Hi Dan,

You are an entrepreneur! Then you know exactly what I’m saying here. You’ve just been playing with me here! :-)

I don’t think I’ve sugar-coated this. It takes money and sacrifice to build a business. A creator business is no different. You know what it takes.

I agree that there is a hypothetical finite limit to the amount of attention that humanity has, but it’s a stretch to call that a zero-sum game. The average American used to watch 28 hours of TV per week. A big chunk of that has shifted to consuming online content. There are still billions that don’t have internet access. We are a long way way from peak creation.

I’ve heard many criticisms of the 22-year-old backpacker failing at multiple business ideas in cheaper locations like Thailand. What few people see is that over time most of those 20 something digital nomads have built large and successful businesses and have families now, so they are not hanging around in cafes any longer. They can and do live anywhere in the world.

Places like Chiang Mai are great because there are so many other startups and creators around.

If you want more inspiration, check out the interviews on TropicalMBA. There are hundreds of success stories there.

Again, no one fails forever.

Many will quit, but those that stick around find a way to make it work. Persistence is everything. You can’t start a business and then give up because it’s not working in 3 months.

You keep seeming to suggest that everyone is struggling. That is far from the case. Everyone struggles when they are new and getting started, but those early difficult days of sacrifice don’t last forever. Not all creators and startups are in their early 20s.

Again, the definition of creator is probably important here. I’m using it in the sense of “creator economy” which is building a business around publishing content.

All artists are not be getting rich selling their paintings, but many are making a living with online courses, affiliate sales, events.

The average musician is not making thousands of dollars per month from Spotify, but there are more opportunities than ever for online teaching, courses, voice-overs, selling music tracks, music production, podcast intros, editing, etc.

Of course, not every teenager is a millionaire entrepreneur. However, it’s not hard to find hundreds of examples of teenage millionaires. There are plenty examples of twenty-something billionaires now too. Those opportunities definitely didn’t exist when I was a teenager.

I’m happy to share those examples as role models for teenagers. There is no downside and practical infinite upside for making and creating as a teenager, or anyone.

Gaining online skills, building an audience, networking with other entrepreneurs, and growing a business have so much upside. Anyone who does this consistently at any age is going to win. (I called this the Creator Game in a different post, after Packy McCormick’s Great Online Game.)

What’s the alternative?

Should we be teaching our kids that the world is a difficult place so they shouldn’t even try?

Only .2% of student athletes become professionals, so don’t bother playing sports?
90% of startups fail, so don’t ever start your own business?

I can’t support those ideas at all.