I’m in the middle of downloading 312 GB of footage for a client project and remembered that my username everywhere is @timforkindotcom — yet I haven’t posted here in a long time.

So here I am. Great to see you. Hope you’re doing well, motherfucker.

Sorry, that was a bit much. Don’t know why I wrote that.

Updates: I got engaged and married this year. We’re still crushing social for cool brands at Very Online Agency. Every Detroit sports team is good at the same time for the first time in my life.

Okay, onto The Value:

Recently I found this hip-hop/pop boy band called WHATMORE who used social to blow up their album release. They’re the new BROCKHAMPTON or something. I gave them a spin and liked their music a lot, so I googled them and found this Q&A.

One answer, to a question about how they build their songs in a five-person band, really stood out to me:

“I’ve written the most this year by like a mile. I feel like everyone across the board has just gotten so much quicker, better, cooler.”

Quicker. Better. Cooler. The results of their work and collaboration have made them quicker, better, and cooler… and they broke through.

And then I realized… this isn’t only true for music. It’s true for all forms of creative output — and especially social content.

Remember “Better, Faster, Cheaper?” The saying has been around forever, but I’m pretty sure I discovered it from this Garry Tan video. The idea is that you don’t need always need to be the first person to market, but you do need to be better, faster, or cheaper than the alternatives.

Being all three is extremely difficult. Most businesses are two, and that’s okay, but there are clear tradeoffs:

• Better and faster = expensive

• Better and cheaper = slower

• Faster and cheaper = low quality

Companies like Amazon and Uber broke through because they took existing concepts and somehow made them better, faster, and cheaper.

For creatives, we’re optimizing for quicker, better, and cooler. This is the formula for breakthrough content.

QUICKER CONTENT

• How fast can you get on a trend?

• How can you make your workflows tight, repeatable, and efficient?

• How can you form working relationships between creatives and clients that allow for content to get up ASAP?

When everyone understands the importance of organic content, how quickly your ideas go from concept to publish becomes a key differentiator. Moments come and go in a day.

I saw a brand post one of ultra ultra wide posts on Instagram last week. That trend was done in late September, which means it must have taken a full month to get approved by the brand. Tough look.

Being able to turn content around quick is always, always, always a good thing.

BETTER CONTENT

• Do you actually understand your audience?

• Are you showing effort? Is it clear you thought about this post for more than a second?

• Are you making something worth sharing?

There have been a few moments in my lifetime where the willingness to post on the internet was enough.

We are not in one of those times.

Every single day the bar for ideas and execution gets higher. Everyone is using fancy cameras, everyone is extremely online, everyone knows how to edit well, and nobody has any shame.

Today I watched a HS football player score a touchdown and then pull a concession stand hot dog out of his pants and eat it as a celebration.

Call it what you want — that is a fucking fantastic content idea.

COOLER CONTENT

• Are you creating aspirational, memorable content?

• Is it cool to know who you are?

• Do you look the part?

Right now the cool, good-looking people are wearing baggy clothes. A few years ago everything was skin tight. Everything is cyclical.

The same is true in content.

Right now, brands producing well-polished content with expensive cameras, smart editing, and intentional design are winning. Effort is in. Two years ago, everything was shitty iPhone green screen or static memes.

We are constantly getting work for highly-produced social shows with real thought behind them. I just started working with a founder with access to the biggest names in sports — he wants to vlog his journey.

Haircare brands, mental performance apps, online colleges, career-focused creators… everyone wants to level up. Everybody wants content that makes them look cool.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

• REAL HUSTLE & WORK

• The financial backing and time to create content at scale

• Aligned direction and clear trust between brand and creatives

• The not-so-secret ingredient: TASTE

Quicker, better, cooler. If you could only choose two, which would it be?

• Quicker and better content = brand looks nerdy, undesirable

• Quicker and cooler content = posts lack substance

• Better and cooler content = slow to make

Over the years my answer has changed a million times. I used to be super into low-leverage, high-performing stuff. As I’ve gotten older I really want to make stuff with some soul in it.

My vote goes to better and cooler.

Let me know what you choose.

LET’S FORKIN GO remains a small, intimate group of less-than-500-but-more-than-447 people who know (or pretend to know) who I am.

And I don’t check in as often as I should, and I want to change that, but this is just the thought running through my head tonight that I feel is worth sharing…

Pretty much every dollar I’ve made on the internet in the 2020s has been from making videos online, yet I’ve run from it — shutting down the freelance part of my work numerous times because it all gets to be so much.

In particular I’ve tried to get away from video editing as freelance work because:

• the term “video editor” remains low value, even more so now that jackasses think AI can do the job well

• it is really difficult to edit all day and then eat dinner and then edit all night

I sought out different business models. 1-1 coaching and consulting for creators, self-paced courses, etc. in pursuit of an “easier” way to make money.

