When I first heard the name Brian Rose, it didn't mean anything to me at the time - he was the presenter of the London Real podcast - but that was before he changed my life. In 2011, Brian was considered "successful": safe job, decent money, a nice place to life - you know the story. But he had enough of the corporate world, the money grabbing, the status chasing, and the holidays that left him feeling alone. So he did something insane: he took off 6 months, started a YouTube channel, and started taking over the world.
As soon as he made the switch, he fell back in love with his work. But since no one can work for free forever, Brian had to think about monetization - so how did he push through nearly 4 years of content creation before the podcast took off?
He shared his story at TEDx, sharing the 10 habits that let Brian do what's most important to him: do work he loves, and help others.
Check out our highlights below, and grab your ticket to see Brian at Startup Grind London on March 24th!
Getting to the Real
London Real is now a podcast and video series with 250,000 subscribers, and growing, having collected over 40 million views of interviews with “people worth watching” for perspectives in business, health, life and spirituality. Brian built the show with blood, sweat, and passion, grinding for years before seeing it take off.
The Key Success Habits Of Brian Rose, Host of London Real
Had Brian never made a penny from London Real it still would have changed the world - it only takes one guest to have one idea to do that. By his words, "it's very hard to fail completely if you aim high enough." You don't need to change the world tomorrow - things take time, and consistency.
Here are Brian's 10 most important habits to growing as a person, a brand, and a business.
1. Have a Strategy
Brian's great talent is not art or technology - it's strategy. He puts the right people in the right place, becoming the Richard Branson of the podcast world. He has built a strong team around him, and treats every guest as a mentor, getting some of the best business and life advice from true thought leaders Chris Eubank, Daniel Priestly and Peter Sage.
2. Be Adaptive
Brian’s vision has always been the same but Brian isn't afraid to change the direction of the podcast, and his life. You, too, should be ready to tweak your product, service, or whole startup to adapt to your audience. You can see the influence of guests on Brian's own life: Ido Portal lives on in his exercise routine, Dan Pena and Daniel Priestley in his business strategy, and many more in tiny habits that come through in following interviews. Be humble enough to take advice from the experts.
3. Take Risk
Everything is a risk - including not taking a risk. The number 1 risk that changed the podcast, and the whole of London Real as a business, was letting Dan Pena into his life. Brian shifted from spiritual and laid back to demanding the best of himself in every aspect of his life. Every time Brian has to change his product or service, he risks upsetting his audience, but it's a necessary step of growing a business.
4. Take MASSIVE ACTION
If there’s one thing that has truly made London Real what it is, it's Brian's dedication to his work. With a full team, that dedication has become the backbone of London Real's entire brand, encouraging everyone to put in long hours to film, edit, distribute, promote, design, and mastermind the product, and mentor one another.
Brian isn't free of other commitments: he prioritizes his wife and daughter, but still manages to put in extensive hours building something world changing.
5. Do Good and Get Help
This is something you must experience to believe in: if you help others, you will be helped - but you have to act first. Often times, the help you give turns becomes incredibly valuable, helping you break through barriers you wouldn't be able to surmount yourself. Though this takes time, consider that it look Brian 4 years before London Real started getting connected to and helped by some of the best entrepreneurs in the world.
To get the most support, be amazing to others, and build amazing things - cool enough to encourage use, but useful enough that they're of great help.
6. Tackle Resistance
Brian says it, Tim Ferriss says it, and so do the Stoics:
You have the move in the direction you want to avoid to move fastest. Do the thing that scares you.
By doing the scariest task of the day, week, or month, your business will move in the right direction quickly. If you complete one of these “scary” tasks each day you’ll feel much more rewarded at the end of the week/month/year.
7. Nurture True Fans
Brian is genuine and authentic. By creating a message and brand you live your life by, you become the face of the brand. By being genuine and helping people, the fans you build are strong and loyal. Ask any London Real fans about their favorite shows, and you'll note his customers become evangelists for the podcast and academy. The London Real culture is so strong that everyone wants to help out, everyone wants to be a part of the community.
8. Balance Perfectionism
One thing I only recently realized with Brian is his attention to detail and perfection: he has found the balance between trying to make everything perfect and making sure the work gets done.
It’s very easy for perfectionism to become procrastination. Brian toes the line with perfectionism, but always gets the job done.
9. Makes Time For The Right People
Brian makes as much time as a busy person can, but he doesn’t spend time with people who aren’t serious. It's simple: if you’re creating something great and helping others, Brian will make the time for you.
If you want to connect with someone this busy, you’ll first have to help them first - or you have to already have an established following/business.
If you look at team in the office, it’s serious people only - only the people who love London Real and are working on it during the crazy hours.
10. Build a Love Brand
Brian created a community of the best people around, his events are unique, completely avoiding the world of “gurus” and sticking to a the world of professionals. In being true to his intentions, Brian is building a brand customers love, not like.
There’s experts in business, physical training, pitching, space travel, physics, poker, racing etc etc etc... and then the very same guests hanging out in the academy. London Real creates a genuinely great business where the community and content come first, and the money comes second.