How Not to Create Crap Content (And Engage Intentional Writing and Experiences)

Box Cutter Co. Free Issue No. 60

A Box Cutter philosophy is about many viewpoints - not one.

I despise bullshit platitudes. And our world — especially social media — is full of them.

I see and foresee many opportunities for writers and content creators to distinguish themselves from crap content, pathetic platitudes and persuasions, and AI-generated and filled-in templates.

The corporate world — private and public sector — is at near crisis levels with this crap.

We’ve all seen it — that goopy, gunky, sappy, soppy empty talk — especially in areas such as leadership, values, strategic [enter whatever BS phrase here], operational excellence, and so on, and so on…

Sadly, or maybe inevitably — with the rapidly growing Creator Economy (forecast to grow by 30% per year) — much of this fluffy junk, empty platitudes and persuasion-hyped, productivity porn is spreading like a nasty outbreak of measles (or syphilis).

Maybe I’ll be proven wildly wrong — and I’m certainly not the only one saying this — writers and creators that publish and share real, genuine, actual authentic (not “bullshit authentic”) content and media will find and carve out spaces to thrive.

I already see it in several popular Substack creators. Folks who have done a marvellous job of sticking to their soul-full creative endeavours.

Over the years, I’ve appreciated Thomas Moore’s view of the “soul” (from his 1992 book Care of the Soul)

"Soul" is not a thing, but a quality or a dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. It has to do with depth, value, relatedness, heart, and personal substance.

And, as he shares, storytelling is an excellent way of caring for the soul.

It can assist us in seeing themes circling through our lives and in the various myths that arise and play out.

“Care of the soul,” says Moore “is not a project of self-improvement nor a way of being released from the troubles and pains of human experience…

…We care for it by honouring its expressions, by giving it time and opportunity to reveal itself, and by living life in a way that fosters depth, interiority, and quality in which it flourishes.”

Indeed. (Read on to learn more)

In recent weeks, I’ve been playing more with the idea of Soul-preneur or maybe as tax guidelines suggest (with a twist)… Soul proprietor.

More below…

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Welcome to Box Cutter Co. Free Weekly Issues No. 60.

That’s right... 60 straight weeks of Free Issues.

When I started this enterprise, some balked at the name Box Cutter and some cheered. (Not all that different than some reactions to my abandoning a decade+ career in the public sector and a healthy salary - in April 2022).

This little community has grown to over 600 strong, with new subscribers every week. Welcome!

And a big thank-you to those who support as paying subscribers! (That assists in making this whole enterprise possible). Been here a bit? — consider becoming a paid subscriber 👇

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Living and Building (with some Soul)

The week before last, I attended the ‘Purposeful Travel Summit’. It was a gathering of folks in the travel and tourism industry at the spectacular Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity — in Banff, Alberta.

Part of my motivation for attending was the opportunity to spend close to a week in the Rocky Mountains, do some thinking and writing, and meet some new folks.

It was also an opportunity to spend some time at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. A pretty spectacular facility that I had visited once before (more below).

Success on all those fronts! This was the view from the room where the main sessions were held👇

It was also an opportunity to engage my low “give-a-shit” meter and bring some of the Box Cutter Co. philosophy and approach to dialogue and presentations — especially calling Bullshit (respectfully) on platitudes and empty, fluff-talk.

And, what struck me as I listened to presentations and panel discussions… was how the empty, bullshit, vacuous language of travel and tourism is also prevalent in the ‘Creator Economy’ and content creation world.

Recognize any of these? 👇

1. Innovative: Overused to describe almost any new offering, regardless of how minor the actual innovation is.

2. Eco-friendly: Used so frequently and loosely that coal could be marketed as eco-friendly… (cuz it comes from old, once living critters).

3. Authentic: Often signifies little about the actual uniqueness or cultural significance of an experience.

4. Sustainable: Intended to convey practices that support long-term ecological balance, it's frequently used without much of anything to back it up. This has become the bullshit of bullshit terms.

