Last week, a good friend of mine sent me a link to a music video on YouTube. We share a similar taste in music and regularly share our finds back and forth.
The video he sent me was different though than usual.
It was called "Hi Ren" by Ren and it was one of the most interesting music videos I've seen in years.
Now, this isn't a music blog. It's a business blog. So why am I even sharing this?
Well, the video exemplifies some powerful concepts that content creators should know about and implement
You might not love the style of the music as much as I do, and that's perfectly fine. That's not the purpose of this post.
So, I recommend you watch the video below and then read my takeaways.
Trigger Warning
This video includes talk of self-harm and suicide and includes adult language. Although the overall message is positive, don't watch if you find this type of content distressing. You can still read my takeaways below the video and they will be applicable.
Alright, let's break it down.
Lesson #1 Combining Existing Styles to Create Something Original
Have you heard the saying, "everything is a remix?" With billions of people creating things for centuries, it can seem like being original is impossible. Everything has already been done.
This video shows that we can create original content by combining existing styles together.
Unoriginal | Original |
|---|---|
Rapping | ⬇ |
Spanish Guitar | ⬇ |
Quality Acting | ⬇ |
Storytelling | ⬇ |
Spoken word poetry | ⬇ |
Quality singing | ⬇ |
➡ | Telling a story through rapping, singing and spoken word poetry while playing a Spanish guitar and bringing quality acting skills. |
By combining these different, pre-existing elements, Ren made something completely unique.
Lesson #2 Brutal Transparency and Vulnerability
No one is perfect. Most people are tired of seeing a world where everyone pretends everything is peaches and cream.
Ren is brutally honest with his insecurities and self-doubts.
It makes him wildly likable and his honesty is endearing.
Lesson #3 Fearless Publishing
This video could have been the cringiest thing of all time. However, Ren not only went for it, but he went all in.
While most people are afraid to even say something as simple as "I prefer Pepsi over Coke, actually," out of fear of pushback, Ren put his video out to the world when it had no guarantee of being as widely accepted as it has been.
Lesson #4 The Tipping Point Masterpiece
Growing an audience is a grind. Most people give up before they have their tipping point moment, but Ren showed the power of one viral video changing his life nearly overnight.
As usual, his "overnight success" was a result of years of work and publishing in obscurity before that.
What do you think about the video? Let me know in the comments!