Justin Welsh

The $10M Solopreneur | Helping 100,000+ burned-out corporate professionals build six-figure, one-person online businesses.

Over the last decade, I helped build two companies past a $1B valuation and raise over $300M in venture capital. 

Then, in 2019, I burned out.

So, I decided to walk away from my high-paying executive job.

But, before I could, I had a hypothesis.

I believed building an audience online would be an incredible asset. That attention was the new currency and would play a major part in my success as an entrepreneur.

So, I started building my brand on LinkedIn in early 2019. 

And the results were pretty phenomenal.

In just 6 months, I grew from zero followers to over 20,000.

And on August 1st of 2019, I walked away from my executive role at a fast-growing startup.

Since that day, I've spent my time building a number of one-person Internet businesses.

My results:

→ $10.3M+ in business revenue at a ~86% profit margin.
→ 750K+ people following my journey on LinkedIn
→ 535K+ people following my journey on Twitter
→ 175K+ people read my weekly newsletter
→ 900M+ impressions in the last 6 years

If you want to learn more about how I did this, you can take one of my self-guided courses.

THE CREATOR MBA DIGITAL COURSE

The Creator MBA teaches you frameworks for turning your knowledge and expertise into a quality product that people will buy. Come learn to build a lean, focused, and profitable Internet business.

→ Start watching here: learn.justinwelsh.me/creator-mba

THE OPERATING SYSTEM DIGITAL COURSE

In this 120-minute course, you will learn the complete LinkedIn operating system that I used to grow from 0 to 750K followers and earn $10M+ in income with zero advertisements. Join 40,000+ students and 70+ LinkedIn Top Voices in my LinkedIn course rated 4.98/5 stars.

→ Start watching here: learn.justinwelsh.me/linkedin

THE CONTENT OS DIGITAL COURSE

In this 85-minute course, you will learn the 8-part content creation machine behind 600M+ impressions on LinkedIn and Twitter, and building a 175,000+ subscriber newsletter. If you're looking for systems to produce 10-15 pieces of high-quality written content every single day, this is the course for you.

→ Start watching here: learn.justinwelsh.me/content

Email: support@justinwelsh.me
X: @thejustinwelsh

Founder

Join 75k+ subscribers to the Saturday Solopreneur. Every Saturday morning, you'll get 1 actionable tip on audience and revenue growth for your online business.

Two years is nothing.

And also everything!

I started at 38 with zero followers and absolutely no idea what I was doing.

Two years later?

I reached 100,000 followers and achieved $1 million in revenue.

I never could have predicted that on day one.

In fact...it felt like the complete opposite was bound to happen.

The only reason I kept going was because it was fun and interesting.

Here's what most people don't understand:

You can't see the finish line at the start.
You have to trust the process & enjoy the ride.

Build when no one's buying.
Publish when no one's watching.
Keep going when everyone's quitting.

Because two years is both nothing and everything.

Nothing in the grand scheme of the work you'll do.
Everything in terms of what it can change.

Two years of consistent action?

That's 730 days of compounding.
730 chances to get better.

And at the end of those two years?

You won't recognize your life.

New income. 
New freedom. 
New options.

All because you didn't quit when it felt slow.

So if you're just starting or feeling stuck, remember this:

Two years from now, you'll wish you had started today.

Six years ago, I couldn't imagine this...

$11.4M+ business, 800K+ followers, freedom to spend my time as I please.

All because I was "dumb" enough to keep trying.

Your turn. 

Want the complete system that helped me build it?

Join 7,500+ entrepreneurs here: https://buff.ly/EFNO1Of 

(It's 75% off for early Black Friday)

The people winning aren't smarter.

They just never stopped learning.

I see this pattern everywhere.

The person who thinks they know it all?

Stuck at the same level for years.

The person who's constantly curious?

Rising fast.

Here's why:

The world changes every day.

What worked last year doesn't work now.
What you learned in school is already outdated.
What got you here won't get you there.

So you've got two choices:

Keep learning.
Or get left behind.

I'm 44 and I still spend hours every week learning.

Reading books.
Testing new strategies.
Staying curious.

Not because I have to.

Because that's what keeps me relevant.

The moment you think you've figured it all out is the moment you start falling behind.

Your competition isn't standing still.
The market isn't standing still.
Technology isn't standing still.

So why would you?

Stay sharp.
Stay curious.
Stay growing.

That's how you keep rising.

