Switch teams from consuming to producing and watch your options multiply

Most of us are trained, from childhood, to be excellent consumers. We learn to compare, review, and upgrade. Producing feels risky, like stepping on stage without a script. But that first awkward step—making something for someone else—changes your sense of control, and your opportunities widen.

Take a simple example. You spend Sunday binging tutorials on photography. Next Sunday, write a three‑step guide for beginners and post it, then offer a 30‑minute Q&A. The guide doesn’t have to be perfect, it has to be helpful. Your heart might race as you hit publish, your coffee might cool on the desk, but the shift is real: you’re not just buying value, you’re creating it.

A former coworker loved spreadsheets and kept buying more courses. One week she flipped the script, designed a Google Sheets template for freelancers to track income and taxes, and listed it for $15. After three sales in two days, she messaged me a micro‑anecdote that still makes me smile: “I didn’t need permission, I needed a link.”

Behavioral research calls this identity-based change. When your actions align with “I’m a builder,” you build more. Feedback loops kick in as people respond, and you improve what you offer. Producing isn’t about quitting consumption, it’s about biasing your time toward creating value others can use, which puts you on the field where wealth is actually scored.

Open your recent purchases and pick one category you care about. Design a tiny producer move around it, like a one‑page guide, a $12 template, or a 10‑person meetup, and set a public shipping date. Share a rough draft with three people, listen for confusion and value, then tighten the offer and ship. Keep it small but real, because momentum beats grand plans. Put the date on your calendar tonight.