asked a guy worth $50M+ what he'd do differently if he started over at 25 expected some profound strategy instead he said: "I'd be meaner faster" what does that mean "I spent 10 years being nice to people who weren't useful. taking meetings that went nowhere. giving chances to people who didn't deserve them. being patient with employees who should've been fired in month 1." he leaned back "everyone told me to be collaborative. to build relationships. to give people the benefit of the doubt. cost me millions. literally millions." I asked what changed "I started asking one question before every interaction: does this person have something I need or not? if not, the conversation is over. sounds psychotic. made me rich." but what about relationships? "I have 4 friends. I've known all of them for 20+ years. everyone else is either useful or invisible. that's not mean, that's honest. most people are pretending to have relationships when they're really just networking. I stopped pretending." what about karma? being good to people? "I'm very good to people who matter. I'm extremely generous with my inner circle. I'm just ruthless about who gets in. the mistake young people make is being a little bit nice to everyone instead of being extremely loyal to a few." he finished his drink "be meaner faster. cut the dead weight before it accumulates. the people you're being nice to right now are probably the same people holding you back. but you won't see it for another 5 years. I'm trying to save you those years." hardest advice I ever got still not sure I can follow it but I think about it every time I take a meeting I know is going nowhere

you don't have imposter syndrome you're just correctly assessing your skill level the problem isn't that you feel like a fraud the problem is you ARE underqualified and instead of fixing it you diagnosed yourself imposter syndrome is when you're good but feel bad you're just bad that's not a syndrome that's feedback get better and the "syndrome" disappears

"work from anywhere" is a scam sold by people who work from one place followed 12 "digital nomads" with 50k+ followers for 6 months wanted to see if the lifestyle was real here's what I found: nomad 1: posts from bali beaches, actually lives in his parents' basement in ohio. flies to bali twice a year for content. nomad 2: "full-time traveler" hasn't left chiang mai in 11 months. can't afford the flight out. nomad 3: posts laptop-on-beach photos. admitted the sand destroyed 2 macbooks. works from his apartment. nomad 4: "location independent" but has to stay in places with specific timezone overlap for client calls. so... 6 countries total. nomad 5-12: similar stories. the instagram is a highlight reel of 2-week trips, not a lifestyle. the math doesn't work and here's why: decent coworking space: $200-400/month decent wifi apartment: $800-1500/month (yes, even in "cheap" countries) flights every few weeks: $500-2000 visa runs and fees: $200-500/month health insurance that works internationally: $300-500/month minimum real cost: $2,500-4,000/month to live worse than you would in a US city with stable income but without: - friends who stay - relationships that last - doctors who know you - a gym you don't have to find every month - any sense of home "but the freedom!" freedom to do what? sit alone in a foreign country working the same hours you would at home but with worse wifi and no support system the people selling this lifestyle are selling it because the lifestyle doesn't pay they need you to buy the dream so they can afford to pretend they're living it digital nomad isn't a lifestyle it's a content category for people who can't make enough money to be comfortable where they're from

gym bros who "aren't going out tonight" because it'll mess up their gains are the same ones who've looked exactly the same for 3 years your social life isn't killing your progress your program is killing your progress one beer won't undo a deadlift but zero friends will undo your mental health get a life then get abs not the other way around

ran an experiment that proved everything I knew about pricing was wrong had a $997 course selling maybe 10-15/month $10-15k revenue, decent someone told me to raise the price seemed crazy but I tested it phase 1: raised to $1,997 expected sales to drop 50% actual result: sales dropped 20%, revenue up 60% interesting but could be a fluke phase 2: raised to $2,997 expected disaster actual result: sales dropped another 15%, revenue up another 40% now I'm confused phase 3: raised to $4,997 thought this would kill it actual result: sales dropped 25%, revenue up 35% final numbers: $997: 15 sales = $14,955/month $4,997: 6 sales = $29,982/month half the customers double the revenue 90% less support tickets but here's what really broke my brain: the $4,997 customers got BETTER results same exact course same exact content 5x the price better outcomes why? because they had skin in the game the $997 buyer watches 2 modules and forgets about it the $4,997 buyer watches everything twice and implements immediately they can't afford to waste it the price isn't just filtering for money it's filtering for commitment cheap products attract browsers expensive products attract buyers and buyers are the only ones who get results which means expensive products create better testimonials which means they sell more which means you should've raised your price yesterday I kept it at $997 for 2 years because I wanted to "help more people" in reality I was helping nobody because nobody was taking it seriously raised the price helped fewer people but actually helped them that's the pricing lesson nobody tells you expensive isn't greedy cheap is lazy

you have 50 tabs open and you're not working on any of them that's not research that's digital hoarding you don't have a knowledge problem you have a decision problem close 46 tabs do the thing in tab 1 or admit you're not going to do anything the tabs are a to-do list you'll never complete and you know it

got the best business advice of my life from a drug dealer in miami wasn't trying to learn anything just ended up talking to this guy at a bar he asked what I do told him I sell online courses he laughed "so we're in the same business" what do you mean "I sell a product people think they need, mark it up 10x, and rely on repeat customers who can't quit" I was quiet then he dropped something that changed how I think about sales forever: "you know why I never have to advertise?" why "because I never sell to anyone who isn't already looking. I don't convince people to want what I have. I find people who already want it and make it easy to buy." he took a sip of his drink "you're out here trying to persuade people. that's amateur shit. the real money is in being easy to find when people are already desperate." thought about it my best customers were never people I convinced they were people who showed up already wanting to buy the persuasion was pointless the positioning was everything stopped trying to make people want my stuff started making sure the people who already wanted it could find me revenue 3x'd in 4 months a drug dealer taught me demand > persuasion and I paid $12k for a marketing course that never mentioned it sometimes the real gurus aren't on youtube they're selling something else entirely

