did you become a youtuber or how do you
use cameras for a living like I’m
working right now this job I don’t like
and I don’t know what to do and I’ve
been there I’m a hundred percent been
there you’re gonna get better once you
go through the you know how do you take
good photos you take thousands of bad
photos until you start taking more good
photos and then the ratio starts
changing I think if you don’t fail
you’re not doing it right
to be honest I think you should be
failing often need motivation what to
top ten with believe nation what’s up
it’s Evan my one word is believe and I
believe in you I believe you have an
amazing gift inside you that I want to
see exploded onto the world so let’s get
your motivation to attend and get you
believing in you grab a snack and chew
on today’s lessons from a man who went
from bouncing around from job to job to
eventually finding his love of
photography moving to YouTube and
launching a channel that in less than a
year had over a million subscribers he’s
Peter McKinnon and here’s my take on his
alright let’s kick that off with rule
number one find your path I’ve had so
many jobs in my lifetime and they all
kind of amounted to Who I am today and
got me to where I am now a lot of people
always ask me like how did you become a
youtuber or how do you use cameras for a
living like I’m working right now this
job I don’t like and I don’t know what
to do and I’ve been there I’m a hundred
percent been there this was actually my
very first job at a complex I worked for
the circus used to wash the elephants
and sell snow cone and I had so many
jobs over the years so many different
places but it’s all of those it’s all of
those things in between that make you
who you are and shape you to become what
you’re supposed to be it’s every
resignation it’s every job determination
it’s a very bad manager every good
manager every HR meeting every job that
you hate every lunch break every punch
clock all of that stuff matters and I
always get asked you know if I was to do
it all again no I wouldn’t do anything
different I would still come back here
and wash those elephants I want them to
escape once and it’s like the best day
of my life but and this wasn’t the only
like weird job I had in trying to find
my path I mean for instance here here I
actually met my wife here too so that’s
a bonus almost here didn’t even make it
to the first day of training so here
here I actually worked for Apple with my
wife only for about four hours though we
didn’t even last through the first day
of training they all stood on their
chairs and said who’s ready to drink the
apple juice to which we both said no and
we left at lunch okay so all of us to
say that I’ve worked a ton of jobs like
I’ve there is places that I left out of
this video because it would have taken
me like three more days to get to hit
them all in this video would have been
like an hour long but the reason I
wanted to show you this and the reason I
wanted to take you to some of the spots
that I’ve worked in my life was to show
you that I’m just like you I’m no better
than you or anybody else I’m just a guy
that worked all of these places trying
to find his own passion I finally got
there it took me like the better part of
eighteen years of working for other
people to finally get to the point where
I just worked for myself now and
took me if you think about it 18 years
to get here
it took me washing elephants it took me
getting fired from jobs it took me
working at a steakhouse Home Depot going
through training at Apple trying to
figure out what I wanted to do because
you don’t know and that’s okay it’s okay
if you don’t know you just got to put in
the time and don’t give up if it’s
something that you want you can get it
it just depends how long you’re willing
to work for it
rule number two my personal favorite
just start one of my biggest issues in
creating content beep that’s
cinematography like film stuff or photo
stuff or coming up with a photo series
or just trying to grind out ideas for
new art and content and media a lot of
my issue comes in me not being able to
get out of my own head I think a lot
about everything I think about okay well
it could look better if I if I wait
until I set up my office to make it look
a little cooler with a nice background
or maybe it’ll be better when I get that
extra light I’m gonna wait till I get
the light or hmm it could be better if I
did stop just stop
step one just do it just stop thinking
about it just do it just film just start
filming now forget about the light
forget about the couch or the setup or
the background or I don’t know where to
get music from I don’t know where just
forget all of that for now the only
thing you need to think about
it’s just filming same thing goes for
photos I don’t know what to take photos
of or I don’t know how to get my photos
