How I Built a Content Career Without Relying on Algorithms

[00:02] did to future proof myself as a content creator. Number one, I expanded my learned in this industry when I had my original YouTube channel was don't be a onetrick pony. Over the last 15 years, I

[00:14] didn't just learn how to talk to a camera and create some content. I learned how to design. I learned how to take photos. I learned how to do videography. I took deep dives into storytelling and money management. I

[00:27] streaming and educate myself on the technical side of the things. How do I fix my own [ __ ] I wanted to learn SEO and how to read analytics so that way I can adjust to the things that I'm [ __ ] up with myself. I wanted to be

[00:42] able to do everything for me so that way eventually I would have this resume that fastest way that you become irrelevant or replaceable is by only having one thing. When you stack skills and options, you become adaptable. When

[00:57] shift with it. And the sickest thing about this is anybody can [ __ ] do it. The first time I open Photoshop or editing software or picked up a camera, I sucked. Dude, I remember to this day the first time I ever actually talked in

[01:14] [music] were just like highlights of Call of Duty gameplay or me taking something that I was designing, speeding it up, think the first like 6 months of me creating YouTube videos was only that. I

[01:29] didn't even talk to the video, let alone being on camera. And I remember how bad I was at talking into a microphone, dude. listening to myself back. I was embarrassingly bad. But with like any of this [ __ ] [music] I just kept doing it.

[01:43] I kept stacking the skills. I didn't give a [ __ ] what people thought. I somewhere deep down inside, I I just knew that if I stuck with it, I would get better. And I knew that getting better with this stuff would be not only

[01:59] [music] also for whatever I wanted to do in the future. And that should be everybody's priority. You should stop asking yourself what's the specific thing you should learn and you should be ambitious about learning anything

[02:12] that compounds. Now, I'm not telling you to take on every single skill set at once, but I know for anybody listening to this that there's something that you enjoy to do and there's also something that you would [music] be interested in

[02:25] you admire from other people. Maybe it's photography, [music] maybe it's the been throughout all the years is why not mess around [music] and get better at that? Why can't you pick up a camera? So having the

[02:38] mentality of wanting to learn new things instead of just trying to figure out how you can do the same thing over and over and over again and hope that God that it all works out changes everything. Number two, I didn't tie myself to one

[02:50] tilts a lot of people because I mess around with [ __ ] all the time. But the reality is if one single platform controls your entire livelihood. You don't have security. You're essentially in a hostage situation. Over the years,

[03:03] I've tried everything. I've tried long form. I've tried short form. I've [music] tried doing the viral [ __ ] I've tried just being true to who I am. I've tried live streaming. I've tried social media interaction. I've tried giving

[03:16] back to people. And when new platforms come, I I test them out. And sometimes they do really well and sometimes they don't. Sometimes as I leaned harder into one, another [music] one would carry more weight, but only for a season. But

[03:28] years, none of them have owned me. [music] And I've been in that situation before, and it sucks. I explain this from experience. I've been in that situation where I had a lot of growth on Twitch and I relied mainly on that as my

[03:44] income. And then I've been through those gut-wrenching months where I put myself all in on that [music] and [ __ ] happened, man. Numbers went down, people stopped watching, people stopped supporting, and I had to rely on [ __ ]

[03:57] So, I had to make some big changes. Algorithms change, platforms die, viewers move on. Creators who adapt to that and don't just cling on to the one the ones that are going to stay. So, if you're on the come up or or you are

[04:11] genuinely be asking yourself if the platform that's doing the best for you you be good? Would you be safe? If not, that's a pretty massive warning sign. Take me for example. Right now, in my current season, a lot of my revenue does

[04:24] Now, I have income everywhere from YouTube to X to Instagram to Tik Tok to affiliate links and some brand deals. So, at the end of the day, tomorrow if know a lot of people would love to see. In all honesty, I would be fine. It

[04:39] would suck. I would lose a stream of income, but I could adapt and lean into the other things and and push forward. Number three, I built connections. [music] Guys, skills do matter, but relationships between the right people

[04:55] opportunities came from [music] conversations and and DMs and just myself out there as a content creator over the years [music] and finding out that this person or that person was just with the right company or just had the

[05:10] industry. This is how somebody who doesn't have millions of subscribers across the board [music] has connections with so many larger creators and even example. Over the years, I've been a pretty firm [music] believer in in

[05:23] helping out others and not really expecting something in return. [music] And I'm a big believer of karma with that and just periodically over time by it just seems like it's paid off. And I'm not saying like network like some

[05:40] weirdo. Like just go find anybody that has any sense of relevancy or or control hit them up and be like, "Hey, let's just be friends for future potential

[05:52] events." Over the last 10 years as a creator, I I just I showed up. I tried to be as relatable as I could to the person who I am. I tried to demonstrate that on camera. I I really didn't give a [ __ ] about the number over the years cuz