If you want to join over 175,000 online entrepreneurs lifting their audience and business-building skills each week, consider joining my newsletter, The Saturday Solopreneur.

I send out one tip to help you grow your audience and revenue every Saturday.

4 minutes or less guaranteed.

Join free here: https://buff.ly/3ZzyLhl

The real flex?

Being yourself.

Most people build for the image.

The likes.
The followers.
The validation.

They post what sounds impressive.
They share what looks good.
They hide what's real.

But here's what I learned:

Authenticity is the only competitive advantage that can't be copied.

When you're real, people trust you.
When you're honest, people connect with you.
When you're yourself, people buy from you.

I stopped trying to sound like everyone else at 38.

Started writing like I talk.
Sharing what I actually think.
Building in public with all the messy parts.

That's what grew my audience to 800K.

Not by being impressive.

By being real.

The flex isn't the image you project.

It's the courage to be yourself when it's easier to fake it.

That's the foundation of everything I teach.

The Creator MBA shows you how to turn who you actually are into a business people truly want to buy from.

111 lessons on building an authentic brand that attracts, connects, and converts.

It's how I turned my experience, expertise, and personality into an 8-figure business.

Zero fakeness required.

It's 75% off for early Black Friday: https://buff.ly/JZMm8gU

(ending soon)

Be yourself.
Build from there.

You're not behind.

You're still becoming.

I see people in their 20s panicking because they haven't "made it" yet.

People in their 30s thinking they missed their chance.

People in their 40s believing it's too late.

But here's the truth:

Life doesn't follow a timeline.

- Lost at 22.
- Broke at 28.
- Unsure at 31.
- Rising at 35.
- Entrepreneur at 38.
- Building a dream life at 44.

There's no deadline for success.

I was 38 when I started my business.

Burned out. Starting from scratch. No clue what I was doing.

By 44, I built a $10M+ business.

Not because I was ahead.

Because I trusted the process and kept moving.

Most people quit because they compare their chapter 3 to someone else's chapter 20.

But your story is yours.

Stop rushing.
Stop comparing.
Just keep building.

Greatness isn't rushed.

It's earned one day at a time.

This is exactly why I built The Creator MBA.

111 lessons showing you how to turn "starting over" into "taking over."

Everything I know about becoming an entrepreneur:

- Building an audience
- Choosing a profitable niche
- Creating your first offer
- Making it irresistable

It's 75% off for early Black Friday: https://buff.ly/JZMm8gU

(ending soon...)

Your timeline is perfect.
Now go build something on it.

The $10M Solopreneur | Helping 100,000+ experts turn their experience and expertise into income.

Stay locked in.

No time for drama.
No time for gossip.
No time for comparisons.

Just you and your progress.

Most people waste energy on things that don't matter.

Scrolling.
Complaining.
Watching what everyone else is doing.

But the people who win?

They're too busy building.

I learned this the hard way.

When I was stuck, I was distracted.
When I was growing, I was locked in.

The difference wasn't talent.

It was focus.

Discipline isn't about doing more.

It's about eliminating everything that doesn't move you forward.

Your growth demands your full attention.

Everything else is noise.

Every Saturday morning, I send one focused email to 175,000+ entrepreneurs.

No fluff. No filler. Just one actionable idea to help you build.

It takes 4 minutes to read.

It's free.

And it's designed to keep you locked in while everyone else gets distracted.

Join here: https://buff.ly/VzhEczR

Stay focused.

Keep building.

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Justin Welsh - The $10M Solopreneur | Helping 100,000+ burned-out corporate professionals build six-figure, one-person online businesses. | LinkedIn

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Talks about #branding, #business, #socialmedia, #entrepreneurship, and #personalbranding

Talks about hashtag branding, hashtag business, hashtag socialmedia, hashtag entrepreneurship, and hashtag personalbranding

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Building a portfolio of one-person businesses to $5M+ in revenue.

You can be rich and miserable.

Or rich and present.

Choose wisely.

I know people making seven figures who are absolutely miserable.

Always working.
Always stressed.
Always chasing the next milestone.

They got the money.

But they lost everything else in the process.

Here's what nobody tells you about success:

More money doesn't automatically mean more freedom.

In fact, it usually means the opposite.

More clients.
More complexity.
More problems to solve.

Unless you build it differently from the start.

I spent years grinding before I figured this out.

Working weekends.
Saying yes to everything.
Constantly "on."

