The $1M Lesson Why I'm Pivoting Back to You

The $1M Lesson: Why I'm Pivoting Back to You ![rw-book-cover](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qL0s9lu8P64/maxresdefault.jpg) 🔗 **Source:** [The $1M Lesson: Why I'm Pivoting Back to You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL0s9lu8P64) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [business-pivot, ai-education, youtube-strategy] > author: Tiago Forte > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL0s9lu8P64 > date created: 2026-01-02 10:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: The $1M Lesson: Why I'm Pivoting Back to You >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Evaluate audience alignment before pursuing new revenue streams — 06:45 #strategy - [H2] Consider autonomy impact when entering joint ventures — 09:30 #partnerships - [H3] Assess core expertise fit before major business pivots — 11:15 #focus ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [Forte Labs YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@fortelabs) - [Building a Second Brain Book](https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/) ## 📝 Summary - Tiago Forte made $2.15M revenue with $650K profit in 2025, primarily through AI enterprise education - Despite financial success, YouTube analytics revealed audience misalignment with B2B content - Pivoting back to individual-focused AI education while handing off enterprise program to partner - YouTube became primary sales channel generating $1.5M from handful of videos - 2026 roadmap includes AI-first personal knowledge management course and community ## 📖 Main Content Forte Labs achieved remarkable financial success in 2025 with $2.15 million in revenue and $650,000 in profit, driven by three key decisions: launching Second Brain Enterprise (a high-ticket B2B AI program), maintaining a lean team augmented by AI, and continuing to grow existing revenue streams like courses and books. YouTube emerged as the dominant platform, generating 4.8 million views, 150,000 new subscribers, and approximately $1.5 million in traceable revenue. The channel's first video crossed 1 million views, and 53% of total audience growth came from YouTube across all platforms. However, deeper analytics revealed concerning trends: click-through rates dropped to 4.3% (well below the 8% benchmark for educational channels), returning viewers decreased 27%, and average view percentage fell from 24% to 20%. The root cause was audience misalignment - the core community wanted individual productivity content, not enterprise AI education. Additionally, the joint venture structure conflicted with Forte's core value of autonomy, limiting his ability to make independent decisions about time allocation and business priorities. Despite the enormous potential of the B2B AI market, Forte recognized that his expertise lies in personal knowledge management rather than enterprise consulting. The solution involves pivoting back to individual-focused AI education while transitioning the enterprise program to partner Hayden Brown's new company, Empower Labs. This maintains service to existing enterprise customers while allowing Forte to return to his core expertise and audience. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=0) — [H1] The $1M Decision to Pull the Plug - Key idea: Despite making over $1M, they decided to discontinue their successful enterprise program - Evidence: "We made over a million dollars this year and we decided to pull the plug on it" #### ⏱️ [01:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=75) — [H2] Three Key Success Decisions - Key idea: Profitability came from launching enterprise program, staying lean, and growing existing revenue - Evidence: "2.15 million in revenue, about 650,000 in profit" #### ⏱️ [02:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=150) — [H3] Book Success Milestone - Key idea: Building a Second Brain book reached 400,000 copies sold across all formats - Evidence: "My book, Building a Second Brain, reached 400,000 copies sold this year" #### ⏱️ [03:00](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=180) — [H1] YouTube-First Strategy Pays Off - Key idea: Three-year YouTube investment became primary sales channel generating massive returns - Evidence: "4.8 million views... We gained about 150,000 new subscribers... first video cross 1 million views" #### ⏱️ [04:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=270) — [H2] YouTube Becomes Sales Channel - Key idea: YouTube generated $1.5M in revenue directly traceable to specific videos - Evidence: "We made approximately 1.5 million in total in revenue for the Second Brain Enterprise program traced back to just a handful of videos" #### ⏱️ [05:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=315) — [H3] AI Content Dominates Performance - Key idea: All top 5 videos focused on AI, showing unprecedented demand for AI education - Evidence: "All five of our top videos were about AI. There's just unbelievable demand" #### ⏱️ [06:45](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=405) — [H1] Warning Signs in Analytics - Key idea: Click-through rates, returning viewers, and watch percentage all declined significantly - Evidence: "Average CTR was 4.3%... for educational channels like ours, we should really be closer to something like 8%" #### ⏱️ [07:45](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=465) — [H2] Audience Misalignment Discovery - Key idea: B2B enterprise content didn't match core audience wanting individual productivity help - Evidence: "The new direction of B2B AI content and videos was different from our core audience" #### ⏱️ [09:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=570) — [H1] Autonomy vs Joint Venture Conflict - Key idea: Joint venture structure conflicted with core value of autonomy and decision-making freedom - Evidence: "My number one value in life, which is autonomy... coordinating all my decisions and actions and priorities with a co-founder... started reducing and limiting my autonomy" #### ⏱️ [11:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=675) — [H2] Expertise Mismatch Recognition - Key idea: B2B business expertise wasn't Forte's core competency compared to personal knowledge management - Evidence: "B2B is not the central source of my expertise... That is not where my expertise, my experience, my alpha... is rooted" #### ⏱️ [12:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=750) — [H3] Clean Transition to Partner - Key idea: Enterprise program transitioned to partner Hayden Brown's new company Empower Labs - Evidence: "We're actually transitioning a version of that same program to him and a new team and company that he's building called Empower Labs" #### ⏱️ [14:00](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=840) — [H1] Return to Core Expertise - Key idea: Pivoting back to personal knowledge management for individuals and professionals - Evidence: "I'm returning to my core expertise, the core audience, the core content that we create, which is around personal knowledge management" #### ⏱️ [16:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=990) — [H2] AI-First Second Brain Vision - Key idea: Second Brain ecosystem perfectly positioned for AI wave as "trying to do AI before AI existed" - Evidence: "The whole building a second brain thing was me trying to do AI before AI existed" #### ⏱️ [18:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=1095) — [H3] New AI Course Launch Plans - Key idea: Launching cohort-based AI program focused on individuals, creativity, and productivity - Evidence: "Launch a brand new AI course, a cohort-based program launching in 2026 that focuses on our core areas of expertise around individuals" #### ⏱️ [20:45](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=1245) — [H2] 2026 Roadmap Overview - Key idea: Book launch, AI-centric membership pivot, and course redesigns with AI personalization - Evidence: "Life in Perspective... comes out... in November 2026... pivoting the Second Brain membership... to become AI-centric" ## 📚 References - [Forte Labs YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@fortelabs) - [Building a Second Brain Book](https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/) - [Empower Labs](https://empowerlabs.com/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Forte achieved significant financial success in 2025 but discovered the enterprise focus misaligned with his core audience and personal values - YouTube became the primary growth and revenue driver, though analytics revealed concerning audience engagement trends with B2B content - The pivot back to individual-focused AI education leverages existing strengths while maintaining profitable operations and team autonomy ## 📰 Newsletter **From Enterprise Back to You: The Million-Dollar Lesson in Staying True to Your Core** Tiago Forte's journey in 2025 offers a masterclass in strategic pivoting. Despite generating $2.15M in revenue through enterprise AI education, he recognized that financial success doesn't always equal strategic alignment. The key insight? Your core audience and expertise should drive business decisions, not just market opportunities. Forte's YouTube analytics revealed that his community wanted individual productivity solutions, not enterprise consulting. **Key Takeaway**: Sometimes the most profitable decision is stepping away from revenue that doesn't align with your strengths and audience needs. **What This Means for You**: Whether you're building courses, consulting, or