[DAY 3] Where are you on your journey? challenge post
Post your challenge responses here.
Yesterday, we talked about the five major frictionless S.C.A.L.E. paths for authors.
Here they are again:
(S)potlight (Thought Leadership): You make essays, newsletters, podcasts, and ideas that ripple through your industry. You’re a lighthouse.
(C)ollaboration (Partnerships): You grow by building with others. You co-create products, join collectives, align with complementary brands, and tap into shared audiences. Your strength lies in working inside ecosystems instead of going it alone. You’re a builder of collectives.
(A)rbitrage (Virality & Data Trends): You scale by seeing opportunities others miss. You spot rising trends early, leverage platform gaps, follow the data, and build predictable systems around attention. You turn analysis into action, and timing into profit. You’re a tactician.
(L)aunches (Big Spectacle Moments): You thrive on momentum and big moves. You build campaigns, run summits, host events, and orchestrate high-energy moments that capture the market’s attention. People watch because you make noise intentionally and strategically. You’re a firestarter.
(E)vangelists (Community & Advocacy): You grow through people who believe in you. You rally superfans, brand advocates, influencers, customers, and ambassadors who spread your message faster than ads ever could. Your community is your engine — and your differentiator. You’re a connector.
Each of those paths has five stages
Stage 1 - You’re too overwhelmed/paralyzed with fear to do anything.
Stage 2 - You are doing things, but none of them work particularly well.
Stage 3 - You’ve found one thing that works really well, but you’re weighed down with a bunch of stuff that doesn’t work.
Stage 4 - You’re honed in on what works, but capped out on how much you can grow.
Stage 5 - You’re expanding and thriving.
The next step differs depending on where you are on your journey,
If you’re in Stage 1, then your goal is to do anything. If you’re in Stage 2, then your goal is testing all the thing to find something that works. If you’re in Stage 3, then your goal is to shed things that don’t work. If you’re in Stage 4, then your goal is to start expanding into new paths. If you’re in Stage 5, then your goal is to build your team. Trying to scale when you’re still in chaos is a recipe for a beautifully branded nervous breakdown.
Today’s task: Identify your current stage. Be honest. Write:
I’m in Stage ___ because __________. My next step is _____________________.
Do you have it? Now post it below. Then, post it on your social media #fgchallenge
If my scale path is spotlighter (I think it might be), then I'm a level 3 for my author-centric business, and a 2 for my reader-centric (fiction) business.
My SCALE path is Collaborator.
I'm in stage 2 because I've been trying out being a Launcher and an Evangelist as well.
My next step is to pull back/wrap up L and E tasks in Q4 and focus on collaboration Q1.