George Kao challenges the common assumption that success requires building large numbers of followers. He presents an alternative model: focusing on joyful service and meaningful connection with viewers and clients, valuing small, steady impact and daily gratitude over chasing fame. The talk mixes personal examples (small view counts, appreciative comments, client progress) with practical encouragement to lean into service despite fear and slow growth.
Chapters
In the business world, there's so much focus on fame and if you look at the people that you follow, the thought leaders, there is an unspoken sometimes spoken, but there's often an unspoken assumption that it's a good thing to build as many followers as possible, to get your Facebook page likes up, to get your Instagram followers up as much as possible. Right? And in this video I want to question that assumption. And in fact I hope I can be a model of a different way. Instead of building more and more and more followers and fans, I'm actually aiming for a life of joyful service. No matter how many or how few fans or how many views I get on this video, this video is probably only get a couple dozen views on YouTube and maybe a couple hundred on Facebook, which is actually not a A couple hundred views on Facebook for a video is very easy to get even just from a personal video on your timeline. But I am grateful that I have a deep feeling of well being just about every day. I am so grateful for the comments that I get from you on my videos and my blog posts. Even sometimes if I just get one comment, it makes me feel like I'm making an impact. And of course my clients, I'm so grateful to be able to work with them and see their progress as we go throughout the weeks and the months. And I'm grateful for my continual facing of the fear that as any content creator feels the fear and the resistance of Before I make this video, what am I going to say? Is it going to be smart enough for you to keep your attention? Right? It's natural. It's a natural experience that I still experience every day. But I've learned to ignore that fear and lean into the feeling of service and the feeling of connection that I get with you as I make this. And I'm grateful for this life. And really I'm really fine with just growing my impact a little bit at a time. Maybe a few more viewers a month, it's fine by me. And sometimes maybe it's five more viewers a month and then three drop off or whatever and two net viewers additional per month. But again, I want to question this assumption that we have to keep on building thousands and tens of thousands and millions of followers to be satisfied with our success. And I want to be a different model of that. I am truly feeling like I've arrived in a sense of being deeply peaceful and joyful every day. And the opportunity to serve just brings such fullness to my heart. And hopefully you can see me as a model as a juxtaposition to the other models in your life who have tens of thousands or millions of followers, and and you don't have to try to get there before you feel like you've arrived. Maybe what's more important is getting a sense of deep peace and joyfulness and leaning into the opportunity and privilege of service every day through the content that you put out there, through the meetings you have with clients, or through the outreach you do to prospective clients with a primary purpose of being of connection and service to them, no matter what. So I hope that from my life I can be that example for you of not having to be famous and yet being able to make an impact. And most importantly, as I mentioned, the joy of growing as we continue to serve in whatever small or big way that we're serving today.
