That one skill I learned paid me millions. It was not some complicated algorithm hack or a paid ad strategy. It was video.
Plain, real, imperfect video. And if you are trying to build an online business right now, I believe it is still the single most powerful tool you have access to.
I want to share with you exactly how I got here, the frameworks I use for video marketing, and how AI fits into all of it without killing the thing that actually makes video work.
I detailed it all out in my recent Clickfunnels Radio podcast interview below.
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From a Gas Station Conversation to a Full-Time Online Business
My story did not start with a dynasty or an inheritance. It started at a gas pump.
A guy came up to me, started a conversation, and it led me to a Denny's restaurant where he asked me one question that changed everything.
He said, “If time and money were not an issue, what would you do?”
That question sent me down the entrepreneurial path and the bug never left. I got into network marketing, struggled immensely trying to shift from an employee mindset to a business owner mindset, and just kept pushing.
Around 2007, I typed “how to make money online” into Google and went down a rabbit hole I have never come out of.
My business took off in 2012. I have been full-time ever since.
It Was Not an Overnight Success
I am actually glad it was not overnight. Every step of that journey taught me something I still use today.
I look back at those hard years and I would not trade them for anything. When you earn your success the hard way, you appreciate it on a different level.
I had a sports background from football, wrestling, and BMX. That built the self-discipline and grit you need to keep going when things get hard online. And they will get hard. That is just part of it.
The $7 PayPal Moment That Triggered Everything
There is a moment I talk about a lot because it changed everything for me. My wife is Chilean and we moved to Chile for a period.
I was determined to make my online business work and not get a regular job.
One day I came out of my office, walked into the kitchen, and my wife was standing at the refrigerator with the door open. She said, “Honey, we need food.”
I only had $7 in my PayPal account. I could not even pull it out because the fee to withdraw was $5. I felt pure disgust come over me.
I told myself right then, I am so done feeling like this. That was the moment things changed for me.
How I Went from $7 to My First Five-Figure Month in 90 Days
I went into full-on hyper action mode. I started creating like 10 videos a day and just pumping them out.
Next thing I knew, they started taking off. Videos started ranking in Google. I got my first five-figure month 90 days later.
It went from five leads a day to 10, then 20, then 200. My business has never slowed down since.
The lesson there is that taking massive action on video marketing for online business does not require perfection. It requires consistency and the willingness to commit fully.
Why Video Marketing Is Still the Most Powerful Tool for Online Business
A lot of people ask me if video still matters in the age of AI avatars and synthetic content. My answer is yes, more than ever.
Authentic Video Wins in the Age of AI <Read That Again!
Here is what I know after 18-plus years in this space. The connection point between you and your customers online is the realness you show.
The imperfect person is going to thrive right now because people are craving that.
When I started, my videos were bad quality. Not 1080p, not 4K, just me getting on camera and being real. People would reach out and say, “You're just so real. You're not putting on a show.” That kind of feedback is confirmation.
It tells you that you are doing the right thing.
The most loving man to ever walk this earth still had haters. If you are getting haters, that is a sign you are probably doing something right.
When you put yourself out there with your message, some negative comments will come. After a while, it just bounces right off you.
My 5-Part Video Creation Formula
Over years of creating content and studying what works, I put together a five-part video creation formula. It is simple and it works.
The Five Parts Are:
- Hook the viewer right from the start
- Set the hook deeper in the first few seconds
- First call to action
- High-value content
- Final call to action
That structure is basically what you see working everywhere. Go watch Mr. Beast sometime and just study the structure, not the budget.
He hooks you right away, reinforces it, and moves you through. You do not need his production. You need his structure.
The problem is most people hear that and then over-evaluate and never make a single video. Do it imperfectly. Make it a little better next time.
Do another one. That is how you build the skill.
How to Overcome the Fear of Getting on Camera
The 5-5-5 Plan
The fear of getting on video is absolutely real. I remember the first time I turned on a camera. I did about 20 takes trying to be perfect with it. So I understand that fear completely.
Over the years I developed something I call the 5-5-5 Plan and it has helped a ton of people get started with video marketing. I have a video I created that can walk you through it.
Here is how it works:
First five videos: Just create five one-minute videos about simple things. Talk about where you live, a day in your life, whatever. These are just for you. You do not even have to post them. The goal is just to get comfortable being on camera.
Second five videos: Create a private Facebook test group that only you are in. Post the videos there. This gets you comfortable with the act of posting video, not just recording it.
Final five videos: Go live in your private Facebook group for one to two minutes each. Get used to being on camera with the feeling of live.
I have had so many people tell me that by the third video they realize it is not as hard as they made it out to be.
People are so hard on themselves. That little mole on your face that you are self-conscious about? Nobody else is thinking about it.
And if someone makes a negative comment about something like that, that negativity is more about them than it is about you.
Using AI for Video Marketing Without Losing Your Voice
AI has made things so much easier. I will say it plainly. But you have to train it the right way or the output is going to be generic and flat.
