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My First Million

My First Million

The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.

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media disruption

Creator Economy Replacing Traditional Media

Timeframe: Already happening for under-25 audience, will expand to older demographics within 5-10 years

What's Changing

Individual creators are gaining cultural influence that previously belonged to traditional media companies (Hollywood, TV networks, publishers)

Driving Forces

Better economics for creators (100% ownership vs. employment)

Superior distribution through social platforms vs. gatekeepers

Complete creative freedom vs. corporate restrictions

Direct audience relationships vs. intermediated

Real-time feedback and iteration vs. long production cycles

Winners

  • YouTube creators with strong personal brands
  • Newsletter writers and substackers
  • Podcast hosts with loyal audiences
  • TikTok and short-form content creators
  • Creator economy tool providers

Losers

  • Traditional Hollywood studios and networks
  • Newspaper and magazine publishers
  • Cable TV providers
  • Traditional book publishers
  • Talent agencies and gatekeeping institutions

How to Position Yourself

1

Build direct audience relationships on owned platforms

2

Focus on niche expertise rather than broad appeal

3

Develop multiple content formats and revenue streams

4

Prioritize audience engagement over vanity metrics

5

Create systems for consistent content production

Early Signals to Watch

Creator earnings surpassing traditional media salariesBrand advertising budgets shifting to creator partnershipsTraditional media companies hiring creators as employeesCreator-first platforms gaining mainstream adoptionCelebrity talent moving from traditional to creator platforms

Example Implementation

“Instead of pitching a book to publishers, build audience through newsletter and YouTube, then self-publish or get better publishing deals due to proven audience”

Related Knowledge

Idea

Therapeutic YouTube Challenge Series

Traditional coaching has misaligned incentives - coaches benefit from prolonged dependency rather than quick solutions,

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Framework

Coaching Incentive Reversal Framework

Instead of clients paying coaches to fix their problems, offer financial rewards to clients for solving their own proble

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Framework

Psychological Immune System Framework

The mental mechanism that automatically reframes negative experiences in positive ways to maintain emotional equilibrium

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Playbook

Create titles that maximize click-through and sharing rates

Titles that generate significantly higher engagement, shares, and clicks than generic alternatives

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Mental Model

The Boring Advice Paradox

The most effective advice is often boring and hard to monetize, while exciting advice that sells well is usually counter

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Belief

Most personal development problems are implementation, not information problems

Solutions should focus on motivation and behavior change rather than providing more information

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