Welcome to The Beat’s latest drop—a playlist of perspectives from the influencers and innovators moving the needle. Here’s what’s on repeat from the voices moving culture forward:

• Digital-savvy solopreneurs are building million-dollar brands without massive resources by leveraging authenticity, consistency, and engagement online.

• Top leaders drive results (and dodge boredom) by mastering strategies like intentional meeting selection, deep preparation, and engaged listening.

• Visionary entrepreneurs are turning their AI-driven identity crises into brand revolutions using the three-dimensional AWE framework (Awareness, Wisdom, Experience).

For the uninitiated: The Beat is a free, biweekly newsletter designed for the influencers, tastemakers, and innovators in the worlds of music, entertainment, media, food & beverage, fashion, sports, gaming, and more. Each article featured below is penned by a member of Rolling Stone Culture Council, a community of influential leaders across an array of industries.

With the lineup set, let’s turn up the volume on this week’s insights.

Digital Domination: How Solopreneurs Can Outplay Big Brands in the New Economy

Forget the corporate giants—digital transformation just leveled the playing field. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, educator, or content creator, building an empire online is now within anyone's reach.

Success in branding comes down to embracing authenticity, showing consistency, driving real engagement, and turning your followers into fierce advocates.

Here's how you crush it solo:

🎤 Authenticity: Keep it real—your audience craves genuine connections, not corporate fluff.

📅 Consistency: Show up regularly; your audience wants reliability, not random spurts of brilliance.

🤝 Engagement: Listen, converse, and build community. Loyal fans beat passive followers every day.

Not convinced yet? Digital tools like LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok let anyone turn expertise into lucrative opportunities. Look at Mr. Beast leveraging collaborations with Ronaldo or Elliot Phillips turning teaching into a six-figure gig simply by mastering personal branding.

Bottom line? The risk isn’t jumping into digital—it's standing still. So stop waiting around. Your million-dollar digital brand is just one confident step away.

Read The Full Article >

No More Wasted Mondays: How to Run Meetings That Actually Matter

Meetings suck — or at least that's the universal consensus. But let's be real: Great leaders know meetings can be powerful game-changers, fueling breakthrough ideas and driving serious results.

Here’s the deal: Master leaders make every minute count, boost productivity, and create killer team environments.

Here's how top leaders run meetings you'll actually want to attend:

🥇 Pick Your Battles: Not every convo deserves a scheduled meeting—know when face-to-face beats Slack or email, who's essential, and how long to keep it tight.

📝 Come Loaded & Ready: Do your homework (and make sure others do too). A bit of prep can be money for client pitches and will give you an advantage from the get-go.

👀 Stay Present, Stay Engaged: Attention span matters. Multitasking during meetings is disrespectful and ineffective. Put your phone down and focus.

🎯 Have a Game Plan: Agendas are cool, but clarity around roles, responsibilities, and strategies crushes wasted time and rabbit trails.

👂 Listen Up, Speak Last: Leaders talk less, hear more. Listening first unlocks team creativity, sparks unfiltered ideas, and gives your people room to shine.

Read The Full Article >

Humans vs. AI: How to Keep Your Personal Brand From Becoming Obsolete

AI isn't just transforming tech—it's reshaping our identities. As automation and advanced tech change how we work, leaders and entrepreneurs face an identity crisis. Your sense of self is being challenged, and that's uncomfortable as hell.

But rather than seeing AI as a threat, smart leaders use it as a catalyst to evolve their personal brand and emerge stronger than ever.

The key? Three-dimensional AWE: Awareness, Wisdom, & Experience:

👁️ Awareness: Face reality. Feeling displaced by AI's rapid takeover is normal. Acknowledge your fears openly—the toughest fears reveal your greatest potential.

🧠 Wisdom: Humans first, AI second. Trust your intuition, leverage your humanity, and let AI amplify your strengths—not replace them.

🌱 Experience: Embrace change, stay rooted. Your identity isn't static. Remember why you started, stay true to your core values, and evolve alongside AI—don’t fight it.

Read The Full Article >

Wrapping Up

If these articles sparked your interest, we have a network that you will love: Rolling Stone Culture Council.

This exclusive, vetted community brings together influential leaders and innovators in art, media, gaming, theater, social impact, fashion, film, hospitality, sports, and more.

Put yourself at the forefront of innovation with access to publishing opportunities on RollingStone.com, a personalized, SEO-friendly Executive Profile, and the chance to network with other respected leaders in the field.

Join Rolling Stone Culture Council today and become part of a group driving innovation in entertainment.