Do you see it?

The late Leonard Cohen, poet, buddhist monk, on the process of creation:

“Before I can discard the verse, I have to write it… It’s just as hard to write a bad verse as a good verse. I can’t discard a verse before it is written because it is the writing of the verse that produces whatever delights or interests or facets that are going to catch the light. The cutting of the gem has to be finished before you can see whether it shines.​”​

It’s just as hard to write a bad verse as a good verse.

It’s the same for what you and I do.

It may not take as long to produce a crappy piece of content for your show, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take any time at all.

No one starts show prep hoping to create a bunch of boring, easily ignored bits.

We’re just not training most of the people on the air right now to discern the difference between crap and gems.

Consultants touting Nielsen research push us to offer fool’s gold, anything short enough to be said in 10 seconds or less.

As if anyone listens with a stop watch in their hands.

When you say something relevant to the life of a listener, when you say it in a way that spotlights the emotional center of that content, when you help that one listener actually feel something strongly, everything changes.

Hallelujah!