And you know what I realized?

The hustle culture BS is just that. BS.

You don't need to work more.
You need to work smarter.

So I rebuilt everything around systems, not hustle.

Now I work 4-6 hours a day.
Take weekends off.
Actually enjoy what I've built.

And the business? Still grows.

Because I stopped confusing activity with progress.

Don't sacrifice your life for your business.

Build your business around your life instead.

Want to build a business that runs without running you into the ground?

I documented the 111 exact systems that let me work half the hours while growing to $10M+.

7,000+ entrepreneurs are already using it: https://buff.ly/G7e899d

Experience is brutal.

It gives you the test first.
Then the lesson.

You launch and fail.
Then you learn why.

You post and get ignored.
Then you learn what works.

You build and hear crickets.
Then you learn what people actually want.

There's no shortcut around this.

Nothing replaces experience.
No mentor can do it for you.
No amount of planning prevents it.

You have to DO it.
You have to LIVE it.

I failed for years before I figured out what worked.

Lost money on bad ideas.
Built things nobody wanted.
Wasted time on the wrong strategies.

But every failure taught me something I couldn't learn any other way.

That's how you get good.

Not by avoiding mistakes.
By making them faster and learning from them.

The test comes first.
The lesson comes after.
That's the deal.

I finally recorded 111 (hard-earned) lessons on building an audience and business from scratch, so that you don't have to go through as many of them.

- Choosing a profitable idea
- Separating yourself from the pack
- Using content marketing to guide people
- Funnel building + conversion optimization
- Scaling from 5 to 6 to 7-figures over the years

75% off today for early Black Friday.

Start watching here: https://buff.ly/JZMm8gU

Slow progress beats no progress.

Every time.

Most people quit right before it works.

They post for 30 days. No traction.
They build for 90 days. No revenue.
They show up for 6 months. Nothing.

So they stop.

And they never know how close they were.

Because results don't show up on schedule.

They show up after consistency.

I posted on LinkedIn for 8 months before anything happened.

8 months of doubt.
8 months of crickets.
8 months of "will this work?"

Then it clicked.

Not overnight. Not all at once.

But it happened.

And it only happened because I didn't quit.

The people who succeed aren't the most talented.

They're the ones who stayed in the game long enough to win.

If you're ready to understand how to use data and analytics to grow on LinkedIn, join 45,000+ students (including 200+ LinkedIn Top Voices) inside of the LinkedIn Operating System to shortcut the game and (finally) grow.

Start here: https://buff.ly/8weY0jL

It won't happen overnight.

But it will happen if you follow this plan.

Everyone says pick two.

Let's build all three!

If you build it right, you can:

1) Make a lot of money
2) Help a lot of people
3) Have a lot of fun

Most people think they need to choose.

Help people, but stay broke.
Make money, but hate the work.
Have fun, but build nothing meaningful.

I believed that for years.

Spent 15 years making great money in corporate.

But I wasn't helping many people.

And I definitely wasn't having as much fun.

Then at 38, I asked:

What if I could have all three?

People said I was naive.

I ignored them.

Instead, I built a business that:

• Teaches people to build businesses (help)
• Has made over $11.6M in revenue (money)
• Let's me work when I want from where I want (fun)

Turns out, you can have all three.

You just have to build it intentionally.

Find something you're good at.
Package it so people will pay for it.
Build it in a way that doesn't consume your life.

Most people fail because they optimize for one and ignore the other two.

But you can have all three.

The Creator MBA shows you exactly how.

111 lessons on building a business that makes real money, helps real people, and doesn't steal your life in the process. 

8,000+ students are already inside making it happen.

Black Friday ends in 16 hours.

After midnight tonight, the 75% discount disappears forever.

Get in now: https://buff.ly/elfDofH

Stop choosing between money, impact, and freedom.

Build all three.

You've got 16 hours left at this price.

The goal is no more meaningless work.

Let me explain:

I spent 16 years in corporate.

Endless meetings about meetings.
Projects that went nowhere.
Tasks that didn't matter.
Work that felt hollow.

I wasn't tired of working. I was tired of working on things that didn't matter.

Then I left and built my own thing.

And guess what? Sometimes I work MORE now than I ever did.

But it doesn't feel like work.

Because I own it.
Because it matters.
Because I decide what gets my time.

That's the difference.

Meaningful work energizes you.
Meaningless work drains you.

