MEET JIMMY

The College Major That Wasn’t a College Major

On a brisk spring day in 2016, Jimmy took some time to reflect on his life to date.

He just finished his junior year at UConn, yet he still had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.

He majored in communications because “that was the major you choose if you had no idea what major you wanted to do.”

He hated attending boring class lectures, especially when he took notes on dry subjects.

On top of that, he had no passion for anything he was learning. Each class was just another requirement he needed to meet so he could receive a useless degree.

In reality, school wasn’t building the foundation for Jimmy’s future. Each moment in the classroom that passed left him just as uncertain as the last.

A Strange Sign from the Universe

As dreary as things looked for Jimmy, there was one silver lining.

During his junior year, Jimmy applied for and won the role of MC at a school talent show.

Little did Jimmy know, performing that night would have changed his life forever.

People actually loved his performance. They laughed at all his jokes, and responded well to his stage presence.

It felt... amazing.

And soon after, Jimmy’s friends were saying things like “Dude! You should totally start a YouTube channel. You were hilarious during the talent show!” or “Jimmy, you’ve always been a funny dude - people would love you on YouTube.”

That got Jimmy thinking: I am a pretty funny guy. Maybe I should give this entertainer thing a shot.

For the first time in his life, Jimmy actually felt excited about a potential career.

And once he made that realization, something weird happened...

Some of his favorite creators, Kong and Jesse from Simple Pickup, Bart and Joe from JustkiddingFilms and Aryia from SimpleSexyStupid, all began promoting their new initiative: Viral Academy.

When Jimmy saw this, his eyes lit up. It was almost like the stars lined up perfectly, just for him.

Jimmy was ready to pursue a YouTube career and what better way to accelerate his growth than a step-by-step blueprint for success, taught by people he knew were legit.

Jimmy calls it “a sign if there ever was gonna be one.” Needless to say, he enrolled into Viral Academy and got to work.

Jimmy’s Jumpcut Journey

There are two kinds of people that join Jumpcut: People that think they’re going to get 1 million views overnight, and people who follow the course step-by-step and take consistent action.

Fortunately, Jimmy was one of the latter. He was extremely meticulous about following the system Jumpcut laid out.

Watch a video, print out the worksheet, complete the assignments, and then go to the next video.

That’s the rinse and repeat process Jimmy stuck to.

He began the program at the channel direction phase, and used the Jumpcut brainstorming course to narrow his channel direction down to street interviews. This seemed like a format Jimmy would like, so it made sense to at least give it a shot.

Once he honed down his focus, he was diligent about uploading a video every single Tuesday to validate his idea. (And he’s stayed committed to that schedule ever since.)

Jimmy didn’t just upload for the sake of uploading, though. He was just as proactive about making his videos better each week.

David So’s course on becoming a stronger vlogger, the Art of Vlogging, made improving much more straightforward for Jimmy.

Taught by David So, who boasts over 1.4 Million Subscribers

David taught him to be blunter with his opinions, make more cuts in his videos, and make his videos feel more dynamic.

Jimmy implemented that advice as soon as he could -- you’ll notice David’s advice in Jimmy’s videos almost instantly:

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But it was more than just the tactics.

See, Jimmy had always put successful creators like David So on a pedestal.

His own limiting beliefs led him to conclude that you had to be some sort of comedic genius to attract an audience.

Hearing David describe his own behind the scenes process completely shattered that mindset -- It showed Jimmy that it was totally possible to replicate David.

And that was just one of many Jumpcut driven mentality shifts that reframed Jimmy’s perception of what it took to be a successful YouTube creator.

He was working hard, shifting his mindset and iterating on his content all at the same time. At the rate of Jimmy’s progression, success was a matter of when, not if.

And soon enough, he found success. In October of 2016, Jimmy achieved his first viral video:

This video received over 1 million views in 3 days, and now has over 18 million views.

Jimmy was finally on the right path.

Now knowing that street interviews were the way to go, Jimmy used Jumpcut’s “Remix Strategy” to find an even stronger channel direction.

That’s how he found success in combining his passion for anime with street interviews. Take a look:

Lost No More

Through all the consistent hard work, the once lost communications major now boasts some impressive feats:

• 243K Facebook Followers
• 387K YouTube Subscribers
• Videos featured on blogs like TotalFratMove

He’s even collaborated with big influencers like MyChonny, Gina Darling, LeendaD, Esafungtastic, JustKiddingFilms, and even fellow Jumpcut success story, Frugal Aesthetic.

Thanks to connections he’s made through the Jumpcut community, he now calls many of his idols his friends.

Jimmy and MyChonny

Jimmy with Christian (Frugal Aesthetic)

How cool is that?

All his online success has led Jimmy to earn a six-figure income.

That’s right - he’s making over $100,000 per year as a 22 year old.

And while all that money is pretty sweet, Jimmy feels the intangibles he’s gained from this journey have been even sweeter:

The biggest plus? His parents finally respect him.

Growing up, Jimmy had a terrible relationship with his parents. They were the prototypical Asian tiger parents -- always placing blame on Jimmy for anything that went wrong, regardless of whether he was responsible.

After achieving success, Jimmy can finally say that’s no longer the case. He feels a respect from his folks that he’s never felt before. They’re extremely proud of what he’s achieved.

Just hearing the tone of Jimmy’s voice as he shared that with us made it clear just how awesome it feels for him.

Jimmy’s Advice to You

We asked Jimmy what his best advice was for anyone considering starting a YouTube channel. Here are his thoughts:

He also gave Jumpcut a lot of credit for his success:

If you’re like Jimmy, looking to follow a career path that lets you live your life to the fullest, then check out our free YouTube 101 course: