Hey friend,

A quick welcome to the 85 new subscribers to Creator’s Compass. I’m glad that you’ve joined the party 🥳

Today, I want to share with you the quote and framework that enabled me to start writing this newsletter. With this tool, you'll be able to immediately make progress on that big idea you’re sitting on.

This week’s newsletter is about dreaming big and making it happen. It’s about balancing living in the future (the clouds) with channelling our energy into making real progress (the dirt).

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My goal is to create the best email you receive in your inbox. Hit “reply” to share a topic you’d like me to write about. I was grateful to receive the following suggestions last week:

💪 Growing a powerful following on LinkedIn

💰️ Carving out pricing models as a creator

🤝 How to build a network that will change your life

These guides are now in the pipeline.

Let’s get into it.

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💭 Thought of the week

“Be where your feet are.”

Visual credit: @alexmaesej

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I came across this visual on Instagram, and ever since, the quote “Be where your feet are” has been ringing in my ears.

No matter how large your goal is, you still need to do the real work that’ll bring it to life. This gives us permission to dream big, because either way, a large or small goal requires activation energy to get started.

The minimum quantity of energy required in order to create a reaction.

The definition of Activation Energy

I’ll hold my hands up and say that, by default, I seem to spend a lot of time thinking about the future. This may have its benefits, but it also puts me at a huge risk of being somebody who’s all talk and no action.

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“Be where your feet are” is a way to ground yourself.

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It’s a reminder to acknowledge where you are TODAY because by doing so, you focus on the present moment and can see what the next step forward is to take.

A journey of 100 miles still starts with a single step.

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It might be incredibly obvious to say but you also can’t skip a step.

• If you want to get to 100,000 followers, you need 1000 first.
• If you want to lose 10lb in body fat, you need to lose 1lb first.
• If you want to drive at 70mph, you need to drive at 40mph first.

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After speaking with creator friends this week, I could tell that they felt the same. They were so lost in the potential of the future, that they weren’t actually doing anything about it in the present.

“Be where your feet are” was the antidote I needed to wake up from my dream paralysis.

• Want to build a YouTube channel? Well, have you filmed a video yet?
• Looking to sell digital products? Well, do you have an audience who want to buy from you yet?
• Interested in starting paid consultations? Start by making a list of what problems you can solve for people.

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Here’s a framework that you can use to be somebody who takes action:

The ABZ Framework

Visual credit: @jackbutcher

At any moment, all you need to know is:

• A - Where you are now
• B - What the next step is
• Z - What done looks like

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Without identifying the next step, we can spend days of our lives treading water: putting well-intended time, energy and effort into things with nothing to show for it.

Note: You can use the ABZ Framework for projects made up of single tasks, or for reverse engineering a larger ambition into projects.

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💡 A perspective to consider

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Whenever you’re stuck ask yourself: “What would this look like if it was easy?”

Made famous by Tim Ferriss, this question is a great way to map out the fastest route to achieving something. If you liked this, enjoy Tim’s full list of 17 Questions That Changed My Life which I frequently refer back to.

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❤️ Content I LOVED

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📚 Book - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (Donald Miller)

Imagine if your life was being made into a film. How interesting would that film be?

This is the premise of “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years”, one of my favourite books that I’ve started re-reading. Check it out and feel inspired to take your next adventure.

🔨 Tool - Cambs.ai

The capabilities of AI blow me away every week. This new AI dubbing tool will listen to your voice and then turn your speech into 78+ languages.

The use case here is for creators to share videos and podcasts in different languages. Wild.

🎥 YouTube Video - Alex Hormozi's Content Strategy (REVEALED)

I love Alex Hormozi’s content and how he operates. In this 53-minute video, you’ll learn how to grow a 1+ million organic following across all the major platforms.

It’s one of the best videos I’ve ever seen on the internet. Enjoy.

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✍️ Quote of the week

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"When things don't work, double down on iteration. When things do work, double down on consistency."

Janis Ozolins

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That’s a wrap. I hope you found this newsletter valuable.

Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!

Joe