 Awesome. Yeah, so so yeah, what do you want to talk about tell me that ask me those questions? Yeah, dude so I have three questions and it's I'm just gonna start by like saying that I just want to you know I'm trying to grow my youth channel as everybody else is trying to grow their YouTube channel and I feel like people are just stuck in this in this Kind of spinning world of it's all about the gear the lights and I want more views and subs But we forget about just creating content to create content You know what you mean? And I've been falling in love with the idea of just creating content to create and I have you know This phrase that I use in my videos hashtag keep on creating And that's kind of speaking to forget about the gear forget about forget about your lights Use your phone if you have to but it's about just creating what you're feeling even even if it's sucky content like that's what it's about and That's where I think I've thrived in my content not like you know, I don't care if I get the views I don't care if I get subscribers. I'm just a creative person and like all that stuff will fall into place I just know if I keep on creating like all that stuff will come and it's already actually come to life It's already come to fruition in a sense where I've gotten, you know Some cool sponsorships cool deals with some brands and so it's working and so I guess from your perspective as like a big YouTuber I guess people would call you a big youtuber based on your subscriber count and and all the stuff and you could speak at Events right you may have something different or peg that as a different name But like I have three questions for you and then the first one would be like, you know Why should people start a YouTube channel? Is it worth it? And is it too late to start? Yeah, dude. I um Yeah, I mean, I think you already hit on a lot of a lot of that stuff where it's like I Think you have to ask yourself, you know, what why start a YouTube channel? Are you starting it? primarily because You are looking to build an audience or because you're looking to grow a business or create another revenue stream Or are you starting it primarily because? You're an artist and you want to have a place to express yourself on video or are you starting it because? You love the community and you want to be able to kind of join this collective conversation of all of all of the filmmakers and we're all kind of Through video form and in the comments and whatnot, but through video form kind of having this ongoing Conversation about filmmaking on on YouTube like just just to get get honest with yourself about what is it that you really want? and um From starting it and then I think that that'll give you a little bit of a better perspective on I Don't know. It's just being true to yourself in that way totally I think helps you figure out your priorities and what's really important. So I would say I mean like subscribers are important like you mentioned for For monetization for getting opportunities to work with brands for getting opportunities to speak at events and conferences and stuff like that Right in terms of the creative expression and the art and just being a part of the conversation. They're less important, right? So right it just helps you kind of way like, why are you doing this and and And set your expectations out at like a at a level where You're gonna be you're gonna it's gonna be easier for you to keep going I think is what I'm trying to say and yeah, you know, is it is it worth it? I think that 100% it's worth it if I've always had this If only just for one sort of mindset where even if like if if a video that I make or something that I do on social positively affects one person or inspires one person to action or helps one person I don't know get from point point a to point B. Yeah, that that's enough for me That's totally that's truly enough for me And I think it's it's so easy to see like ten views on a video and be and think like okay I got ten views but the reality of that being like ten people like ten of you and me Or even even whenever you have like calls like this or you do get to meet people at conferences or something And you see that these views in large part I mean like there's bots and stuff and whatever but in large part are actual people It's just that that was a really big kind of I Think revelation for me that that ten views came from ten people Or like ten positive comments came from ten people who are actually I'm actually impacting their life in some way Right that just for me that makes it totally worth it But the question of is it is it too late? I think Again it comes back to well, what do you want and what are your expectations of how quickly you're gonna be able to get it? I don't think it's too late. I mean, I think that I think it's gonna be harder Today than it was last year, but it's gonna be right today Then it will be in it in a year from now So and and who knows maybe the platform won't be YouTube at that point Maybe there'll be something else, but totally, but you just got to start though Like that's that's what you're trying to say exactly just starting is yeah If if that's something that's important to you if it's something that you find value in and that you get You know value in the creation like you were talking about value in the creation of the stuff Even if it doesn't have the eyeballs then yeah a hundred percent it makes it's worth it And it's not too late and and you should start because you're setting your you're setting your bar It's something that's extremely attainable and and you're setting yourself up to to Meet or exceed those expectations. So No, I don't think it's too late at all man. Totally. I mean it so when you started like you're a year of daily vlogging Yeah, I mean