The Pathless Path with Paul Millerd

While Shayne has built a successful marketing consulting firm, there was no "plan" to do this. His first exposure to marketing was out of necessity - his professor let students boost their low economics grades by joining the marketing group he ran. Shayne quickly applied the lessons to his DJ gigs on the side in college and became more interested in how to build real relationships with people through incredible experiences. He brings this same passion to his work today.

Shayne has had many "dumb" ideas, but he would argue that most ideas (good and bad) start out as dumb ideas. The difference is the people with the courage to keep moving and respond to feedback. He has called the entrepreneurship journey "one of the most humbling things he has done in his life." From this humility and willingness to stay vulnerable, Shayne has been able to build a successful digital marketing firm. So what's his secret? He shares four key steps to turn your own "dumb idea" into something that might work:

  1. Write down the ideas, make it real
  2. Share your dumb idea as widely as possible (don't worry if people steal it)
  3. Get as much feedback as possible (even the negative!)
  4. Continue to tweak and re-work the dumb idea (don't get too tied to the original idea)

Shayne wants more people to follow their silly ideas and see what they can make of it. In 2010, he decided to start his own business during a recession and with no money to his name. Eight years later, he has no regrets and couldn't imagine taking a different path. It may not have made sense at the time - but its the decisions that don't make sense that often turn into something meaningful. If it made sense, people would already be doing it!

Boundless Links:


📘 My 2nd Book Good Work: LIVE! => Learn More
📕 Buy My First Book, The Pathless Path (65k+ Sold): The Pathless Path
😁 Join 500+ In My Cozy Community: Pathless Path Community

📲Connect + Follow Paul
🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:
  • Accounting, Taxes, and Payroll for Your S-Corp (Ideal for $60k+ income): Collective
  • Looking for alternatives to traditional health insurance in the US? Check out Crowdhealth
  • I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Yours Here
  • I record high-quality videos using Riverside: Sign Up Here
  • I use and love the Readwise reader for notes and highlights: Join Here for a 2 month trial

What is The Pathless Path with Paul Millerd?

The Pathless Path is hosted by Paul Millerd - a writer, creator, and consultant. He has conversations with freelancers, self-employed entrepreneurs, creators, and vagabonds who share their perspectives on their relationship with work, burnout, bootstrapping, indie hacking, remote work, reinvention, creativity, sabbaticals, leisure, self-employment, unconventional living, and digital nomadism. Past guests include Ali Abdaal, Russ Roberts, Kevin Kelly, Khe Hy, David Senra, Derek Sivers, Joe Hudson, Luke Burgis, Ben Hunt, Dan Vassallo, Steph Smith, Alex Pang, Visakan Veerasamy, Michael Ashcroft, Kyla Scalon, Trung Phan, Justin Welch, and more.