Create Your Best Work.
Become Your Best Self.
I'm Writing a Book on Creativity, and Every Week I Share the Ideas Shaping It.
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What Others Say Who've Worked With Me:
“Without your help this book would not be as great as it is. Truly appreciate you.”
Vishen Lakhiani
Founder, Mindvalley
“We made the impossible ask of making this book into a movement—and he delivered.”
Steven Kotler
4x New York Times Bestselling Author
“I got results working with Colton almost immediately.
For me, it was the collapse of timelines that changed me completely."
Lindsay Briner,
MA, PhDc, Executive Advisor
Who is Colton?
The Short Answer
I have over a decade of experience in leading diverse growth-oriented creative teams.
In that time, I held a Senior Marketing Position at Mindvalley, culminating in launching the founder’s book to the status of New York Times Bestseller.
I launched more bestselling books, most notably Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal. And Areté (as well as the Heroic app) by Brian Johnson.
I’ve held workshops in Malaysia, Australia, and The United States on my experiences. And lecture seasonally on Innovative Media Strategies for Central Saint Martins in The United Kingdom for an audience of Hybrid Creatives.
In more recent years, I've adopted a simpler identity: researcher.
If you're considering working with me, I think it's worth knowing who I am.
And where I come from.
My story doesn't fit in one box.
And so, if you're curious, here's...
The Long Answer
(Without holding back.)
The Rough Start Era
They say much of who we are is determined by the time we are 7.
I was born on Oklahoma Air Force Base, Oklahoma City.
My mother served in the Air Force for a decade, and because of that, we had moved 28 times by the time I was 18.
I was also born with multiple physical deformities, and had to wear a metal brace for years to correct my bone structure.
This experience taught me at a core level that I can improve myself and, if I were to be healthy, I have to.
The College Dropout Era
I began studying Genetics, but after speaking to my professor about how all work is determined by grants...
I dropped out and dove feet first into entrepreneurship.
I started a graphic design business.
This led me to meet and partner with a former Clinton White House Staff member. We created a personal growth business that generated 66,000 customers.
In the process, I was asked to model the page design of a company called Mindvalley, which I would soon work with.
The Mindvalley Era Start
It started because I was researching a book about Meditation.
I reached out to an author Tom Cronin who I admired and offered to help. He hired me to help with copywriting. I realized only after he had another writer already on this project.
That writer, Omar, turned out to be the former Head Copywriter at Mindvalley. He said I was actually pretty good at this and if I wanted a job he knew a place that may hire me.
I was intrigued and afraid.
I applied and got the job as the second youngest person ever hired.
I learned I was replacing the new Head Copywriter, Carl Harvey, who was leaving his role to start a new planet business with Mindvalley.
I asked for his advice in filling his shoes. He said he wasn't worried about me and that he knew I would, "Become excellent through sheer volume."
I did.
The Mindvalley Writing Team Era
This period marks the beginning of the most rapid growth period of my life.
- I was promoted to Lead Growth Hacker, in charge of copy and marketing strategy on most new projects.
- I traveled the world and lived between Malaysia, Russia, Australia and The United States.
- I started a business on the side with Joel Brown, the founder of the most popular personal growth blog in the world and grew it to 7-figures.
- I was tasked with launching and scaling Mindvalley's Consciousness Engineering and Soulvana memberships. Which at their height, grew to 400k in MRR and tens of thousands of members each. These memberships paved the way for the modern Mindvalley Membership.
- My time at Mindvalley culminated with me being tasked to launch the founder's book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind. During its peak this book sold 250 copies per second and became an instant New York Times Bestseller, WSJ bestseller, and later top 10 of all of Amazon.
People began to ask for the team behind this book, which I am mentioned in, and this began my career in self-publishing.
The Flow & Beyond Era
2 months out from the launch of their book, Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal reached out for help with their launch.
We immediately came up with a plan for not just a launch, but a movement.
- During this time, I moved from Malaysia to Australia.
- Stealing Fire sold more copies than Donald Trump, who was charting on the NYT at the time. We sold hundreds of thousands of copies and brought the concept of "Flow" to the mainstream.
- I grew their organization from 100k/year to 1.5m/year in my first year.
- We threw retreats on Powder Mountain, Utah, which were also featured in the New York Times.
- I was offered the role to direct growth for the Transformational Technology Lab in Palo Alto, CA. I generated members for the renowned Finders Course to facilitate the largest citizen science project in history, mapping altered states of consciousness.
- I continued driving growth for TransTech for 4+ years, and experimented with altered states, flow, and persistent non-symbolic experience methods during this time.
Self-Publishing & Consulting Era
At this time I started a self-publishing company, Type One Media, and moved from Australia back to the United States.
In my first month in Austin, TX, I reached out to author Tucker Max and asked if he would be interested in promoting my services. He said, "Come into my office and let's discuss."
I had no idea I was close to his office. So, I took an Uber there, and by the time the sun was setting that day he was drafting up 3 different proposals for how we could work together.
Of the 3 options, I chose the one that involved him acquiring my company. 6 months following this deal, Scribe, as a company, collapsed.
