Thoughts from Carl. Sharing my thoughts on mindset and business.
Why now? Why Substack?
What you will get from this post:
Some insight into why I am doing this
My thoughts on the current state of publishing and social media
An opportunity to contribute by contacting me, to help steer this project
If you’re reading this, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
You are one of the ‘founding subscribers’ to this Substack (and if not, why not? Subscribe here) and knowing you are here has pulled on my heartstrings and my mind; knowing that I’ve not posted for over a year.
Well, I’ve had a crazy year. And now, I’m ready to share some thoughts after dealing with what I needed to deal with.
You’ll see that this Substack has had a lick of paint, and now has some activity. It is absolutely not finished. It is at best described as ‘rough and ready’. Over time it will develop, but I don’t want to let the perfect get in the way of the good. And I’m planning to share some of the journey of developing this along the way, as I think there are loads of lessons to be learned.
Once upon a time I launched an Instagram account as a private account called @thoughtsfromcarl. It was intended to be a repositry of the random thoughts and ideas I had, captured through doodles and snappy snippets of the stuff going through my mind. It was the stuff that had no natural home. It didn’t fit with the selfies, trainers and food pictures on @carlreader, didn’t fit with my business activities, and didn’t fit into any other natural home. It was too amateur for LinkedIn, too embryonic for a book, but still needed sharing in some shape or form.
If you’ve had a nosey, you’ll see that there were some good bits in there! Don’t expect to see thousands of followers, nor any recent activity. For now. That will likely change.
So, what’s the plan?
I mentioned in my launch post (linked at the end) that I was disillusioned with social media. Those thoughts still stand. We are restricted by character counts, algorithms, and group mentality. A selfie in a snazzy suit gets far more views and engagement than a nugget of advice or inspiration that can actually make a difference. And my passion is sharing stuff that makes a difference.
Following that, I’d also like to comment on a few other changes in the content world.
First up, the publishing world has changed. Attention spans have changed. Anyone can self publish, and anyone can be an ‘Amazon Bestseller’. All credit for those who share good stuff with the world - I support any and every creator in that regard. But on the flip side, I’m also extremely mindful of the fun prank my mate ‘Mike Winnet’ (not his real name, that’s a secret I’ll keep as long as he does') ran on Amazon, making an empty book a best seller. It’s hard for readers to sort the wheat from the chaff, and when they do, they find that their attention spans have been decimated by 30 second TikTok’s.
Next, the media has changed. It feels a lifetime ago that I was published in all national newspapers (apart from the Sunday Sport, haven’t got the rack for it), on all of the radio stations and a regular commentator on TV. I’m not going to comment too much on that world, other than to say that sadly it now sometimes comes down to clicks and bait. There’s a difference there that I’d love to make, but it’s not today’s task.
So, that’s why ‘thoughts from Carl’ was a thing, and that’s why ‘thoughts from Carl’ now is a thing.
I’ve no idea how this will develop.
I’ve written a bank of articles to at least kick this off, but deep down I know that this is a hobby not a business, and also that I’m not always the best at consistency although, I can do it. My previous podcast had 60 odd episodes if I remember correctly - 90% of podcasts only hit three episodes according to some random user on Reddit. I’ll let you be the judge of the reliability of that stat! It became ‘New and Noteworthy’ according to Apple, achieved sponsorship from a Fortune 500 brand, and charted high in the Top 20 podcasts. I tend not to do things by half when I get the bug.
Here’s hoping I can get some steam on here.
Unlikely? Yes.
Will it last? Who knows.
Will I share some amazing stuff in the meantime? I’ll let you be the judge of that.
You see, at my heart, I am a creative. But I’m woefully impractical. I can’t draw to save my life, and I’m not dextrous enough to play a musical instrument. That’s why I stick to mixing as if I’m still a 15 year old bedroom DJ, and dabble with remixing the great work from others. But words? I can knock them together. Videos? I can chat random stuff all day long… and in fact pride myself on being a one shot wonder.
(Jesus, that sounds dodgy…)
Let’s see where this goes. I might change the ‘brand’, I might change the focus, I might change from Substack to another platform, but for now… you’re getting the unfiltered thoughts from Carl here. Free of charge, but subscriptions to be the first to hear what’s on my mind are gratefully appreciated (and likely to lead to some other benefits that I’m yet to work out!)
Smart thinking and observations about mindset, society, and business; from a bloke who says it as it is.
And all thoughts are my own. Not a corporate
What’s the plan?
I’ve reviewed the focus of my content creation. I want my socials to stay as they are - a way for you all to feel connected to me, and vice versa. I don’t want to sell there, and I don’t particularly want to ‘monetise’ unless it truly adds value to all - I’m no Kim Kardashian and certainly not a Love Islander.
I want my website to be as low maintenance as possible. A ‘one and done’. A snazzy brochure for those who are brave enough to engage me and lend me their stage, their pages, or their platform; for my thoughts and opinions.
And this Substack will be the midway point. The ‘blog’. The ‘vlog’. The home of my actual content, the deeper thoughts, and the nuggets of advice that can inspire you, motivate you, and help you do better - whether you are starting out in life, or are wondering what’s next.
I hope my thoughts inspire or educate you in some way. Thank you so much for being part of this journey, and thank you for being an early supporter of my creative outlet. It means so much to me.
Here is the original launch post if you’d like to learn more about the ethos behind this.
Carl Reader is a WH Smith Bestselling Author and international keynote speaker with a real passion for helping people do better. There are two ways to learn more about Carl! You can either follow him on Social Media if you’re just curious (@carlreader on most platforms), or if you’d like to learn a little more about what he does on stage, through content and in the media from a commercial perspective, you can visit his website.
You can buy a copy of his last book BOSS IT here, wherever you are in the world. And of course, I’d love you to subscribe to this community to be the first to see everything I have to share - just click the button below. It’s free of charge!
There’s an important disclaimer which applies to all content shared on this Substack, available at the bottom of this page, together with the statutory information that is required to be shared under current UK legislation.