- Actualized.org Launching on Patreon: Leo Gura announces the launch of Actualized.org on Patreon to allow supporters to make small monthly contributions. He shares that his decision comes after a year of consideration and is a tool to fund the improvement and expansion of his platform, not for personal financial gain.
- Concern About Monetization: Leo is hesitant about monetizing his work because he believes it could cheapen the content and lead him down a corporate path focused on making profits. He mentions that while he could have turned Actualized.org into a large, corporate organization and earned five times more profits, he decided not to. Survival, competition, and profitability, however, as he acknowledges, are essential for the business to avoid going under and continue helping people.
- Leo's Financial Situation and Use of Money: As a frugal person, Leo informs his viewers that he is financially comfortable and does not need more monetary resources for personal use. Instead, he sees money as a tool that can do good in the world and combat a globally prevalent trend of wealth being used to fund low consciousness activities and teachings.
- Maintaining Creative Independence: The Patreon donations, according to Leo, will preserve his creative independence. He underpins the importance of remaining autonomous from any corporate interference to share brutal, truthful content with his audience without restriction. His goal is to cover less mainstream, more profound, and esoteric topics without reliance on clickbait.
- Investing in Original Research: Leo also mentions the possible use of Patreon donations for conducting more original research. He shares that he devotes a significant amount of time into researching new technologies, techniques, gadgets, and other aspects that can help people self-actualize. This way, he can provide deeper insights to his viewers, which he feels are not shared widely enough in society and culture.
- Continued Production of Quality Content: Leo emphasizes the importance of paid courses, explaining that profits from these directly contribute to the continuation of Actualized.org. He mentions that the free content he provides is valuable but may be taken for granted due to its abundance. Paid courses encourage commitment and seriousness from learners, who are more likely to engage and take action on the material.
- New Psychedelic Substance Research: Leo reveals he has discovered a new psychedelic substance more potent than 5-MeO-DMT during his original research. This substance, yet to be named, will be revealed in the future, and donations will fund further studies on this.
- Advancing Spiritual Technologies: Leo proposes further research on unknown spiritual techniques and methods. Future projects may include dark room retreats, exploration of new meditation forms, and other retreats. Donations will help fund these initiatives.
- Intent to Share More Freely: With a steady stream of donations, Leo will feel less pressure about monetizing and can freely share more content. This setup will also enable him to focus on creating better content without worrying about other factors.
- Potential Advertising Campaigns: Donations will help Leo to run ads on various platforms to attract more people to Actualized.org. This will counterbalance the low views his in-depth content usually gets due to its radical and non-click-bait nature.
- Improved Content Production: Leo mentions using donor contributions for creating high-quality, visually engaging videos in collaboration with animators and graphic artists. These well-produced videos can attract a broader audience and enhance the user experience.
- Upgrading Infrastructure: Leo discusses upgrading different aspects of his setup (camera equipment, lenses, studio, background, editing software, microphones) to deliver better quality content. Extra funding can aid in these improvements. For instance, they might invest in a $6000 camera.
- Possible Tours/Workshops: Another possibility with increased funding is touring across different cities conducting a variety of workshops. These events would be expensive considering related costs (traveling, lodging, renting meeting spaces). Offering low-cost workshops can attract more attendees, but external funding is necessary to offset costs.
- Long-term Vision - Retreat Center: In the distant future, Leo envisions using funds to build a retreat center in the middle of a Hawaiian rainforest. This would require immense funding, potentially millions of dollars, hence it's a long-term aspiration.
- Eliminating YouTube ads: If donations increase significantly, Leo considers the possibility of removing ads from his YouTube videos. While this may result in a loss of income, he believes it would improve the quality of his content by removing distractions.
- Safeguarding against possible restrictions/demonetization: YouTube may delist or ban his channel due to its radical content. A cushion of funding would ensure stability and the continued operation of Actualized.org, even outside of YouTube, if such situations arise.
- Changing the Epistemology of the Human Race: Leo's ultimate goal with Actualized.org is to shift humanity's understanding of itself, knowledge, science, religion, spirituality, logic and reason, belief systems, politics, government, society, and culture. Part of this ambitious undertaking includes writing books which integrate science and mysticism - a long-term project likely to take years.
- Gratitude and Conclusion: Leo expresses gratitude to his audience for their continuous support, urging them to support him further if they believe in his vision. He emphasizes the importance of being able to sustain himself, grow his business, and widen the reach of Actualized.org. Leo's ultimate goal through all his endeavors is to contribute to the awakening of mankind.