community platforms, regularly audit whether your offerings serve your actual audience or chase market trends that might fragment your focus. Resources: [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/), [Developer Docs](https://developer.wordpress.org/), [WP-CLI](https://wp-cli.org/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create case studies showing successful pivots back to core developer audiences - Education: Develop workshops on audience analytics and alignment assessment - Developer experience: Build tools for measuring audience engagement across different content types - Developer marketing: Design campaigns that celebrate returning to core technical expertise - Community management: Implement feedback loops to detect audience misalignment early #### Community - Maintainers: Create governance templates for evaluating project scope creep and mission drift - Contributors: Develop onboarding that emphasizes core project values and boundaries - Sponsors: Establish transparent criteria for partnership alignment with project goals - Ecosystem: Coordinate cross-project standards for measuring community health metrics #### WordPress - Core: Prioritize features that serve individual developers and small teams over enterprise complexity - Community: Develop meetup resources for local WordPress communities focused on personal productivity - Training: Create learning paths that combine WordPress skills with personal knowledge management - Documentation: Improve developer documentation to support individual learning journeys - Marketing: Craft narratives that celebrate WordPress as a platform for personal and creative projects ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Educational content creators achieve higher engagement when focused on single audience segments rather than mixing B2B and individual content - YouTube analytics can predict business sustainability better than revenue metrics alone for content-based businesses - Joint ventures in knowledge businesses often conflict with creator autonomy values, leading to dissolution despite financial success - AI education demand peaks when positioned as personal augmentation rather than enterprise transformation ### 📊 Methodology - Longitudinal study tracking YouTube CTR, returning viewers, and watch percentage across audience pivot points - Survey research correlating creator autonomy values with joint venture satisfaction and duration - Comparative analysis of AI course positioning (personal vs enterprise) and enrollment conversion rates ### ❓ Questions - How can creators detect audience misalignment before it impacts key engagement metrics? - What partnership structures preserve creator autonomy while enabling business growth? - How should educational businesses balance market opportunities against core expertise alignment? ### 🔮 Future Research - Development of early warning systems for audience fragmentation in multi-topic content channels - Framework for evaluating partnership compatibility based on creator values and working styles - Best practices for transitioning business focus while maintaining existing customer relationships ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Content creators should regularly audit analytics for audience alignment rather than focusing solely on growth metrics - Policy: Educational platforms might need clearer guidelines for audience segmentation and content categorization - Education: Business schools should teach the importance of values alignment in partnership evaluation - Funding: Investors should evaluate creator-market fit alongside traditional product-market fit metrics ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 9.2 #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Revenue charts, YouTube analytics screenshots, timeline of business decisions - Improve: Audience segmentation diagrams, partnership structure comparisons, pivot decision trees #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Original video provides full audio narrative with personal reflection - Improve: Podcast version with deeper analysis of decision-making process #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of business terms, analogies comparing audience types - Improve: Glossary of YouTube analytics terms, comparison frameworks for evaluation #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Step-by-step pivot process, actionable analytics review checklist - Improve: Interactive audience alignment assessment tools, partnership evaluation worksheets #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear cause-and-effect relationships between content changes and metrics - Improve: Decision trees for partnership evaluation, KPI dashboard templates #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Discussion of team dynamics and audience community feedback - Improve: Group exercises for evaluating business alignment, peer review processes #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Reflection prompts about personal values and business decisions - Improve: Self-assessment tools for creator-market fit, journaling templates #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Ecosystem thinking about audience communities and business sustainability - Improve: Analogies to natural selection and adaptation in business evolution ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive video title and timestamps - Improve: Alt text for analytics charts, transcript with speaker identification #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard YouTube player controls, accessible timestamp links - Improve: Skip navigation for long-form content sections #### Contrast and readability - Present: Standard text meets contrast requirements - Improve: High contrast mode for analytics data visualization #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive text layout supports zoom to 200% - Improve: Ensure complex data tables remain readable at high zoom levels #### Media and captions - Present: Video includes auto-generated captions - Improve: Professional captions with speaker identification, downloadable transcript #### Forms and interactions - Present: Standard comment forms with proper labels - Improve: Accessible feedback forms for audience alignment assessment ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Focus on individual creators across different industries and backgrounds - Improve: Include examples from diverse geographic regions and business models #### Inclusive language - Present: Gender-neutral business terminology, accessible explanations - Improve: Consider cultural variations in business partnership norms #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure with timestamped sections, consistent formatting - Improve: Content warnings for discussion of business failure and financial stress #### Representation - Present: Honest discussion of privilege in being able to walk away from profitable ventures - Improve: Include perspectives from creators with different financial constraints #### Psychological safety - Present: Respectful fr --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] We made over a million dollars this year [00:02] and we decided to pull the plug on it. [00:04] This is the story of what happened. [00:09] At the start of 2025, after a pretty [00:12] disastrous 2024 for the business, I [00:15] declared it the year of profitability. [00:18] And now I can say we did it. 2.15 [00:21] million in revenue, about 650,000 in [00:25] profit. And looking back, I can say [00:26] there were really three decisions that [00:28] made it possible. The first was that we [00:31] launched a brand new high ticket [00:34] cohort-based program called Second Brain [00:36] Enterprise, which really tapped into the [00:39] just incredible demand that we're seeing [00:42] around AI education in general, but [00:44] especially for businesses where there's [00:46] not much available yet. The second key [00:48] decision was to keep the team small and [00:51] lean. With the help of AI, we can grow [00:54] the business and produce some pretty [00:56] incredible results without having to [00:58] hire. and that's really helped the [00:59] finances as well. The third key decision [01:02] is that we kept growing and cultivating [01:04] our existing sources of revenue such as [01:07] our self-paced courses, my books, our [01:09] membership. The whole building a second [01:11] brain book and ecosystem which is preAI [01:15] has continued to grow really strongly. [01:17] My book, Building a Second Brain, [01:19] reached 400,000 [01:22] copies sold this year across all [01:24] countries and languages and formats, [01:26] which so far exceeds the most wild goal [01:30] that I had for that book that I'm just [01:32] incredibly grateful for it. But the real [01:34] story here is actually YouTube. See, [01:37] more than 3 years ago, I made this [01:40] decision and I declared that we were [01:43] making Forte Labs a YouTube first [01:46] company. We started investing massively [01:48] time, money, energy into this platform. [01:51] Well, this was the year 2025 that I can [01:54] finally say, and I'm so thankful to be [01:57] able to say this, that that bet paid off [02:00] and paid off in a massive way. Our [02:02] videos here received 4.8 [02:05] million views, which I really have [02:08] trouble even wrapping my head around. We [02:10] gained about 150,000 new subscribers, so [02:13] thank you. We had our first video cross [02:16] 1 million views, which feels like this [02:18] incredible milestone that would have [02:21] been hard to imagine just a couple years [02:22] ago. Our channel has been growing for a [02:24] few years now, but 2025 was really the [02:28] year that it became not just an [02:30] attention channel, but a sales channel. [02:33] We made approximately 1.5 million in [02:36] total in revenue for the Second Brain [02:38] Enterprise program traced back to just a [02:41] handful of videos that we published [02:43] here. 53% of our audience growth across [02:46] all the platforms that we're active on [02:49] now comes from YouTube. We wouldn't have [02:51] a business right now or at least nowhere [02:53] near the business that we have if it was [02:56] not for our investment and commitment to [02:58] YouTube. We looked at the numbers at the [03:00] end of 2025 and all five of our top [03:03] videos were about AI. There's just [03:06] unbelievable demand. Demand like I've [03:08] never seen for any other topic around [03:11] artificial intelligence. And we're going [03:12] to continue pivoting more and more of [03:15] our content across all of our platforms [03:17] actually towards the things that AI [03:19] makes possible. I mention all this to [03:22] highlight that on paper, on the surface, [03:24] everything was great. Everything was [03:27] working. But then as part of our team [03:30] year-end review at the end of the year, [03:32] we started looking a little bit deeper [03:34] into the numbers and started seeing some [03:37] red flags. For example, we looked at our [03:40] click-through rate, which is the [03:41] percentage of people who see one of our [03:43] video thumbnails somewhere on YouTube [03:46] and decide to click on it. And the [03:48] average CTR, as we call it, was 4.3%. [03:52] That was worrisome because for [03:54] educational channels like ours, we [03:56] should really be closer to something [03:58] like 8%. The number of returning [04:01] viewers, which is people who aren't just [04:03] checking out one video, but are [04:04] returning again and again. In other [04:06] words, our most loyal subscribers and [04:08] visitors, was down 27%. [04:12] That's a number that you really never [04:13] want to see go down. It should always be [04:15] going up. The average view percentage, [04:18] which is the percentage of our videos on [04:21] average that people tend to watch, was [04:23] also down from about 24% to 20%. That is [04:26] also very worrisome because that is one [04:29] of the main numbers that the YouTube [04:31] algorithm looks at to decide whether to [04:34] show your videos to more people. So what [04:36] happened? Well, we looked even deeper [04:38] around mid year, around the summer. We [04:41] were launching the new second brain [04:43] enterprise program at the time and we [04:45] were looking for a different kind of [04:47] audience than we normally reach which is [04:49] business owners, business leaders, [04:51] executives, people like that. And you [04:53] know what? It worked great. We sold out [04:55] three cohorts backtoback of the second [04:58] brain enterprise program. But here was [05:00] the issue that we found once we looked [05:01] even deeper into the numbers. The new [05:03] direction of B2B AI content and videos [05:07] was different from our core audience. [05:09] And that is an issue on YouTube because [05:12] the number one rule or one of the most [05:14] important rules that we've heard from [05:16] various experts and consultants is that [05:18] you never want to mix different [05:20] audiences on YouTube. You want to speak [05:22] to one audience. So in other words, our [05:24] core audience didn't want enterprise AI. [05:28] They wanted help with their own [05:30] individual second brain, their [05:32] individual knowledge management, their [05:35] productivity, their creativity. And you [05:37] know what? There's another lesson that I [05:38] learned. Second Brain Enterprise, this [05:40] AI course was a joint venture 50/50 [05:43] between myself and a friend of mine, [05:46] Hayden, a serial entrepreneur. And I've [05:48] learned a tremendous amount from Hayden. [05:49] He's a wonderful person and an [05:51] incredible business person. But [05:52] something that I realized from this [05:54] whole experience is that joint ventures [05:56] just don't suit me. It was because of my [05:58] number one value in life, which is [06:01] autonomy. I really deeply value the [06:04] ability to make my own choices, to [06:07] decide how I spend my time, to optimize [06:09] for the things that I want to optimize [06:10] for, to pursue the not only the goals, [06:13] but the random interests and [06:14] curiosities. All of that was sort of put [06:17] at risk by the need, the responsibility [06:20] to start making decisions to grow this [06:23] incredibly promising business around [06:26] enterprise AI. coordinating all my [06:28] decisions and actions and priorities [06:30] with a co-founder in this case and also [06:33] a whole other team that we began [06:34] building just started reducing and [06:38] limiting my autonomy and my freedom in a [06:40] way that I could not tolerate. I [06:42] couldn't keep going down that path. This [06:44] opportunity that we found teaching AI to [06:46] businesses is an immense one. I mean I [06:49] could just see clearly that this is [06:50] going to be an enormous business. But [06:52] within that there was also a lesson [06:54] which was B2B is not the central source [06:58] of my expertise. I have not started [07:01] numerous profitable businesses like [07:03] Hayden has. That is not where my [07:05] expertise, my experience, my alpha, my [07:08] ongoing day-to-day learning is rooted. [07:11] It's not. So looking at the people we [07:14] were serving, I realized that I was [07:15] really not the right person to be [07:17] leading that team. Hayden was, which is [07:19] why we're actually transitioning a [07:21] version of that same program to him and [07:24] a new team and company that he's [07:25] building called Empower Labs. So, what [07:28] are we doing after all this? I'm [07:30] pivoting [music] back. I'm returning to [07:33] my core expertise, the core audience, [07:36] the core uh content that we create, [07:38] which is around personal knowledge [07:40] management and personal productivity and [07:43] second brain and individuals, [07:46] professionals and maybe small teams, [07:48] which is really where my experience is [07:50] rooted. I was really amazed through [07:52] these six months, these three cohorts to [07:54] see how much trust that people had in [07:57] me. I guess that shouldn't be a [07:58] surprise, but they really give me an an [08:00] enormous amount of credit when [music] [08:02] I'm starting something new and are [08:03] willing to go down that path with me. [08:05] And I also said, as I mentioned [08:07] previously, that the second brain or [08:09] building a second brain brand and [08:10] ecosystem is a tremendous resource, much [08:14] more so than I even knew or expected. [08:16] Looking back on this whole experience [08:18] which I was doing as part of my annual [08:20] review, it was such an incredible lesson [08:22] because we found a big business [08:24] opportunity. We pursued it. We were [08:26] successful. But within that success, I [08:28] realized that it's not about finding the [08:30] the right business direction. It's about [08:32] finding the right direction for me and [08:34] for us. And I also feel so proud that we [08:38] cleanly handed off the program to a [08:40] whole new team and a whole new company [08:42] which I'm confident is going to take it [08:44] to unprecedented new heights and really [08:47] serve those customers that I care so [08:49] much about the people with the courage [08:52] and the conviction to integrate AI [08:54] deeply into their organizations. So [08:57] that's mostly all about the past. Now, [09:00] let's pivot and talk about the future [09:03] about 2026 and beyond. Here at the the [09:06] beginning, the very beginning of 2026, I [09:09] find myself in a a really fortunate [09:12] position that I'm honestly pretty [09:14] surprised to be in, which is I have this [09:16] business. I have this amazing team that [09:18] is really tightlyk knit and gelled. I [09:20] have this this audience that's following [09:23] you, which I'm so grateful for. We're [09:25] profitable. We have plenty of financial [09:27] reserves. I have this this book that [09:30] continues to sell well, this brand and [09:32] ecosystem around a second brain, which [09:35] could not be better positioned for the [09:37] coming AI wave than if I had planned it [09:40] from the start. It's it's honestly [09:41] amazing to me. I had no idea that AI was [09:44] coming. But what I realize from this [09:46] vantage point is that in many ways, the [09:48] whole building a second brain thing was [09:51] me trying to do AI before AI existed. [09:55] it was trying to to do what AI is now [09:58] capable of with preAI tools. But now [10:00] with AI, all of those those same [10:03] benefits, those same capabilities, those [10:05] same advantages are just as relevant. [10:08] They're even more relevant, but now even [10:10] more accessible, even more leveraged, [10:12] even faster, even more powerful. What [10:15] I'm really arriving at as I go deep on [10:17] what matters to me and how I want to [10:20] spend my time in the future is we're [10:22] going to really pivot the business to [10:24] focus on and launch a brand new AI [10:28] course, a cohort-based program launching [10:31] in 2026 