What Your Content Diet Says About You and Your Future

Looking back at the books I've read while finalizing The Reset Button, I realized (most of) my content consumption has been a roadmap of personal growth. The media we choose—books, podcasts, even social media—reflects our evolution and can be intentionally aligned with where we want to go.

In this episode, I'm sharing personal anecdotes that explore:

• How personal development content provides permission and direction in times of uncertainty
• Why spiritual exploration helped me develop my inner voice during major life changes
• The role of business and entrepreneurship content in fueling new ventures
• How shifting to health and longevity research mirrors my focus on sustainable wellness
• Why being selective about what you consume is more valuable than finishing content that doesn’t resonate

What does your content say about your past—and your future?

Chapters

• 0:59 Welcome and Self-Reflection Journey
• 1:27 The Book Project Journey
• 3:21 Books as Growth and Inspiration
• 5:43 Personal Development Phase
• 6:18 Spirituality and Inner Self
• 7:13 Business and Hustle Mindset
• 8:57 Health and Wellness Obsession
• 10:50 Content as a Metric of Progress
• 11:36 Be Intentional About Learning

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:30

Hello and welcome to the Cameo Show. I'm your host, cameo, and today I'm going to take you on a quick self-reflective journey with me. I've discovered something about myself in a project that I'm working on that I want to share with you because I think it's a thought-provoking idea for you to explore about yourself. If you're new here, thanks so much for joining, and if you're not new, welcome back. I'm so grateful that you're here. And if you're not new, welcome back. I'm so grateful that you're here.

Speaker 1: 0:58

As you may or may not know, I am currently finishing my book project that I've been working on for the last four years, called the Reset Button. I am finished with the manuscript. It's fully proofread, edited. It's actually off in interior formatting. Right now I've been finalizing the cover design, working on the marketing and launch plan and the interior format, of course, and as a part of that process, I've been digging out all of my books, going through all of my books on the bookshelf. If you're watching the video, you can see the mess behind me. They're stacked up everywhere. I'm using them as reference points for cover design, for about the author, bio ideas for interior format and content ideas all of the things you know. Something to use as a roadmap. I don't have to reinvent the wheel but, of course, add my own personal flair. So, but that's not the point. The point is, in looking at all of these books, what I've discovered is that I've used books over the last decade as a way to seek growth and inspiration. In fact, in my own book I referenced the women's books, the personal development books I read when I was first hitting the reset button for myself and how they were my girls' night in crew. And what I've discovered in looking at this journey is that each different phase over the last decade that I've been in my books reflect where I am in that journey. Now I realize that learning and personal development come in many forms, not just books. So this is where the thought-provoking piece for you comes in. I want you to take just a second and think about the last piece of content you consumed. So, whether it was a book or a podcast, perhaps it was a YouTube video or even a conversation that shifted your perspective and sparked growth, that challenged maybe what you knew or thought you knew and planted some curiosity for you to try something new or to embark on a new journey. Because, as I mentioned, my life has been mirrored in these different phases by the content I've consumed over the last 10 years, my actions, my mindset. I can kind of tell where I was if I go back through and see what I was reading and at what time in my life, and I think that you'll possibly find the same to be true for yourself.

Speaker 1: 3:14

Initially, I started reading a lot of personal development books, self-help books and listening to podcasts of the same genre. I was on a true mission to find ideas and proof from other people, experiences from other people that would help me navigate my own challenges. They're lessons that I could gain some knowledge from. One of the books that I remember from the very earliest days was called the Miracle Morning, and it talked about the power of getting up at 5 am. Now I'm not saying that that is something that I still do consistently or something that you should do, but what I am saying is that it provided a new perspective for me about the importance of taking back time in your day, and that was an important thing that I implemented for many years after reading that book on a consistent basis. That helped me steal time back when I was a little bit busier, when I was in a different phase of life and I needed that time source of information. I needed that inspiration, I needed that reasoning. It's a great book, by the way. It's also still a great concept. Even though I may not do it consistently right now, I highly recommend it. But reading books like that, listening to podcasts like the Tim Ferriss Show, helped me feel more in control. It helped me dig into my curiosity so that I could see things from a different vantage point for longer term growth.

Speaker 1: 4:37

Now, I may not have always been comfortable Usually I wasn't because a lot of times these books would reveal to me where some of my deficiencies were, where some of the things that I needed to do to maybe next level my life were missing in my current situation and it was difficult to implement them. Life were missing in my current situation and it was difficult to implement them. But the point is, during that phase, reading those gave me permission, it gave me inspiration, it gave me motivation and it challenged me to do things differently that I may not have otherwise known about, or how to do or where to start. Interestingly enough for me, as I go on my personal development journey in reading books from Brene Brown and Glennon Doyle. I then started to dabble into some spiritual books, some books about being open-minded, because I was now becoming used to challenging myself to think differently than I ever had. And the truth is is that my knowledge, my investment in myself and my own spirituality at that point was very, very low, and so through books, through podcasts, through even social media, I was able to consume content about my inner self and learn about different philosophies like Stoicism and Buddhism. It was then that I was introduced to meditation and apps like the insight timer that have a ton of guided meditations or you can get them on Spotify or YouTube or wherever. Now there's all kinds of mindfulness apps. Again, not the point, but part of my evolution.

