In today’s ‘insta’ world I feel like the difference between easy and simple get used interchangeably without regard to the actual definition. We are bombarded by marketing pertaining to fitness, weight-loss, entrepreneurship, making money, selling on ebay, buying a car, taking supplements on and on, add naseum.

Human beings use there brains to process information into relatable chunks. By our nature, we want to get things done the most expedient way unless for some reason we particularly enjoy the activity. It is natural to optimize it by cutting corners or combining steps.

Using a personal example, often times when baking recipes call for sifting the flour and pre-mixing the dry ingredients. I understand the science behind the instructions (typically a gluten reaction minimization) but I don’t like doing the extra dishes and I cant say that I have noticed the difference, so I don’t do it.

The word easy should imply a skill level or expertise, meaning requiring little. Whereas the word simple is more of a duration. Easy can be simple and simple is usually easy but they are not mutually exclusive. Using the two effectively in any sort of endeavor requires knowing yourself, likes and dislikes.

For instance, I have been studying content creation and building a brand, making money etc. for a while now. The Gary Vanderchuck idea of 1000 true fans sounds good, but you have to know something about the internet and computers, marketing, have something to offer and be consistent in delivering to build a brand. I think that I can do it, I want to do it, but will I? I know that one of the things I really don’t want to do is manage social media interactions while I have millions of content ideas.

Our society is developing automation and widget’s to make these things easier if you take the simple steps of setting them up. Think about writing a book fifty years ago using a typewriter, later a computer made editing easier. Now you can self publish and sell a book on Amazon (Publish on Demand). An author from fifty years ago might say that it is easy. So, these evaluations are also relative to the context of the opinion, however I would argue that it is easy to become an author in today’s world. What’s not as easy is to make a living without the right marketing or luck.

In the end, I think the formula for success is not that hard (read: easy) when you genuinely apply yourself every day (read: simple). Also consider that if others are doing it, than you can probably make it work. I am experimenting with the medium, the formatting and my abilities to find the right fit. It probably wont be what I thought it would be, the journey is a growing experience.