Video summary
Alex Hormozi draws a sharp distinction between becoming known and becoming respected, warning creators against letting algorithms convince them that popularity equates to value. He observes that many content producers feel compelled to sacrifice their personal values or identity simply to gain more views, as the algorithm often rewards conformity over authenticity. For Hormozi, this pressure feels like dancing on a monkey's back, leading him to prefer being shut off by an algorithm tomorrow while creating niche content for ten interested people rather than producing viral hits that make him feel like "Ronald McDonald" and cause him to lose his soul. He argues that when creators solve the problem of helping their specific audience find what they need, organic growth naturally follows; conversely, chasing trends creates a vicious flywheel where negative feedback loops become increasingly difficult to escape once something becomes perceived as uncool or untrendy. The transcript highlights how integrity is easily traded for exposure but cannot be bought back later because there is no return policy on one's reputation. Hormozi introduces the "subway test" from publishing, asking whether a creator would feel comfortable having their full work displayed publicly in a subway station; if the content relies on selling specific bodily functions or panders to low-brow tastes without substance, it fails this test and becomes difficult to sustain long-term. He notes that many individuals with massive platforms have fallen out of favor not because they became irrelevant, but because they became "cringe," effectively swimming upstream against a current that only grows stronger over time. This phenomenon is described as cancerous for any public-facing project, where the moment something is seen as catastrophic or uncool to consume, it permanently damages the creator's standing regardless of their actual skill level. To illustrate these dynamics, Hormozi points to Shane Gillis and his Netflix special *Beautiful Dogs* as a prime example of someone who remains relevant because he avoids being cringe; despite controversies in his past, Gillis is respected for not appearing uncool or out-of-touch with the times. In contrast, figures like Donald Trump are noted for believing what they say, which prevents them from being labeled as fake even if their content polarizes audiences into distinct camps of love and hate. Similarly, Kanye West (Ye) has faced multiple cancellations yet retains a level of respect because he is perceived as acting on genuine beliefs rather than feigning opinions for personal gain. Hormozi suggests that while mental stability or the accuracy of one's claims might be debated, the perception of authenticity shields creators from becoming "fake," which is often more damaging to their legacy than being wrong about a topic. Ultimately, Hormozi concludes that true timelessness in content creation comes down to authentic belief rather than pandering for approval, noting that even if someone believes something controversial or different from one's own views, there is no cringe attached as long as the conviction feels genuine and not driven by personal profit. He identifies pandering—creating solely for others' opinions while seeking personal gain—as the equal opposite of authenticity, creating a "double cringe" effect that accelerates decline in public favor. By adopting authentic belief as his north star, Hormozi aims to avoid becoming fake or irrelevant, suggesting that creators should prioritize solving real problems for their specific audience over chasing viral metrics. This approach ensures that even if the creator's reach is limited initially, they maintain a soulful connection with their work and build a sustainable career based on integrity rather than fleeting algorithmic validation.
Read the full video transcript
there's a big difference between
becoming known and becoming respected
don't let an algorithm convince you
otherwise I mean I think this is
probably super pertinent for for people
in our position um
but I'll go from the internet
perspective and we can Circle back to
IRL um but I mean a lot of people will
make content obviously I make stuff for
me too like talk about artists making
things for themselves like I make most
of my tweets are just like notes to self
um but like if I ever feel like I have
to sacrifice
who I am or the values that I believe in
in order to like get more views or
something like that I see it happen more
times than not because the algorithm and
the views and the likes become kind of a
proxy for conforming in in their own way
like Everyone likes this type of thing
do more of that and that makes me feel
very like dance monkey dance and um I
think there's there's few things that
kill my soul more than that and so I
would rather you know I would rather the
algorithm shut me off tomorrow and I
continue to make stuff that I find
interesting that 10 people find
interesting that is actually the same
stuff as me then just have these viral
hits that I feel like I'm Ronald
McDonald in um and just feel like I've
completely lost my soul and I I do think
as a side note that if you do the first
one where your intention is to maybe
help find the 10 people who are really
interested in your thing you probably
will create more of the viral hits but
when you solve for the other way I think
you accomplish
Nei I have this theory that more
creators fall out of favor because they
become cringe than because they become
irrelevant I love that you yeah I love
that I think it's I think it's true I
think if you think about the thing that
you do almost anything that anybody is
creating is public facing because if it
wasn't public facing it would just be a
hobby doing your painting because you
love painting is a hobby doing your
painting to try and sell it is something
that you do as a business or as a a
public
project the flywheel is so vicious in
the positive direction and even more
vicious in the negative direction if it
becomes cancerous or uncool or untrendy
or catastrophic or cringe to be seen to
be watching or listening to or consuming
the thing that you make it is you are
permanently going to be swimming
upstream and it is only going to get
worse which is why you look at Shane
Gillis is a really great example of this
at the moment he's someone who is great
at his craft big platform moved to
Austin got all of the multipliers in
place but he isn't cringe MH and because
he's not cringe if you've watched
beautiful dogs his Netflix special it's
not uncool it's like there's this idea
in publishing because I've been doing my
research ahead of the book there's this
idea in publishing called the subway
test right would someone be prepared to
have the full dust jacket version of
your book out on the subway all right
and if your book is like like stop
erectile dysfunction L see the erection
problem right like yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah like like no more
flatulence today or something like if
that's if that's your book it's going to
be very difficult or if it's written by
somebody where it's like oh really don't
want to do that so and and this is the
point
where there are tons and tons and tons
of people on the planet who have huge
platforms that nobody respect
mhm and I've seen even within my 7ye
career of doing this the Arc of people
trade Integrity for exposure and not be
able to buy it back yeah because there
is no return policy on your integrity on
your reputation and those people would
give anything to be back in the Cool
Kids
Club I I mean this is a like I love this
entire train
um I was thinking like what what creates
like like what's what's timelessly not
cringe right like so like if cringe is
the ultimate like what we don't want
then like what would what is forever not
cringe and the only thing that I can
like really think of is is just true
authenticity which is an overused word
but again easy to say hard to do I think
what is what is forever cringe on the
equal opposite side is is pandering like
whenever you're seen as someone who's
only doing stuff for other people's
opinion approval like makes whatever
especially double cringe when it's for
your own personal gain and so if the
equal opposite of that is uh something
that is to my personal detriment um that
is truly something that I believe in it
honestly doesn't matter what it is
because there are some people that
probably believe things that I don't
believe but I genuinely think based on
what I see that they genuinely believe
it and it's and they don't really stand
to gain much for believing it yeah
there's no cringe there it's just like
that F that man [ __ ] believes that
and I think that um some of the you know
some of the characters in our current
you know piosphere and things like that
like many people you know you say the
word Trump and you have half the you
know people who hate you and the other
half that love you it's like I think
most people agree that he believes what
he says now whether you believe the
content of what he's saying is a
different story but Mo like I don't
think many people have called him as
somebody who's like I think he's he
doesn't really think that about himself
like no I think I think he really does
and even I'm just going to push the
edges cuz that's where you have to like
explore the fringe look at someone like
Kanye who's been borderline cancelled
for I mean multiple times right but like
why is Kanye quote uncan because he
hasn't been right not really like if he
came out tomorrow with a hit a Hit album
I'll bet you it would [ __ ] sell
because I think that at least for me
from what I see I think he does what he
believes and people might be like he's
mentally unstable there's all these
other but like no one thinks he's being
fake and I think that like if that
becomes the north star of like I just
never want to become cringe then it's
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