In this solo monologue, Rob Anderson, founder and lead coach of StandSure Coaching, shares his perspective on dealing with online criticism, the pitfalls of chasing vanity metrics, and the importance of focusing on impact rather than attention. He explains how he responds to snarky comments with positivity, why he no longer obsess over views, likes, or subscriber counts, and how he values reaching the right few listeners who truly need his message. Anderson emphasizes that impact is about alignment with a small, committed audience, not scale, and encourages creators to lean into early, modest followings as foundational growth. He concludes with an invitation to join his "Definitely Coaching Club" on Patreon—a $75‑per‑month membership offering a monthly 45‑minute coaching call, workshop discounts, and pep‑rally calls—only for listeners who resonated with the episode.
Chapters
Man, the snarkiness online from keyboard commandos just, it never stops, but you can't let it bother you. Hey, in the next few minutes, I'm going to talk about criticism metrics and why your impact really shows up in your stats. I'm gonna share a lesson I learned about serving the right people instead of chasing most people. And at the end, I'm gonna give you a simple invitation to join my monthly coaching club over on Patreon. And I want you to do that only if what I share really resonates with you. My name is Rob Anderson, and I am— Rob Anderson. Hit the wrong button there. And I'm the founder and lead coach for StandSure Coaching. You know, every day without fail, somebody online drops a comment like, you know, if you were good, why do you have so few views? Here's another guru, which by the way, I'm not a guru, that doesn't have any followers. And the truth is, I don't get offended by it. Now I, now I respond to everybody who sends me a comment, whether that's on LinkedIn or Instagram, Facebook, wherever, right? If they leave me a comment, I, I will, I will comment back. I won't do anything snarky. So for example, the person who had said something about, here's a guru with no followers, I just said, hey, you know, you know, I'm trying to, I'm trying to spread some positivity. Why the hate? And that's all I really try to do. If you have watched my dailies Whether you're over on Patreon and you get them emailed to you, which by the way, I recommend you can do that for free. Or if you follow me on one of the other social media things, all I'm trying to do is spread out some positivity. We live in a world that has just so much freaking negativity with it. What does it hurt to have a YouTube channel that gives some positivity, gives someone a chance to move forward in direction? And yeah, I would love it if you hired me as your coach. But if you don't, hey, at least I was able to share something that is positive. And by the way, I'm sharing the things that matter the most to me because it's usually, usually whatever I share is the opposite of what's going on in my life at that time. And so I've got to find a positive way out of it. But every day without fail, somebody online has got to drop some kind of a comment. And I actually expect it. I don't welcome it. I'll be straight up. I don't welcome it, but my feelings don't get hurt. Because there's something that you figure out over time when you put your heart and work out into the world. You know, people judge your worth by your numbers. When they don't understand your purpose. And one of the things I find interesting is a lot of times people who comment, they don't have a channel. They don't post themselves. They have not posted any videos, or maybe they posted 1 or 2 videos, but most of the time, 99 times out of 100, they have not posted any videos. So they're not putting themselves out there. Over on my podcast, And I actually have 4 podcasts that I run, 2 that I maintain on a pretty regular basis. Really, this is the one that I've really been focused on lately. But on any of my podcasts, I don't check my stats. I don't look to see how many— even though the numbers are there, and if I see it when I glance at it, but I don't purposely go out to see how many views my videos are getting on any of my social media pages. Yeah. And I can see them, but it's incidental, right? I don't go looking for them. And I just don't care. On the podcast, I don't care to open the tab. And at a period of time when I did, years and years ago, when I started my first podcast around '06 or '07, I did look at numbers. And sometimes on one of my podcasts, I feel, I feel kind of insecure and I wonder if I wasn't enough, if my content didn't matter, if my voice was too small. Now I don't care. You know, if my voice is too small, but it's hitting the right, it's hitting the right ears, that's cool. Because one day something shifted. I realized that the people who were listening were the people who actually needed what I had to say. Divine intervention, a God thing, the universe, however you want to put it, the right people are listening. And that became a life lesson for me. You see, you don't need a crowd to change a life. You don't need thousands of followers or hundreds of thousands of followers to create transformation. I don't have to have a viral video in order to deliver value. Because if that video hits 50 people, there's a good chance it's the right 50. If a message reaches out and, man, 5 people watch it, man, all I'm hoping for at that point is that it's the right 5 people. It's the right 5 souls that were needing it, that were praying for it. They were hurting for it. They were ready for it. Impact isn't about scale. Impact is about alignment. And that's the life lesson that changed everything for me. We live in a world that is just obsessed with numbers, follower accounts, viewer accounts, likes, shares, comments. And when you don't have them, The world tells you that somehow you don't matter. Now, by the way, I love all that stuff. I love the— I actually love the comments more than I do the likes and shares. Subscribe helps to get the message out to other people. So don't get me wrong. Don't— I mean, I would love it if you hit that subscribe button for me. I'd love it if you like the videos. I love it even more when you comment. But here's the truth. Metrics measure attention. They don't measure impact. Attention— this is going to sound crazy, but attention is cheap. Impact is rare. What you create might not be for everyone, and it's not supposed to be. You and I aren't here to entertain the masses. We're here to serve the people who are ready, willing, And looking for our voice. So if you're putting yourself out there, starting a business, writing a blog, making videos, building a dream, trying to help others, and you're discouraged because only a handful of people are paying attention, hey, don't quit. I've been doing podcasting and blogging for over 20 years now. And I know that I've been able to hit the right voices or the right ears. My voice has been able to hit the right ears. Lean into the quiet, lean into the small beginning, lean into the depth instead of the width. Because the people who show up early, those first 5, those first 10, those first 50, they aren't just your audience. They're your foundation. They're the ones who will grow with you. They're the ones who will tell others. They're the ones who will carry your message farther than any algorithm ever will. And when you stop chasing numbers, something beautiful happens. You start creating from a place of authenticity instead of anxiety. You stop Performing and start serving. You stop comparing and start connecting. So here's my encouragement for you today. If what you're building feels small, don't pull back, lean into it. If the numbers don't match the quality of your heart, just keep showing up. If your work is reaching only a few people, remind yourself that the greatness that you have to share— man, it's just— think of it like this. The greatest revolutions in history— this is just popping into my brain here— but the greatest revolutions in history always started with just a handful of committed souls. Small beginnings are not a sign of failure. They're a sign of foundation. And if this message hits you today, maybe that's the proof. Maybe you're one of my right 5 or my right 50, and this episode was meant for you. Hey, if you want to go deeper, This invitation is for you. And I told you in the beginning, I framed it up in the beginning that I was gonna, that I was gonna throw this out there. If you want to go deeper, reach out. I put together a community. I put together a form of accountability. I want you to consider joining my monthly Definitely. Coaching Club over on Patreon. You get a 45-minute coaching call every month, plus discounts on workshops and other coaching and full access to our pep rally calls. It's an easy way to get consistent support and stay in momentum. It's $75 a month. That's where we're starting at. Okay, that's for the plank holders. That's for the early folks in. And join only if this episode resonated with you. Hey, I hope you have a great day and I hope this message meant something for you and you get something out of it. And if you join the club, that's awesome. If not, you and I got a chance to connect. Hey, thanks so much.