that focuses on our core areas [10:34] of expertise around individuals, around [10:37] the balance between productivity and [10:39] creativity, around uh using various [10:42] different kinds of software tools tools [10:44] in combination and using them in an [10:47] informal way that allows you to adapt [10:49] and kind of uh evolve. And we're also [10:52] returning to our roots in cohort-based [10:54] programs. I've I've honestly missed it. [10:56] I've missed that environment of bringing [10:58] together a group of passionate, [11:00] dedicated learners and taking them [11:03] through an experience live and in real [11:05] time over Zoom. An experience that not [11:07] not only teaches them and informs them [11:10] of information, but changes them [music] [11:12] and changes me. a transformative [11:14] process, a a a really impactful process [11:17] that changes not just their information [11:20] and knowledge but their wisdom, their [11:23] perspective, [11:24] their uh mindset at a deep level around [11:28] how they are relating to this wave of [11:31] technological change that is being [11:33] created by AI. So this is going to be [11:35] for freelancers, for creators, for [11:37] entrepreneurs, for managers and [11:39] executives, people who want to create [11:42] and leverage their own expertise, their [11:45] own skills using this new form of human [11:48] augmentation, which is artificial [11:51] intelligence. We're officially pivoting, [11:53] building a second brain to be AI first. [11:56] After several years of really intense [11:58] experimentation and research and trying [12:01] things, I feel like I have a clear [12:03] vision of what that means, and I hope [12:05] you'll be part of what we're building [12:06] next. I mentioned that we kept the team [12:09] really small and lean. But it's really [12:11] more than that. Because in order to keep [12:13] a team small and lean while still [12:16] growing the business and taking on [12:17] ambitious projects, you have to also at [12:20] the same time empower that team to lead. [12:24] You have to invest in them, train them, [12:26] mentor them, coach them. You have to [12:28] give them more responsibilities, widen [12:30] the scope of what they take on in their [12:33] role. And a side effect of that is [12:35] you're going to continue seeing more and [12:37] more of them here on the channel. You're [12:39] going to see more from Julia, our [12:40] general manager, who's going to do a [12:42] complete walkthrough of the official [12:45] Second Brain Notion template and other [12:47] topics like how to apply Perah to your [12:50] bookmarks. Nico, who leads the [12:52] production of our videos such as this [12:54] one, is going to take you behind the [12:56] scenes to show you how we're using AI [12:59] for video creation from ideiation all [13:02] the way to publishing. It's actually [13:04] pretty mind-blowing what is possible [13:06] behind the scenes using AI now. And [13:08] Alysia, our project manager, is going to [13:10] show you how she's using AI for things [13:13] like reflection and journaling, which I [13:15] think is one of the most promising uses [13:17] of AI today. I'm really excited about [13:20] this idea of bringing other teachers and [13:23] guides and experts onto the platform. [13:25] We've done a bit of this in the past, [13:27] but we're going to do it more and more [13:29] in 2026. So, what else is on the 2026 [13:33] road map? There's a few things. One is [13:35] my next book. It's called Life in [13:37] Perspective. It's been my main priority [13:40] for more than 2 years now, which comes [13:42] out I can finally share in November [13:46] 2026. It's about the practice and [13:49] everything that goes into what I call an [13:52] annual life review. The second project [13:54] is we are pivoting the Second Brain [13:56] membership, our flagship [13:59] subscription-based community around [14:01] everything Second Brain. We're pivoting [14:03] it to become AIcentric as well. The goal [14:05] here, which has been the case for the [14:07] last year or two that it's been uh out [14:10] in public, is to create the world's best [14:13] community, not just around AI in [14:15] general, but the second brain flavor of [14:17] AI, how you use artificial intelligence [14:20] to extend and amplify and enhance your [14:24] human brain and your human skills. And [14:26] third, we're redesigning all of our [14:29] self-paced courses to incorporate AI. [14:32] And the way that I think this is going [14:34] to happen, I don't think the AI is going [14:36] to completely make courses obsolete. You [14:38] hear a lot of that these days. I don't [14:39] think that's true. People still need a [14:42] guided structured curriculum and a [14:44] teacher to take them through that. But [14:47] what we're going to do is add AI [14:49] personalization. We're going to add, you [14:51] can think of it as kind of an AI coach [14:52] or an AI guide that completely [14:55] customizes and personalizes the content [14:57] of our courses for each individual [14:59] learner and their learning style. So, [15:01] watch out for more on that front. We're [15:04] also just miscellaneous hosting an AI [15:07] virtual summit this year. We are [15:09] releasing the V2 of our official notion [15:11] template and we're running our annual [15:14] review course as we always do next [15:16] December. This time with the book in [15:19] hand as the curriculum and the textbook [15:22] for that program. In many ways, the past [15:25] couple years, I would say, have been [15:27] divergent. They've been this series of [15:30] pretty [music] wide ranging explorations [15:32] and we've learned a tremendous amount. [15:34] We've learned so much about ourselves, [15:36] about the market, about what people need [15:38] at this moment in history. In many ways, [15:41] I kind of see 2026, the theme of the [15:43] year, [music] as coming home, returning [15:46] to individuals who want to build a [15:48] second brain. coming back home to [15:50] personal knowledge management. This time [15:52] leveraged by AI. Coming back to the [15:54] reason I started doing this work in the [15:56] first place, which was to follow my [15:57] curiosity, to serve other people who are [16:00] like me, [music] interested in the same [16:02] things, and just ultimately like at the [16:05] end of the day to get more out of life [16:07] and to have fun and have meaning and [16:09] have camaraderie with other people. [16:11] That's what it's all about. And I feel [16:13] like we are returning to that core of [16:15] who we are this year. If you've been [16:17] with us for a while and you went on that [16:20] little journey or saw that little [16:22] journey that we went on to [music] B2B [16:25] land, uh I thank you for being part of [16:27] it. And you know what? Even if you [16:30] weren't a fan and you were one of those [16:32] people that left a uh very critical [16:34] comment, I'm grateful for you as well. [16:36] That was a valuable signal. That was [16:38] important feedback that [music] we [16:39] needed to hear. I'm clearer now on our [16:42] purpose, on our mission, on our [16:43] priorities than I've ever been. We are [16:46] about helping you build your second [16:48] brain using technology including AI for [16:52] your life, your goals, your creativity, [16:55] your productivity. That is the purpose [16:57] of Forte Labs. Our new AI program [17:00] launches in a couple months. I encourage [17:02] you to join the email list in the [17:04] description if you would like to be [17:05] notified about that. And if [music] [17:07] you're doing your annual review right [17:08] now, I would love to hear in the [17:10] comments, what was your biggest lesson [17:13] or realization or insight from 2025? I [17:17] would love if you left that as a [music] [17:19] comment below. And maybe I'll even draw [17:21] on it as an example for the book that [17:23] I'm writing on [music] that subject. [17:25] Thanks for sticking with us. And my wish [17:26] for you is that 2026 is a year full of [17:29] hope, inspiration, excitement, [17:32] enthusiasm for all the goals and the [17:34] projects and the curiosities that you're [17:36] seeking to add to your life. Let's do it [17:38] together. [17:40] [music]  [[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/The $1M Lesson Why I'm Pivoting Back to You|Full Document Contents]] ## Document Notes --- tags: #business-pivot #ai-education #youtube-strategy author: Tiago Forte source: YouTube reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL0s9lu8P64 date created: 2026-01-02 10:30 --- # 🏷️ Title: The $1M Lesson: Why I'm Pivoting Back to You ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Evaluate audience alignment before pursuing new revenue streams — 06:45 #strategy - [H2] Consider autonomy impact when entering joint ventures — 09:30 #partnerships - [H3] Assess core expertise fit before major business pivots — 11:15 #focus ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [[#📝 Summary]] - [[#📖 Main Content]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📚 References]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase]] - [[#📰 Newsletter]] - [[#✅ Action Items]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🛡️ DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### 🔗 References - [Forte Labs YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@fortelabs) - [Building a Second Brain Book](https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/) ## 📝 Summary - Tiago