It turns out all of that is much harder than doubling down on the monetizable skill I already have.

I realized I was doing myself (and the people in this creative world I care about) a disservice by trying to run away from the thing I am good at, know how to make money with, and helps other people.

So I’m not running away from it anymore.

I’ve brought on several traditional editing clients over the past few weeks and could be looking for more.

Potentially more interesting: I’m testing a done-for-you short-form video service with a couple clients where I write the scripts, the talent records, and I complete the edits in bulk.

I don’t treat this newsletter as a way to sell my services, hence why I moved it to Substack. It’s part diary and part behind-the-scenes… not a sales funnel.

But if you need video help of any kind, or just want to catch up and jam…

Keep me in mind.

It must be a universal truth that if you are creative, or if you are someone who wants to make art, or if you are someone who wants to help as many people as possible…

…then you are also tortured.

There is something deep inside of me that yearns to be a massive creator who helps thousands of people.

It feels like fire.

But that’s the problem.

Thinking about all of the things I want to do, shots I want to get, videos I want to create… makes me feel real warm.

I want it so bad.

But warm is comfortable, like a nice shower or a cozy blanket.

It’s putting the pen to paper, hitting the record button, and creating art for yourself, and only yourself…

That’s the fire.

But it burns to the touch.

And what I’m realizing now is… this is the tortured part.

You have to be willing to sit in the fire, to feel the burn for a long enough time, to do the creative work you’ve always been meant to do.

It stings because it’s always going to sting.

Creative people with good intentions are a tortured people. It’s on the job description.

Are you okay with that?

Recently for work I’ve been sent all across the country for different content projects.

I was in San Francisco, then Sacramento, then New York, then Charlotte, and then Naples.

It has forced me to pick up the camera and make really cool stuff — and I’m proud of it, all of it actually.

But it’s messing with the fire.

One side of the fire is getting doused with water. Each trip makes me more fulfilled and simultaneously more tired.

And the other side of the fire is growing at a rapid pace.

Like, we may need to call someone because there’s a forest nearby that is on the verge of catching the flame.

Every time I pick up the camera I do not want to put it down.

I want to make beautiful videos

I want to try photography.

I want to get better at color and editing at large.

I want it all.

And it really, really hurts.

When I get to this point one thing happens every single time.

I become Mr. Excuses.

“I’ve got so much work to do.”

“I’m tired.”

“I don’t feel like getting up and setting up my camera.”

“It would be so much work to light this room properly.”

“I’m scared to film myself in public.”

“I can’t think of any good ideas.”

“Why would anyone listen to me?”

The worst part is that some of those excuses are valid. Sometimes I am tired and pushing on creative stuff wouldn’t yield any fruit. Sometimes I’m on a deadline and cannot work on my own stuff. It is daunting to take my camera out in public.

I do not want to be someone who lives their entire life on screens. I am someone who believes in a balanced life. My #1 goal is to be a present person for the important people in my world. Work and anything else comes second to that.

Yet the fire burns on through the night.

The excuses are a warm blanket and bug spray.

Just enough to keep me comfortable, but not enough to stop the itch.

For years I’ve known the secret.

The way to become great.

You know it too, but it burns!

You have to take your chair and set it directly at the center of the fire, engulfing yourself in flames.

You cannot flinch.

You cannot stop, drop, and roll.

You have to take it.

Even though it is torture.

You have to continuously push yourself through creatively fulfilling work over and over and over again.

Make 1,000 videos.

Write hundreds of thousands of words.

Press publish on something every single day.

You can keep the fire going with small projects and working for other people, but it will die if you don’t make something for yourself.

I wish I could end this post with some sort of commitment or challenge, but it would fall flat

I’ve only been consistent at one thing in my 15+ year creative journey:

Being inconsistent.

My world, and yours, would be completely different if we committed to sitting in the fire a long time ago.

All of the greats, the creatives we know and love, are no better than us.

They have just been consistent for a long enough time where it would be impossible to not know their name

No hacks, no optimization, there’s always some luck…

But they’ve given themselves a chance because they can sit in the fire.

They don’t pull back when it gets uncomfortable.

They don’t complain about the pain.

They just go.

And after a long enough amount of time, the pain goes away. They are free to create 24/7 and they do. It completely changes their lives and the lives of those around them.

But let’s be clear on one last thing:

The pain may have went away, but the fire didn’t stop.

I have high hopes for this post and the YouTube video that goes with it.

I think I did a pretty good job.

And the truth is that I will be disappointed if I don’t get many replies.

But you will see this post again.

And when you do, look and see if I’ve posted recently.

If I haven’t, it means I took the comfortable route.

I probably have my marshmallows getting toasty in a cushy chair around the fire.

