At least in my experience, for a tiny channel, investing deeply from the heart in videos is a losing proposition. I've found this a number of times in the past 4 months. ...but on this one, I didn't care. I invested deeply because it matters to me. The original inspiration was the crazy attention Minnesota-related tags were getting, but the more I studied, the more it was clear I had no chance at a viral hit during a trend like this. After awhile, I stopped caring... This one means a lot to me, whether no one sees it or it becomes a 50K outlier. With that said, I'd love for you to check it out and share it with anyone else wondering about all you're hearing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I was born. Have a great day.

If you are open to doing a collaboration with someone in this community, drop your niche below as a signal that you are open to it! Let's help each other go further faster. (Thanks Ajayy for the idea!) *Not a place to sell your services*

My little channel (Path & Principle) is equal parts self-made independence inspiration and ambient contemplation. As both entrepreneur and musician, this is "me". My first video was posted on 21 August: 15 views and 2 likes. A week ago, I was going to make a video of a trail around the forest we live in, but ended up getting lost (!!!) and soaking my pants. I navigated my way back with a compass and made a video instead (LOST) about how ridiculous this was. Just me walking on our driveway with the camera and talking, that was my best stats so far: 241 views and 6 likes. 8.1hr watch time of me talking about the woods and being silly. I did a "test" of a thumbnail for this video adding my face in various places to the LOST text. The simplest, just the word LOST over the woods, did the best by far. Lesson learned: keep it simple. Next, I made a video tribute to my 26-year-old truck, and posted it Friday night. This had a weird bump on Sunday morning and as of this writing has 19K impressions, 1340 views, and 37 watch hours, far better than the entire channel combined. It's part satire and part advice, which is probably getting closer to my real "dad" personality. 37 likes and 3 dislikes (for the flip flops or my voice?), fun. Again just to see and with nothing to lose, I did a thumbnail test. I had added "TAKE CONTROL" because it made sense to me, then taking Grok's advice, I had one with "$FREE" overlaid on the truck. I added a 3rd option with just me standing by the truck. Again, the one with *no words* has done the best (36.1% vs. 31.7 / 32.2%). Keep it simple, I guess!

Hi creator boosters! Totally aside from the seriously-impossible-feeling slog of trying to get a channel off the ground, I stumbled into starting The Audiofile Foundation. I am only posting this because I thought it might be of interest to others in the creative space: -- I’m absolutely thrilled to share something we’ve been quietly nurturing for far too long. With immense joy, I’m announcing the launch of The Audiofile Foundation, a heartfelt extension of over a decade of championing music, arts education, and uplifting media—especially in places dear to me, like Minnesota’s Arrowhead and Iron Range. Now, more than ever, our world yearns for the beauty of art, music, dance, and the warmth of true community. These are the sparks that ignite creativity and hope, and we’re here to fan those flames! In the coming months, I’ll share more about our initiatives—some bold and ambitious, others small but profoundly meaningful. I’m deeply grateful to God, the source of all inspiration, for nudging me to step boldly into this moment. The Audiofile Foundation is about more than sharing resources—it’s about offering guidance, mentorship, and a helping hand to kindle creative joy in others, especially children and young adults. My own lifelong passion for music technology was born from just such a spark, and I’m eager to help others discover theirs. Please stay tuned for updates, and if you’re inspired to share a kind word, a thought, or even a wild idea, I’d love to hear from you! Your encouragement will help us spread this positivity far and wide, touching as many lives as we can. Together, let’s create something truly beautiful! --

Hi all, I am just 2 days shy of the 4 week mark building my channel, Path & Principle. The objective is to be both a place to guide/inspire anyone seeking a more independent, countercultural life and, eventually, a legitimate income driver for me, a father of 4. I am obviously 100% focused on the former, currently, aiming to hone my messaging, earn trust, and learn as much as I can to maximize quality. I recognize my personality, views, lifestyle, and communication style will only work for a narrow audience. That's fine if I can find the ones that get it, and would benefit from my mentorship / services / experience. I have been in technology for 25 years. We live on a wilderness homestead / food forest (where we have a music studio and I operate a product development business), live in an RV part of the year, and spend much of our summers in our 100-year-old log cabin on a lake. I know I have a lot to offer and have settled on a "mission" niche, but can't quite zero in on what the mission should be. A few options are: 1. Anyone stuck in the grind, depressed, who wants to break out, live independently, and make their own way, but need guidance in order to manage risk (probably way too generic) 2. Entrepreneurs / inventors with financing who need a CTO / advisor figure to help them build a team and realize a product (with this one I might lose all the richness and value of our homestead, my music, inspiration from nature, and anything else that is not straight technology, but maybe some would be intrigued enough?) SOS! The mission is where I especially need your help. Is there something obvious I am totally missing? I posted 2 videos I felt really great about. I felt that these could be nice formats I could reuse with original music, voice over, emotion, and a message, but I fear I may have totally missed the mark. Format 1 "Guide and Inspire": https://youtu.be/Eko-npqRf-I