Most people aren't looking to retire and do nothing. They just want their effort to count for something.

So if you're exhausted, ask yourself:

Am I tired of working?
Or am I just tired of THIS work?

The answer changes everything.

I built The Creator MBA to show you exactly how I made that shift. 

111 lessons on building an audience, creating products people want, and replacing your corporate income with work that actually matters. 

This is the complete system I used to go from burned-out employee to 8-figure business owner working on my own terms.

It's 75% off for early Black Friday. 

Watch it now: https://buff.ly/JZMm8gU

This is your chance to build something meaningful.

You can't build a one-person business.

People won't pay for your work.

Making it as a creator is impossible...

How wrong they were.

Here's what I've learned over 6 years:

The loudest critics are the most afraid.
The biggest skeptics are the least accomplished.
The harshest words come from those who never tried.

The truth?

Growth forces people to question their own choices.
Achievement challenges their limiting beliefs.
Success makes others uncomfortable.

So they try to stop you.

Not because you can't.

But because they're scared you WILL.

I built my business anyway.

You should, too.

Want the exact playbook?

The Creator MBA is a 111-lesson course on building a profitable one-person business from scratch.

Every framework I used to go from $0 to $11.5M in revenue.
Every system that turned my ideas into paying customers.
Every strategy that actually worked (and what didn't).

This is the course that 8,000+ students used to replace their income, quit their jobs, and build freedom on their terms.

Right now it's 75% off for early Black Friday: https://buff.ly/JZMm8gU

But this price will disappear soon.

After that, it goes back to full price.

Time to prove the critics wrong...

Image credit: blake_bookclub

LinkedIn

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Nobody takes you seriously yet. 

That's your advantage.

Because tomorrow's multi-millionaires are today's one-person businesses that nobody's taking seriously yet.

The consultant at their kitchen table.
The creator with 2,500 followers.
The freelancer who "needs a real job."

I've seen this movie before:

2018: "Don't do business on LinkedIn."
2020: "That business isn't sustainable."
2022: "One-person businesses can't scale."

Meanwhile, these "fake" businesses are doing:

• $50K months with no team
• $1M years with no office
• $10M lifetimes with no investors

The pattern never changes:

Year 1: "That's cute."
Year 3: "That's lucky."
Year 5: "How did you do that?"

We're not building something they recognize.

No org charts.
No pitch decks.
Just ridiculous margins.

By the time they take you seriously, you'll be too expensive to hire.

I went from "mid-life crisis" to $10.5M.

While they laughed and doubted.

Your "little" business isn't little.
It's early.

Want to be tomorrow's success story here on LinkedIn?

Steal the playbook → https://buff.ly/cjolSEv 

Let them laugh.

You'll be too busy building to care.

Everyone's worried about looking stupid.

Meanwhile, stupid people are getting rich.

They're launching "dumb" ideas.
Building "basic" businesses.
Charging "crazy" prices.

While you're worried about looking silly...

Remember this:

That executive you're trying to impress?

She forgot your name already.

That peer you're competing with?

He's too worried about his own image.

That random connection judging your pivot?

They'll scroll past you in under a second.

We spend decades performing for an audience that doesn't exist.

• Crafting the perfect career story
• Following the "right" path
• Playing it safe to look smart

But the truth is, everyone's too busy worrying about their own show to watch yours.

This isn't depressing.

It's freedom.

Pure, unlimited, life-changing freedom.

Because once you accept that nobody's watching, you can finally:

Build the business everyone said was silly.
Share the story you've been hiding.
Make the pivot that scares you.
Charge what you're actually worth.

Stop being the person you think they want.
Start being the person you actually are.

The market rewards authenticity, not approval.

I learned this the hard way, and it's exactly why I turned sharing my real story on LinkedIn into an 8-figure business.

Want to stop performing and start building something real on LinkedIn?

I broke down the exact system that took me from zero to 800K+ followers by just being myself.

See how it works: https://buff.ly/BhszdAa

What would you create today if you knew nobody cared?

Talk about and build that.

Every change in my life starts the same.

Fear.

Quitting my job? Terrifying.
Moving to the mountains? Uncomfortable.
Starting my business? Felt impossible.

But fear isn't a stop sign.

It's an arrow.

The phone call you don't want to make.
The idea that won't leave you alone.
The move that feels risky.

They're not obstacles.

They're invitations.

So I follow a simple rule:

If something makes me nervous, I lean in.