[06:05] you just never know who's watching. I showed up. I added value. I created conversations and I stayed in touch. In reality is these connections and any of the connections that you can make over the [music] years, they they do three

[06:17] future, if you have a situation where you want to pivot or you do add an extra skill set or you sharpen a certain skill set or, god forbid, something happens to a platform, having those connections allows for doors [music] to open up in

[06:31] other opportunities. Or these doors could just open up into current is where over the years I've seen so many content creators who put so much brand, make the right connection with the right company, and they invited them

[06:45] to be an employee for them at the right time. Two, connections like this speed up learning. I can't tell you how many times throughout the years, especially at at things like events where I would get together with the right people in

[06:57] the right room and it's like just soaking in the information that other people have at different levels. It gives you clarity and understanding on on how things [music] actually work. As creators and and people in general, we

[07:10] create so much pressure and a unrealistic fantasy of [music] of how things might operate. But getting to meet the right people and have real conversations can actually clear a lot of that up and then you get to learn a

[07:23] operate. And the third thing it does, and this is super important, is it gives you perspective at at times when you're stuck in your head. For example, I can't tell you how many times I've gone to events [music] and maybe going into the

[07:36] or TwitchCon or [music] something I was invited to. And leading up to that, maybe your numbers are a little down on social media or it's like just kind of a meh season, just everything is just kind of mundane.

[07:49] with the right people [music] and and getting to hear their thoughts on things that you do and things that they've noticed from you. Holy [ __ ] man. That just lights a fire under your ass like you can't imagine. And honestly, I

[08:03] relate this not only to the idea of just like connections of people that [music] are in power in situations that could help you, but also just the connections [music] with the homies that you put around you in your circle. I think

[08:15] that's a a very very [music] important thing. It is no wonder why me, Rob, Jay-Hawk, Sooner, Scott, Audio Freak, and anybody else who is involved with our circle has had so much momentum over the last 5 years. [music] And the

[08:31] important thing about that is you don't need a big circle. You need the right circle. Number four, cut people [music] out. This is where things get a little uncomfortable and it's kind of in the opposite direction of what I I just

[08:43] reality. Not everybody gets to come with you. I had to learn earlier [music] on in the the chase of my career and my dreams to have the life that I wanted that I had to eliminate people from that equation. Some of these people were

[08:58] family members and these are people who who doubted me, people who drained me on my [ __ ] energy, the soul suckers or even if they were super supportive. It's constantly want results without any effort. [music]

[09:13] what I mean about surrounding yourself around the right people. Cuz when you surround yourself around the [music] wrong people, the woe is me. Oh, they're just so lucky. The I just want it handed to me without actually putting any

[09:26] effort in. Putting yourself next to those [music] people all the time, they will drain any opportunity of success [music] out of your body. And this is where you learn some very shitty things in your path to success in whatever it

[09:40] some people like you when you're small. And here's the kicker. Sometimes it's life, dude. So, when you need to cut [music] that out, it it doesn't make you [music] that out, it it doesn't make you cold or inhuman or a [ __ ] It makes

[09:53] you intentional on on what you actually want out of this one chance of a life that you get to have. Protecting your future sometimes means disappointing people that were a large part of your past, but it is what it is. Number five,

[10:05] I built [music] a diverse income. Look, it's not hard to get views. It's really not. We've especially seen this over the last [music] few years with the whole IRL streaming culture. The Tik Tok shock slop trends and whatnot, but the reality

[10:17] is is views aren't all [music] of the pay. The systems are ad revenue is cool and any platform that offers it as you post everywhere, that's a a good form of income, but relying on only one source of income is a huge stress in disguise.

[10:31] I cannot express how important it is to [music] create multiple streams of income, even if it's the most minimal income as possible. Like the amount of times that I argue with [music] content creators who post on X and don't pay for

[10:45] blue, but they're hitting the metrics to get paid on Twitter. Oh my god, dude. a month. And yeah, sure, you might only profit $50 a month for paying for that,

[10:57] but like that's $50 a month for doing nothing. My perspective throughout the getting taken care of because you tweet. Like on Twitter, I make like a couple It's nothing crazy. It's not life-changing money, but that like pays

[11:10] for both of our vehicle insurance. I've had Amazon Associates since 2016. Now, it's never been crazy. It's [music] never been $34, $5,000 a month, but it's always been a consistent like [music] $150 to $750 a month every single month

[11:26] posting [music] Amazon links. Now, if you take like 10 different ways to make even little money on top of the ad revenue, on top of the brand deals, guess what it does? It all adds up. So, I focus on skills that

[11:40] translate to offplatform. I prioritized ownership instead of dependency. My goal ever since I made my first dollar in any of this [ __ ] was to never get rich, but just to remove the pressure. The first 5 years of content creation, I still

[11:54] worked a normal job. It wasn't until the point that my normal job was getting in doing this until I finally left. Because I'm telling you right now, when you're desperate for money, you you chase trends. You upload garbage. You you try

[12:08] to literally manipulate what you do [music] to be profitable in only one area. And that always makes you hate the process, especially when it's not paying throughout the years. I've had times where I'm like, I I should probably like

[12:22] scale and become bigger and [music] do the next thing. So I I leaned really really hard into certain [ __ ] Oh, it was [ __ ] gross, dude. I wish I could go back and and just like not do it, but you can't. You got to live and learn. It

[12:35] just stuck to everything. If you put yourself into a situation [music] where like maybe you want to take a week off or you have to go a month, god forbid, [music] then you don't have a business at that point. All you have is anxiety.

