The shorter Continuous Creation Challenge origin story on the resource kit page is good enough for some people. But others want the full story and that's what you'll get here.
According to an eyeball-bulging report by the Global Information Industry Center, you and I each consume over 100,000 words a day on average. That's 12 hours' worth of words every day – from TV, the Internet, the radio, ads, books, video games, and more!
And that wasn't lost on me in the run up to quitting my six-figure corporate gig in March 2012 and the time immediately after. That was when I spent two months in hard-core “I need to learn everything about online business and building a rockin' community right… now” mode.
But I spent so much time consuming in those two months that I had absolutely nothing to show for all that learning and skill-building. That sucked. Big-time.
Instead of just longing for the simpler times growing up where life lessons were imparted by creating sand castles, towers of blocks, art projects, or a fort made out of snow, I decided to do something about it.
So in April 2012, I resolved to complete an original experiment to see how much value I could generate in seventy-two hours if I eliminated almost all forms of consumption and focused entirely on creating. Could I successfully combat the endless consumption of my previous twenty years to pursue the promise of my business, my value to the world, and my promise to my wife Melinda about what I would achieve with my entrepreneurial work? That was the big question.
Originally this was a mad scientist-like experiment and never intended for anyone else to actually do.
But the experience (and results) for me were a-maz-ing! After my 72 hours CCC, I just knew the promise and power of it had to be shared with others. So I did another CCC in September 2012, this time for 120 hours, and encouraged other people to join me for their customized version of the challenge.
I gave them the flexible framework to personalize and they molded it into something that would resonate with their needs and goals for turbocharged creative output. In other words, it was a veritable slap in the face to a modern world where the status quo gives us many more options (and temptations) to consume rather than create.
After a few people shared their awareness growing and emotionally fulfilling experience with me, I wanted others to have this amazing opportunity as well. That's when I created the Continuous Creation Challenge resource kit so that everyone else could do their own challenge in their own way.