Doin' The Thing w/ Dillan Taylor

Dillan Taylor
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Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their content business better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He interviews top creators to share their biggest mistakes and lessons and tells stories from Grindstone, a coaching company for video creators.

  1. AUG 23

    Pro Bono Clients & Messy Beginnings - Behind Grindstone #1 | 059

    Episode 1 of "Behind Grindstone." Dillan (CEO of Grindstone) and Colby (Head Coach of Grindstone) sit down and have their first-ever recorded debriefing of how they started the company. The goal is to track their journey, remember the hard times, and share all the mistakes and lessons as they try to scale Grindstone. They discuss: the origin story of Grindstone, why accountability coaching works, starting with pro bono clients, learning to work as a team, celebrating small wins, handling problems as growth opportunities, why building a business is like eating glass, and much more. ••• 0:00 intro 2:24 why Dillan & Colby recorded this 4:27 defining a business through its problems 6:28 the idea for Grindstone 17:07 the power of accountability 19:40 benefits of having a team 21:40 getting your first clients (Alex Hormozi style) 32:18 first paid clients 39:26 entrepreneurship is “eating glass” 46:06 first $197 client moment 51:33 reflections and what’s next

    57 min

  2. AUG 4

    Interviewing the CEO of the Stoke Twins (w/ Mario Joos) | 058

    Dillan interviews Mario Joos. Mario is the CEO of the Stokes Twins and founder of Brightrock, a research and consulting company helping creators grow strategically. He previously worked on the MrBeast team and now helps creators scale through data, systems, and hiring. They discuss: the controversy around the Stokes Twins, how creators should think about copying versus inspiration, building a team to scale faster, how the YouTube algorithm actually works, outsourcing and hiring globally, the future of AI in content, and much more. Mario's links... Website: https://brightrock.com/index.html Twitter / X: https://x.com/MarioJooss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mariojoos/ ••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs... Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor  Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletter Apply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/ Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/  ••• 0:00 intro 1:13 why Mario became CEO of the Stokes Twins 2:25 Stokes Twins controversy 12:23 how to survive controversy 15:31 growth, mistakes, and creator redemption 20:23 running 2 companies at once 24:26 10x is easier than 2x 32:06 advice for creators hiring for the first time 37:17 on paying less for overseas work 41:37 the "algorithm" explained 53:20 Mario's YouTube homepage 55:40 new rules for AI & YouTube monetization 1:00:12 music & sound effects 1:02:22 changing your niche 1:13:07 hooks 1:15:25 outros 1:18:00 stakes & storytelling 1:21:45 attention span 1:26:36 what's getting easier / harder? 1:29:28 Mario's hottest take 1:33:38 Mario's favorite creator 1:34:56 what he sacrifices 1:36:16 Mario's #1 piece of advice 1:38:23 bye bye bye

    1h 39m

  3. JUL 27

    How He Turned a Layoff Into a Full-Time Creator Career (w/ Josh Cirre) | 057

    Dillan interviews Josh Cirre. Josh is a software developer, content creator, and former actor who blends his creative background with his technical skills to help others navigate web development and creator life. His YouTube channel shares developer insights, Laravel tutorials, and his journey balancing creativity, fatherhood, and a full-time job. They discuss: combining creativity with tech, getting fired and starting a YouTube channel, building an audience around Laravel, how to balance ambition with reality, why repeatability matters more than perfection, niching too early, and much more. Josh's links... Website: https://www.joshcirre.com/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/joshcirre/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joshcirre ••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs... Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor  Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletter Apply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/ Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/  ••• 0:00 intro 0:53 what "keep creating" means 4:32 the start of Josh's creative career 6:51 how tech entered his life 9:27 figuring out what to do 16:50 getting laid off with 2 kids 26:04 Josh's first YouTube video 36:00 asking for $1 39:59 what is work to others, but play to you? 45:33 ambition vs. what is repeatable? 56:05 to niche down or not to niche down? 1:07:59 how Dillan & Josh met 1:09:30 what's getting easier, what's getting harder? 1:16:53 #1 lesson Josh learned the hard way 1:19:09 a belief Josh has that most disagree with 1:25:11 Josh's favorite creator 1:27:37 what Josh has sacrificed & not sacrificed 1:30:03 bye bye bye

    1h 31m

  4. JUL 11

    Building a $100k/Month Business Working 3 Hours a Day (w/ Bryan Ng) | 056

    Dillan interviews Bryan Ng. Bryan is the founder of Viral Bangers, a YouTube scriptwriting agency helping education creators make content that actually gets watched. His videos and newsletter break down viewer psychology, storytelling, ideal video structure, and virality. They discuss: how video games train you to win in business, building a life of total freedom, the mindset behind Bryan’s viral scriptwriting course, how to create content people trust, why good AI writing is still mid, and much more. Bryan's links... Website: https://www.viralbangers.com/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/boomerrbryan YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@boomerrbryan ••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs... Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor  Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletter Apply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/ Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/  ••• 0:00 Intro 0:50 How video games teach business 6:09 Designing a business for autonomy 16:19 The downside of solo travel 26:38 Can you get freedom without grinding? 34:49 Writing vs idea generation 38:20 AI can’t write great scripts 42:59 The YouTube course that changed his life 50:13 Advice for educators building a free course 53:40 You only need 1,000 true fans 56:22 How YouTube changed his business 1:02:24 Good selling vs bad selling 1:08:55 Breaking down Bryan's business 1:13:41 Rapid-fire questions 1:23:14 Bye bye bye

