Jay Clouse

@jay.blog

Founder of Creator Science — Growth as a creator, down to a science. Helping thousands of creators build resilient businesses through observation, experimentation, and iteration Website: creatorscience.com YouTube: youtube.com/@jay

I had writer’s block this weekend. But then I just wrote about what felt real to me in that moment. It felt scary—but when you give yourself permission, the words just flow.

Yes, you could play around with Claude Code. You could also read a book! Yes, you could create an app today. You could also just keep writing! Could ≠ Should

I’ve been locking myself out of social apps on my phone a lot lately, and it’s remarkable how much more spacious my days feel. Plus my inner state is much calmer. If your phone is a tool for creation, great. But for me, it was becoming a tool for consumption and comparison—and that was a problem.

I firmly believe that it’s far better to share less and blow people away each time rather than share more at a lower standard. There’s a cost to how often you stay top-of-mind, but the benefit is so much trust. When you truly honor people’s time, they notice. Trust > Attention.

I feel so fortunate to have grown up in the 90s. To see and come of age *alongside* the internet, not *with* today’s internet. Millennials understand the past and think of the future differently than any other digital native generation.

There’s a special feeling when the puzzle you’re trying to solve in your mind clicks into place. Almost nothing beats it.

Most creators don’t think about how they use their time when building their creative business. That’s why I admire how @jay.blog navigates life as a creator and a new dad. Recently, he shared how costly it’s been *not* to be 100% dialed in when it’s time to work.

In today’s social media, followers are only marginally more likely to see your content than non-followers. Followers are a vanity metric, not a distribution system.

You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. So if you’re beating yourself up for not doing X or Y thing, ask yourself what you ARE doing. You’re not a failure — you’ve just made different choices and chosen different priorities.

Creator businesses are tied to the creator's enthusiasm. more enthusiasm → more momentum → more enthusiasm → more momentum... But it goes in reverse, too: less enthusiasm → less momentum → less enthusiasm → less momentum...

If you’re stuck consuming everyone else’s content, you are likely lacking clarity around your own priorities. When you are clear about your vision, you don’t want to spend time doing anything else.

As more creators join the scene, the expectations for all content increases. If you aren’t constantly improving, you're falling behind.

Basement studio is coming along: ✅ Gear ✅ Design ✅ Drywall ✅ Insulation ✅ Flooring ❌ Trim ❌ Painting ❌ Final setup We will have three cameras, two mics, and two different shots — all managed through one interface with everything activated by switch.

Welp, my 2024 Year In Review post accidentally turned into 5,000 words with a lot of data. 😅 Sharing it tomorrow morning in the Creator Science newsletter.