspiration.
24:20
Learn from people who know more than you.
24:23
Study great ideas, enjoy great content, but then
24:27
close the scene down for the screen and
24:33
make something.
24:35
Your creativity needs participation.
24:37
It needs involvement.
24:40
It doesn't just run on autopilot.
24:42
It's not autonomous like a vehicle that they're
24:45
trying to create.
24:46
You don't become more creative, folks, by endlessly
24:49
thinking about creating.
24:50
You become more creative by, you guessed it,
24:54
actually creating.
24:55
Maybe what you make today isn't extraordinary.
24:59
Make it anyway.
25:01
Maybe nobody sees it.
25:03
Do it anyway.
25:05
Maybe it doesn't work.
25:08
Learn from it and make something else.
25:10
Because, you see, ladies and gentlemen, every time
25:13
you turn a thought into words, a sketch
25:16
into a prototype, a possibility into an experiment,
25:21
or even an idea into a project, you
25:25
know what you're doing?
25:26
You're strengthening the creative part of yourself.
25:30
Now, you might say, John, what is that?
25:31
Well, we have a muscle in our brain,
25:33
okay?
25:34
Our creative muscle needs to be exercised.
25:36
If we don't exercise it, we lose it.
25:41
We lose it.
25:42
I think that's a very important thing to
25:45
actually understand.
25:47
We actually will lose it.
25:49
Unfortunately, we will lose it.
25:52
But if we keep working on it, it
25:54
will get better and better and better.
25:58
That's the thing that separates success from just
26:03
wishful thinking.
26:04
Those that take the decision that say, hey,
26:06
you know what?
26:07
I'm going to do this.
26:08
I'm going to make this choice.
26:10
I'm not saying it's going to be easy,
26:12
but I'm going to make this choice.
26:16
Great.
26:17
Make the choice.
26:23
When you make the choice, life changes.
26:27
But I don't want you to think that
26:28
life is going to change tomorrow, right?
26:32
You could plant the new seeds tomorrow, but
26:35
does that mean you're going to get the
26:36
growth from them?
26:37
No.
26:38
You may not get the growth from them
26:39
for several weeks, maybe even a month or
26:44
more.
26:46
But you plant so that when it becomes
26:50
harvest time, you have something to reap.
26:53
You don't say, well, gee, I planted last
26:55
year, and I didn't get anything, so I'm
26:57
not going to plant again.
26:59
That'd be stupid.
27:04
This is important, guys.
27:06
And I want you to remember something.
27:12
Our weekly master topic is your creativity isn't
27:14
gone.
27:15
You just stopped using it.
27:18
Okay?
27:19
Maybe one reason it feels gone is because
27:22
you've been giving your attention to everyone else's
27:24
creativity instead of exercising your own.
27:26
Change the task.
27:28
Create before you consume.
27:29
Protect some quiet time.
27:31
Put down the phone.
27:32
Open the notebook.
27:33
Start the project.
27:34
Use what you already know.
27:35
And give your own ideas enough attention to
27:38
become something.
27:38
You don't need to stop consuming completely, guys.
27:41
You need to restore the balance between what
27:44
enters your mind and what comes out of
27:46
it.
27:46
Be a learner.
27:46
Be curious.
27:47
Be inspired.
27:48
But also be a producer because your creative
27:51
confidence grows when you have evidence that you
27:54
can take something that existed only in the
27:56
imagination and bring some version of it to
27:59
the real world.
27:59
It can be small, imperfect, private.
28:02
It simply needs to be yours.
28:04
I'm John C.
28:05
Morley, serial entrepreneur.
28:06
And remember, stop watching everybody else create the
28:08
life you could be doing and give your
28:11
ideas some room and start building yourself.
28:13
I'll see you on the next episode.
28:14
And check out BelieveMeAchieve.com for more of
28:16
my amazing, of course, inspiring creations.
28:19
Be well, everyone.
28:48
♪♪♪