Speaker 1: 6:09

I went from learning how to push myself in personal growth to really getting to know myself inside and taught myself to slow down and find balance in what was a really busy life with two younger kids at the time, a husband, a new setting we had recently moved from Ohio to Florida, a new business that we were trying to figure out, among other things. So it was at that time when I really needed to find my inner guide, and on my journey, you see that in the books, which then shifts to business and hustle. So funny that I go from slowing down and finding myself and exploring spirituality and other concepts to this hustle mode. But at that phase I was diving into entrepreneurship, so the shift focused, my content focused on business and productivity and success, and listening to podcasts like mortgage marketing animals. My husband and I own a mortgage company, so those types of podcasts and books about business and entrepreneurship in general were high on my priority list.

Speaker 1: 7:14

A huge impact book was called 10X. It's by Grant Cardone. The concept of that book is that if you have a goal, why not make it 10 times as big? Because you're already shooting for something that maybe you're not sure you can attain, so why not make it bigger? Then, if you fail, maybe you'll just meet the goal that you originally thought you would have. Or if you fail quote unquote that you originally thought you would have. Or if you fail quote unquote you might fail further. I started reading biographies like Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso, or books about startups like Shoe Dog by Phil Knight or the Starbucks story All of these stories of success from the ground up. So my personal development, my inner voice now my business voice was all coming through and at that time we were starting Brown Mortgage Group and we needed to consume content that inspired us to do the hard thing, to give us the motivation to keep going, because, god, it's hard and there are days when you feel like quitting, and so content like that around hustle mindset didn't mean go work harder, it meant work smarter, learn from the greats, take their experience and apply it to your own situation.

Speaker 1: 8:24

And more recently, I have been obsessed with health and wellness. So I've always been involved in athletics. I've always been in. As a former professional bodybuilder, I've been very interested in nutrition and activity. It's sprinkled throughout. I might've read a marathon book here or there, but what I'm talking about in this phase is books about dopamine, books about the female brain anatomy, books about fasting, books about longevity, like Outlive by Dr Pita Tia, books on books, on books about how to maximize and optimize my health and my nutrition, and in a way that fits into my life, which is still very busy. But that challenges me to think next level about the mind and body connection. It challenges me to prioritize my mental health, my physical health, my wellbeing Documentaries even fall into that category or podcasts where you learn about where your food comes from.

Speaker 1: 9:24

I remember a long time ago watching I can't even remember which one, maybe it was Forks Over Knives. I literally didn't eat meat for like a year and a half and I definitely nixed fast food. I have since reverted back to those old behaviors and I eat a ton of meat, and that was before bodybuilding days. So that wasn't in this current phase. But those documentaries and these books about your brain and the human capacity to suffer and challenge ourselves outside of our comfort zone, all tied to health and wellness, have helped me focus on sustainable habits rather than quick fixes. So I share all of this with you quickly, just as I've been reflecting on it myself, going through all of these books as reference points, and I challenge you to reflect on your own journey.

Speaker 1: 10:12

So, as I mentioned before, thinking about the last content that you consumed, what if the content that you consume is a metric to your own progress? What does your learning list say about where you've been, about where you want to go next? Is it an alignment? As you look at the past, does it align with where you were? And as you look forward to the future, what choices will you make about the content that you consume to make sure that it's in alignment with where you want to go. It can be really revealing about your focus in life as it pertains to books, or any content for that matter.

Speaker 1: 10:52

Ryan Holiday is a thought leader who is a strong advocate for reading books that engage you and not forcing yourself through books that don't hold your interest and that could be for anything, and I have had to kind of let go of that concept. I like to start a book and finish it, even if I'm not super into it. It's like a checklist item for me, it's a dopamine drip for me, but I've gotten better at that because we only have so much time. And why read something that's not really speaking to you where you are? Why read something or watch something that's not really connecting with where you want to go?

Speaker 1: 11:22

So be very intentional about what you choose. Don't just learn. Reflect on what you're learning and use it as a tool to keep evolving. So I hope this has been insightful for you to learn about yourself as you learn about me, because that's what this podcast is all about Hearing other people's journeys, their stories and connecting with them yourself on some level. Thank you so much for being here. There are new episodes every Wednesday, and I hope you'll join us again soon. Until next time.