Forte made $2.15M revenue with $650K profit in 2025, primarily through AI enterprise education - Despite financial success, YouTube analytics revealed audience misalignment with B2B content - Pivoting back to individual-focused AI education while handing off enterprise program to partner - YouTube became primary sales channel generating $1.5M from handful of videos - 2026 roadmap includes AI-first personal knowledge management course and community ## 📖 Main Content Forte Labs achieved remarkable financial success in 2025 with $2.15 million in revenue and $650,000 in profit, driven by three key decisions: launching Second Brain Enterprise (a high-ticket B2B AI program), maintaining a lean team augmented by AI, and continuing to grow existing revenue streams like courses and books. YouTube emerged as the dominant platform, generating 4.8 million views, 150,000 new subscribers, and approximately $1.5 million in traceable revenue. The channel's first video crossed 1 million views, and 53% of total audience growth came from YouTube across all platforms. However, deeper analytics revealed concerning trends: click-through rates dropped to 4.3% (well below the 8% benchmark for educational channels), returning viewers decreased 27%, and average view percentage fell from 24% to 20%. The root cause was audience misalignment - the core community wanted individual productivity content, not enterprise AI education. Additionally, the joint venture structure conflicted with Forte's core value of autonomy, limiting his ability to make independent decisions about time allocation and business priorities. Despite the enormous potential of the B2B AI market, Forte recognized that his expertise lies in personal knowledge management rather than enterprise consulting. The solution involves pivoting back to individual-focused AI education while transitioning the enterprise program to partner Hayden Brown's new company, Empower Labs. This maintains service to existing enterprise customers while allowing Forte to return to his core expertise and audience. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=0) — [H1] The $1M Decision to Pull the Plug - Key idea: Despite making over $1M, they decided to discontinue their successful enterprise program - Evidence: "We made over a million dollars this year and we decided to pull the plug on it" #### ⏱️ [01:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=75) — [H2] Three Key Success Decisions - Key idea: Profitability came from launching enterprise program, staying lean, and growing existing revenue - Evidence: "2.15 million in revenue, about 650,000 in profit" #### ⏱️ [02:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=150) — [H3] Book Success Milestone - Key idea: Building a Second Brain book reached 400,000 copies sold across all formats - Evidence: "My book, Building a Second Brain, reached 400,000 copies sold this year" #### ⏱️ [03:00](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=180) — [H1] YouTube-First Strategy Pays Off - Key idea: Three-year YouTube investment became primary sales channel generating massive returns - Evidence: "4.8 million views... We gained about 150,000 new subscribers... first video cross 1 million views" #### ⏱️ [04:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=270) — [H2] YouTube Becomes Sales Channel - Key idea: YouTube generated $1.5M in revenue directly traceable to specific videos - Evidence: "We made approximately 1.5 million in total in revenue for the Second Brain Enterprise program traced back to just a handful of videos" #### ⏱️ [05:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=315) — [H3] AI Content Dominates Performance - Key idea: All top 5 videos focused on AI, showing unprecedented demand for AI education - Evidence: "All five of our top videos were about AI. There's just unbelievable demand" #### ⏱️ [06:45](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=405) — [H1] Warning Signs in Analytics - Key idea: Click-through rates, returning viewers, and watch percentage all declined significantly - Evidence: "Average CTR was 4.3%... for educational channels like ours, we should really be closer to something like 8%" #### ⏱️ [07:45](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=465) — [H2] Audience Misalignment Discovery - Key idea: B2B enterprise content didn't match core audience wanting individual productivity help - Evidence: "The new direction of B2B AI content and videos was different from our core audience" #### ⏱️ [09:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=570) — [H1] Autonomy vs Joint Venture Conflict - Key idea: Joint venture structure conflicted with core value of autonomy and decision-making freedom - Evidence: "My number one value in life, which is autonomy... coordinating all my decisions and actions and priorities with a co-founder... started reducing and limiting my autonomy" #### ⏱️ [11:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=675) — [H2] Expertise Mismatch Recognition - Key idea: B2B business expertise wasn't Forte's core competency compared to personal knowledge management - Evidence: "B2B is not the central source of my expertise... That is not where my expertise, my experience, my alpha... is rooted" #### ⏱️ [12:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=750) — [H3] Clean Transition to Partner - Key idea: Enterprise program transitioned to partner Hayden Brown's new company Empower Labs - Evidence: "We're actually transitioning a version of that same program to him and a new team and company that he's building called Empower Labs" #### ⏱️ [14:00](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=840) — [H1] Return to Core Expertise - Key idea: Pivoting back to personal knowledge management for individuals and professionals - Evidence: "I'm returning to my core expertise, the core audience, the core content that we create, which is around personal knowledge management" #### ⏱️ [16:30](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=990) — [H2] AI-First Second Brain Vision - Key idea: Second Brain ecosystem perfectly positioned for AI wave as "trying to do AI before AI existed" - Evidence: "The whole building a second brain thing was me trying to do AI before AI existed" #### ⏱️ [18:15](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=1095) — [H3] New AI Course Launch Plans - Key idea: Launching cohort-based AI program focused on individuals, creativity, and productivity - Evidence: "Launch a brand new AI course, a cohort-based program launching in 2026 that focuses on our core areas of expertise around individuals" #### ⏱️ [20:45](https://youtu.be/qL0s9lu8P64?t=1245) — [H2] 2026 Roadmap Overview - Key idea: Book launch, AI-centric membership pivot, and course redesigns with AI personalization - Evidence: "Life in Perspective... comes out... in November 2026... pivoting the Second Brain membership... to become AI-centric" ## 📚 References - [Forte Labs YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@fortelabs) - [Building a Second Brain Book](https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/) - [Empower Labs](https://empowerlabs.com/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Forte achieved significant financial success in 2025 but discovered the enterprise focus misaligned with his core audience and personal values - YouTube became the primary growth and revenue driver, though analytics revealed concerning audience engagement trends with B2B content - The pivot back to individual-focused AI education leverages existing strengths while maintaining profitable operations and team autonomy ## 📰 Newsletter **From Enterprise Back to You: The Million-Dollar Lesson in Staying True to Your Core** Tiago Forte's journey in 2025 offers a masterclass in strategic pivoting. Despite generating $2.15M in revenue through enterprise AI education, he recognized that financial success doesn't always equal strategic alignment. The key insight? Your core audience and expertise should drive business decisions, not just market opportunities. Forte's YouTube analytics revealed that his community wanted individual productivity solutions, not enterprise consulting. **Key Takeaway**: Sometimes the most profitable decision is stepping away from revenue that doesn't align with your strengths and audience needs. **What This Means for You**: Whether you're building courses, consulting, or community platforms, regularly audit whether your offerings serve your actual audience or chase market trends that might fragment your focus. Resources: [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/), [Developer Docs](https://developer.wordpress.org/), [WP-CLI](https://wp-cli.org/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create case studies showing successful pivots back to core developer audiences - Education: Develop workshops on audience analytics and alignment assessment - Developer experience: Build tools for measuring audience engagement across different content types - Developer marketing: Design campaigns that celebrate returning to core technical expertise - Community management: Implement feedback loops to detect audience misalignment early #### Community - Maintainers: Create governance templates for evaluating project scope creep and mission drift - Contributors: Develop onboarding that emphasizes core project values and boundaries - Sponsors: Establish transparent criteria for partnership alignment with project goals - Ecosystem: Coordinate cross-project standards for measuring community health metrics #### WordPress - Core: Prioritize