10 Lessons We Learned From Filming 131 Episodes of My First Million In 2023

This year-end episode of My First Million finds Shaan Puri and Sam Parr reflecting on the podcast's growth and key lessons learned. They analyze their content strategy, subscriber growth, and personal takeaways from the past year. Both hosts share individual insights and experiences, offering advice for aspiring creators and entrepreneurs.

• Podcast Growth and Numbers: Sam shares that the podcast reached nearly 100 million views across YouTube (80 million) and podcast apps (15 million) from 131 episodes. They discuss the workload and how their best episodes often come from spontaneous ideas.

• Top Performing Episodes: Sam reveals the top three most viewed episodes on both platforms, noting the popularity of discussions about AI, business ideas, and content monetization. He points out how Dharmesh Shah likely boosted the views of his episode through his own network.

• YouTube Growth Strategies: Sam attributes subscriber growth (210,000 new subscribers, reaching 360,000 total) to actively encouraging viewers to subscribe ("gentleman's agreement"). Shaan highlights the "thrill of the shill" approach, making ad reads entertaining for both hosts and the audience.

• Consistency vs. Virality: Shaan emphasizes the steady growth of the podcast and contrasts it with his own approach on Twitter. He observes that consistent effort, like Sahil Bloom’s, often outperforms sporadic viral moments. He shares a crucial lesson from Andrew Wilkinson's business partner, Chris, who questions the assumption that people learn from failures. Shaan admits he learned the wrong lesson, prioritizing viral moments over consistent output.

• Value of Social Media Popularity: Sam questions the worth of social media fame, especially for already successful individuals. Shaan explains his motivation stems from a desire to be a "thinker" and share his insights through content creation.

• Negotiation Tactics: Sam recounts a negotiation experience where Shaan's seemingly aggressive approach yielded better results. He learned the importance of being comfortable with discomfort during negotiations. Shaan clarifies the principle: it's not about winning, but ensuring both parties feel satisfied.

• Tax Planning as a Priority: Shaan stresses the importance of tax planning, especially for high earners. He shares his regret for not prioritizing this earlier and his recent foray into real estate investment for tax benefits. He credits Jess Ma for prompting him to take action and mentions her point about the financial irresponsibility of neglecting taxes.

• Loose Cannon vs. Measured Approach: Sam discusses the pitfalls of being a "loose cannon" on social media, using Dave Portnoy as an example. He contrasts this with the more measured approach of successful figures like Andrew Wilkinson, Syed Balkhi, Kevin Ryan, and Sarah Moore. Sam expresses a preference for privacy and avoiding online conflicts.

• Upmarket vs. Downmarket Content: Shaan shares James Currier's advice to focus on creating upmarket content that attracts a higher-value audience. He uses examples of NFX and Gary Vaynerchuk to illustrate different content strategies. He expresses his own intention to resist the temptation of downmarket content and focus on attracting the right people, not just a large audience. He analyzes Alex Hormozi’s content strategy and the Genius CEO’s persona as examples of downmarket strategies.

• Multiple Paths to Success: Sam emphasizes the diverse paths to success highlighted on the podcast. He uses Syed Balkhi's unconventional journey as an example. He notes that while building a small business over decades might be statistically more likely to lead to wealth, many other valid paths exist. Shaan agrees, expressing hope that the podcast helps listeners see success as abundant and achievable through various means.

• The Desire for More: Sam discusses the common desire for more, even among the wealthy, citing Scott Galloway and Morgan Housel as examples. He emphasizes that it's normal to continually seek new accomplishments, even after achieving goals. Shaan connects this to the concept of infinite games, where the joy lies in playing, not just reaching a finite result. He uses basketball and business as examples of infinite games. Sam acknowledges the stress associated with constantly wanting more but emphasizes the importance of finding healthy ways to pursue growth. Shaan suggests that emotions are practiced, and contentment requires active cultivation. He references Tony Robbins’s concept of “emotional home” and encourages listeners to practice feeling the emotions they desire.