The Prompting Trifecta
When I prompt AI, I use three main components. I call it the prompting trifecta.
Role: Tell it the role you want it to play. You are a direct response copywriter like Dan Kennedy. You are someone who builds webinars using the Perfect Webinar Script like Russell Brunson. Be specific.
Goal: Tell it exactly what you want to accomplish. I am targeting affiliate marketers. I want this video to generate a lead.
Details: Give it the specific context and information to work with.
That structure alone will get you dramatically better output than just saying “write me an email.”
Primers: Training AI to Sound Like You
One of the best things you can do for your AI content creation for marketing is build what I call primers. A primer is a detailed document you create once and reference every time you prompt AI.
I have an avatar primer that details exactly who my audience is, what problems they have, and what they are trying to accomplish. I also have a story primer.
Here is how I recommend creating your story primer. Turn on a microphone or a video and just talk. Go all the way back to when you were a kid.
Talk about sports, high school, your first job, the hard times, the turning points, everything up to right now. Create that document once and then attach it to your prompts when you want AI to write content that actually sounds like you.
Stories sell. We all know that. But AI will not know your story unless you tell it your story. And when you feed it your real story and your real frameworks, the output sounds like you instead of sounding like every other AI-generated blog post on the internet.
I had AI keep pulling the same $7 PayPal story from my primer over and over. I told it to pull some other ones. It found a story I had almost forgotten about.
That is the power of building a deep primer.
The Greatest Investment You Can Make in Your Online Business
Someone once asked Mike Dillard, if you were down to your last $500, what would you do with it? His answer stuck with me and I still share it today.
He said he would not buy leads. He would invest in his skills. Because when you build a skill, it stays with you the rest of your life.
I spent $500 on a course once and that one skill I learned paid me millions. That is not an exaggeration.
Coaching Changed Everything for Me
The first time I dropped $50,000 on a coach I was terrified. I had a wife and daughter to take care of. But that investment tripled my income. I was making around $110,000. The first year after I hit over $300,000. The next year I did over half a million.
Give $50,000, get a couple hundred thousand back. That is not a hard equation.
One of my greatest mentors is Ray Higdon. He was my first coach and he taught me how to sell. I am still drawing on what I learned from him today.
That is what happens when you invest in the right skills.
Skill Building Is Evergreen
Evergreen means it never gets old. It was good 20 years ago, it is good today, and it will still be good 50 years from now. The fundamentals of marketing, lead generation, communication, and selling are all evergreen skills.
AI does not replace them. It makes them easier to apply.
When AI came on the scene I jumped in with both feet. I wanted to learn everything I could so I could turn around and help my audience with it.
That is still a skill. You have to train AI no matter what. It needs to know who you are, what you are about, and what you are trying to do.
The Impact Is What Drives You
At the ClickFunnels Offer Lab launch contest, a woman named Marta won and absolutely crushed the competition. I had never heard of her. After the contest I commented congratulating her and she sent me a message saying she had learned how to create digital courses because of me. She is based in Bulgaria. She found my videos online and applied what she learned.
There is nothing that replaces that feeling. You cannot put a price on it. The money is awesome. I love making money. But the impact is what you are really looking for. That is what gives you fulfillment.
My daughter told me not long ago, “Dad, I see you grinding and you just never get burnt out.” I told her, when you love what you do, it is not work. That is not a cliche. That is the truth.
Where to Start Right Now
If you are just getting started with video marketing for your online business, here is what I would tell you.
Figure out what excites you. Find the thing where your energy picks up and you think, I would love to do that. Hone in on it. Figure out how to monetize it and help someone else who needs that done but is not excited about it.
Start making videos using the 5-5-5 plan. Do not overthink it. Get out there and fail fast, because failure is the greatest teacher.
A child learning to walk falls down constantly and does not take it personally. They just get back up and try again.
Invest in yourself continuously. Buy courses, hire coaches, build skills. The greatest investment you will ever make is in yourself because nobody can ever take what you have learned away from you.
And remember, in 2026, the people who are going to win are the ones who prioritize human connection. Put yourself on video. Tell your real story. Be imperfect on purpose.
That is what people are responding to right now, and it is not going away.
Action builds upon action and builds upon action. Before you know it, you just look up and realize everything has changed.
Additional Resources For You
✅ ClickFunnels Software – Learn More Here
ClickFunnels is an all in one online marketing platform that lets you build landing pages, sales funnels, email sequences, and automated follow up systems to capture leads and convert them into customers without needing advanced technical skills.
✅ Repurpose.io - Learn More Here HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This tool is flat-out AMAZING! If you are creating any style of videos, this tool makes it insanely easy to share your content on other platforms. This tool is highly recommended.
✅ The Secret's Trilogy - Learn More Here
Russell Brunson’s Secrets Trilogy is a three book playbook that shows you how to attract the right people, build a funnel that sells, and turn clicks into customers using the exact patterns behind the biggest online wins.
