Daily Content Machine

So you have this thing you want people to care about. Maybe you made an app. Maybe you want to launch a new product, subscription, or service. It's really cool. It's going to help a lot of people.

Right now, it's a secret. You don't want to ruin the magic, right? Also, what if someone steals your idea? You decide your strategy is to keep it under wraps until you launch so the magic isn't ruined and no one steals your idea in the mean time.

The problems is, it won't work like this. You have two diametrically opposing goals: you want no one to know about this and then you want everyone to know about it. Also, you want to be able to flip between those modes in an instant. Do you see how the two efforts are completely at odds with each other?

It simply doesn't work like this.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast, or doing a video show, or speaking at a conference, you're essentially going to be putting on a show for people.

There's this weird thing that happens when you're being recorded. You feel like you're being totally normal, but when you watch or listen back to the recording, you sound positively dull. You even look bored.

"That's weird," you think. "I don't remember being bored. I was actually having a great time!"

We feel like we're being more animated than we are. When you're sitting on your couch watching Netflix, you want to be entertained. When people are watching your video show or listening to your speech, they're also wanting to be entertained.

The problem is, how you feel like you're acting does not translate on stage. What feels like going way over the top is actually only going to register as mildly entertaining.

Do you ever feel like you're just going in circles?

Not making progress, hitting the same points again and again...

You're not alone.

This morning in the Community chat, Ryan shared a similar sentiment:

"This morning, I felt like I found my path to take. Then I found some notes from January where I'd said, 'I found my path to take,' and it was the same one. Walking in giant circles."

Do you ever have that? Just when you feel like you're making progress, you come back to the same conclusion. The same idea. The thing you thought you were going to pursue a long time ago you're only now finally getting around to.

What a waste of time.

Or is it?

This morning, it was 3:15 AM. I knew because I woke up and looked at my phone.

"That's crazy," I thought.

I tossed and turned for another 30 minutes and just could not fall back asleep. I'd gone to bed at 11:30 PM so I'd gotten 4 and a half hours of sleep at least.

I decided there was no point in trying to fight it. I might as well get up and be productive.

I'm not sure why I woke up early. I'm not sure why I couldn't fall back asleep. Maybe my brain knew I had to record extra episodes today because of a flight on Friday which is usually also a video shoot day. Maybe that was just all the sleep I needed for today.

Either way, I didn't fight it.

Yesterday, I talked about growing your business from six figures to seven figures. Today, I want to share how you can double your revenue no matter where you're at.

To get to the next level, you have to break through certain mental blocks you have. At each level, the mental blocks are different.

What grows your business now isn't going to be the thing that grows your business later.

Your default is to plateau. Stagnation is what will happen automatically. You have to be vigilant.

It's like rock climbing. Every ledge you encounter is different. The maneuver that just worked to pull you up the last five feet isn't going to be what gets you the next five.

You have to constantly be learning.

A couple months ago, Gary Vaynerchuk did an AMA—that's an "Ask Me Anything". I had previously asked him a question for his #AskGaryVee show that had been burning in my brain, but he didn't see it the first time. I was early to this AMA and hopped on the opportunity to ask him again.

I run a mid-six-figures business. Gary is a man worth 8 figures and runs the fastest-growing social media marketing firm with over 600 employees and counting.

My question for Gary was this: What is the most important thing to understand in order to be able to get from six figures a year to seven figures?

If you're going to forge your own path in the world, you can expect some resistance.

On the outside, it seems like fun to do what you love for a living: you make the rules, you run your life, and you control things.

But you're also the one who's solely responsible for everything. More often than not, that's a lot of pressure and it can be very challenging. You're also facing the reality that you have to take care of a lot of things by yourself. If you don't do it, there's no one else who is going to do it for you.

Life could be a lot simpler if you wanted it to be. You could work for someone else. You could do what someone else loves. You could do what you hate. You could do what you kind of like with people who maybe aren't so great in exchange for a consistent paycheck and benefits.

In 1888 on Ellis Island, exactly one hundred years before I was born, Charles Steinmetz, a German engineer was nearly turned away by immigration officials. The reason? Simply because he was a dwarf, measuring four feet in height.

But a friend convinced the officials that Charles was a genius who would eventually be of great service to America. Fortunately, he was given the chance and did not disappoint.

Before long, scientists and engineers were traveling all over just to meet with him.

Not long after, Henry Ford was having some trouble at his plant. His engineers couldn't solve the problem so he called Charles Steinmetz.

Yesterday, we talked about how to get higher paying clients. The foundation of this is professionalism. If you want to work with clients who are enjoyable to work with and are willing to follow your process and compensate you accordingly, you need to conduct yourself as a professional.

Most people want to be treated with respect and revered for their expertise, but they don't want to bear the significant responsibility that comes along with the title.

A professional seeks to acquire responsibility, a novice looks to blame others for any and all faults. But as a professional, you set the expectations. If a problem occurs, you should have been the one to prevent it preemptively.

Every problem that occurs is the professional's responsibility.

If you want to get clients that pay well and are a joy to work with, you have to earn them. You have to attract them. You're not just going to find them wandering around.

Good clients are smart and good clients are picky. They're selective. You need to be selective too if you want to have the opportunity of working with a great client.

What does a great client look like? The right type of client is one who respects your process. They're not just looking for cheap work. They care about quality. They want to follow your process so you can do your best work for them.

Sounds great, right? But how do you get them?