I must not have wanted to be great.

Even though I knew what it actually takes.

My boss has a 7AM pickup basketball run in New York City.

Like the runs I play in, there’s a good mix of talent and vibes. Former college guys. Close friendships built on top of years of yelling at each other.

You know, dude stuff.

But this one’s different. It has its own Instagram page. To play, you gotta get on the list, reply to the invite emails, and be chosen to come that day. All in pursuit of the best possible games.

They play on Halloween in full costume.

Yearly awards are handed out at their Christmas party, including MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and… Biggest Psycho.

If this wasn’t enough to make me and all my pickup hooper friends jealous…

Every Memorial Day, they descend on a Brooklyn park for a 3-on-3 tournament for a cash prize. A bunch of different brands sponsor the teams and give out free pizza and drinks.

This time I was there, camera-in-hand and nose-to-camera-screen, to create a hero video of the day. I’m really proud of it.

Here it is:

Oh, I forgot to mention…

The stars pop out for the AMHOOPS Memorial Day Cookout.

I talked to Wilson Chandler about his recent trip to Northville, Michigan.

I talked to my friend Hezi God about Russian women.

I gave a head nod to David Jacoby. (He didn’t see me.)

6-year-old me would’ve killed my hamster to play basketball on the streets of NYC. Or even just watch a pickup game. I was nose-to-screen addicted to NBA Street Vol. 2 on the original Xbox, wishing I could jump through the TV and land at Rucker Park.

My dreams were literally of the hoop variety.

I don’t lose sight of just how awesome it is to be living that kid’s dream. Both times I’ve been to NYC have been for the exact same reason.

And I’ll judge each future trip by the same grading system.

Was I on a basketball court?

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My college dorm was nicer than most. A brand spankin’ new building with only 15 or so people on each floor. Construction rushed to get it done weeks into my freshman year, so much so that the front desk was mistakenly built into the back of the building. Just the types of things that happened at our small school.

A useless back desk was certainly annoying for faculty, I’m sure. The lack of elevators and water fountains is worse in retrospect than it was in reality. It sucked for the first 1.5 years when anyone with a credit card could unlock any dorm just by sliding the card into the door frame.

But the #1 thing that made these brand spankin’ new dorms terrible?

The walls were paper thin.

I am not exaggerating.

I heard everything in the dorms.

Every conversation in every room within five numbers of mine.

Every time someone walked down the hall.

Every time Braxton played shitty music at 2AM.

Every time someone’s girlfriend visited for the weekend.

We loaded up our side of the floor with basketball guys — seven of us, all in one corner of the dorms. Together all the time. I learned way too much about them and I would guess they learned way too much about me.

It was simultaneously bullshit and bliss.

The SECOND worst thing about these brand spankin’ new dorms was the bathroom setup. Four single unit bathrooms with a toilet, sink and shower.

If all four were being used, you were literally shit outta luck.

I found myself in this situation my junior year. I had to go the bathroom. Braxton (a kid none of us knew or hung out with) was dropping a deuce in one of them. Another was occupied by a football player showering after practice. The third door was locked for no reason — that happened all the time.

And the fourth door?

The one literally right across from my room?

Occupied by one of my closest friends who happened to be using the bathroom.

Or so I thought.

My buddy, knowing that everyone on the floor could hear him and that someone (me) probably had to go, but couldn’t — locked himself in the bathroom and started screaming at the top of his lungs.

OUCH!!

IT WON’T COME OUT!!

AUGHHHH….

(several grunts)

GET OUT OF ME!!

I’m sorry to have told you such a stupid story to make this point, but it’s the best way I know how.

My brain has been spiraling with different thoughts around content, marketing, social media, my job, my journey, my new show… you name it.

I’ve just been sitting here with a voice screaming at me, at maximum volume…

“GET OUT OF ME!!”

So here I am. A fresh start on Substack, where I’ve moved my list over to. With lots of thoughts that I will get out of me.

Formats are the most important thing in content right now. I don’t have one for this yet. Maybe these 11:30PM Eastern Standard Time On A Sunday Night musings are it. We’ll see.

Let’s Forkin Go.

(Did you forget who I am? If so, I wrote what many are calling the greatest ABOUT page in the history of Substack. Click here to read it.)

P.S…

I turned on paid subscriptions to this newsletter but I firmly, no doubt, without question, have exactly ZERO clue what my plans are for it yet.

Right now, you can treat it like a I WANT TO SUPPORT TIM FORKIN button.

I have no expectations for you to do such a nice thing. There’s a wide gap in between the current state of LFG and a product worth paying for. But, like a true Gen Z capitalist, I won’t stop you from hitting the button.

Substack asks you to list the benefits that come with a paid subscription. Because there are none, I added a Michael Scott quote from The Office.

As always, thank you for being here.