If you leave the door cracked,

when things get difficult, you will most definitely kick it open.

If you have a plan B, when things get too challenging or complex,

you'll most definitely abandon Plan A.

To truly succeed is to cut off the lifelines.

It's to commit to the road filled with adversity and struggle and hardship,

but that leads to that which is meaningful.

Over the weekend, I was invited to join my friend Evan Carmichael at his mastermind to talk a little bit about YouTube and my experience with it, my progression over the years.

And it was a blast, incredible group, some amazing conversation.

And I want to share a moment in particular that stuck out to me.

I was talking about essentially the journey from zero subscribers to where I am now, some

tips and flexion points along the way.

And, you know, I pulled up behind me this chart that shows basically seven years of minimal growth,

right, starting in 2014, going all the way up to 2021, where suddenly you see that flatline spike,

right? The channel sort of leaps to the next stratosphere, 4x, then 5x, then 10x, then 20x.

After years of consistency, you see this sort of exponential curve.

And my point is, you know, I didn't change my craft at all.

I was speaking and sharing stories the same way that I always had, right?

The way that I'd love to do it.

What changed was the packaging. It was the titling and the thumbnail images and the branding,

stuff that because I enjoyed and was immersed so deeply in the creative process

that I kind of ignored, right?

...