[12:48] I'm telling you right now, financial illiteracy amongst the world [music] of content creation, whether that's multiple forms of income, managing your finances and budgeting and getting a CPA, the financial side of this [ __ ] is

[13:00] is probably the number one thing that I've seen over the years where really good content creators and really good people that had a huge opportunity. proof themselves with their monetization. And finally, number six, I

[13:14] learned to enjoy my life. This one really matters the most, honestly. Um, sword because I'm a pretty big advocate in in the idea [music] of like work hard for your [ __ ] The stuff is not going to be handed to you. If you come into any

[13:29] of this [ __ ] expecting [music] any platform to just give you [ __ ] because you showed up and you feel like it's owed to you, you are [ __ ] brother. But the reality is, if you don't take even just small windows to just sit back

[13:41] and and soak some [ __ ] up, boy, does it get to you. And for a lot of people, it may not need to be much. I I will say that I am somebody that's that's wired to be able to do a lot of this consistently. Like in all honesty, I

[13:54] enjoy this [ __ ] I I found a sense of like peace from just doing [ __ ] But [ __ ] man. Could this [ __ ] burn people out fast and [music] just kill your creativity? I I think I learned a lot of this actually from my graphic design

[14:06] years because being creative is obviously a super important part of that gig back before we had AI to help us out. if you were in a a creative funk or burnout and you needed to be creative, dude, it was like the worst feeling

[14:22] ever. And over the seasons and years of me experiencing this and the pressure of having customers and then going through these moments, um I I I was able to like look inward and see what was causing these things. And and I realized really

[14:34] really fast that I would just get in these moments where I just wasn't taking enough time for me. I learned early on that sometimes you need to just take a everything's okay, and you got to do some other [ __ ] This is actually why I

[14:47] was so encouraged over the years to challenge myself with other skill sets. This is why I picked up a camera to start photography and then led to streaming because when I would burn out a little bit, get into these creative

[14:59] funks, uh, by trying other things, it was just nice. It was it was refreshing. It took my mind off of just the repetitive routine. Same thing could be said when I finally started taking vacations or over the last few years

[15:11] finally started traveling to different areas to visit other content creators. I made life outside of creating content, time out of my office, time offline in general, time with my family, time for hobbies that I don't even share on here.

[15:24] I learned, and I think everybody should learn, how to rest without being guilty. When we say grind, we don't mean spend every second of your day doing something, being being alert. We mean doing everything with a sense of

[15:37] action doesn't mean you're getting results. A rocking chair is constantly I'm telling you right now, your content suck. It It just is what it is. I mean, look, over the last few years, [music]

[15:50] my content has been just so all over the place and and [ __ ] And while the last few years were were really good in the financial aspect [music] and like with of my weight. I really let go of my ambitious creative ability to like to

[16:05] like build something. I I just kind of got in a routine and that [ __ ] just the last couple years that I had to learn to like shut off and take care of myself and get addicted to that and have those moments, have time in the garage

[16:19] with my kid just running around and me just hanging out, but making sure I have those moments every so often out of the year where I travel to an area to have a cigar with a couple homies and and talk about the past, the present, and the

[16:31] about this as a content creator is audiences can feel burnout. I I really resentment like when [music] you're not excited to get on camera anymore and can genuinely, I hope 2026 is a pretty pivotable year for you. But if you don't

[16:46] and you don't take some moments to kind eventually you'll burn out. You'll start to resent the very thing that you worked so hard to build. And when you start hating the thing that was the dream,

[16:59] ever. Guys, I know this is boring. I know futurep proofing yourself isn't the sexy side of all this. It's not the viral [ __ ] It's just a lot [music] of you need to be having with yourself over the years, but I'm telling you right

[17:13] now, if you stack skills, [music] if you don't rely on only one platform, and shitty connections that you don't need, diversify your income and find a balance of just enjoying the one life that you get to live, you'll give yourself

[17:26] get, which is longevity. At the end of the day, the reality is nobody's coming to save you with any of this [ __ ] You have to control everything. But the dope it your own way. Guys, if this video helped in any way, shape, or form, make

[17:40] below anything that was helpful or relatable. That's all I got for you guys relatable. That's all I got for you guys today. I'm about peace. Deuces. [music]