5. World-class: Used to describe services or attractions without clear standards for comparison.

6. Pristine: Used for natural environments, often overstating their untouched nature.

7. Exclusive: Suggests a unique or elite experience that often is not particularly rare or special.

8. Unique

9. Hidden gem

10. Luxury

11. Curated

12. Transformative

13. Seamless

14. Once-in-a-lifetime

15. Immersive

Here was one of the slides from a presentation at the Summit👇

Thankfully the person speaking to this slide was also critically questioning the validity and actuality of this idea.

A few of the presentations were also connected to communications and marketing of tourism. How to ‘promote’ and ‘brand’ and ‘sell’ and ‘deliver’.

(All sound familiar?)

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“Genuine” “Authentic” Soul-igniting Experiences

Many years ago, I worked in the tourism sector and I’ve stayed connected in some ways. I have some clients that are engaged in this sector. Attending the travel summit brought some memories and experiences full circle.

My first experience in the travel and tourism sector came in high school.

I moved out of home young. I was 16 and had just finished grade 11. I moved north to the Yukon Territory (in Canada) to finish high school.

I was looking for a new set of experiences and I wanted to try playing sports in a school and region with more people than where I grew up (isolated islands off the NW coast of British Columbia).

I made it through that last year of high school by the skin of my teeth. I was working nearly full-time by the time the school year was wrapping up. I had to — to keep myself fed and rent paid.

Thankfully, a family with a couple of teens near my age had invited me to stay with them as I finished high school.

I worked at a hotel that was part of the Holland-America cruise empire. From May until September, the hotel was packed solid with bus tours, all part of Alaskan cruises.

You know, those real northern “genuine”, “authentic” experiences… 🫤

I worked the front desk, all smiles and helpful tips and anecdotes for largely American tourists — all jacked up on their ‘Alaskan’ adventures. Almost every night, the conference rooms and ballroom were ringing with the sounds, music and shouts of “Gold Rush” era Can Can dancers (Moulin Rouge style).

You know… those other ‘genuine authentic tourist experiences.’

I quite enjoyed the work. The young, largely female Can Can dancers, the serving and housekeeping staff, the constant buzz, lots of hours and decent tips — all good experiences for a teenage boy getting ready to set out into the larger world.

During the last few school months, I’d head to work before 6 a.m. and help get busses loaded, passengers on the right busses, and the hotel ready for another day. Then head to school.

After school, I’d start my shift at 4 p.m. and work until close to midnight. Home, rinse and repeat. This was only for a few months until I wrapped-up grade 12 in mid-June.

I almost didn’t graduate, but I did make some pretty good money — and had some great experiences.

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Side Gigs

A few years later, when I’d moved back to coastal British Columbia, I started a side gig operating a tour booking agency out of a small building I rented to operate my fisheries consulting business.

I also lived in the back room — a foamie on the floor, a hot plate, and hotel room-sized fridge. I worked 12-15 hours a day during the summer months, so didn’t need much. I also had dreams of becoming a sea kayaking guide and running boat tours.

However, life went in a different direction (as these things do). For one, I suffered my first severe burnout and shuttled myself to Belize for 7 weeks to recover.

Then, not long after, I took on a rather sizeable solo bicycle trip.

Frustrated by shitty infighting politics in the environmental organization world (also a cesspool of empty vacuous language), I set out on something entirely different (An early Box Cutting approach, if you will).

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10,000 km of Bicycling from the Arctic to Los Angeles, CA

On a rainy, wet fall day in 2003, I rode into Victoria, BC. It was the final section of a 3-year bike ride. A ride that went not even close to plan.

What started as a plan in the spring of 2001 to ride from the Arctic Ocean to Los Angeles, CA — a distance of 10,000 km (~6200 miles) — in a 6-month push — turned into a 3-year odyssey completed in 3 separate legs.

• Inuvik, Northwest Territories to Dawson City through Alaska (started July 2001 and stopped riding Sept. 9, 2001, many will recall what happened 2 days later)

• Los Angeles, CA to Victoria, BC (April - June, 2002).