I chose to leave and instead be mentored by the founders, who helped me leverage the experience into creating my own consulting company.
I spent the better part of a year traveling between New York and Mexico City consulting.
During this time I consulting with hundreds of high-ticket clients including: mindbodygreen, the former CMO of Hallmark, Salim Ismail, Verne Harnish & Daniel Marcos Growth Institute and more.
The Fourth Continent Era
Of all the places I've traveled, I never visited the location at the top of my list of desires: The UK.
So, I moved there in 2019, making this the fourth continent I've lived on.
Through a series of coincidences, I got the opportunity to lecture regularly at Central Saint Martin's University, in King's Cross, London, on Innovative Media Strategies and Flow for Hybrid Creatives.
I explored my ancestral homeland, Scotland.
And then this thing called COVID happened in 2020, and I was shuttled to the US on a rescue flight.
The US Return & The Heroic Era
I returned to Ohio, where I had spent most of my childhood and reconnected with my family. I spent my newlyfound time abundance creating content, courses, and had my first ever viral article with 450k reads.
In an effort to promote my courses, I reached out to Brian Johnson, of Optimize and Philosopher's Notes. He declined, and asked if I would be interested in helping them launch their app, Heroic.
I was hired as the Director of Growth for Heroic and lead the marketing of the Heroic App, which founder of Whole Foods, John Mackey, calls, "The greatest personal development platform."
I helped them acquire their first 14.5k founding members and coordinated their first 7-figure launch of the Heroic Coach program.
At this point in my career, I've conducted hundreds of interviews with authors to help them refine their core message.
I put those skills to use in a private interview with Brian, which was "leaked" and leveraged to generate 2m+ in crowdfunding for Heroic. (called The Hero's Journey & the Heroic movement on YouTube.)
My final project with Heroic was the launch of Brian's book, Arete, which sold over 75,000 copies.
The Advertising Agency Era
After Heroic, I founded my first true marketing agency, Ads Magic Studios. And expanded from personal development and education companies into: e-commerce, real estate, and dozens of different industries.
- I gained access to hundreds of advertising dashboards and learned from over 100m in advertising spend over a 3 year period.
- I worked closely with clients, growing revenues from 30k/mo in spend to 450k/mo in spend profitably in competitive markets.
- I oversaw management of 1-2m/mo in spend across major accounts.
- I designed and created my first-ever physical product to grow the agency.
- I founded my own e-commerce business and automated its systems, leveraging what I've learned.
- I partnered with a healing business in Hawaii and was responsible for 7+ figures in revenue over 6 months.
With newfound freedom and a focus on systems, I felt it was time to step back and asked myself two questions...
1) "What is the best use of my skills now?"
2) "What identity is most authentic for me?"
The Creator Era
This leads us to now.
If you've read along, you know I've adopted dozens of identities. Many successfully.
And only after trying so many out, have I discovered the identity that suits me best.
Researcher.
Until eventually, I can answer: author.
I've always had an insatiable craving for knowledge and been driven enough to use it to my advantage, and everyone else's. It's what allowed me to do what I've done up until this point.
Now I realize, that research can be fuel for so much more.
Each day, I research and write for my upcoming book, Fan the Fire.
And each week, I share the lessons I've learned along the way.
The Part You May Be Looking For
So, if you were simply Googling me out of curiosity, hopefully you have a better idea now.
If you were referred to me, or wanted "the team who..." you're probably wondering where the call to action is.
While I currently spend each morning writing and researching...
I am currently consulting with companies and founders who can benefit from my experience.
If you want to be one of those organizations, you can use the form below to reach out:
(This is the most direct way to reach me, and I will get back to you in 24-48 hours)
Who I Help:
- Authors and Coaches
- Startups and Founders
- Personal Development Organizations
- Education Companies
- Technology Companies
- Design and Creative Agencies
- Webinar and Advertising Companies
- Executives Who Want to Create Books, or Design a Signature Talk
How I Help:
- Outline and Plan Your Book
- Design and Refine Your Signature Talk
- Audit and Refine Your Marketing and Messaging
- Copywriting Consulting
- Advertising Consulting
- Create the Stories Every Business and Author Needs to Tell
- Course Creation & Program Design
Brands I've Worked With
TLDR
If you scrolled past everything and thought to yourself... "I'm not reading allat."
I don't blame you.
And, there's a reason you're this far down.
So, click the button below and reach out to tell me why, and let's chat.
More of What Others Say About Me:
"We have been truly impressed by his knowledge and expertise, but we have really been delighted by
his 'get-it-done' approach.
I trust him and know that they approach my business like we are on the same team.
You should know, I have very high standards. Having worked at Disney, Vivendi, and Activision-Blizzard, I have worked with the absolute best in the world across most functions—and
I am satisfied and impressed by this entrepreneur. If you can work with them—do it."
Nichol Bradford, Wharton MBA and Executive
Director of the Transformative Technology Lab
"Colton recently gave me what I can only describe as the best, most nuanced, and precise advice I’ve ever been given. It was exactly the shift I needed to make."
Gavin Abeyratne
Former Business Partner