to look as good as this guy that I
follow on Instagram or you know how
you’re gonna get there by taking
thousands of bad photos you’re gonna get
better once you go through the you know
how do you take good photos you take
thousands of bad photos until you start
taking more good photos and then the
ratio starts changing and then suddenly
you’ve got more good photos than you
have bad photos and before you know it
people are asking you how to take good
photos but the step that is required to
get to that point is just starting to
take photos take photos of whatever
shoot what you’re eating shoot your trip
to Ikea
find something interesting in a shopping
mall and take photos of it hang out with
some friends shoot that just shoot your
pets your kids your anything you just
got a start
rule number three don’t fear failure I
think if you don’t fail you’re not doing
it right to be honest I think you should
be failing often but it’s important it
teaches you it limits and shows you like
the limits you need to pass nobody ever
made mistakes
I could be really boring that’s true
yeah if you only try to succeed then
you’re limiting yourself not to fail
which your failure can eventually
believe the greatest Thunder exercise
yeah never be afraid of not getting it
right or failing or not getting the part
or not getting the job like it’s just
one more notch in your belt but you’re
still gonna wear it that’s a long piece
of leather use tons of room for more
notches nobody sees the like 17 plus
years of work that I’ve done before
today where you finally stumbled upon a
video of mine ruling before work for
free if you have never charged for your
work before or charged to do what you
love and made money from it I think the
best way to jump in to start test the
waters if you will is to work for free
I’m not saying give it all the way bust
your ass and find someone that needs
work and just make them money I’m saying
offering your services to someone that
might need them is a great way to get
your name out there to get your work out
there maybe someone needs headshots
maybe you’ve got a friend who’s a
realtor and he needs some photos for the
signs that he’s gonna be putting up all
over the neighborhood boom your photos
are now on a sign all over a
neighborhood you can think I do realtor
photos
doesn’t matter no one has to know that
you did it for free you can always just
say yeah I’ve done it before I’ve done
work for this guy he’s this realtor he
put his stuff up everywhere no one’s
ever gonna know who you are and no one’s
ever gonna know that they can actually
pay you to take photos if you don’t
start kind of just plugging yourself
into that pipeline rule number five
ignore the haters one of my friends
Daniel told me once if nobody hates you
you’re probably doing it wrong and
that’s just the case there’s all kinds
of trolls on the internet if you’re an
artist it comes with the job
you know these people don’t have
creativity so they spread
what they have to offer which is
negativity in hopes to bring you down
that’s their contribution to society and
if anything we shouldn’t be offended by
it
we shouldn’t be hurt by it even though a
lot of the things that are said can be
hurtful if anything we should feel sorry
and pity for these people because all
they have to contribute is just
negativity and think about what it is to
live like that that’s miserable right
niche on the Internet I mean learn to
cook just anything they don’t have what
it takes to put the work out there but
you do they don’t have what it takes to
go out and create something and make
something and put it on the internet and
open themselves up to being vulnerable
to just put art out there for the world
to experience not everyone’s gonna like
it
you go see a movie you might not like it
your friend might like it you might love
it your girlfriend hates it
your boyfriend loves it you hate it so
it’s subjective art is subjective that’s
the best part about it it’s not for
everybody so don’t be discouraged by the
people telling you you’re a complete
idiot I can’t believe you did that this
video is complete garbage
you suck that’s fine like whatever
you’re the one sitting here putting in
the work putting that art out there into
the world and that is what’s gonna open
doors there’s a cool Andy Warhol quote I
forget like the specifics of it but it’s
like make art and while people are
deciding if they like it or not make
more art ultimately doesn’t matter rule
number six be relentless did you ever go
through a time in your career where you
felt like you were doing everything
right you weren’t gaining any traction
yeah my whole life there was plenty of
times I would start a new photos series
or shoot a bunch of weddings and think
like how all these shots are so good the
clients wouldn’t really be happy or I
wouldn’t get anywhere with the photo
series I was doing or I’d get picked up