what prompted you to start that and I mean finish because I'm on 20th I'm on day 23 of daily uploading. I wouldn't call it vlogging I just I'm trying to create valuable content that I like I hope the other people like to But like what prompted you to do that and what was your goal in that? Yeah, so my the biggest thing for me was I felt like something big was happening in my life or like if something big wasn't happening I wanted to make something big happen. Yeah, I just had this feeling I had this feeling of like Like a sense of urgency, right? Yeah a bit of urgency Yeah, just it was some sort of I don't know weird feeling of I'm building this video production company Some we're gonna get some sort of big opportunity or something's gonna happen with a client where yeah There's gonna be something big that happens I just had this feeling something big is happening and I want to be Documenting it while it happens. So I had been kicking around the idea of daily vlogging for like two and a half years leading up to that point, right? I was reading a book by a guy guy called Grant Cardone and one of the quotes in the book was if there's something you Know you need to do stop thinking about it and just do it. Oh, yes Immediately vlogging popped into my head I kind of laid out a schedule for how I thought it was gonna fit into my day because my wife like that sort of Planning scheduling is really important to her. I showed it to her. I'm like, hey This is how I think I could fit the daily vlogging in into my day And she's like yeah, you've been talking about this for a long time. This is the first time you've ever really Showed me like how logistically it would work. I think I should go for it. So yeah Yeah, I just I started and I just started documenting Daily, I think the reason I finished it. I It was it was really freeing to me. I have ADHD so the creative Yeah, the daily cyclical creative workflow and cycle Was really rewarding to me to be able to start and finish something All in the same day. Yeah. Yeah, man And just kind of get that like it was like action reward action reward just being able to hit upload again Not necessarily because of how many people were seeing the stuff but just because I was creating something new every day and Did you feel like you needed something to push you even more like I know that's what you're kind of getting at But like right now, that's what I feel like and I felt this way for like the last few years and I'm you know You needed like something to just like help you level up or what what do you yeah? Like I wanted to cut my teeth into something because I knew I had something to say and a lot of my friends You know my friend group were in the same circles of social media platforms And I'm like what can I use to like tell my story? that's not Instagram or Facebook or Twitter or Twitch or whatever it may be and YouTube just popped in my mind like I've never tried YouTube What if I were to tell my story and where I am right now on YouTube and just Videoed everything and I mean when I first started everybody was like ragging on me saying dude You'll never get anywhere. Don't try to do it for the money. You'll never get I mean all the above But what they didn't understand is I wasn't trying to get I'm not trying to get famous I just want to build like a Johnny Q legacy for my family on YouTube and if it happens to get somewhere That's a blessing. That's awesome. Like I'll take it but like Everything like if people know Johnny Q. They say like dude. He's a go-getter. He works hard He's a doer the guy's inspirational And like this is stuff that people have told me and I want to translate that on video And I feel like you I feel like we're kind of on the same path here And you know you did a year of vlogging and I'm like well Let's see what I can do and I'm not really gonna do a year But I'm just gonna do until I just can't no more so and I mean it's been tough as you know And so I guess with that question number two that I have is how can anyone grow on their channel? Should we make content that stands out or content we love? Yeah, I think that like all with this too It's kind of it's a both and it's like yeah, sure if your priority You know if for me it goes in it goes in like ebbs and flows making videos that I think are gonna do well You know in the algorithm with the audience with the channel But then you know and that's very fun for me and that's what I'm focusing on sometimes and then I'll kind of Flow back to okay. Let me just make stuff. That's exciting for me to make and then I'll flow back to I just kind of follow My gut feeling and what I want and I think I think the biggest factor in making Successful stuff successful videos on YouTube is that the people who are watching it can see That your heart's in it that you are having a good time Yeah, and so whether your heart's in making stuff for brands making client stuff or whether your heart's in making stuff For yourself that you don't think anybody's gonna like but you just want to do it, right? I think that both of those can end up being very like successful quote-unquote in terms of growth quote-unquote on the On the platform. I do think you have to ask yourself Again, what growth are you seeking like for me? I was seeking personal growth I was seeking sure a way to kind of get caught up in a creative cycle workflow and and level up in my life Like you were saying yeah, if you're talking about absolutely talking about growing a channel. I think you still need to Take both of those things into account stuff. You think the audience will want versus Also stuff that you think that you know that you're just excited about again because For channel growth. I think that I think the people who are watching you need to see the passion and and