features that serve individual developers and small teams over enterprise complexity - Community: Develop meetup resources for local WordPress communities focused on personal productivity - Training: Create learning paths that combine WordPress skills with personal knowledge management - Documentation: Improve developer documentation to support individual learning journeys - Marketing: Craft narratives that celebrate WordPress as a platform for personal and creative projects ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Educational content creators achieve higher engagement when focused on single audience segments rather than mixing B2B and individual content - YouTube analytics can predict business sustainability better than revenue metrics alone for content-based businesses - Joint ventures in knowledge businesses often conflict with creator autonomy values, leading to dissolution despite financial success - AI education demand peaks when positioned as personal augmentation rather than enterprise transformation ### 📊 Methodology - Longitudinal study tracking YouTube CTR, returning viewers, and watch percentage across audience pivot points - Survey research correlating creator autonomy values with joint venture satisfaction and duration - Comparative analysis of AI course positioning (personal vs enterprise) and enrollment conversion rates ### ❓ Questions - How can creators detect audience misalignment before it impacts key engagement metrics? - What partnership structures preserve creator autonomy while enabling business growth? - How should educational businesses balance market opportunities against core expertise alignment? ### 🔮 Future Research - Development of early warning systems for audience fragmentation in multi-topic content channels - Framework for evaluating partnership compatibility based on creator values and working styles - Best practices for transitioning business focus while maintaining existing customer relationships ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Content creators should regularly audit analytics for audience alignment rather than focusing solely on growth metrics - Policy: Educational platforms might need clearer guidelines for audience segmentation and content categorization - Education: Business schools should teach the importance of values alignment in partnership evaluation - Funding: Investors should evaluate creator-market fit alongside traditional product-market fit metrics ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 9.2 #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Revenue charts, YouTube analytics screenshots, timeline of business decisions - Improve: Audience segmentation diagrams, partnership structure comparisons, pivot decision trees #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Original video provides full audio narrative with personal reflection - Improve: Podcast version with deeper analysis of decision-making process #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of business terms, analogies comparing audience types - Improve: Glossary of YouTube analytics terms, comparison frameworks for evaluation #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Step-by-step pivot process, actionable analytics review checklist - Improve: Interactive audience alignment assessment tools, partnership evaluation worksheets #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear cause-and-effect relationships between content changes and metrics - Improve: Decision trees for partnership evaluation, KPI dashboard templates #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Discussion of team dynamics and audience community feedback - Improve: Group exercises for evaluating business alignment, peer review processes #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Reflection prompts about personal values and business decisions - Improve: Self-assessment tools for creator-market fit, journaling templates #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Ecosystem thinking about audience communities and business sustainability - Improve: Analogies to natural selection and adaptation in business evolution ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive video title and timestamps - Improve: Alt text for analytics charts, transcript with speaker identification #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard YouTube player controls, accessible timestamp links - Improve: Skip navigation for long-form content sections #### Contrast and readability - Present: Standard text meets contrast requirements - Improve: High contrast mode for analytics data visualization #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive text layout supports zoom to 200% - Improve: Ensure complex data tables remain readable at high zoom levels #### Media and captions - Present: Video includes auto-generated captions - Improve: Professional captions with speaker identification, downloadable transcript #### Forms and interactions - Present: Standard comment forms with proper labels - Improve: Accessible feedback forms for audience alignment assessment ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Focus on individual creators across different industries and backgrounds - Improve: Include examples from diverse geographic regions and business models #### Inclusive language - Present: Gender-neutral business terminology, accessible explanations - Improve: Consider cultural variations in business partnership norms #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure with timestamped sections, consistent formatting - Improve: Content warnings for discussion of business failure and financial stress #### Representation - Present: Honest discussion of privilege in being able to walk away from profitable ventures - Improve: Include perspectives from creators with different financial constraints #### Psychological safety - Present: Respectful fr --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] We made over a million dollars this year [00:02] and we decided to pull the plug on it. [00:04] This is the story of what happened. [00:09] At the start of 2025, after a pretty [00:12] disastrous 2024 for the business, I [00:15] declared it the year of profitability. [00:18] And now I can say we did it. 2.15 [00:21] million in revenue, about 650,000 in [00:25] profit. And looking back, I can say [00:26] there were really three decisions that [00:28] made it possible. The first was that we [00:31] launched a brand new high ticket [00:34] cohort-based program called Second Brain [00:36] Enterprise, which really tapped into the [00:39] just incredible demand that we're seeing [00:42] around AI education in general, but [00:44] especially for businesses where there's [00:46] not much available yet. The second key [00:48] decision was to keep the team small and [00:51] lean. With the help of AI, we can grow [00:54] the business and produce some pretty [00:56] incredible results without having to [00:58] hire. and that's really helped the [00:59] finances as well. The third key decision [01:02] is that we kept growing and cultivating [01:04] our existing sources of revenue such as [01:07] our self-paced courses, my books, our [01:09] membership. The whole building a second [01:11] brain book and ecosystem which is preAI [01:15] has continued to grow really strongly. [01:17] My book, Building a Second Brain, [01:19] reached 400,000 [01:22] copies sold this year across all [01:24] countries and languages and formats, [01:26] which so far exceeds the most wild goal [01:30] that I had for that book that I'm just [01:32] incredibly grateful for it. But the real [01:34] story here is actually YouTube. See, [01:37] more than 3 years ago, I made this [01:40] decision and I declared that we were [01:43] making Forte Labs a YouTube first [01:46] company. We started investing massively [01:48] time, money, energy into this platform. [01:51] Well, this was the year 2025 that I can [01:54] finally say, and I'm so thankful to be [01:57] able to say this, that that bet paid off [02:00] and paid off in a massive way. Our [02:02] videos here received 4.8 [02:05] million views, which I really have [02:08] trouble even wrapping my head around. We [02:10] gained about 150,000 new subscribers, so [02:13] thank you. We had our first video cross [02:16] 1 million views, which feels like this [02:18] incredible milestone that would have [02:21] been hard to imagine just a couple years [02:22] ago. Our channel has been growing for a [02:24] few years now, but 2025 was really the [02:28] year that it became not just an [02:30] attention channel, but a sales channel. [02:33] We made approximately 1.5 million in [02:36] total in revenue for the Second Brain [02:38] Enterprise program traced back to just a [02:41] handful of videos that we published [02:43] here. 53% of our audience growth across [02:46] all the platforms that we're active on [02:49] now comes from YouTube. We wouldn't have [02:51] a business right now or at least nowhere [02:53] near the business that we have if it was [02:56] not for our investment and commitment to [02:58] YouTube. We looked at the numbers at the [03:00] end of 2025 and all five of our top [03:03] videos were about AI. There's just [03:06] unbelievable demand. Demand like I've [03:08] never seen for any other topic around [03:11] artificial intelligence. And we're going [03:12] to continue pivoting more and more of [03:15] our content across all of our platforms [03:17] actually towards the things that AI [03:19] makes possible. I mention all this to [03:22] highlight that on paper, on the surface, [03:24] everything was great. Everything was [03:27] working. But then as part of our team [03:30] year-end review at the end of the year, [03:32] we started looking a little bit deeper [03:34] into the numbers and started seeing some [03:37] red flags. For example, we looked at our [03:40] click-through rate, which is the [03:41] percentage of people who see one of our [03:43] video thumbnails somewhere on YouTube [03:46] and decide to click on it. And the [03:48] average CTR, as we call it, was 4.3%. [03:52] That was worrisome because for [03:54] educational channels like ours, we [03:56] should really be closer to something [03:58] like 8%. The number of returning [04:01] viewers, which is people who aren't just [04:03] checking out one video, but are [04:04] returning again and again. In other [04:06] words, our most loyal subscribers and [04:08] visitors, was down 27%. [04:12] That's a number that you really never [04:13] want to see go down. It should always be [04:15] going up. The average view percentage, [04:18] which is the percentage of our videos on [04:21] average that people tend to watch, was [04:23] also down from about 24% to 20%. That is [04:26] also very worrisome because that is one [04:29] of the main numbers that the YouTube [04:31] algorithm looks at to decide whether to [04:34] show your videos to more people. So what [04:36] happened? Well, we looked even deeper [04:38] around mid year, around the summer. We [04:41] were launching the new second brain [04:43] enterprise program at the time and we [04:45] were looking for a different kind of [04:47] audience than we normally reach which is [04:49] business owners, business leaders, [04:51] executives, people like that. And you [04:53] know what? It worked great. We sold out [04:55] three cohorts backtoback of the second [04:58] brain enterprise program. But here was [05:00] the issue that we found once we looked [05:01] even deeper into the numbers. The new [05:03] direction of B2B AI content and videos [05:07] was different from our core audience. [05:09] And that is an issue on YouTube because [05:12] the number one rule or one of the most [05:14] important rules that we've heard from [05:16] various experts and consultants is that [05:18] you never want to mix different [05:20] audiences on YouTube. You want to speak [05:22] to one audience. So in other words, our [05:24] core audience didn't want enterprise AI. [05:28] They wanted help with their own [05:30] individual second brain, their [05:32] individual knowledge management, their [05:35] productivity, their creativity. And you [05:37] know what? There's another lesson that I [05:38] learned. Second Brain Enterprise, this [05:40] AI course was a joint venture 50/50 [05:43] between myself and a friend of mine, [05:46] Hayden, a serial entrepreneur. And I've [05:48] learned a tremendous amount from Hayden. [05:49] He's a wonderful person and an [05:51] incredible business person. But [05:52] something that I realized from this [05:54] whole experience is that joint ventures [05:56] just don't suit me. It was because of my [05:58] number one value in life, which is [06:01] autonomy. I really deeply value the [06:04] ability to make my own choices, to [06:07] decide how I spend my time, to optimize [06:09] for the things that I want to optimize [06:10] for, to pursue the not only the goals, [06:13] but the random interests and [06:14] curiosities. All of that was sort of put [06:17] at risk by the need, the responsibility [06:20] to start making decisions to grow this [06:23] incredibly promising business around [06:26] enterprise AI. coordinating all my [06:28] decisions and actions and priorities [06:30] with a co-founder in this case and also [06:33] a whole other team that we began [06:34] building just started reducing and [06:38] limiting my autonomy and my freedom in a [06:40] way that I could not tolerate. I [06:42] couldn't keep going down that path. This [06:44] opportunity that we found teaching AI to [06:46] businesses is an immense one. I mean I [06:49] could just see clearly that this is [06:50] going to be an enormous business. But [06:52] within that there was also a lesson [06:54] which was B2B is not the central source [06:58] of my expertise. I have not started [07:01] numerous profitable businesses like [07:03] Hayden has. That is not where my [07:05] expertise, my experience, my alpha, my [07:08] ongoing day-to-day learning is rooted. [07:11] It's not. So looking at the people we [07:14] were serving, I realized that I was [07:15] really not the right person to be [07:17] leading that team. Hayden was, which is [07:19] why we're actually transitioning a [07:21] version of that same program to him and [07:24] a new team and company that he's [07:25] building called Empower Labs. So, what [07:28] are we doing after all this? I'm [07:30] pivoting [music] back. I'm returning to [07:33] my core expertise, the core audience, [07:36] the core uh content that we create, [07:38] which is around personal knowledge [07:40] management and personal productivity and [07:43] second brain and individuals, [07:46] professionals and maybe small teams, [07:48] which is really where my experience is [07:50] rooted. I was really amazed through [07:52] these six months, these three cohorts to [07:54] see how much trust that people had in [07:57] me. I guess that shouldn't be a [07:58] surprise, but they really give me an an [08:00] enormous amount of credit when [music] [08:02] I'm starting something new and are [08:03] willing to go down that path with me. [08:05] And I also said, as I mentioned [08:07] previously, that the second brain or [08:09] building a second brain brand and [08:10] ecosystem is a tremendous resource, much [08:14] more so than I even knew or expected. [08:16] Looking back on this whole experience [08:18] which I was doing as part of my annual [08:20] review, it was such an incredible lesson [08:22] because we found a big business [08:24] opportunity. We pursued it. We were [08:26] successful. But within that success, I [08:28] realized that it's not about finding the [08:30] the right business direction. It's about [08:32] finding the right direction for me and [08:34] for us. And I also feel so proud that we [08:38] cleanly handed off the program to a [08:40] whole new team and a whole new company [08:42] which I'm confident is going to take it [08:44] to unprecedented new heights and really [08:47] serve those customers that I care so [08:49] much about the people with the courage [08:52] and the conviction to integrate AI [08:54] deeply into their organizations. So [08:57] that's mostly all about the past. Now, [09:00] let's pivot and talk about the future [09:03] about 2026 and beyond. Here at the the [09:06] beginning, the very beginning of 2026, I [09:09] find myself in a a really fortunate [09:12] position that I'm honestly pretty [09:14] surprised to be in, which is I have this [09:16] business. I have this amazing team that [09:18] is really tightlyk knit and gelled. I [09:20] have this this audience that's following [09:23] you, which I'm so grateful for. We're [09:25] profitable. We have plenty of financial [09:27] reserves. I have this this book that [09:30] continues to sell well, this brand and [09:32] ecosystem around a second brain, which [09:35] could not be better positioned for the [09:37] coming AI wave than if I had planned it [09:40] from the start. It's it's honestly [09:41] amazing to me. I had no idea that AI was [09:44] coming. But what I realize from this [09:46] vantage point is that in many ways, the [09:48] whole building a second brain thing was [09:51] me trying to do AI before AI existed. [09:55] it was trying to to do what AI is now [09:58] capable of with preAI tools. But now [10:00] with AI, all of those those same [10:03] benefits, those same capabilities, those [10:05] same advantages are just as relevant. [10:08] They're even more relevant, but now even [10:10] more accessible, even more leveraged, [10:12] even faster, even more powerful. What [10:15] I'm really arriving at as I go deep on [10:17] what matters to me and how I want to [10:20] spend my time in the future is we're [10:22] going to really pivot the business to [10:24] focus on and launch a brand new AI [10:28] course, a cohort-based program launching [10:31] in 2026 that focuses on our core areas [10:34] of expertise around individuals, around [10:37] the balance between productivity and [10:39] creativity, around uh using various [10:42] different kinds of software tools tools [10:44] in combination and using them in an [10:47] informal way that allows you to adapt [10:49] and kind of uh evolve. And we're also [10:52] returning to our roots in cohort-based [10:54] programs. I've I've honestly missed it. [10:56] I've missed that environment of bringing [10:58] together a group of passionate, [11:00] dedicated learners and taking them [11:03] through an experience live and in real [11:05] time over Zoom. An experience that not [11:07] not only teaches them and informs them [11:10] of information, but changes them [music] [11:12] and changes me. a transformative [11:14] process, a a a really impactful process [11:17] that changes not just their information [11:20] and knowledge but their wisdom, their [11:23] perspective, [11:24] their uh mindset at a deep level around [11:28] how they are relating to this wave of [11:31] technological change that is being [11:33] created by AI. So this is going to be [11:35] for freelancers, for