Bonjour mi amigo - it’s Godfrey.

Social media is one wild place, init?

On one day, you can stumble across a golden insight that can change your life...

On another, you can fall face-first into a bottomless pit of recycled rubbish.

The truth is, the internet made it easier than ever to create — but that doesn’t mean most people know how to create well.

The truth is, I didn’t either.

When I started on Medium, I posted every day for 8 months before I even hit 1,000 followers.

And to be brutally honest, most of my content was regurgitated slop.

But in the middle of that mess was a flicker of pure magic.

I've learnt a few lessons from those early days.

And I'd like to share some of them with you here.

You can’t force good ideas

This may be a controversial one, but it is what it is.

Do me a favour and think back to times when you were sitting on the toilet...

What were your most pleasant experiences?

The ones where you were straining and pushing like a mother going into labour?

Or the ones where everything was...effortless?

Ideas work in the same way.

You don’t rack your brain and force yourself to come up with them.

They just… come.

But there is a trick that can make them arrive much faster and a lot more frequently.

The trick?

Feed your brain better inputs.

As the saying goes:

"You are what you consume."

If you binge Mr. Beast, you’ll think like a dopamine crackhead.

If you study Tim Ferriss, your ideas will become more philosophical and concise.

In short, if you want better ideas - start with a better information diet.

Onward.

Most people were never taught how to think

When you were at school, you weren't judged on how well you were able to think.

All you were judged on was how good you were at answering the questions.

• You memorise pointless facts.
• You regurgitate them.
• Then you move on.

Unfortunately, that bootcamp we were all brought up with bleeds into how people approach content creation.

You copy others and recycle their ideas.

But you never question what you really think.

Here’s the harsh truth:

Almost every belief you have was given to you.

Not discovered by you.

If you want to create content that actually stands out…

You need to start thinking for yourself.

And you do that through radical honesty.

Contemplate things like:

• Why do I think this way?

• Where did this belief come from?

• What is the reason behind me thinking this way?

It’s not easy.

But it’s the only way to uncover your own unique insights.

Your best content comes from 3 things:

1. Your interests
2. Your personality
3. Your ability to think

That’s the formula.

It’s not as sexy as Jennifer Lopez.

But it works.

And if you’re wondering how to apply this practically — try this:

• Read an article that sparks an idea → stop reading → write your own take
• Watch a YouTube video → pause when inspired → turn it into a post
• Listen to a podcast → when something hits → jot the idea down
• Use ChatGPT as a sounding board (not a ghostwriter)
• Walk around, let ideas percolate, take notes

The key is to make ideas yours.

Take this email, for example.

The idea came from a headline I saved in my phone months ago.

I never even read the article — I just knew I had something to say on the same topic.

That’s how original ideas are born.

You don’t need to battle to be “original.”

You just need to be you.

Hope this helps,

Godfrey

PS. You can grab Medium Mastery for a presale price here (if you're interested in writing online, attracting an audience, and making money online as a writer).