see that your heart's in it So totally it's a both. It's a both answer again for me dude I love it and I mean gets my third and final question in this creator YouTube world. How do we go from? you know comparing myself to a Cody Warner or X Y and Z person and creator to dude. I love what he's doing I Like I want to be his champion and not really like kind of go over the top But just support him in what he does like have you found that comparison game in this world for you personally? Oh, yeah Yeah, yeah, I think I think comparisons huge in on on YouTube And I think I think it's hard not to compare yourself. I think that that's a sort of natural thing that we do as humans But yeah, for me it's like whenever I catch myself in that headspace of I'm comparing myself to somebody and you're like Oh, well at least I'm better than her or I'm comparing myself to somebody I'm being and I'm like man She's so much better than me with either way. I try to catch myself in that headspace and be like, yeah That's not what it's about. I'm not here Doing doing something. I'm trying to do Cody to the best of my ability Cody, you know, and yeah, totally man also with that comparison thing I don't I don't necessarily think that comparisons a bad thing. It's just it's who are you comparing yourself to? And I think the healthiest person to compare yourself to is you from yesterday or you from last year Yeah, and just to be able to see that progress in your work and I Do think I think the the one of the issues that doesn't get talked about often with comparison is that if you get too caught up in the Comparison game where you're comparing yourself to let's say Pete McKinnon Sure, what ends up happening generally is you start making stuff that looks a lot more like Pete McKinnon style stuff And yeah, people can start to see the Can start to see like oh my goodness This stuff is looking more and more and more like Pete and less and less less like Cody and they don't like that You know and so I think I think that's one of like the risk with comparing yourself too much is that you you start to let it Get to you in a way that makes your stuff less unique and stand out less and like less authentically you and I think that YouTube is about finding the authentic you That that's one of the biggest things that happened for me last year is is finding my voice finding out Like getting comfortable with expressing myself Yeah, and and not really Caring what people thought of it and So comparison can kind of lead you away from that from that that vision that goal and and Yes, that's kind of my that's and then how to do that You know, it's like it's really it's You might have heard this said about forgiveness at some point like forgiveness isn't like a one-time thing It's a thing that you have to keep on choosing over and over every time you start like harboring resentment towards somebody You're like right, but you know what I'm gonna choose to forgive him It's the same thing with comparison It's like you you are doing really well and then you fall into the trap and then you say no You know what? I'm gonna stop and I'm gonna go back over here The goal is becoming my authentic self in my own Artistry and style and exploring all that and like just daily or hourly Making that decision to kind of come back to the to the headspace where you know, you need to be totally Yeah, dude, that's awesome. Like I think a lot of people need to hear this It just because everyone compares You know everyone to to everyone and I think you're right where we should compare each other to or ourselves To what we were yesterday a week before last year and like that's super important because I I want to grow personally But I want to grow in my editing skills and I want to push myself harder every single day to create good content You know and ultimately this is about YouTube and how to do this whole YouTube thing because everyone is on YouTube I then they die out. Yeah, but like I feel all of this with consistency is Almost the key and then you won't be as come You know you won't compare yourself to others as much if anything though like your work Like Cody Wanner's work McKinnon, you know, Maddie Hapoya like all those big creators. I like I'm now comparing myself in a way We're like, oh, I could do that and that can push me to you know Have another creative idea on the same subject. You know what I mean? So like I wonder what I wonder. Oh, that's a really cool Execution of XYZ and it gives you this idea for something that you want to try. Yeah. Yeah, totally A healthier way to think about it, too. It's awesome, dude Well, I love that and I hope I get like I hope all the best for you and your family I've seen you from afar. It's awesome to see your grind and your work. I respect it, dude And so and that way you've inspired me so I mean all the more power to you like you've inspired one person And that's Johnny Q. So that's why I'm working twice as hard now because yeah, it's inspirational, man Love it, dude. Love to hear that. Thanks for that encouragement. Yeah, dude, of course. Well, dude, thanks so much man I appreciate it So lots of good things that Cody want to just touch down and I hope this session inspired you guys to do more Like there's so many things that we could be doing and you know The what the main thing about forgetting the gear forgetting the lights and just going after what you want going after what you You know, you were born for a kind of mentality and just always keep on creating like that's my thing right now And I hope you guys just get uber inspired and just go do all the work right now. So Yeah, I'm pumped. I hope you're pumped. All right, I'm gonna go make another video. Thanks so much for watching And I'll catch you next time on the Johnny Q channel. Peace