How does MrBeast manage his Crohn's disease with his intense work schedule?

MrBeast has Crohn's disease, which causes his immune system to attack his GI tract, leading to significant weight loss and constant pain. He takes an extreme medicine called Remicade that suppresses his immune system, making him frequently sick. He pushes through flare-ups and illness by loving what he does and relying on caffeine during filming, despite the physical toll.

What leadership qualities does MrBeast value in his employees and team?

MrBeast seeks employees who are highly coachable, see the long-term value in working for his company, and are deeply obsessed with their work. He prioritizes A-players who love what they do and can be invested in for a decade, generating significant dividends. He strongly dislikes mediocrity as it can drag down team culture.

How does MrBeast deal with public criticism and negative feedback?

MrBeast deals with constant criticism by establishing his own internal ethical guidelines and refusing to let 'the whims of the internet' dictate his actions. He acknowledges that if even 1% of his hundreds of millions of viewers are unhappy, it's still millions of people, making it impossible to please everyone. He's learned to separate his self-worth from external validation.

Why does MrBeast believe helping people is 'negatively correlated' with being liked online?

MrBeast ironically notes that the more good he does, the more criticism he receives. He suggests that people are conditioned to suspect ulterior motives when someone does good, whereas buying luxury items like mansions receives positive feedback. He continues his philanthropic efforts because he finds it fun, not for public approval.

Does MrBeast regret losing money on 'Beast Games'?

MrBeast lost tens of millions of dollars on 'Beast Games,' spending over $100 million on production, but he has no regrets. His priority was to make season one as high-quality as possible to prove that YouTubers could create successful shows on streaming platforms, opening doors for other creators in the industry.

What is MrBeast's approach to ethical sourcing for Feastables chocolate?

MrBeast discovered that 46% of cocoa labor in West Africa involves child labor. He chose to ethically source Feastables cocoa, aiming to prove that it's possible for a large company to be profitable while maintaining ethical standards. His long-term goal is to help get over a million children out of child labor in cocoa farms.

How involved is MrBeast in the minute details of his Feastables business?

Despite his massive empire, MrBeast is intensely hands-on with Feastables. He personally identified and solved issues like chocolate bar breakage by placing hidden GoPros in Walmarts and paying people to clean shelves. He travels to Walmarts himself to scan products and check inventory, believing he must know every facet of the consumer touchpoint.

How does MrBeast promote a culture of experimentation and learning from failure?

MrBeast fosters a culture where his team feels comfortable experimenting and failing. After a video 'flops,' they conduct 'after-action reports' to analyze data and understand what went wrong without yelling or blame. He views these failures as investments in his team's learning, as long as they learn and don't repeat mistakes.

What is MrBeast's long-term vision for his YouTube channel and businesses?

MrBeast intends to continue making YouTube videos indefinitely, aiming for two billion subscribers. He hopes Beast Games grows beyond imagination and that Feastables helps over a million children out of child labor. He also envisions launching two or three other successful businesses and eventually becoming a 'great dad' when he has children.

MrBeast: If You Want To Be Liked, Don't Help People & I Lost Tens Of Millions On Beast Games!

The Diary Of A CEO

People & Blogs4 min read104 min video

Feb 20, 2025|4,359,534 views|116,794|9,837

The Diary Of A CEO steven bartlett steve bartlett podcast the diary of a CEO podcast life lessons CEO

Save to Pod

Key Moments

TL;DR

MrBeast discusses his relentless work ethic, struggles with success, and the unconventional path to his immense YouTube fame and business empire.

Key Insights

MrBeast's success stems from an obsessive, competitive nature and a relentless refusal to quit, even in the face of early failures and criticism.

His work ethic is deeply rooted in providing for his mother after a childhood bankruptcy, evolving into a driving force for expanding his business ventures.

Despite immense success, MrBeast experiences significant unhappiness, attributing it to his constant work and the demanding lifestyle required for his level of output.

Ethical sourcing and social impact, particularly through Feastables chocolate, are critical to MrBeast's mission, aiming to combat child labor and improve farmer livelihoods.

MrBeast believes supporting people can paradoxically lead to more negative online reception than typical 'influencer' behavior, highlighting a societal conditioning towards skepticism of altruism.

Managing rapid growth and scaling businesses presents significant challenges, even for someone with MrBeast's drive, requiring him to learn and adapt constantly.

His personal life, including relationships and potential future family plans, is heavily influenced by his demanding schedule and commitment to his work.

THE DRIVING FORCE OF OBSESSION AND COMPETITION

Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, attributes his extraordinary success to a deep-seated obsession and a competitive drive that began in his youth. Fueled by a childhood experience of bankruptcy and a desire to support his mother, he committed to becoming a YouTuber at age 11. This unwavering dedication, often perceived as stubbornness or extreme focus, meant dedicating countless hours to content creation and business building, even when no one was watching. He views this relentless pursuit of a single goal as his core 'superpower,' enabling him to solve complex problems that others might avoid.

THE PRICE OF SUCCESS AND MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES

MrBeast openly acknowledges that his success comes at a significant cost to his personal happiness, stating he is 'more unhappy than happy.' His demanding lifestyle, involving constant travel and working nearly every day, contributes to this. He describes a life of sustained discomfort and suffering as a necessary component of his achievements, differentiating him from others who might opt for a more comfortable life once financially successful. This relentless schedule and the pressure of maintaining his empire lead to significant mental and physical tolls, including frequent illness due to a suppressed immune system, a consequence of managing Crohn's disease.

ETHICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SOCIAL IMPACT MISSION

A significant focus for MrBeast's ventures, particularly with his chocolate company Feastables, is ethical sourcing and positive social impact. He discovered widespread child labor in the cocoa industry in West Africa and felt compelled to address it. His goal is to make Feastables a highly profitable, ethically sourced company that can prove it's possible to operate sustainably and combat issues like child labor at scale. He aims for Feastables to generate a billion dollars in revenue, using its success to shine a light on these issues and potentially create a widely recognized ethical sourcing standard.

NAVIGATING PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND CRITICISM

Despite his philanthropic efforts, MrBeast often faces intense criticism and negative reactions online, even more so than for typical influencer content like buying luxury items. He paradoxically suggests that helping people can lead to increased skepticism and backlash, as society is conditioned to suspect ulterior motives. He has developed a strong internal compass to navigate this, prioritizing his own moral and ethical guidelines over the fluctuating opinions of the internet, recognizing that pleasing everyone at his scale (reaching 2-3% of the global population daily) is impossible. He understands that focus on the 1% of criticism can disproportionately affect his mental state.

BUILDING AN EMPIRE: INNOVATION AND SCALING CHALLENGES

MrBeast's business acumen extends far beyond YouTube. He runs a nine-figure business with Feastables and oversees a large production company. He emphasizes the importance of 'extreme ownership' and meticulously detailing every aspect of his operations, from product design to retail placement. Scaling his ventures, especially the production company, has presented considerable challenges, leading him to hire experienced executives to fill knowledge gaps. He views business growth as a continuous process of problem-solving and innovation, constantly striving to disrupt industries and improve processes.

INNOVATION THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION AND LEARNING FROM FAILURE

Experimentation is central to MrBeast's success, with a culture that encourages trying new things and tolerating failure. He views setbacks, even costly ones, as essential learning opportunities. This philosophy allows his teams to take calculated risks, such as developing unique video concepts or refining product packaging. He believes that a fear of failure stifles creativity, so he prioritizes learning from mistakes over punishing them, ensuring that valuable lessons are extracted from every experiment, whether it succeeds or fails. This approach is crucial for maintaining his channel's dynamic output and business innovation.

THE FUTURE OF MR. BEAST: LEGACY AND PERSONAL ASPIRATIONS

Looking ahead, MrBeast envisions continued growth across all his ventures, including an ambitious subscriber goal for his YouTube channel, further expansion of Beast Games, and significant progress in his philanthropic goals with Feastables. While he acknowledges the possibility of having children in the future, he stresses the importance of ensuring he can be a present and dedicated father, which his current lifestyle would not permit. His focus remains on 'winning' and building, driven by a desire to make a lasting impact and avoid regrets, viewing business as a continuous, engaging 'video game.'

Mentioned in This Episode

●Supplements

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Common Questions

MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, grew up in a difficult financial situation after his family went bankrupt when he was 11. He was a 'confused child' who felt like a 'freak' due to his intense focus on YouTube, often clashing with his mom. He started making videos at age 11, driven by a desire to take care of his mother.

Topics

YouTube Success Crohn's Disease Feastables Ethical Sourcing Child Labor Beast Games Personal Sacrifice

Mentioned in this video

softwareSkype

Used by MrBeast and his friends for 18-hour-long calls to reverse engineer YouTube algorithms and video performance.

supplementRemicade

An extreme medicine MrBeast takes for Crohn's disease, which suppresses his immune system to stop his GI tract from attacking itself.

conceptADHD

MrBeast was diagnosed with ADHD, which he sees as a 'superpower' for his intense obsession and focus on problem-solving.

companyAcasta

A company MrBeast used to pay people to go into Walmarts across America to clean up broken Feastables bars, costing $100,000 a week.

toolAdobe

tv_showDragon's Den

Found this useful? Build your knowledge library

Get AI-powered summaries of any YouTube video, podcast, or article in seconds. Save them to your personal pods and access them anytime.

Try Summify free