Creators & Procrasta-Learners

2 min read

If you had the choice between being a reporter, a consumer, a creator which would you choose?

Let me give you more context around the question.

Reporter

When I worked at Fast Company, the sales lead who worked with me knew the business well, was respected by clients, and his team enjoyed working with him.

When I asked for his thoughts on a new product launch, I got what I would call a non-answer. He shared with me where we were, what had been tried before and what was currently in the market. He gave me a status report with little opinion, insight or discovery. In our weekly sales meetings, he would share business updates, week-over-week changes and current business standings. Just like a weatherman standing in front of the green screen featuring the map of the US, he shared a general forecast with highlights, lowlights and called out the likelihood of storms and their severity.

He was a reporter.

Consumer

I often hear people say they are stuck or having trouble building momentum and in a rut without clarity on what's next. They want to deepen their leadership expertise, launch a new product or position themselves in the marketplace for stronger impact, but they feel stuck. An audit of their time reveals they dedicate time consuming in pursuit of inspiration, guidance and growth. They listen to webinars. Take a class. Read books.

The are procrasta-learners -- a term I heard on a podcast. Consuming resulting in misplaced productivity. Consumption as an avoidance tactic. They think that the more they learn, listen or read that they’ll finally be ready to get into action to go and do something with it all.

Consuming is easy. Consuming is safer.

We are all consumers to a degree, but knowing when we are over-consuming and when to move from consuming and into action is key.

If you think you fall into the procrasta-learner tendencies, ask yourself what has you waiting for an outside source to help you make an inside decision?

Learning can be motivating, but unless you put learning into action, you simply stay in wait. Waiting is a delay tactic, often out of fear. Fear often presents itself right before personal growth.

Creator

Creators are the people who use what they know, who they know, who they are to become and create what they want for themselves, their business and career. They are deliberate, even calculating about where they prioritize their time and effort towards the outcomes they want to create.

Whether leading a team of hundreds or a business of one, creators invest their time on becoming the leader they want to role model, developing their business and putting action to what they have consumed.

When creators report on their business they do it with creation in mind. They share that because of a decline in revenue (reporting), and with that new platform they’ve researched (consume), they are implementing a new marketing initiative (creator).

Where we spend our time is what we prioritize. Look back at last week’s calendar for when you reported, consumed and when you were taking action and creating.

Would you rather create and fail than consume and stay safe?

One last thing....Are you ready for a big life change? I shared mine with NJMom.com.