A Light in the Dark: Why You Need a Heart for the Underground to Do Great Things (Going Great #6)

“How come you always get more views than me?” 

I was playing Call of Duty when that question came over Xbox Live.

This was back in the good ol’ summer days: I had no work and no school, so my friends and I spent all day grinding CoD and making vids for YouTube.

But anyway, I hesitated to answer that question. It came from one of my friends who was a small Youtuber like I was, but the difference in our video quality was obvious…at least to me.

Not only was I the best player in the group, but I was also one of the best video editors. My uploads featured fast-paced movement, ducks and dives behind cover, and montage-worthy clips where I dropped three, four, and sometimes five players at a time.

I had a knack for turning even my most boring encounters into art—so much so that I still watch my now private beatdowns on rainy days.

But instead of explaining all this to my friend, I answered with the biggest difference between us:

“Because I make vids for people, not views.”

Reach People, Not Numbers

Of course my friend didn’t take too kindly to that, but after a half-hour conversation, the other guys convinced him that I was right, and he even admitted that he didn’t enjoy his videos.

That made me sad—much more than I thought I’d be playing CoD on a Tuesday in summer.

To his credit though, he improved after that, and he still posts regularly today—albeit about different subject matter.

I mentioned my friend here though because he had the mindset of most people who strive to do great things.

These people make numbers their priority, and they couldn’t care less about the product as long as those numbers come in. They want to be the next big name who’s loved by peers and adored by millions, but to be honest, there’s nothing great about that at all.

Like I said in the Going Great intro, greatness isn’t about supremacy or social status; it’s about making a large impact for good.

The impact is the cause that generally leads to good results. But chasing effects without regard for the cause is just greed. 

You need a heart for people, not numbers. That’s what I had as a teenager and it’s what I still have now.

That’s why I’m so critical of everything I write—I don’t want any of it to waste your time. Whenever I edit a post, I ask myself if it persuades, engages, or informs. And if I did things right, I say yes to all three.

That is how you remove bias towards your work. You review what you’ve done and you attack it without mercy.

This is good practice because most consumers will do the same thing. They won’t know who you are and frankly, they won’t care. So ask yourself, “If someone else made this, would I still be interested?” 

Answer that question honestly and you’ll keep yourself out of the picture.

But now with that said, it’s not enough to merely create for others. You need to know how to impact their lives. 

Plenty of well-written and highly-produced work is forgettable. So how can you make work that hits home and resonates with people for years?

Well, this is how.

Embrace the Underground 

If you want to make a difference, embrace the underground.

Reach the people who are broken. Work for outsiders who don’t have it easy. Form a passion for those deemed undesirable. Then you’ll do great things.

The mainstream is nothing but an echo chamber, and it’s hollowness will strip your work of its ability to penetrate hearts.

The mainstream values fluff, protects feelings, and tolerates all kinds of behavior. The underground values truth, meets needs, and builds others up.

Stick to the latter group here if you want to change lives. 

Stop conforming to ideals and just do what needs to be done. The world needs more problem-solvers, truth-tellers, and people who defy it when it’s wrong.

We have enough people preaching self-love and positive energy. Yeah, that stuff sounds good but it’s really selfish garbage.

Everything popular today exalts your feelings. If it makes you feel comfortable, guiltless, and perfect, it’s mainstream.

Apparently, we’re all supposed to feel good because somehow, we deserve to. But this mentality leads to all sorts of problems.

What happens when reality doesn’t let you feel good? What happens when you say, “I am healthy” three times in the mirror and it doesn’t work?

Mainstream advice sounds great when life’s going well, but it only breeds chaos when you don’t get what you want:

• So now rappers overdose in their twenties because they wanted to feel good.
• Promiscuous women need abortions because they wanted to feel good.
• And kids bring guns to school because they wanted to feel good.

The world’s moral condition is trash because our desires can’t be denied.

Anything that threatens our bubble, challenges us, and makes us see that we aren’t all that we think we are gets discarded. But this comes as no surprise, because in a world that glorifies self, the only crime is not worshiping you.

We remove all sense of humility, discipline, and perseverance and then wonder why we’ve become so weak.

We forget that sometimes, you need to be humbled to grow stronger, but that’s not a message you’ll hear from the mainstream.

So you know what? It’s time to rebel.

You need to forget what’s popular and go underground.

But how do you actually do that?

How do you gain a heart for real people with real problems?

The answer is simple: You identify with them.

Gain Strength from Weakness 

Everything you do has to come from a real place.

That’s how you gain respect from people who don’t even agree with you. If they see that you’re genuine, they’ll appreciate it, and they’ll wonder why you act the way you do.

There is one caveat here though: you can’t just be real.

Authenticity comes from experience. So if you want to reach hurting people, you need to know weakness yourself.

It’s hard to help others if your life’s low point was Starbucks botching your order.

People won’t accept you if your eyes haven’t seen enough, but if you know adversity, you’ll find plenty of friends.

You’ll empathize with them. You’ll understand their challenges. And you’ll see yourself within them too.

Then they’ll respect you, and you can all grow strong together. 

The mainstream can’t do that for them. It’s too concerned with feeling good and blaming others.

Only a few special people do this, and they’re the ones who do great things.

The reason this site exists is because I wanted to identify with similar people. I wanted to encourage them and teach them stuff nobody taught me.

I didn’t start this to fit an ideal. I’m not here to make you feel good. I’m not here to boost self-esteem. There are thousands of people who will do that for you, but that is not, and never will be me.

I strive to do good and be respectful, but I know I’m not always nice. Some of the world’s most wicked people are very nice, and I’m not trying to be that.

I never write a post to intentionally hurt feelings, but if that’s a side effect of meeting needs, then so be it:

• I care more about the guy who leaves a 2,000 word comment telling how my post would have saved him years ago.
• I care more about the woman who found the real Jesus here because her pastor didn’t teach the Bible.
• I care more about the man who has to move mountains to clear his name because one “victim” had hurt feelings.

That is what I care about. I see my weakness in all three of those people, and that’s why I care so much about them.

I do not do this for success—at least not for most people’s flawed view of it. I do this because it’s who I am and it’s what God told me to do. And I will do this in obscurity till the day I die if it’s His will.

Everything I care about, and everything I do comes from a real place. 

And if you want to do great things, you’ll need to gain strength from your weakness too.

Do It for the People

If you serve the people, the numbers should follow…

…but even if they don’t, it’s no reason to sweat.

Countless people have changed my life without even knowing, so when you or I do the same for others, we can rest assured that it’s not a waste.

Contrary to what the mainstream says, doing great things can sometimes be a thankless job. But if one person’s life still improves because of you, that will be all the “success” you need.

-Drew

---

Other Posts in the Going Great Series:

• The Decision to Be Great: Introducing the Going Great Series (Going Great #1)
• An Unrelenting Focus: 9 Strategies to Stay Sharp Amidst the Dullness of Life (Going Great #2)
• Eyes Fit for a King: 3 Steps to Avoid Pornography so You Can Do Great Things (Going Great #3)
• The Ego-less Servant: How to Provide Irresistible Value with None of the Headache (Going Great #4)
• Uncanny Perseverance: 5 Common Threats to Greatness and How to Survive in Spite of Each (Going Great #5)
• An Ever-Present Help: How to Connect to the Source of All Things Great (Going Great #7, the Finale)