Not because I like fear. I don't.

But because I know what's on the other side.

Growth.
Freedom.
The life I actually want.

What you resist gets bigger.
What you confront gets smaller.

I spent 15 years avoiding the thing that scared me most.

Starting my own business.

Then I finally did it.

And it changed everything.

Now when fear shows up, I don't run from it.

I follow it.

What's scaring you right now?

Maybe that's exactly where you need to go next.

Starting my business was terrifying.

But staying stuck was worse.

The Creator MBA is everything I learned going from scared corporate employee to $10M+ business owner.

111 lessons. No fluff. Just the roadmap I wish I had when fear was the only thing standing in my way.

It's 75% off for Black Friday: https://buff.ly/JZMm8gU 

(ending in 3 days...)

Your future is on the other side of that fear.

Go get it.

You think you're playing it safe.

You're not.

The longer you avoid risk, the riskier your life becomes.

Think about it:

The "safe" job that makes you irrelevant.
The business you don't start.
The post you don't publish.

Every day you play it safe, the world moves without you.

Your skills get stale.
Your ideas stay hidden.
Your network stays small.

Then one day, you realize the "safe" choice was the riskiest thing you've ever done.

I see this with people who want to build online but never start.

They wait to feel credible.
They wait for more to say.
They wait for the perfect post.

Meanwhile, people with half their experience are building audiences and creating opportunities.

The risk isn't publishing and failing.

The risk is staying invisible.

I took the risk six years ago.
Started posting with no idea what I was doing.

It felt uncomfortable.

But staying quiet? That was actually risky.

If you're ready to start building visibility, the LinkedIn Operating System gives you the exact playbook. 

45,000+ students, including over 200 LinkedIn Top Voices, used it to go from undiscovered to growing and monetizing their LinkedIn: https://buff.ly/ALO2j0P

Remember:

The riskiest thing you can do is never start.

Nobody has it all figured out.

Not me. Not some guru. Not anyone.

We're all just making it up as we go.

I was 38 when I started writing online.

Zero followers.
Zero engagement.
Zero clue what I was doing.

I felt like an idiot hitting publish every day.

But here's what I learned:

Everyone feels like a fraud at first.

The difference between the people who make it and the people who don't?

The ones who make it just keep showing up anyway.

They post the awkward content.
They share the half-baked ideas.
They publish before they're ready.

And slowly, the embarrassment fades.

Because you realize that nobody's keeping score but you.

The audience doesn't expect perfection.
They expect consistency.

So if you've been holding back because you don't feel ready...

Good news: You never will.

Start anyway!

Post that first piece of content today.

It won't be perfect.

But it will be progress.

And progress beats perfection every single time.

Ready to stop overthinking and start building?

I turned daily posts into 800K followers and $10M+ in revenue.

Here's the exact system I use: https://buff.ly/BhszdAa

You'll never feel ready.

So start anyway.

Everyone waits for the perfect moment.

The right skills.
The perfect plan.
Complete confidence.

But here's the truth:

You start.
You suck.
You figure it out.
You get better.

That's how it works.

I wasn't ready when I quit my job.

I wasn't ready when I posted my first piece of content.

I wasn't ready when I launched my first product.

But I did it anyway.

And that's what made all the difference.

Waiting for ready is just another word for never starting.

The people who win aren't more prepared.

They just move faster.

And here's what helps you move faster:

A proven system for building your audience.
A content strategy that doesn't require perfection.
A business framework you can launch before you're ready.

That's what turns messy action into real results.

The Creator MBA is that system.

19111 lessons showing you how to go from zero audience to real income. 

Build while you work. Launch before you're ready. Scale as you learn.

8,000+ students are already inside making it happen.

And you've got 25 hours left to grab it at 75% off.

Black Friday ends Monday night. 
After that, this price is gone forever.

Get it here: https://buff.ly/elfDofH

Stop waiting to feel ready.
Start building today.

Do'ers vs. dreamers.

It's not talent or connections.

Do'ers ship before they're ready.
Dreamers wait for the "perfect" moment.

I've watched countless people with million-dollar ideas do absolutely nothing with them.

They talk about it nonstop.
They work on the concept forever.
They wait for "just one more thing" to fall into place.

Meanwhile, someone with half the talent and 25% of the vision launches something mediocre.

And wins.

Because done beats perfect every single time.

The market doesn't reward the best idea.

It rewards the best execution.