for some local magazines and they put my
photos on the cover and I was like yes
but then no phone calls would really
come from it I would try to network and
you would get discouraged and stuff like
that but the keys that just be
relentless don’t stop trying
even if nothing’s coming from all the
work you’re putting into it it’s
happening in the background it’ll all
manifest
just something all of that time and work
is by no means wasted whatsoever so just
keep at it even if it’s nothing’s coming
to fruition you feel like all these
efforts are just like for nothing
they’re not absolutely they’re not they
make you who you are
they make you better at what you do you
learn from every single thing that you
do when you shoot and project that you
work with and people that you meet just
eventually just like it’ll just happen
and you’ll be like okay wicked super
happy I stuck with this rule number
seven be consistent but being consistent
is key and I like Matt to let’s say a
Netflix didn’t exist right and we still
had to watch TV shows weekly let’s say
an episode of 24 came on back when it
was in the heyday and I was on a Monday
and then you’re looking forward to next
Monday were in 24 is coming back but you
know what they just skipped five weeks
and then 24 was on and then it was on
for like four days in a row and it was
gone for a month he’s like what is
happening you just can’t fall in love
with it you can’t get into it you can’t
get on board so consistency being
consistent with your posting times and
and committing to doing this and
starting that channel is something
that’s really gonna help you guys out
really gonna help your channel rule
number eight step out of your comfort
zone I’m a perfectionist like if my
b-roll doesn’t look a certain way
there’s a slight camera shake in just if
I’m shooting in 1:20 and it’s a perfect
moving in close and then oh it just it
just kind of goes out its garbage delete
it I don’t even want to see it
even still at the end of my videos like
I’m pretty much always unhappy with my
videos it’s just like I don’t know I
just don’t like my own stuff and it’s
because I’m so hard on myself and such a
perfectionist so it’s kind of like
liberating also challenging doing a
video like this where it’s like I’m not
gonna have any b-roll in it like there’s
no music I can loop for like thirty
minutes if I wanted to go crazy so I I
might not even put music in this video
and just thinking about that stresses me
out it gives me anxiety but I think it’s
good to like do things that make you
feel so uncomfortable I think that’s
that means that means you’re growing
that means that as a creative person you
are you know you are expanding that
toolkit that you have and I think the
bigger that toolkit is the more valuable
it is because you just understand
everything
better so this in and of itself is kind
of like us stepping out of our comfort
zone and doing something that is
completely outside the realm of
everything we’ve done before as far as
YouTube goes yeah rule number nine be
inspired by others grant Anthony asks
how do you deal with comparing your work
to others
how do you get motivation to carry on
when there are so many photographers
that are better than me let’s start with
this there’s always gonna be someone
that does what you do better and to me
that’s a good thing because I don’t want
to be the ultimate best at what I do if
I was the best photographer in the world
I was the best cinematographer there was
nobody nobody better it would be so
boring it would be so lonely it’d be
cool for like a day and then you’d be
like wow like now what being not as good
as other people lets you get a taste of
what it is that you want to strive
towards it lets you think to yourself
wow I want to get to that place and
shoot photos like that so how do I get
there let’s build a plan let’s make the
steps let’s let’s get inspired on a
daily basis because you’re scrolling
through Instagram and you’re like look
at all these incredible photos I need to
be taking photos like this so what are
you gonna do about it
go start taking photos like that that’s
my approach to it like I am super happy
that I’m not the best at what I do and
seeing better editors and seeing better
vloggers and seeing better photographers
just makes me love what I do even more
because I just think to myself man
there’s so much room to grow forever and
that’s what I love and rule number 10
the last one before a very special bonus
clip is have fun I know I’ve mentioned
in a lot of previous videos and
throughout different tutorials and stuff
that you know to break into the industry
you have to do X and you have to just
get out there and start making contacts
but you know I think of I’ve I haven’t
and I’ve forgotten to mention that more
importantly than all of this stuff is to
have a good time doing this most of us
