Did you know a broken lock can teach you something about content creation?
I didn’t either—until it happened to me.
A few days ago, I was at my brother’s new apartment helping him replace a door lock. He asked me to fix the mechanism, and I thought, “No problem, I’ve got this.” I’m a software engineer. I’ve built systems, scaled services, and debugged production nightmares. How hard could a lock be?
Turns out… pretty hard.
We tried replacing the lock. We removed the screws, took off the mechanism, and tried installing the new cylinder — and it just didn’t work. The key wouldn’t turn. The door wouldn’t budge. And worse? I had no idea why.
I left that day feeling defeated. I hate leaving things broken — especially when I feel like I should have been able to fix it.
The Second Attempt
Two days later, we were heading back, just to fix the door and leave before Shabbat. My parents were with us, and we had a packed day ahead. I didn’t want to waste time.
So I did what any millennial does in a moment of desperation:
I searched YouTube.
And I found a short 2-minute, 40-second video — no voiceover, no fancy effects — just a mechanic silently showing how to install the exact same lock.
And just like that, I saw my mistake.
Two of them, actually.
- I hadn’t aligned the cylinder correctly — turns out it needs to be horizontal when inserting it.
- I hadn’t prepped — I’d assumed I could figure it out on the spot, and paid the price in frustration.
Armed with that video, I went in and fixed the door in a few minutes.
The Bigger Realization
Later, something clicked — and not just the lock.
That YouTube video?
- It wasn’t new.
- It wasn’t flashy.
- It wasn’t even narrated.
But it solved my problem at the exact moment I needed it to.
And that made me realize something important:
Your content doesn’t have to be new — it just has to be there when someone needs it.
We tell ourselves we’re too late. That someone already said it. That no one needs another tutorial, guide, or story.
But someone out there is searching for it for the first time today.
And they’re not looking for “the best” content. They’re looking for the right one. The one that meets them where they are.
That’s why your voice matters.
That’s why your story matters.
That’s why it's not too late.
Just Start Saying the Thing
I grew up tinkering with machines. My dad was a bus mechanic. I’ve always liked taking things apart and figuring out how they work — computers, consoles, code.
That no-frills video resonated with me because it gave me exactly what I needed in my language — fast, practical, efficient.
Maybe someone is waiting for you to show up like that. But they’ll never find your work if you never hit publish.
So stop asking if it’s too late.
It’s on time — just not on your timeline.
It’s on someone else’s. And they’re about to start searching.