I didn't have the perfect product when I started.

But I shipped it anyway.

And that imperfect action turned into an eight-figure business over 6 years.

If you're tired of sitting on your expertise while others are out there building and earning, I recorded a complete behind-the-scenes class on creating, launching, and scaling your idea.

It's called The Creator MBA, and it shows you exactly how to execute.

Learn to package your knowledge, create products that sell, and launch without waiting for perfection.

8,000+ online entrepreneurs have used it to stop planning and start profiting.

Right now it's 75% off for Black Friday.

Get it here: https://buff.ly/EFNO1Of 

Stop dreaming. 
Start shipping.

The myth of overnight success:

It doesn't exist.

What looks like luck is usually:

• Years of unseen effort
• Relentless persistence
• Countless failures and lessons

Most people:

• See the highlight reel
• Chalk success up to "luck"
• Ignore the behind-the-scenes work

Success is an iceberg.

The visible part is tiny compared to what's beneath.

Stop waiting for your lucky break and start creating it through your work.

Your "big break" is built daily, not discovered.

Want to create your own luck?

There's no better place than LinkedIn.

I put together the most comprehensive research in the market on LinkedIn and packaged it in 90 min. of video.

Here's the full playbook: https://buff.ly/Rp0XTBD

Nobody wants to hear this. But it's true.

Success is boring.

It's not the big breakthrough.
Not the viral moment.
Not the genius strategy.

It's showing up. Again, and again, and again.

Even when nothing's working.

I started my business by writing on LinkedIn for 6 months before anything happened.

Zero traction.
No one cared.
Barely any engagement.

But I kept going.

Not because I'm special. Because I knew the only way to lose was to stop.

Most people quit right before it works.

They publish for a few weeks.
See no results.
Convince themselves it's not worth it.

Then they watch someone else blow up and think, "They got lucky."

No. They just outlasted you.

That's the game!

Patience isn't passive. It's active endurance.

Doing the work when it doesn't feel like it's working.
Showing up when no one's watching.
Trusting the process when you can't see progress.

That's how you win.

Not with one big move. With a thousand small ones.

So if you're frustrated because things aren't moving fast enough...

Good. That means you're still in it.

Stay patient. Keep moving.

The people who win are just the ones who refused to quit.

I documented every single system I used to stay consistent for 2,281 days straight. 

The Creator MBA is 111 lessons showing you exactly how to build an audience from zero, create content that compounds, and turn consistency into an 8-figure business. 

This is how you go from invisible to inevitable.

It's 75% off for early Black Friday. 

Stop waiting for the breakthrough. 

Start building it with a plan: https://buff.ly/JZMm8gU

Scott D. Clary

Founder of the Success Story Podcast (#1 Entrepreneur Pod) | Founder of The Social Club & I write a free weekly newsletter to 321k people.

Start here ➡️ https://newsletter.scottdclary.com

ScottDClary.com / SuccessStoryPodcast.com

📬 scott@scottdclary.com

𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧

📧 Email me at scott@scottdclary.com for speaking, interviews, podcasts or any other requests

📹Watch me on youtube at youtube.com/c/Scottdclary

👍Connect with me on social. Any social. @scottdclary

     - Twitter.com/scottdclary
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Advisor / Partner

On the Success Story podcast, Scott has candid interviews with execs, celebrities, notable figures and politicians. All who have achieved success through both wins and losses, to learn more about their life, their ideas and insights. 

He sits down with leaders and mentors and unpacks their story to help pass those lessons onto others through both experiences and tactical strategy for business professionals, entrepreneurs and everyone in between.

To get more of the Success Story podcast, go to www.podcast.scottdclary.com or www.youtube.com/c/scottdclary.

Your standards should make some people uncomfortable.

If everyone loves your expectations, they're too low.

High standards aren't mean. They're just a filter.

Most people spend their whole lives lowering standards to keep the peace.

Accepting mediocre work. Tolerating flakiness. Letting things slide.

Then they wonder why they're surrounded by mediocre, flaky people.

Your standards don't just affect the work.

They determine who sticks around.

Low standards attract people who want to do the minimum.

High standards attract people who want to do their best work.

It's that simple.

Some people will call you demanding. Unreasonable. Too much.

Let them.

They were never going to meet the standard anyway.

The people who can rise to it don't complain about the bar being high.

They just clear it.

Stop apologizing for expecting excellence.

The right people appreciate it.