probably started photography as a hobby
or as something that we just wanted to
do to have some fun or make new friends
or just be creative and find a new way
to express ourselves and that’s
forgotten a lot of the time down
Rhodes when you start making money and
you start you know doing jobs and it
stops being fun and stops being a hobby
and just turns into what you have to do
to make it happen and I think it’s very
very easy to go down that path and just
forget about you know why it is you love
doing what you’re doing in the first
place
so I thought about that today when I was
flying the drones because like I
mentioned earlier that the light wasn’t
good in the footage you know it’s okay
but just have fun flying the drone have
fun hanging out with friends and my
friend Gabriel put it really well is
that like not only does he love
photography but he loves where it takes
him because the experiences that you
have in doing this craft are as unique
as the craft itself did I think I was
gonna be tapping trees today for SAP in
the middle of a forest
no absolutely not but am I pumped that I
got to be there and share that
experience with a friend and drink beer
and just have a good time yeah
absolutely amazing and is it about
capturing the best footage possible not
all the time sometimes you got to go out
capture the memories capture that
feeling that you had when you first
started photography when it was just fun
and you did it because you loved to do
it bit of a cheese ending huh I just
wanted you guys to know that because I
forget that myself it’s about having fun
at the same time so that’s where I’m
going to end it thanks for hanging out
I’ve got a special bonus Peter McKinnon
clip around allowing yourself to suck
that I think you’re gonna enjoy but
before that I want to know what did you
learn from this video you watch this all
the way through you learn great lessons
from Peter what was it that you’re gonna
take away and apply to your life or to
your business leave it down in the
comments below when you write it down
you’re making a commitment to do it and
it’s much more likely to happen so leave
those comments thank you guys so much
for watching I believe in you I hope we
continue to believe in yourself and
whatever your one word is much love I’ll
create something today even if it sucks
let me explain
[Music]
it’s funny how life works you know a lot
of those times you think something might
be a waste of time or it’s not worth
your time and then it doesn’t end up
paying off until like months down the
road maybe years down the road that’s
the funny thing about it you just don’t
know last year went to an event in Las
Vegas I’ve kind of felt like maybe it
was a bit of a waste of my time didn’t
we do too much left a little bit early
kind of came back thinking like my right
well moving on didn’t even think
anything of it until I started getting
messages on Instagram from one of the
guys that I met there now this guy’s
name is Stefan and he’s an incredible
lettering artist an incredible
illustrator of this guy started
messaging me saying like hey like we
should do a collaboration like should I
come over and draw all over your coffee
machine and that that line right there
is what got me to be like wait what why
my coffee machine but it just goes to
show you this guy is now staying in my
house and drawing on my bedroom wall so
it’s funny the time but you think
something wasn’t worth it or it wasn’t
worth your time only to have it pay off
and manifest into something months down
I believe that in the creative field one
of the most important things is to allow
yourself to suck not that you have to
suck it’s just that you give yourself
room to suck a lot of my projects you
suck
allowing what I do and the quality that
I bring out not to be the focus of my
work actually helped my journey as a
creative a lot more every time I start a
new wall or chalk wall I enjoy being at
that spot right there you guys know I
love the quote done is better than
perfect and yeah I still struggle with
that daily so he’s like I’ll draw on the
back of your door and I was like that’s
the best thing I’ve ever heard I can’t
you write my own name like I mean I can
but like it’s it’s pretty bad but so I’m
just gonna start to draw now so three
two one done so good look at this dude
that looks so good it’s awesome right
raise your standard Apple at the core
its core value is that means that people
your passion and not one drop of most
self-worth depends on your it’s supposed
to mean I don’t ever give up I’d have to
be dead or completely incapacitated hey
believe nation if you want to see my
all-time favorite top ten rows of
success I have a very special secret
video for you these are the individual
clips that I have personally learned the
most from and applied to my life and my
business check the link the description for details