The Surprising Result of My Appearance on Good Morning America

For everyone who dreams of going viral

I don’t drink coffee, but my hands were shaking like I’d just spent a day doing espresso shots at the corner cafe. In fact, my legs were shaking too. This did not bode well for the task at hand, which involved pouring hot coffee into the teacups of talk show celebrities Joan Lunden and Charlie Gibson from my six-foot unicycle—hopefully without leaving second-degree burns on their fingers.

My shaking came from stage fright, or in this case, broadcast fright. It was my big break. I was about to appear in a live segment of Good Morning America where I’d be seen by millions of people.

If you’re courting the idea of going viral to get attention for yourself as a writer, speaker, entrepreneur, performer, actor, or public figure—this story is for you.

Let’s take it a step at a time.

First, how the heck did Good Morning America find out about me, and how do you grab the attention of a media entity of the same caliber?

I was living in Vancouver, BC when Good Morning America scheduled an on-location episode in Canada to highlight the Hollywood movies being filmed there at the time. Hollywood north they were calling it. I'd become a local celebrity in Vancouver as a street entertainer, delivering performances all week long at the local market—day in and day out, rain or shine—and I’d been doing so for years. Frequently I’d get stopped walking down the street by a fan saying, “Hey, you’re that guy who rides the twelve foot unicycle!” eager to share their experience of the show. A good percentage of the city had seen me at one time or another. A Vancouver talent agent I’d never met recommended me to the producers who were looking for local stories to align with their entertainment theme. In other words, a sustained commitment to show up in a non-scalable, non-viral context opened the door to a one time viral opportunity.

But I almost hung up after answering the phone. It sounded like a prank when the caller claimed to be an assistant producer for the Good Morning America show and asked if I’d like to be on it. After verifying this was for real, the assistant asked if I could help come up with a concept that would add an entertaining element to the segment.

I offered a crazy idea.

I suggested that I could serve tea from 8 feet in the air on a unicycle to the two celebrity co-anchors, Joan Lunden and Charlie Gibson.

There I was, about to ride up and perform the stunt. I’d put weeks of planning and preparation into the one-minute spot, first to make it safe, but also to take full advantage of my big shot at stardom.

But things didn't go as planned.

At significant expense I hired a local web-designer and SEO specialist to create a promotional website that the producers agreed to share on screen after my appearance. The stunt itself went off without a hitch. A link to my website was indeed beamed across the country to millions of people.

And . . .

Absolutely nothing happened.

Not one email, phone call, or inquiry about my availability as a performer transpired as a result.

I had no relationship with the millions of viewers of Good Morning America, and not enough time to form one. I was a spectacle, not a person. I was a character without a context or story to connect to, and for that reason, was a one and done phenomenon that made a brief appearance and disappeared from the attention and memory of millions.

I’ve had other “big breaks” since then, meeting important and influential people, being featured on America’s Got Talent and other television shows, landing small parts in films, receiving testimonials from Fortune 100 CEOs. In my experience, these forms of connection and exposure aren’t the magic pill that we think they’re going to be.

Planting 1000 seeds in 1000 places is far more effective than planting a million seeds in one place.

If you want success in any domain, being forced to deliver your value, over and over again, is the best thing that can happen to you—because that's how you get really good at your craft. A quick and early success can sabotage what is meant to be a gradual, organic process of building a foundation for making a significant contribution.

And, fortunately, that's what happened to me. Since then, decades of seed-planting, in countless low profile situations, has led to a reliable harvest of steady and lucrative employment, an industry reputation, and constant word-of-mouth referrals.

The best thing you can do is to go viral slowly, over time, by being prolific in your field and providing recurring value in a long game of quiet success.

It’s why I’m willing to leave hundreds of comments on the work of other authors every month on Substack, because I know the canopy of every impressive tree is dwarfed by its root system in comparison.

Success will come knocking when and where you least expect it. When it comes calling it should find you head down, immersed in your work, weeding the garden, perfecting the skills you’ve always loved and attending to the people you’ve dedicated yourself to serving. That’s how the right doors open for the next adventure.

Tell your stories. Write your articles. Offer your services. Deliver your performances. And don't stop.

Viral will come. And viral will go.

In the end, you’ll only be left with your craft.

Are you a writer at heart?

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