• Dawson City, Yukon to Victoria, BC (August 2003 - October 2003)

It’s also a story (or collection of stories) that I’ve been working to put into book form for about a decade.

Including, attending a writing workshop (literary nonfiction) at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff in 2015. It was my first experience at the facility, (and why I wanted to return for the Travel Summit just recently).

• (The circle of things… can be a neat experience. Or, maybe the circle of experiences can be a neat thing?)

This is an image 👇 from one of my Learning Journals from that trip in 2015. An artifact (map and guide) — and efforts to map out the ‘book’ about the bike trip.

However, the writing on that project has come in fits and spurts and quirks and quits. Some writing is tougher than others (I find).

That real, genuine, actually authentic stuff can pose much deeper challenges — over writing bumpf bullshit platitudes — like values-based leadership, sustainability and diversity commitments… bla, bla, bla….

And persuasion-pumping, sales-pitchy, productivity porn. (the scourge of much social media).

Part of my struggle in writing the story of my solo ride has been (partially) related to getting it together to take all of my 35 mm slides and scanning them into digital images.

This weekend I got to that task — one I have been intending to do for awhile. And… when I say awhile… I mean AWHILE (about 20+ years).

Well… no more excuses. The scanning of those slides has begun 👇

Scanning the slides has been a really neat experience with floods of memories. As well as images that I can’t recall taking the photo. (I suppose over 2 decades will do that).

Here’s a small sampling of those slides.

July 2001 Dempster Highway - border between Northwest Territories and Yukon

July 2001 Dempster Highway (Richardson Mountains) looking west into the Yukon.

September 8, 2001 (Matanuska Glacier, Alaska)

April 2022, Central California Coast

I also have all of my journals (written in daily) from the trip transcribed.

I started publishing some of those this past summer on Medium. One of the stories on Medium even got a ‘Boost’. (This image below has a ‘friend link’ meaning anyone can read the story.) 👇

This is all part of seeing this particular writing project to a finish line.

It’s a book I want our 3 kids to have so that they might draw some inspiration to live purpose-full lives (as opposed to doing what society, peers, and institutions tell them they ‘should’ do).

• Box Cutter Style.

It’s also a real, genuine, authentic experience. A form of travel that I highly recommend. And, for me, was several years of soul-filling experiences — which also makes for a great writing project.

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No (Bullshit) Platitudes

You might find this ironic… maybe even odd… but one of my most-despised platitudes is: “Think outside the box”

The illustration that opened this issue is intended to represent a Box Cutter philosophy and perspective. It’s an approach that ‘views’ things from all over.

• Inside the box • Beside the box • Outside the box • Beyond the Box • Around the Box (And so on)

(There are times when thinking inside the box is exactly what’s required — especially if you play on a sports field or you’re hanging art - for example)

Flat Platitudes

The word platitude is related to the word plateau. The common element is ‘plat’ - which comes from Old French meaning "flat".

And in many ways, schooling prepares many of us to think in flat…

• Step 1 • Step 2 • Step 3 • Step 4 • etc etc.

• This is right ✅ and that is wrong ❌

And “at the end of the day…” (another of my least favourite platitudes).

… life is far from flat. And… neither are things like the Dempster Highway (I learned the hard way).

The image above is an artifact I’ve used in presentations over the years and in my doctoral dissertation. It’s an elevation profile of the Dempster Highway. I started in Inuvik on the far right of the profile — where it’s flat and near sea level — and I rode towards the left.

The orange bracket (near the centre) is where I climbed from near sea level to over 1000 m elevation in less than 80 km. It was a long day of riding up (on gravel).

Over the years, I’ve recalled some of the toughest days on the road — and I was still content and loving the process, the adventure of it all.

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Authentic Intention in the “Creator Economy”?

This is a question I ponder regularly — especially as I publish online daily.