    1h 24m

  5. JUL 3

    Making Food Videos in New York City Changed His Life (w/ Jon Barr) | 055

    Dillan interviews Jon Barr. Jon is a travel and food content creator with nearly 600k subscribers on YouTube. His channel began as "Here Be Barr"—focused on New York guides—but has evolved into a personal brand built around food, storytelling, and high-quality production. They discuss: the transition from niche to personal brand, how he revamped his thumbnails, focus, and team, the revenue breakdown of his content business, why short-form sponsorships are outperforming long-form, how creators can stay present while filming, his advice for creators who want to pivot their content, and much more. ••• Jon's links... YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HereBeBarr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/here.be.barr/ ••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs... Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor  Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletter Apply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/ Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/  ••• 0:00 Intro 0:51 Why Jon changed his channel name 3:53 How Jon's branding has improved 7:02 Behind-the-scenes of Jon’s workflow 13:30 How to pivot content successfully 18:01 Getting comfortable on camera 24:00 The power of telling your story 27:10 Jon’s revenue breakdown 38:07 Rapid fire Q&A 48:21 Bye bye bye

    49 min

  6. JUN 20

    How He Sold $100M+ of Products Writing Emails (w/ Chris Orzechowski) | 054

    Dillan interviews Chris Orzechowski. Chris runs The Email Copywriter. He's a world-class emailer, direct response marketer, and the #1 kielbasa salesman on the planet. He’s helped e-commerce brands, creators, and consultants generate millions through storytelling and email content writing. They discuss: how to sell to your audience without being sleazy, building an audience of buyers and #1 fans, the real reason most creators fail, what separates amateurs from pros, how to build systems that print money, and much more. ••• Chris's links... Website: https://theemailcopywriter.com/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/chrisorzy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chris-orzy ••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs... Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor  Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletter Apply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/ Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/  ••• 0:00 Intro 0:37 Being different vs being better 7:17 Why most people give up 14:18 Pros vs amateurs 29:12 Be the architect of your life/business 39:51 Why start an email list? 49:00 How to get your first 100 email subscribers 51:57 Using ads to get subscribers 53:59 What makes a good vs crappy lead magnet? 56:07 Common emailing mistakes 1:03:14 What's getting easier / harder? 1:05:59 #1 lesson Chris learned the hard way 1:08:04 Chris’s hot take on content 1:09:48 Chri's favorite creator 1:13:35 What Chris sacrificed to grow his business 1:16:50 Chris’s advice for new creators 1:19:23 Bye bye bye

    1h 20m

  7. JUN 13

    How to Stand Out in a Sea of A.I. Slop (w/ Michelle Varghese) | 053

    Dillan interviews Michelle Varghese. Michelle is a writing coach who helps creators express themselves online with more honesty, vulnerability, and soul. She’s worked with programs like Write of Passage and now coaches writers full-time. They discuss: how to spot (and avoid writing) AI slop, the rise of performative content on LinkedIn, why vulnerability in writing matters more than ever, how to know when you're ready to share a personal story, the difference between wounds and scars in creative work, the 5-step exercise to help your audience feel 10x more connected to you, and much more. ••• Michelle's links... Substack: https://substack.com/@michellevarghese Twitter / X: https://x.com/mvarghoose Writing Coaching: https://michellevarghoose.gumroad.com/l/writingcoaching/ ••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs... Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor  Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletter Apply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/ Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/  ••• 0:00 Intro 0:45 Best and worst things about AI writing 7:57 The “dead internet theory” 18:04 How AI fails to replicate human error 29:40 Can you even tell when writing is AI? 35:42 The power of stories in content 39:35 Michelle’s advice for creating vulnerably 52:30 Being human is the whole point 55:31 A 5-finger framework for connection 1:04:22 Michelle’s turn: her 5-finger reflection 1:17:24 Bye bye bye

    1h 19m

  8. JUN 7

    The Systems That Got This Middle School Teacher 400K Subs (w/ CPreds) | 052

    Dillan interviews CPreds. CPreds is a full-time Call of Duty content creator with over 400,000 YouTube subscribers. He built his audience from scratch while working full-time as a middle school teacher, editing videos on NYC subways, and uploading daily. They discuss: the harsh realities of going full-time, how to build a sustainable content system, what still surprises him at 400k subs, evergreen content strategies, how to package viral videos, why copying won't get you far, and much more. CPreds’s links... Website: https://linktr.ee/cpreds Twitter / X: https://x.com/CPreds_ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CPreds ••• Follow Dillan on the interwebs... Twitter / X: https://x.com/dillanroytaylor  Newsletter: https://grindstone.coach/newsletter Apply for Grindstone Coaching: https://www.grindstone.coach/ Music by myboy.scoochy: https://www.instagram.com/myboy.scoochy/  ••• 0:00 Intro 0:43 The CPreds tagline 3:18 What's different & the same at 400K subs 8:10 Evergreen content explained 14:25 Looking back at his first videos 20:36 The biggest mistake new creators make 30:21 His early grind while teaching full-time 34:29 His step-by-step plan to grow from 0 to 100k 42:54 Behind his most viral long-form video 51:29 Building connection with your audience  56:53 Breaking down the CPreds content business 1:06:29 Rapid-fire questions 1:12:54 Bye bye bye

    1h 13m
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5
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their content business better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He interviews top creators to share their biggest mistakes and lessons and tells stories from Grindstone, a coaching company for video creators.

Information

  • Creator
    Dillan Taylor
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Doin' The Thing w/ Dillan Taylor
  • Show Website
    Doin' The Thing w/ Dillan Taylor