The Idea - Your Character

Your Character

In this lesson, we’re going to explore what it means to have Character.

The next element that a great idea is made up of, is you. You are your greatest asset. Let that sink in, and really believe that… You are your greatest asset. There is no one on the whole planet that is like you, and again, you might think listening to that, “I dunno, I’m pretty average, nothing going on here”. I understand; I felt that for years before I started to really think about what elements of my character do I want in my videos? And the answer, it turns out, was ALL OF THEM - mostly all of them, mostly all of them.

The things I do in my videos are the same things I would say or think in real life. I’m using my character to make my videos in a way that only I can make them. That’s why I was able to make this course and not be bothered by “giving away my secrets”, because no one will be able to produce content the same way I do, it’s impossible (and it’s the same for you!). Assuming I stay true to my character, it’s impossible - because no one else thinks the exact same way. Each person has unique experiences, skills, and perspectives that they can bring to the table. Even if you don't believe you have anything special, you do have a unique combination of qualities that can make your ideas and creations stand out. So don't underestimate yourself and your potential to develop great ideas.

It took me some time to bring in elements of my character on screen. Usually, the default is to think, “ah, Sam, if you make a mistake saying something, you’ve got to do it again and say it correctly”. But I started to notice that people were, in fact, drawn to the bits that were human and real. That’s when I began to think, wow, I need to use these things that could be “mistakes, wrong, bad”, and use them to my advantage. Because in real life, I am not great with words and speaking really. So why would I pretend I am in my content? It was actually such a relief, because I could be more authentic, and on top of that, it actually makes my videos better, because people watching can relate to that part of my character.

Another example I’ve learnt about myself is that I’m not a particularly confrontational person, I’m working on that to better my boundaries and stuff, but day to day, my character does not like walking around with a camera, sticking it in a random person’s face, and asking them a question. I have learnt and realised that about myself in recent years, and so I will not do that in my content. I do not enjoy that part, and so I do not do it - simple as that. Instead, I’ll focus on the bits I do like!

Now back to you, the same applies - you should make content the way your character wants to. The point of making content is that it’s you, and on top of that, as I said earlier, no one in the world has the same character as you do, so use it to your advantage, and let people see a unique character they haven’t seen before.

Task

Your task for this lesson is to come up with 3-5 things that you see in your character. What kind of sense of humour do you have? What areas in life do you struggle with? What kind of person are you? What are your values?

New angle *At this point I’d like to add a little ‘caviat’. You might be the kind of person that has never thought about those sorts of questions. I remember, like 3 years ago I was asked about my values, and I had no response, I had never thought about it before, ever. It took me a while to really figure out an answer to that question. If you are one of those people, don’t panic, it might take some time to realise. And on top of that, it’s a developing thing anyway - so just do your best.

Now take some time, and write some thoughts down about your character. Once you’ve done that, you can mark this lesson as complete, and move on to the next lesson, which is, Finding Yours.

(Remember, you can use the PDF file as a template if you’d like)