You shouldn’t build a personal brand, start a podcast, stream, or anything like that.
Here’s why, with one exception:
Doing this in 2026 is the equivalent of being a stripper in a club with one million other strippers.
Yes, you can make money fast. But there are three major drawbacks:
A) This skill set stops producing money the second you stop shaking your ass.
B) There are 1,000 other creators starting every day. Even if you make it, you have to shake harder and harder to stay relevant.
It is no longer an “open” opportunity. The second you stop serving the algorithm, you are replaced.
C) You will not want to be shaking your ass on Twitch and making content at 40.
Keep in mind. At 40 you will not just have to maintain this. You will need to be shaking your ass 5x harder, every year, as the competition to be relevant get's harder and harder.
What you really should do is master a craft: business building, investing, or something else you can master in silence. Then do that for 30 to 40 years straight.
In all honesty, 90% of people making content are wasting their careers. Even the mildly to largely successful ones. It is just not a good choice.
It's fun when your 20. But ultimately a brutal waste of your years.
The only times you should do this are:
A) If this is truly your life’s calling.
B) If it is a fun side hobby.
95% of people doing this do not fall into bucket A. They are doing it simply to make money.
Their time would be better spent learning how to invest, build companies, build brands, and develop real skills.
95% of my net worth comes from my tech companies, which have grown mostly outside of my “content.”
For the last six months, I stopped making videos because videos fell into bucket B for me.
I stopped enjoying it. So I don't do it. The end. I get up and work on my businesses and write in hobby time.
I cannot fathom a greater hell than having to make videos and content if I didn’t want to.
This is a luxury most “personal brand” entrepreneurs do not have.
Ask yourself as you see all the past aging influencers running ANOTHER stream...Another podcast...Still having to shake their asses...
Ask yourself if you want that to be you.
If you’re young and thinking about starting another podcast, stream, channel, or personal brand, you really need to ask yourself:
A) Does the world need another talking head?
B) Is this really what you want to do for the next 30 years?
The answer to A is no.
The answer to B is likely no.
Think about it before you waste years of your life in the rat race of trying to become popular online.
The vast majority of hyper-wealthy people are total unknowns.
if you're younger, my advice to you
if you must go to school: study math and physics
ideally pure math or engineering physics
these are the best fields, not because you will use number theory in your life but because they teach you how to think from first principles, how to deduce logically, and how to learn
they are also extremely difficult, so once you get through it you will have the confidence you can learn anything, which sets you up for a successful life
What a beautiful day to work with some x402 stuff, some Jetstreamer to stream sum, some Rusty rust infra, exploring different rust crates, writing some UI stuff,