Michael Hyatt

I was ready for a change. But it all started really back in 2004 when I started blogging. I did start blogging and I started writing just for myself. And in fact, I usually don't know what I think about something until I've written. You know, it's all kind of a jumble in my head and I'm confused and not clear, but then I start writing.

I was ready for a change. But it all started really back in 2004 when I started blogging. I did start blogging and I started writing just for myself. And in fact, I usually don't know what I think about something until I've written. You know, it's all kind of a jumble in my head and I'm confused and not clear, but then I start writing.

And somebody once told me that thoughts disentangle themselves passing over the lips and through pencil tips. And that's really true. You know, if I can talk it out or write it out, I get clarity. So I was just basically sharing at that time productivity hacks, things I was learning about leadership. Again, just writing for myself. and a lot of people signed up for the newsletter.

And somebody once told me that thoughts disentangle themselves passing over the lips and through pencil tips. And that's really true. You know, if I can talk it out or write it out, I get clarity. So I was just basically sharing at that time productivity hacks, things I was learning about leadership. Again, just writing for myself. and a lot of people signed up for the newsletter.

And so I had, by the time I left Thomas Nelson, I had a little over 100,000 subscribers to my newsletter. By the way, I should say, my board was not a big fan of me blogging, and I was very active in social media. So I was an early adopter on Twitter, now X, on Facebook, those two platforms, And a couple of the board members met with me in the middle of the Great Recession.

And so I had, by the time I left Thomas Nelson, I had a little over 100,000 subscribers to my newsletter. By the way, I should say, my board was not a big fan of me blogging, and I was very active in social media. So I was an early adopter on Twitter, now X, on Facebook, those two platforms, And a couple of the board members met with me in the middle of the Great Recession.

And they said to me, we would like you to stop blogging because we think it's a distraction.

And they said to me, we would like you to stop blogging because we think it's a distraction.

And I said, okay, where do you think the future of publishing is going? I said, I think digital is a huge part of where it's going. In fact, if I wasn't blogging and involved in social media and I was sitting in your shoes, I'd insist that the CEO get active in this. Right. Because my like number one job as a CEO is to find the future.

And I said, okay, where do you think the future of publishing is going? I said, I think digital is a huge part of where it's going. In fact, if I wasn't blogging and involved in social media and I was sitting in your shoes, I'd insist that the CEO get active in this. Right. Because my like number one job as a CEO is to find the future.

And so I learned so much about social media marketing, learned so much about digital content and all that. I was able to lead the company into that. But I told him, I said, here's the deal. I'm not going to stop. I said, you can fire me if you want. And if I have to make a choice, I'll leave.

And so I learned so much about social media marketing, learned so much about digital content and all that. I was able to lead the company into that. But I told him, I said, here's the deal. I'm not going to stop. I said, you can fire me if you want. And if I have to make a choice, I'll leave.

But I said, I think this is not just critical because I'm trying to be stubborn, but I really think this is the way that it's all going to go. And if we don't figure this out, we're going to be behind. And right now, because of my involvement, we're ahead of our competitors. So I never heard about it again. That was the end of it. But I'd build up this audience.

But I said, I think this is not just critical because I'm trying to be stubborn, but I really think this is the way that it's all going to go. And if we don't figure this out, we're going to be behind. And right now, because of my involvement, we're ahead of our competitors. So I never heard about it again. That was the end of it. But I'd build up this audience.

So when I left Thomas Nelson, I thought, okay, I'm going to do this full time. So out of that, I wrote my book Platform, which became a New York Times bestseller. And I was trying to share with people basically how to do what I did because it wasn't that extraordinary. You just create content that solves people's problems and the rest kind of happens. And it was the early days, to be honest.

So when I left Thomas Nelson, I thought, okay, I'm going to do this full time. So out of that, I wrote my book Platform, which became a New York Times bestseller. And I was trying to share with people basically how to do what I did because it wasn't that extraordinary. You just create content that solves people's problems and the rest kind of happens. And it was the early days, to be honest.

It was the weirdest thing because I kind of fell into it. And it was mostly just experience and observations. And I noticed, for example, my Twitter account, you know, I had about 200,000 followers and the Thomas Nelson account had about 30,000. And I said, you know, people don't want to follow institutions. In fact, people are generally wary of institutions. They connect with people personally.

It was the weirdest thing because I kind of fell into it. And it was mostly just experience and observations. And I noticed, for example, my Twitter account, you know, I had about 200,000 followers and the Thomas Nelson account had about 30,000. And I said, you know, people don't want to follow institutions. In fact, people are generally wary of institutions. They connect with people personally.

And I had thousands of people tell me, you put a face on Thomas Nelson. You gave us a personal contact and I would get customer service things. You know, I remember somebody reached out to me on Twitter at one point and they said, hey, we just got one of your, we were the largest Bible publisher in the world. We just got one of your Bibles. I think it was in South Africa.

And I had thousands of people tell me, you put a face on Thomas Nelson. You gave us a personal contact and I would get customer service things. You know, I remember somebody reached out to me on Twitter at one point and they said, hey, we just got one of your, we were the largest Bible publisher in the world. We just got one of your Bibles. I think it was in South Africa.