How to do something that matters to people

You could do something right now. If you wanted to stop reading, grab a piece of paper and brainstorm, you could probably come up with half a dozen ideas about apps, books or products. After all, ideas are not the hardest part. Just ask Tom Haverford.

You could build a site with WordPress and start overwhelming your friends to test the concept. You could start writing op-eds in Medium and put "Founder" or "Author" in your Twitter biography in less than 48 hours. You could launch a homepage, publish the first chapter of a book and continue with it in Product Hunt.

Things get complicated when you're trying to do something that people really don't give a shit about. You don't want your dream to die in the bedroom, because no one read, saw, used or heard it. The deafening silence around your work can destroy your soul.

You want people to worry?
Here's how.

1. Just do what you care about.
   If you want to do something that really matters to people, that really matters to them, you have to care about yourself. Because if it doesn't, no matter how hard you try, it will come out in the final product.

The reason for this?

Doing something is hard. Doing something you don't care about is even harder.
The only way you can work constantly, when you don't want to work, try constantly when you don't want to try, is to care about your work in a deep and honest way.

You want people to worry? Then you really have to care about yourself.

1. Do things for real people
   The best writing advice I've ever heard was to write specifically for someone I know. That's a great idea. Every time I'm going to create something or build something, I think of those I know who would benefit from what I'm doing.

If you have something that matters to you enough to do it, you have to ask yourself the following question: Who are you doing it for? What information do you need? What turn would make them slow down? What is your only weak point that the product could solve or its secret story that your novel would be able to touch and provoke a real emotional response?

Stop thinking of your audience as a vague concept, as a collection of anonymous people.
Think of your audience as a real person with feelings, experiences and a story. It'll change your perspective.
You want people to care?
You need to know what will make them care.

1. Ask yourself if you adapt to the project
   You have to wonder if you have the courage, strength, motivation and passion to do what you want to do. And I mean really ask yourself, because the first time you come up with an idea you may be so caught up in it that you can't see anything else.

It's easy to confuse enthusiasm with passion, motivation and ability.
When that feeling begins to fade or you get used to it, you may find that you don't have the real raw power to finish and move on. That's not a bad thing; there's nothing wrong with recognizing that a project is not right for you. Maybe there's another project that is.

It's not enough for you to worry about what you're doing. You have to feel good.

You want people to worry?
Just work on projects that make you feel good.

1. Don't do anything to be someone
   Have you ever seen one of those singing contests on TV? Maybe you've seen a hundred young people, with bright eyes, gripping microphones and talking about their dreams. They will explain that since they were kids, they always wanted to be singers.

They hardly ever say they wanted to sing. When this happens, half the time it's because singing isn't really the ultimate goal. They want the paraphernalia, the singers' lifestyle and holidays.

If singing was really their ultimate goal, they wouldn't be on a reality TV show. They would be out there singing wherever they could every night, writing songs, founding music groups, recording music.
The same goes for anything you could do. Do you want to make X or be the person who made X? Because if you don't care about the act of doing something, if you don't want to get out of there every day and try to do something, you could still give up.

You want people to worry?

They must care about your work. Not you.

1. He works. He works hard.
   If you want to write a book that can break someone's heart: work hard.

If you want to start a business that changes the world: work hard.

If you want to draw a comic book that expresses everything you are and dream of: work hard.