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This article is inspired by the concept of Shiny Dime by David Perell & my own experience with the process of finding core ideas. I like to call it Sutra because it feels more accurate.

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In essence, a great Sutra is a focused, distinctive, and potentially transformative idea that can be communicated clearly and memorably, capturing the attention of your audience and guiding your writing with purpose.

A Sutra is important because it serves as the singular focus of a piece of content and a specific and surprising idea that can capture attention in a crowded world.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of its importance:

• Captures Attention: In a world saturated with information, a Sutra helps your writing stand out and grab the reader's interest.
• Provides Clarity and Focus: By identifying a single, specific idea, it prevents your writing from becoming broad, confusing, and mediocre. Instead of trying to say too much, you focus on one thing and go deeper.
• Distills Your Core Message: The Sutra can be the most distilled expression of what you believe to be true, representing your Sutra – the most important thing you uniquely have to say. Sharing your idea through a Sutra can be impactful enough to influence society and change the way people think, potentially leading to life-changing opportunities.
• Guides the Creation Process: Once you have your Sutra, it acts as a "golden thread" that guides your readers through your essay. Every part of your writing, from paragraphs to sentences, should relate back to this central idea.
• Facilitates Effective Revision: Your Sutra serves as a "razor" for revising your work. It helps you identify and "kill your darlings" – cut any content that doesn't support your central idea, ensuring that your message remains clear and impactful.
• Enhances Memorability and Shareability: Whether it's a one-sentence summary or a coined phrase, a well-defined Sutra is often memorable, "meme-able," sticky, and spiky, making it easier for readers to remember and share your ideas. Coined phrases, as a type of Sutra, can be particularly effective as catchy titles that are clickable and shareable.
• Underpins Different Forms of Communication: The Sutra can be expressed as a one-sentence summary, a coined phrase, or embedded within a story. This allows for flexibility in how you communicate your central message while maintaining its clarity.
• Drives Meaningful Work: By focusing on your Sutra (the core idea), your writing can bridge the gap between online expression and significant work in the world. Sharing your most central ideas can lead to impactful outcomes.
• Improves Your Skills: The process of identifying and focusing on a Sutra helps you become a better writer by teaching you how to compress ideas, think clearly, and structure your thoughts effectively.

In essence, the Sutra is crucial because it is the foundation of effective content creation in a noisy digital landscape. It ensures that your message is clear, compelling, and has the potential to resonate with your audience.

Here is a list of prompts that can help creators come up with Content Ideas:

• What is a rule you live by, and why?
• Write an article that makes sense of something confusing. Consider topics that may be confusing to others but simple to you, such as options trading, the inner workings of regenerative agriculture, the meaning of your favorite poem, the significance of Palm Sunday in the Catholic faith, how to make sourdough from scratch, the origin of the imperial system of measurement, secrets of greenwashing in the beauty industry, or all the different ways a star can die. Ask yourself: How would I explain this to a child? How can I take a complex idea and turn it into something clear and concise?
• Write about a time you overcame an obstacle and achieved something you’re proud of. Think of yourself as the main character in a story and convey that story as succinctly as possible. With every sentence, ask yourself: “How can I say more with less?”
• Write a summary of your favorite book or movie. Use the Russian Doll Exercise: Summarize your favorite book in 60 seconds, then in 30 seconds, then in 10 seconds. Think about the storyline, what you love most about it, what you learned from it, and how you can distill its essence into a one-line zinger.
• What’s something you think is underrated, and why? As you draft your piece, identify your Sutra (a specific and surprising idea you want to convey). Consider a generational pattern you notice in society, an everyday obstacle that you struggle with, a cultural phenomenon where you have a hot take, or an emotion that’s hard to articulate but felt by thousands of people. Turn it into a coined phrase.