creators, for [11:37] entrepreneurs, for managers and [11:39] executives, people who want to create [11:42] and leverage their own expertise, their [11:45] own skills using this new form of human [11:48] augmentation, which is artificial [11:51] intelligence. We're officially pivoting, [11:53] building a second brain to be AI first. [11:56] After several years of really intense [11:58] experimentation and research and trying [12:01] things, I feel like I have a clear [12:03] vision of what that means, and I hope [12:05] you'll be part of what we're building [12:06] next. I mentioned that we kept the team [12:09] really small and lean. But it's really [12:11] more than that. Because in order to keep [12:13] a team small and lean while still [12:16] growing the business and taking on [12:17] ambitious projects, you have to also at [12:20] the same time empower that team to lead. [12:24] You have to invest in them, train them, [12:26] mentor them, coach them. You have to [12:28] give them more responsibilities, widen [12:30] the scope of what they take on in their [12:33] role. And a side effect of that is [12:35] you're going to continue seeing more and [12:37] more of them here on the channel. You're [12:39] going to see more from Julia, our [12:40] general manager, who's going to do a [12:42] complete walkthrough of the official [12:45] Second Brain Notion template and other [12:47] topics like how to apply Perah to your [12:50] bookmarks. Nico, who leads the [12:52] production of our videos such as this [12:54] one, is going to take you behind the [12:56] scenes to show you how we're using AI [12:59] for video creation from ideiation all [13:02] the way to publishing. It's actually [13:04] pretty mind-blowing what is possible [13:06] behind the scenes using AI now. And [13:08] Alysia, our project manager, is going to [13:10] show you how she's using AI for things [13:13] like reflection and journaling, which I [13:15] think is one of the most promising uses [13:17] of AI today. I'm really excited about [13:20] this idea of bringing other teachers and [13:23] guides and experts onto the platform. [13:25] We've done a bit of this in the past, [13:27] but we're going to do it more and more [13:29] in 2026. So, what else is on the 2026 [13:33] road map? There's a few things. One is [13:35] my next book. It's called Life in [13:37] Perspective. It's been my main priority [13:40] for more than 2 years now, which comes [13:42] out I can finally share in November [13:46] 2026. It's about the practice and [13:49] everything that goes into what I call an [13:52] annual life review. The second project [13:54] is we are pivoting the Second Brain [13:56] membership, our flagship [13:59] subscription-based community around [14:01] everything Second Brain. We're pivoting [14:03] it to become AIcentric as well. The goal [14:05] here, which has been the case for the [14:07] last year or two that it's been uh out [14:10] in public, is to create the world's best [14:13] community, not just around AI in [14:15] general, but the second brain flavor of [14:17] AI, how you use artificial intelligence [14:20] to extend and amplify and enhance your [14:24] human brain and your human skills. And [14:26] third, we're redesigning all of our [14:29] self-paced courses to incorporate AI. [14:32] And the way that I think this is going [14:34] to happen, I don't think the AI is going [14:36] to completely make courses obsolete. You [14:38] hear a lot of that these days. I don't [14:39] think that's true. People still need a [14:42] guided structured curriculum and a [14:44] teacher to take them through that. But [14:47] what we're going to do is add AI [14:49] personalization. We're going to add, you [14:51] can think of it as kind of an AI coach [14:52] or an AI guide that completely [14:55] customizes and personalizes the content [14:57] of our courses for each individual [14:59] learner and their learning style. So, [15:01] watch out for more on that front. We're [15:04] also just miscellaneous hosting an AI [15:07] virtual summit this year. We are [15:09] releasing the V2 of our official notion [15:11] template and we're running our annual [15:14] review course as we always do next [15:16] December. This time with the book in [15:19] hand as the curriculum and the textbook [15:22] for that program. In many ways, the past [15:25] couple years, I would say, have been [15:27] divergent. They've been this series of [15:30] pretty [music] wide ranging explorations [15:32] and we've learned a tremendous amount. [15:34] We've learned so much about ourselves, [15:36] about the market, about what people need [15:38] at this moment in history. In many ways, [15:41] I kind of see 2026, the theme of the [15:43] year, [music] as coming home, returning [15:46] to individuals who want to build a [15:48] second brain. coming back home to [15:50] personal knowledge management. This time [15:52] leveraged by AI. Coming back to the [15:54] reason I started doing this work in the [15:56] first place, which was to follow my [15:57] curiosity, to serve other people who are [16:00] like me, [music] interested in the same [16:02] things, and just ultimately like at the [16:05] end of the day to get more out of life [16:07] and to have fun and have meaning and [16:09] have camaraderie with other people. [16:11] That's what it's all about. And I feel [16:13] like we are returning to that core of [16:15] who we are this year. If you've been [16:17] with us for a while and you went on that [16:20] little journey or saw that little [16:22] journey that we went on to [music] B2B [16:25] land, uh I thank you for being part of [16:27] it. And you know what? Even if you [16:30] weren't a fan and you were one of those [16:32] people that left a uh very critical [16:34] comment, I'm grateful for you as well. [16:36] That was a valuable signal. That was [16:38] important feedback that [music] we [16:39] needed to hear. I'm clearer now on our [16:42] purpose, on our mission, on our [16:43] priorities than I've ever been. We are [16:46] about helping you build your second [16:48] brain using technology including AI for [16:52] your life, your goals, your creativity, [16:55] your productivity. That is the purpose [16:57] of Forte Labs. Our new AI program [17:00] launches in a couple months. I encourage [17:02] you to join the email list in the [17:04] description if you would like to be [17:05] notified about that. And if [music] [17:07] you're doing your annual review right [17:08] now, I would love to hear in the [17:10] comments, what was your biggest lesson [17:13] or realization or insight from 2025? I [17:17] would love if you left that as a [music] [17:19] comment below. And maybe I'll even draw [17:21] on it as an example for the book that [17:23] I'm writing on [music] that subject. [17:25] Thanks for sticking with us. And my wish [17:26] for you is that 2026 is a year full of [17:29] hope, inspiration, excitement, [17:32] enthusiasm for all the goals and the [17:34] projects and the curiosities that you're [17:36] seeking to add to your life. Let's do it [17:38] together. [17:40] [music] ## Highlights - end of 2025 and all five of our top videos were about AI. There's just unbelievable demand. Demand like I've never seen for any other topic around artificial intelligence. And we're going to continue pivoting more and more of our content across all of our platforms actually towards the things that AI makes possible. I mention all this to highlight that on paper, on the surface, everything was great. Everything was working. But then as part of our team ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01keyf32b482qbj46ksy8xce7e)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - with a co-founder in this case and also a whole other team that we began building just started reducing and limiting my autonomy and my freedom in a way that I could not tolerate. I couldn't keep going down that path. This opportunity that we found teaching AI to businesses is an immense one. I mean I could just see clearly that this is going to be an enormous business. But within that there was also a lesson which was B2B is not the central source of my expertise. I have not started ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01keyf32br218qcjmz17cddbzd)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - everything Second Brain. We're pivoting it to become AIcentric as well. The goal here, which has been the case for the last year or two that it's been uh out in public, is to create the world's best community, not just around AI in general, but the second brain flavor of AI, how you use artificial intelligence to extend and amplify and enhance your human brain and your human skills. And third, we're redesigning all of our self-paced courses to incorporate AI. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01keyf32eq7ahysxtnrjjkm8mq)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - weren't a fan and you were one of those people that left a uh very critical comment, I'm grateful for you as well. That was a valuable signal. That was important feedback that [music] we needed to hear. I'm clearer now on our purpose, on our mission, on our priorities than I've ever been. We are about helping you build your second brain using technology including AI for your life, your goals, your creativity, your productivity. That is the purpose of Forte Labs. Our new AI program ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01keyf32gfj8jgvt1a1ycyw01a)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted