Personal Excitement Test
Make what you would be thrilled to discover from someone else
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
Rogen uses a simple internal test across films, television, ceramics, and Houseplant products: would he be excited if he encountered this thing in the world, and would he wish he had made it if someone else had? The test replaces speculative mind-reading about what other people want with direct access to the creator's own taste. It works by making enthusiasm specific, then using that signal to select and improve ideas. Rogen does not present it as a demand guarantee; he says his taste has either coincided with public taste or influenced it, which he regards as an intangible and fortunate skill. The test is strongest when the maker genuinely resembles the intended audience and should sit alongside real user evidence when that is not true.
Origin
Rogen says the same test guided work from Superbad and Pineapple Express to television projects and Houseplant products: make the thing he most wanted to see or own.
Core principles
- 01Personal taste is more knowable than imagined mass demand
- 02Real excitement is a useful creative signal
- 03The test applies across formats and products
- 04Audience connection remains uncertain rather than guaranteed
How to run it
- 1
Step outside authorship
Imagine finding the finished work without knowing who made it. Remove pride in effort, access, and status from the judgement.
Pro tip Describe the imagined first encounter in one sentence.
- 2
Test genuine desire
Ask whether you would spend time, attention, or money to experience the result. Look for actual excitement rather than polite approval.
Watch out Do not confuse attachment to the process with desire for the outcome.
- 3
Run the envy check
Imagine that another creator released it first. Notice whether you would admire it and wish you had made it.
Pro tip Use envy as information about taste, not as hostility toward the imagined creator.
- 4
Name the exciting feature
Identify exactly what earns the reaction: the premise, experience, design, risk, humour, or usefulness. Make that quality legible in the work.
Pro tip If you cannot name the source of excitement, the signal may be too weak.
- 5
Check audience fit
Confirm whether your taste is a credible proxy for the intended audience. Add customer evidence when the audience has different needs or constraints.
Watch out Personal conviction cannot substitute for medical, safety, or market evidence.
In the wild
Rogen says he and Evan Goldberg approached Superbad by trying to write their favourite movie: the film they wanted to see but believed nobody else was making. He describes the same motivation behind Pineapple Express, This Is the End, and adapting The Boys.
→ The test gave their projects a clear creative target grounded in their own taste.
Common mistakes
Pretending to know the crowd
Rogen rejects designing solely around guesses about what other people want because those preferences are not directly knowable.
Assuming your taste is universal
The test identifies personal conviction, not guaranteed audience demand, so audience fit still requires honest examination.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for creators and product teams whose own taste substantially overlaps the audience they hope to serve.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the creator is not a representative user or when safety, evidence, and customer requirements must override personal taste.
From the transcript
“any time we're making a thing that I know I would be psyched if I saw it”
“let's write the movie that we want to see and no one else is making”
“who knows what other people want”
From the episode
Seth Rogen Opens Up About His Self-Doubt & Struggles That Nobody Sees!