B.S. Artists Are Living Your Dream Right Now

Saturday, June 07, 2025

How they revealed the ceiling I put on my own success

Welcome to issue #003 of Streamlined where I share original insights from behind-the-scenes as I help transformational leaders grow a business that serves your life.

Looking around the bright hotel ballroom, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I was sitting at a back table in a large mastermind event for real estate ‘gurus’ on the stunning Amelia Island in Florida. We had a gorgeous location - right on the beach - about 45 minutes from the Jacksonville airport.

This was during the height of the pandemic boom, where everyone was raising money and buying properties like it was going out of style.

I was there as the ‘right hand man’ running marketing and operations for one of the speakers.

Our purpose there was twofold: build connections, and get ideas for “what’s working now” (to both attract more students and serve them at a higher level.)

Around 100 people filled the space, and over the last 2 days I had talked with as many of them as I could.

No doubt, a few were truly exceptional humans. You could tell that they were ‘wealthy’ not just financially, but in their health and relationships too.

A lot of them seemed to have their heart in the right place, but didn’t seem like they were killin’ it.

But some of the people there?

Honestly, they set off my B.S. detector.

After 10 years of working with all kinds of ‘experts’ and ‘gurus’, I had it pretty dialed in, and for good reason…

I’d seen first-hand that some people are willing to lie, cheat, steal, or simply exaggerate about their own success in order to make a sale.

I got into ‘internet marketing’ in 2010 because several of what I’ll call the ‘good gurus’ made a huge impact on my life. The right course, coach, therapist, book, mastermind, or event can transform you, and my purpose is to support those people in evolving humanity, one person at a time.

But you learn quickly in this business that not everyone is genuine.

So here we were, on the last day with two hours to go…

If you’ve been to an event like this, you know this is the time to make a big offer to the crowd. People are the right combination of both inspired and tired to open their wallets.

The cool thing here is this slot went to Frank Mckinney.

With the long purple hair of a rock-star and a colorful suit to match, Frank was pitching a different kind of offer…

He took the crowd through his journey from a 1.8 high school GPA and seven stints in juvenile detention to becoming a real estate artist - creating and selling 44 oceanfront mansions at an average price of $14 million.

Searching for meaning, he had spent 20 years building self-sustaining villages in Haiti, providing 10,000+ children and their families with homes, schools, clinics, renewable food and clean water, and means to support themselves.

His pitch was to raise funds to build the next village in his Caring House Project - containing 80 solar-powered concrete homes with separate latrines, a water tower to provide clean drinking water, 1 goat and 3 chickens per house.

Very cool stuff. But none of this is what had me in a state of disbelief.

It was the response he was getting.

Hands were raising left and right as he went through his process…

$5,000…

$10,000…

Some went as high as $50,000… and though my memory is fuzzy, I believe there may have been one or two donating $100,000.

What I do remember is the shock.

Because many people - who frankly, I didn’t think would have the money for it - were contributing massive amounts to this worthy cause.

Far more than I could at the time.

This posed an uncomfortable question in my mind:

What’s the difference between them and I?

What were they doing to afford them that kind of financial success (that I hadn’t been?)

They clearly worked “hard”. So did I.

They have some level of “smarts”. I’m not a total dummy.

I assume they’re able to get shit done. I’ve been hired by some of the best for that very reason.

But if I was so good at what I did, why didn’t I have the results these people did?

After all, I wasn’t able to donate $50,000 on a whim. They were.

The answer was staring me in the face.

They had the confidence and courage to claim their own authority.

To put themselves out into the world and show up as a leader.

And what happens over time as you commit to this is people listen to you.

When they listen, they buy from you.

When they listen, they recommend you to their friends.

When they listen, they join your team. Your movement.

I, on the other hand, was happy - and comfortable - staying behind the scenes. Safe behind my computer monitor, lifting up those around me.

I had got all of my work through referrals, which I was proud of.

I had no social presence.

No one outside of a small circle (of albeit amazing people) knew who I was.

I liked it that way.

But I could see now that there was a cost.

I was playing a game with a ceiling - and I had hit it.

I just wasn’t going to make as much money as I wanted…

Create the type of freedom that I wanted….

And ultimately, I was never going to be able to make the kind of impact I wanted - supporting projects like Franks…

Unless I played a bigger game.

Unless I accepted that while ‘expertise’ and mastery get you results…

‘Authority’ is what gets you chosen.

That moment made a lasting impact on me. It showed me the truth about my path thus far and what I needed to do.

If you’re like me, and you pride yourself on being the best at what you do…

This is the lesson I learned:

There are B.S. artists living your dream right now, and the only one stopping you… is you.

Those of us committed to mastery and dedicated to service like to think that being great is enough to build the business and life we want - and oftentimes feel we deserve.

It isn’t.

We need ‘authority’ too. Otherwise, we hit that ceiling and we can’t break through.

Now, don’t get me wrong - people who only focus on building authority (and have a crappy product or don’t care about their customers… aka the ‘B.S. artists’... have their problems too - unhappy customers, bad reputations, sometimes even trouble with the law).

You do not want to trade places with them.

But you can learn an important lesson from them. I did.

So if you’re hitting your head against the wall, wondering what more you can do…

Or what you’ve done wrong to not hit your goals…

Ask yourself:

Have I put myself out there as an authority?

Have I put my stake in the ground and claimed what’s mine?

Have I grabbed the mic and spoken up?

It’s uncomfortable, I know.

But the good news is that it’s easier for someone with mastery of their craft to learn how to build authority and attract attention… than it is for a B.S. artist to develop a great product and truly care about their customers.

You can be true to your heart…

And step up to lead with your heart at the same time.

In fact, the truly great leaders are the only ones who do.

If you’re reading this, know that you already have everything you need to build your dream life and business.

Maybe the only thing you need to do now is plant your damn stake in the ground and grab the mic.

-Ryan

P.S. Writing this brought back a lot of memories - both uncomfortable and empowering. If you're in a similar spot and want to explore what "claiming your authority" might look like for you, feel free to reach out. You can find out more about my work at Streamline Authority.

Who am I?

Hey, I’m Ryan Niessen. For 14 years, I’ve been behind-the-scenes as a copywriter, funnel builder, and fractional CMO for well-known transformational leaders.

Today, I'm a Co-Founder of Streamline Authority. Our done-for-you authority, audience, and business-building system attracts premium clients on autopilot. Ask me about writing a book, growing sales & building your 'media platform'.

I also Co-Founded the Beyond Wealth Club, a small, private mastermind community that gives you a ‘Personal Wealth System’ - completely unique to you - so you can grow your wealth consistently in today’s strange new world.