Over the past few months, I have been rereading a lot of older content from my former newsletter as I make the transition into what is now Joe Pulizzi’s Tilt newsletter. It has been an odd experience mixed with nostalgia with a bit of “what the heck was I thinking in that piece?” One of the articles I spent time with again was something I wrote six years ago about Apple’s Think Different campaign and the shift that saved the company.
In that original article, I focused on how Apple rediscovered its purpose in 1997. The company was losing billions. Analysts had written them off. And when Steve Jobs returned as interim CEO, he did not talk about products or features.
He talked about belief. He talked about why Apple existed and what it stood for. He said the core value was simple: people with passion can change the world for the better. That belief shaped Apple’s focus, its marketing, and ultimately the products that followed.
As I was reading that again, I kept asking myself a different question. Is there a clear system behind this? Is there something creators and entrepreneurs can actually use today as they face their own uncertain moments? And the more I reflected on my own journey, the more I realized there is. It’s a simple system, but a powerful one, and it’s something I have lived over and over again without realizing it.
The first part of the system is belief. Not ego. Not confidence. But the kind of belief that borders on unreasonable. The kind of belief Eddie Murphy talked about in his documentary when he described knowing, as a kid, that he was going to be famous. He did not hope. He did not wish. He knew.
I see this same mindset in the creators and entrepreneurs who survive long enough to succeed. They believe they can build something meaningful even when the metrics look terrible or the timing is awful. They believe they can figure it out even if they have no idea how. They believe before the world believes in them.
I have had my own versions of this. After selling Content Marketing Institute and taking a full year off, I came back with the idea for the Tilt. During COVID, I believed it would transform the creator world. I believed it would be bigger. I believed it would be easier. Then we launched Content Entrepreneur Expo earlier than we should have, long before we had the relationships that make an event truly work. And I have to say, my belief wavered. I kept wondering why it wasn’t easier. Why was it not taking off the way I expected?
But belief alone is never enough. And this is the second part of the system.
Belief truly works when it is pointed toward someone else. Every time I have found myself in doubt, the path back has been the same. In 2009, when Junta42 (what later became Content Marketing Institute) felt like it was failing, I reread the emails from subscribers. I saw what people were telling me about how we were helping them. Years later, with the Tilt, even when the growth was slower than I wanted, people were sending notes thanking us, asking questions, telling us the newsletter or podcast made a difference in their business or their life. I realized I had been focusing on the wrong scoreboard. The numbers mattered, but they were not the source of the work. The impact was.
Whenever I turn my attention to myself, I lose focus. Whenever I turn it toward the person I am trying to help, everything settles and seems to work. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized this has never been just a business lesson. It is true with my kids. It is true with my marriage. It is true in anything that actually matters. When something feels off, it is almost always because I am thinking about my needs. But when I focus on what would genuinely help the other person, the path becomes simple again.
So here’s the system I could not see six years ago. It’s not complicated, but it’s the consistent truth behind everything we have built.
Belief is the engine. Service is the direction.
You need the belief that you can build something meaningful. You need the belief that you can help someone, even when you are not sure how. But belief becomes dangerous when it turns inward. That is where self-pity lives. That is where doubt grows.
Belief becomes powerful only when you aim it at someone else’s needs and growth. When you believe you can help. When you believe your work can make life better for your audience, your customers, your family, or even one person. That belief creates meaning. That belief creates consistency. That belief becomes the thing you return to when momentum stalls or fear takes over.
This is what saved Apple. It is what saved Content Marketing Institute. It is what kept the Tilt moving forward. And it is what I am reminding myself of as I write this new chapter of the newsletter.
If you can believe that you can help someone else, you can outlast almost anything. And if you stay focused on that person, you will always know what to do next.
About the author
Joe Pulizzi is founder of multiple startups including The Tilt and is the bestselling author of ten books including Content Inc. and Epic Content Marketing, which was named a “Must-Read Business Book” by Fortune Magazine. His latest book is Burn the Playbook: Are You Made for More? Build a Life on Your Terms.