—

I write a weekly newsletter where I unpack these ideas.

→ newsletter.scottdclary.com

I’m the founder of WWA, a modern media & marketing agency, the host of Success Story (#1 Entrepreneur Podcast - 50m+ downloads) and I write a weekly email to 321,000 people.

Most people work first and play with what's left.

There's never anything left.

That's not an accident. That's the default.

Work will always expand to fill the space you give it.

So stop giving it all the space.

Schedule the fun first:

→ Book the vacation
→ Buy the concert tickets
→ Plan the weekend trip
→ Lock in the dinner

Then let work figure itself out around it.

I used to do this backwards.

"I'll take time off when things slow down."

Things never slowed down.

Now I book the trip first. Work adjusts.

Because here's what actually happens:

If fun isn't on the calendar, it doesn't happen.

You tell yourself "next month" until next month becomes next year.

Treat joy like a meeting.

Put it in the calendar. Protect it. Show up for it.

Happiness doesn't happen in the gaps.

It happens when you plan for it.

Book fun like it's mandatory.

Because it is.

—

I write a weekly newsletter where I unpack these ideas.

→ newsletter.scottdclary.com

I'm the founder & host of Success Story (#1 Entrepreneur Podcast - 50m+ downloads) and I write a weekly email to 321,000 people.

The stuff you're avoiding isn't random.

It's a map.

That conversation you keep putting off? That's where the breakthrough is.

That project that feels too hard? That's where the growth is.

That truth you don't want to face? That's where freedom lives.

Your brain isn't trying to protect you by making you avoid things.

It's showing you exactly where you need to go.

I spent two years avoiding learning to sell.

Hated it. Made excuses. Built everything else around my business except that.

Revenue stayed flat the entire time.

Finally faced it. Learned to sell.

Revenue doubled in six months.

The thing I was running from was the only thing that mattered.

Your avoidance is a compass:

→ Whatever you're dodging is what needs attention
→ Whatever makes you uncomfortable is where you're stuck
→ Whatever you keep procrastinating on is your next level

Stop treating avoidance like it's random resistance.

It's specific. And it's telling you something.

The thing you least want to do is usually the thing you most need to do.

Turn around. Face it.

That's the work.

—

I write a weekly newsletter where I unpack these ideas.

→ newsletter.scottdclary.com

I spent 15 years chasing the wrong definition of happiness.

More money.
More achievements.  
More recognition.
More responsibilities.

At 35, I discovered the truth:

Happiness isn't addition. It's subtraction.

Here's what actually moved the needle:

• Eliminating debt (not earning more)
• Cutting toxic relationships (not networking more)  
• Declining pointless meetings (not being "busy")
• Removing energy vampires (not adding "positive people")
• Saying no to obligations (not saying yes to opportunities)

The modern world convinced us happiness is something to acquire.

Wrong.

It's something you uncover by removing what buries it.

Stop adding. Start subtracting.

The life you want isn't built by accumulation.

It's revealed through elimination.

—

I write a weekly newsletter where I unpack these ideas.

→ newsletter.scottdclary.com

I can predict your future by watching how you handle discomfort.

Not what you say. What you actually do when things get hard.

Someone uncomfortable on a sales call? They'll stay broke.

Someone uncomfortable with feedback? They'll stay average.

Someone uncomfortable being a beginner? They'll never start anything new.

Your tolerance for discomfort is your growth ceiling.

I've seen this play out hundreds of times:

Two people start the same thing.

One quits the second it gets uncomfortable.

One leans into the discomfort and figures it out.

Five years later, they're living completely different lives.

Same opportunity. Different tolerance.

Here's the pattern:

→ High discomfort tolerance = constant growth
→ Low discomfort tolerance = permanent stagnation

It's not about talent or intelligence or connections.

It's about whether you can sit in discomfort long enough for it to turn into competence.

Most people can't.

They feel awkward and quit.

They feel uncertain and retreat back to what's comfortable.

Then they wonder why nothing changes.

Your future isn't determined by your goals.

It's determined by how much discomfort you're willing to sit in to get there.

Comfort is where growth stops.

Discomfort is where it starts.

Pick one.

—

I write a weekly newsletter where I unpack these ideas.

→ newsletter.scottdclary.com

Some people are supposed to be in your story forever. Some people are just supposed to teach you what you needed to learn so you could become who you're meant to be. Both are valuable, but only one gets to stay.

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