Two Things All Successful People Have in Common

I get asked a lot how I built a following of over 1.3 million people and a podcast that gets 500k downloads per month... Where did I get lucky? Did I go viral, and that changed it all?

Everyone is looking for a quick way to become an "influencer." They want the algorithm hack to go viral. They want a strategy that will make them bank quickly. Sure, there are one-off stories of this happening. But for the most part, these hacks don't work, and there are no QUICK strategies that will make you influential overnight.

There are two truths that I know of successful people that I committed myself to embody in how I show up to the world:

1. The content/contribution of game changers is powerful. It's significant. They don't tend to filter themselves, and they are in their power. Their words embody their lived presence.

2. They outwork everyone. They SHOW UP. No. Matter. What.

I never missed a day of posting on socials for EIGHT YEARS. I created new content constantly. I sometimes posted two to three posts in a day. When I took a month off in October of 2021, it was because I'd hit the edge. I needed a break. I was exhausted. In hindsight, I should've taken breaks earlier. But you don't know until you know.

What I do know is that when you're deeply rooted in your passions and building something you care about, it's easy to pour yourself into it. I had forgotten to pour into myself fully too. I had shown up to my mission fully, but not myself.

Here's what I've learned about these two principles of successful/creators:

1. Being authentic doesn't actually take energy. Being inauthentic does. Being in your power doesn't take energy; shrinking and giving it away does. Speaking your truth doesn't take energy; censoring yourself does.

   
   To speak and be willing to shake systems creates the type of content that shakes souls. Instead of chasing the algorithm, become it.

2. I needed the clarity from someone else that I want to share with you:

   
   Yes, you must outwork others. However, when you're in your passion, it's not work; it's contribution. If it feels like work, shift until it pours out of you with more ease. Show up every day for your life and what you love —  and something I have learned in the last 10 years is how absolutely essential it is that that includes yourself.
   
   Have daily morning rituals that are about filling your cup and filling the relationships in your life. My rituals came and went when I needed them... but that is living reactively. If you want to create magic in your life, almost everything you do must be proactive. (Within reason, of course.)

The world changes fast. Platforms will constantly change and evolve. But what won't is the need for people to live from their hearts. When you come fully alive, your family does, your community does, and so does the world.

Where are you not fully alive? Where are you directing your energy? Where are you letting other people's beliefs about what's possible for them become your beliefs about what's possible for you?

With love,

Mark