All those SELFIES and no knowledge of SELF

Instant Gratification

I’ve never been the selfie type with a camera phone. I suck at taking them, actually. Ask anyone I create content around. I’m challenged. However, it is a form of content creation. In this Saturday’s edition, I will share why self-development matters for content creators.

Growing up as a kid my Grandmother Shirleen had a 3-tier bookshelf with the entire Britannica Encyclopedia. Times have changed in how information is packaged and accessed. Our smartphones have become a source of information to mine. Grandma’s got game.

My Grandmother Shirleen during the Holidays with her Polaroid early 1980s. Technology has ran in my family DNA.

During a Navy Recruiting Tour in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, I was introduced to multi-level marketing (MLM). What I learned while moonlighting on duty was the art of self-development. Reading books can sharpen the mind, which can affect how you create.

Did you watch THE GAMBLER on Netflix? Did you notice a book featured briefly, Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill? For Jerry, it helped him build the Cowboys’ brand. This book is the blueprint to my content empire. I have it on my desk and read it daily like a business Bible.

Think and Grow Rich is a book written by Napoleon Hill and Rosa Lee Beeland released in 1937 and promoted as a self development book.

SELFIE HARM

There are levels to a selfie. Ever watched one of those YouTube videos where a kid crawls to the rooftop in a foreign country just for a selfie? Yeah, I have a fear of heights. Pass. However, you have to control yourself when it comes to selfies. Your life depends on it.

I rarely take selfies. When I do, filters are never applied. Taking selfies can become addictive and have psychological effect on your mental health. In 2013, the Oxford Dictionary named selfie its word of the year. Which Cowboys fan got next?

Meet the “Rooftop Raven” Daniel Lau.

“Selfie harm” is a term used to describe the various negative physical and psychological effects that can result from the taking, editing, and posting of self-taken photographs (selfies) on social media. 

This is important to know because a selfie does not determine your self-worth on any social media platform. Dopamine hits from likes, shares, and comments on selfies can become addictive, too. Does that one person who constantly posts selfies all day come to mind?

“Selfie addiction” (termed “selfitis” in empirical studies) refers to the obsessive and compulsive taking and posting of self-photographs, often driven by a need for validation or a lack of self-esteem.

My personal growth is a result of the healthy relationships I have built among Cowboys fans since 2016.

A FISHER OF MEN

I remember when likes, comments, and shares gave me that dopamine rush as a beginner creator. Every crestor goes through levels of development. Some take longer than others. I’m almost a decade into my craft and still self-developing.

For many users, selfies can provide that dopamine hit on social media. Don’t fall victim to the algorithm creators. Post in moderation. Make selfies a small part of your content strategy. Diversify your content portfolio as you grow along your self-development journey.

Stop fishing for compliments. Your self-worth is not in one or multiple posts. Begin your self-development journey today by picking up Think and Grow Rich. It’s the book that is still developing me as a person and content creator. He who stops learning stops growing.

The two most important days in your life are as follows: the day you’re born, and the day you learn your purpose in life. How do you discover your hidden talents? You have to search within. They’re below the selfie surface of instant gratification—self-development matters.

Join me here next Saturday to learn how a simple wall calendar can organise your entire 2026 content strategy. Take it from a veteran. Check out my FREE Canva eBook “It’s our year until it ain’t” for pre-work on organised planning.