Moving Forward is also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Marc Guberti is an entrepreneur, blogger, author and digital marketing strategist. Today, Marc will share the mindset it takes to create content that impacts and moves forward.
Successes at a glance:
Digital Marketer and Entrepreneur at Marc Guberti at age 19:
Started blogging at age 11!
Host of the Podcast series, Breakthrough Success:
Over 330k followers on Twitter
Author, 12 books.
Setback failure or time when things fell apart:
Marc hasn’t yet hit the kind of failures or “fall apart” moments that many entrepreneurs face. He’s definitely had his share of setbacks though, whether it’s a website server problem or some other “train wreck” w/ technology. Dealing w/ these have definitely prepared him for the some of bigger challenges ahead. And he will face those. Not bc of bad luck but bc Marc is the type of person who doesn’t play safe. He has great ambition and aspires to be more than the standard 9-5, M-F kind of person. As he starts new ventures and continues building on what he has already established, he will no doubt face many obstacles and challenges. But what’s different is that he will look at them thru a different lens than most people have. He has already developed the resilience and can-do attitude that will carry him thru, no matter what curve balls life throws at him. And not just bc he’s a die hard baseball fan either! Marc shares this wisdom: “you have to move forward regardless … no matter how difficult something is, you make it as difficult or as easy as you want it to be.” May we all take a page from Marc’s book and see setbacks as part of the journey and something we can all move forward from.
The “aha” moment that sparked a pivot:
Marc started blogging at age 11 on a topic that he’s really passionate about: being a Boston Red Sox fan and a New Yorker (wrap your mind around that one!). So at the outset, Marc had a really special niche. This gave Marc a forum in which he could connect and communicate w/ other Red Sox fans. From there, Marc cultivated a love of blogging which eventually led to his using social media to promote his work. From there, Marc found a passion for social media which combined w/ his love of blogging led to him exploring digital marketing.
What stands out about Marc isn’t simply that he’s written 12 books or has 300k followers, all really impressive feats on their own. What you hear in his voice and in his story is this innate curiosity and drive to learn. A “spur of the moment idea” is one thing but to execute on it, that’s what makes Marc different. He didn’t just ruminate or talk himself out of trying, he did it. And it was this curiosity that drove Marc to become an expert at digital marketing. Marc’s hobby became something more when he got into the Squidoo platform (now HubPages). Marc created more and more content and started getting paid for it. The big picture became clear: Marc was not just providing content, he was providing value to his readers. This led to the next major “aha moment.”
As Marc had accumulated all of this valuable knowledge, he could continue sharing it all thru his blogs or he could turn his hobby into something more and generate revenue. After all, knowledge and learning are an investment and in Marc’s case, he had put so much into that investment, it only made sense to see some ROI. Marc decided to take his love of writing to the next level and write his first book. As Marc shares, that first book took a really long time. Think about this for a moment. According to several polls, including one cited in a New York Times Op-Ed from Joseph Epstein, over 80% of Americans feel they have a book to write but very few ever do. Most people treat the thought as a daunting, pie in the sky, aspiration that they will never achieve. But not Marc. Despite having some doubts about whether he could, he did it. While writing a book before having a driver’s license is quite an accomplishment in and of itself, Marc didn’t stop there. Hitting the publish button on that first book only fed a desire to write more. So he did. As of the recording of this interview, Marc has written and published 12 books. 12. Let that number sink in for a minute. Moreover, Marc has tackled topics that businesses are still trying to get a handle on; such as how best to use platforms like Twitter to engage w/ customers. But Marc didn’t stop there.
The next endeavor was to launch a podcast. As w/ his first book, Marc wasn’t sure if he could or should do it. Marc had tried twice to launch a podcast but it never went beyond the ideation stage. Marc candidly shares that he had a self-imposed barrier to launching a show. It wasn’t until the third time that he actually did it. This time, he had more than simply his own desire at stake. Marc had sent emails to five potentials guests, before even knowing how to do a podcast. As fate would have it, several replied yes and all of a sudden, he had booked and recorded several interviews. He now had a responsibility to make sure his guests’ time sharing their knowledge was shared w/ an audience. Once again, Marc hustled to figure out the “how” and he pulled it off w/ aplomb. Since launching Breakthrough Success, Marc has interviewed such luminaries as Seth Godin, Aaron Walker and more. Just imagine if he hadn’t hit that publish button.
Moving Forward listeners, Marc is 19 years old. He has accomplished more than many people twice his age even dare to dream of. He didn’t let anything hold him back. Most of us take years to get to the mindset of doing. We have to declutter our brains from all of the hangups, doubts and imposter syndrome that we gather over the years and store like attic junk. But not Marc. He didn’t let anything hold him back. He moved forward simply by using his mind and a drive to see his ideas come to fruition. Ideas and daydreams are a dime a dozen. It’s what you do w/ them that counts. I know many people who say they will launch a podcast, write a book or have written one but have never hit that publish button. If you’ve got the idea but haven’t shared it w/ the world, what is holding you back? Marc will no doubt go on to do amazing things in his 20s, 30s and beyond. It is my hope that you will be inspired by his story to stop talking yourself out of executing on your ideas and start moving forward.
Knowledge bursts:
Resource or cultural experience that inspired Marc to move forward:
Favorite app/website/resource or productivity hack:
Hootsuite: makes scheduling social media posts easier. Marc’s advice: Don’t get too distracted by the trending topics on Twitter and other platforms. Instead, use Hootsuite to set up multiple streams and use the dashboard to reply to messages w/o all of the noise and distractions.
How Marc recharges when facing a roadblock or challenge:
20-minute nap to recharge: just enough to get refreshed but not too much to mess up your sleep cycle.
Dedicate one day of the week to do nothing but read books:
Recently read The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
Support the Podcast:
The Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book: makes the perfect stocking stuffer or white elephant gift.
Try out Audible (affiliate link).
Try out Amazon Prime (affiliate link).
Advice to past self while going thru a difficult time:
In life, bad things will happen but there are sometimes good and unexpected gifts that can come out of those situations. Marc shares that he was cut from soccer in high school. Instead of moping, Marc took up cross-country running to improve so he could try again in his sophomore year. Instead, he discovered that he loved cross-country so much that he ended up doing it all thru high school and is continuing w/ it in college.
Parting wisdom (in a few words):
“Always chase your dreams.”
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