If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a successful YouTuber but felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure where to start, you’re not alone. Maybe you have spent years trying to grow your channels without seeing real progress. But what if there was just one powerful idea that could change everything for you?

According to Marcus John, a big name in the YouTube money-making world, success on YouTube doesn’t come from overthinking, procrastinating, or chasing viral trends. Instead, it comes from understanding one simple but game-changing idea.

This idea is what separates those who struggle from those who break through and start making real money on YouTube. If you truly grasp this concept—whether you’re a complete beginner or someone who has been stuck for years—your YouTube journey will become easier, more exciting, and much more rewarding.

So, what is this one idea that could make all the difference? let Go!

YouTube has become one of the most powerful platforms for making money online, but starting and succeeding on YouTube is not as simple as it seems. Many aspiring YouTubers get stuck in the planning phase, overthinking content ideas, or feeling discouraged after their first few videos don’t perform well. However, the secret to success on YouTube (or in any ambitious endeavor) is simple: to succeed as a YouTuber, you need to be a YouTuber.

This might sound obvious, but it’s a fundamental mindset shift that can make all the difference. Let’s break it down using a concept called The Green Dot Theory, which illustrates how you can navigate your YouTube journey, discover opportunities, and eventually turn it into a full-time career.

1. The Green Dot Theory: How YouTube Growth Works

Imagine you decide to start a YouTube channel. The first step is to pick a niche—maybe gaming, beauty, finance, or something else entirely. But for this analogy, let’s say you choose to make Green Dot videos.

You put in the work: planning, filming, editing, and uploading your first few Green Dot videos. But they fail. Hardly they will see a view. Almost no views, no subscribers, and no engagement. At this point, most people quit.

However, those who persist start to see patterns. While making Green Dot videos, they discover a new, slightly different niche—let’s call it Red Dots. They pivot their content and start making Red Dot videos. The results improve, but they’re still not great.

Then, after experimenting further, they stumble upon Blue Dots. This type of content gets even better engagement, so they double down on it. Eventually, they find Yellow Dots, their ultimate winning content, which drives massive growth.

At the beginning, they had no idea Red Dots, Blue Dots, or Yellow Dots even existed. But by taking action, experimenting, and adapting, they discovered opportunities they wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

This is the key lesson:
🔹 You don’t have to get everything perfect before you start.
🔹 You won’t know what works until you actually do the work.
🔹 Growth comes from action, learning, and adapting.

2. My Personal YouTube Journey: From 150 Subscribers to 25 Million Views

When I started YouTube in 2015, I was just 14 years old. My first videos were gaming content, and they were terrible—bad audio, blurry footage, and huge black bars on the screen.

Despite the poor quality, I kept uploading. I posted 65 videos in a year and managed to gain just 150 subscribers. It was discouraging, but I kept going.

One day, while looking for a collaboration, I discovered a YouTuber named Moose who made hilarious “Funny Moments” videos for a game called Star Wars Battlefront. His content clicked with me, and I had a realization: “Maybe I could do something like this.”

The next week, I created my own funny moments montage. To my surprise, it got 2,000 views—way more than anything I had posted before! This was my Red Dot moment.

From there, I pivoted, posting more of this type of content. Within six weeks, my channel grew from 15 subscribers per month to 1,500 per month.

3. Scaling Up: From YouTube to Business

As my channel grew, people started reaching out. One day, someone messaged me:

“Hey, can I edit videos for you?”

I said yes. Suddenly, I was able to produce more content at a faster rate, and my channel took off even further. This was another lesson —the power of building a team.

Over time, I realized I loved the process of growing YouTube channels. So I started a new channel, focusing on YouTube education—teaching people how to grow their own channels.

That channel led to new opportunities, including people offering to pay me for coaching and consulting. Eventually, I launched a software company called Valo, which helps YouTubers generate viral video ideas.

And it all started because I took action and kept evolving.

4. The Big Lesson: Just Start

If you’re thinking about starting a YouTube channel (or any online business), you might feel overwhelmed. You might be afraid of failure or of wasting time on something that doesn’t work.

But the reality is: you won’t know what works until you actually do it.

Success comes from starting, experimenting, and adapting.

If I hadn’t started posting my low-quality gaming videos, I wouldn’t have discovered my Red Dot (funny moments montages).
If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have built a team.
If I hadn’t built a team, I wouldn’t have grown my YouTube business.
If I hadn’t grown my YouTube business, I wouldn’t have launched my own company.

It all traces back to one thing: taking action.

5. Your YouTube Journey Starts Now

So, what does this mean for you?

• If you’re thinking about YouTube, start today.
• Pick a topic you enjoy and create content.
• Your first videos will likely flop—but that’s okay.
• Keep posting, learn from your results, and adapt.
• Stay consistent, and over time, opportunities will reveal themselves.

The journey itself is what leads to success. You don’t have to see the entire path right now—just take the first step.

If you do, one day, you might look back and realize how far you’ve come, living a life of freedom and impact, all because you took action.

Final Thought: The best time to start YouTube was years ago. The second-best time is today. Go for it!