When I was travelling the week before last, I bought Rick Rubin’s new book The Creative Act: A Way of Being (2023).

I’ve seen some positive recommendations online, and if you’ve read recent Box Cutter Issues — I’ve been pondering quite a bit about the differences between ‘having’ and ‘being’.

In a chapter called “Intention” Rubin writes:

Our thoughts, feelings, processes, and unconscious beliefs have an energy that is hidden in the work. This unseen, unmeasurable force gives each piece its magnetism.

A completed project is only made up of our intention and our experiments around it. Remove intention and all that's left is the ornamental shell…

…Our work embodies a higher purpose. Whether we know it or not, we're a conduit for the universe. Material is allowed through us. If we are a clear channel, our intention reflects the intention of the cosmos…

…Intention is all there is. The work is just a reminder.

Bang on! Resonated with me and fits my goals and intentions with this writing work.

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Cutting the Crap in Content

Bullshit is everywhere. It's thick in social media, in corporate speak, in the Creator Economy. I won’t say it’s a ‘crisis’ — as that’s often Bullshit-speak as well.

And… maybe… I’ll get hung out to dry, or not be able to continue with writing and publishing daily.

However, I will say, that with both my wife and Lisa now operating as Soul-preneurs — our gross monthly income is well beyond what we used to make as employees.

And, for me, that meant many soul-shrivelling days. Of “backing the organization first”. Of playing with language and publishing it to lessen accountability. To engage in “Operational Un-Excellence” (as a colleague of mine recently said)

In April, it’ll be 24 months into these gigs of building digital writing businesses from scratch. When I started, I realized quickly that there are endless templates for:

• digital writing, and

• 10-step plans for online success, and

• formulas for landing pages, and

• strategies for persuasive copywriting and psychological manipulation

And… I knew that was not the game I wanted to play.

Authenticity Isn't Just Bullshit Here

I'm not trying to sell anyone a lifestyle. Instead, I'm sharing mine and the processes along the way.

The good, the rough, the raw. Like the bike ride – it wasn't just miles, mountains, and coastlines — it was life, it was real. (Platitudes need not apply)

It was also soul-filling and full-filling in its countless ups, downs, sideways, and tough days. Working to write, publish and create every day also has ups and downs.

But DAMN, in our household, these days, we wouldn’t trade it for anything

Goal: No Fluff – Just honest Stuff

The reason for establishing Box Cutter Co. (and our other writing and content enterprises) — plus naming it Box Cutter Co. — was to avoid and steer clear of templatey, boilerplate, AI-generated, inauthentic gunk that floods online channels.

We’re looking to build something that's got some intention and soul. A digital space that's about more than clicks and sales and persuasion-porn. More about connection and telling it as I (or we see it).

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Here’s a few questions I’ve pondered in this work over the last while. What do you think? 👇

1. What Does Authenticity Mean to You?

   • Contemplate what authenticity in your creative work looks like. How can you ensure what you are creating keeps close to being a true reflection of your innermost values and not just what you think will sell? (I’ve struggled with this at times).

2. How Do/Will You Measure Your Impact?

   • Beyond likes and shares, consider how you want your work to resonate — or, is it more about your own journey, your soul’s work? Is there a lasting imprint you intend to leave on those who see/read/engage with your work? (Consider: van Gogh committed suicide and died penniless thinking himself a failure)

3. What Stories Are Only Yours to Tell In All Your Unique-ness?

   • Think about the experiences that have shaped you. How can you weave these unique narratives into your work to offer a perspective only you can provide?

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That’s it for this Free Issue of Box Cutter Co. (No. 60)

What do you think of these ideas?

• Bunch of fluffy gunk? Words of an idealist? Realistic or Fantasy?

• Is Soul-preneurship possible? Authentic and genuine content creation?

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Please leave a comment (even call Bullshit if you please), and consider pressing that ♥️ button, re-post on Notes, or otherwise.

Keep an eye out for the next Free issue in The Solopreneur Series — coming later this week.

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