Shay Carl on Wealth, Parenting, and the Future of Video
“Money was never the goal; it was freedom. I just wanted to be able to not go to work.” – Shay Carl
This is another special in-betweenisode. It’s a little shorter than the normal long-form episodes, and it features a Q&A with Shay Carl (@shaycarl).
If you missed our first interview, Shay’s story is incredible. He was a manual laborer for ages and uploaded his first YouTube video while on break from his job.
Flash forward to today:
His SHAYTARDS channel now has roughly 2.3 BILLION views. Celebs like Steven Spielberg have appeared alongside Shay and his family.
He co-founded Maker Studios, which sold to Disney for nearly $1 billion.
He has been married 13 years and has five kids.
He has lost more than 100 pounds since his overweight peak.
This time around, he answers listener questions in the way only he can, such as:
How to grow a YouTube following from scratch.
The future of ad revenue and sponsorship.
How he balances capturing the moment vs. experiencing the moment.
His greatest obstacles in life.
Lessons learned as a father.
And much, much more.
If you only have 5 minutes, learn how having more money changed Shay’s life.
I also wanted to announce my new book, Tools of Titans (Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon). It’s the culmination of the last two years of this podcast. It’s made up of my favorite takeaways, the lessons I’ve learned, and the tools I’ve applied to my own life from all of the guests on this show, including some new guests you’ve not yet met.
Consider it the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure guide to optimizing your life — it’s got everything from finance to physical performance!
Please enjoy this round two with Shay Carl.
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another interview with Shay Carl? — Listen to his first appearance on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss the most important decisions in his life, stories he’s never shared before, and his favorite tips for creating on YouTube (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.
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This podcast is also brought to you by Vimeo Business. Vimeo Business has all of the prior benefits of Vimeo Pro, including VIP support. Whether you make videos for a living, run your own company, or simply want to amp up your video marketing, Vimeo Business is here to help. It has more than 280 million creators and viewers worldwide and makes it easier to share your videos with a global audience and connect with professional video makers to bring your stories to life.
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Shay Carl:
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Shay Carl: From Manual Laborer to 2.3 Billion YouTube Views (Shay’s first appearance on this show)
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss (coming in December — pre-order now!)
Mr. Safety
DudeLikeHELLA (Cory Williams’ channel about life in Alaska)
A NEW CHAPTER by BFvsGF (an example of how daily vlogging can take its toll on a relationship)
The Philip DeFranco Show
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Jay really likes Jordan shoes.
Disney Buys Maker Studios, Video Supplier for YouTube by Brooks Barnes, The New York Times
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
The Shawshank Redemption (film)
Show Notes
If Shay had to start from scratch today, does he think it would still be possible to create a business on YouTube? [08:05]
Is the daily vlogger space now oversaturated? [09:45]
Has Shay ever experienced detrimental effects in his personal life because of the time and commitment it takes to put out a daily vlog? [13:53]
What is the sustainable future of monetization for online content creators? [17:04]
What is the very best form of advertising? [20:37]
How did Shay feel telling the truth about alcoholism during his last appearance on this show? [24:12]
Shay’s safe and painless writing exercise for dealing with difficult truths. [26:33]
If Shay had two weeks to teach people how to tell better stories on YouTube, what would that course look like? [27:30]
Other than having better shoes, how has money changed Shay (if at all)? [30:40]
Shay talks about how he got out of debt and saved money — even when he was still broke. [35:25]
What does Shay do to overcome doubt? [37:30]
People Mentioned
Steven Spielberg
Cory Williams
Colette Butler
Philip DeFranco
Malcolm Gladwell
Dave Ramsey
Andy Dufresne