"i'm a creative" that's not a job title it's a horoscope what do you actually do "I create" create what "content" for who "brands" which brands "I'm between clients right now" so you're unemployed with a ring light got it

the personal finance industry is designed to keep you poor just slowly enough that you don't notice here's how the scam works: step 1: teach you to budget result: you get really good at managing $4k/month instead of making $10k/month step 2: teach you to save result: you put $200/month into an account that makes 4% while inflation runs 7% step 3: teach you to invest result: you buy index funds that return 8% over 30 years while real estate and businesses return 20%+ in 3 years step 4: teach you to avoid debt result: you never leverage credit to build assets because "debt is bad" the entire framework optimizes for one thing: keeping you a compliant worker who doesn't take risks why? because the finance industry makes money on YOUR money sitting in THEIR accounts if you took that money out and started a business, they'd lose their fee if you leveraged debt to buy assets, they'd have nothing to manage if you got rich fast, you'd stop needing their advice so they teach you to get rich slowly over 40 years while they skim 1-2% annually 1% doesn't sound like much until you realize: $500/month invested for 40 years at 7% = $1.2M 1% annual fee over 40 years = $380k in fees they made $380k teaching you to be patient while you could've started a business at 25 and made $1.2M by 30 "but businesses are risky" you know what's actually risky? betting your entire future on the stock market performing for 40 years straight and calling it "safe" personal finance isn't education it's domestication

girls who say "i don't compete with other women" are always the most competitive women you'll ever meet the announcement IS the competition secure people don't need to tell you they're secure every "I'm not like other girls" is a comparison to other girls you're competing by saying you don't compete and everyone can see it

figured out why some people plateau at $10k/month while others scale to $100k+ it's not work ethic it's not intelligence it's not even strategy it's what they do when something works tested this with 3 clients who hit $10k/month at the same time: client A: immediately tried to add a second offer client B: immediately tried to hire someone client C: did nothing different, just kept doing what worked 6 months later: client A: $7k/month (confused why second offer killed the first) client B: $4k/month (employee drama consumed all his time) client C: $34k/month (just kept going) the pattern is insane once you see it: people plateau because they can't resist "optimizing" something that's working $10k/month from cold email? let's add webinars! $10k/month from one offer? let's launch three more! $10k/month solo? let's hire a team! every "improvement" introduces new problems new problems need new solutions new solutions take time away from the thing that actually works meanwhile the person who changes nothing keeps compounding client C's explanation: "everyone told me to diversify and systematize and scale. I just ignored them and sent more of the same emails that were already working." boring? yes effective? $34k/month the $10k/month plateau isn't a strategy problem it's an impatience problem you finally find something that works then immediately abandon it for something "better" the unlock isn't finding new things to do it's resisting the urge to stop doing what's working

"i could never work a 9-5" bro you work 24/7 on a business that makes less than a 9-5 the 9-5 guy clocks out at 5 you check slack at midnight he has weekends you have "catch up time" he has guaranteed income you have "potential" you didn't escape the rat race you just joined one that doesn't pay overtime

my accountant told me something last year that completely changed how I think about money I was complaining about taxes said I paid $127k that year he just looked at me and said: "do you know what I hear when you say that?" no what "I hear that you made over $400k. that's the only way you'd owe that much." ok and? "and you're complaining about the $127k you gave away instead of celebrating the $280k you kept. you're focused on the loss instead of the win." I was quiet for a second then he said something I'll never forget: "poor people count what they spend. rich people count what they keep. you're still thinking like a poor person." that sentence rewired my brain every time I got upset about an expense after that I'd ask myself: am I upset about what I lost? or am I ignoring what I gained? $5k software bill? means my business is big enough to need it $20k tax payment? means I made $80k $2k dinner? means I can afford to take clients out the expense isn't the story the capability is the story poor mindset: "I can't believe I spent that" rich mindset: "I can't believe I'm able to spend that" same transaction completely different meaning my accountant made $400/hour that one sentence was worth $400k because it stopped me from thinking like someone who didn't have it and started me thinking like someone who does

most "mental health days" are just hangovers with HR approval you're not burned out you drank 11 beers on sunday and can't function we normalized calling consequences "self-care" your brain isn't broken you just poisoned it that's not a mental health crisis that's a decision

went to a "high-ticket sales" workshop last weekend $2,000 to attend 47 people in the room average age: 34 average income: probably $60k the speaker made us do an exercise "turn to the person next to you and practice your pitch" listened to 47 people pitch each other every single one was selling: - coaching - courses - consulting - agency services not a single person was selling to actual customers they were all practicing selling to each other after the workshop I watched 30+ people exchange cards "we should collaborate!" "let me know if you need help with funnels!" "I'd love to have you on my podcast!" everyone selling nobody buying musical chairs with business cards this is the entire "online business" industry people who learned to sell selling to people who want to learn to sell who will then sell to people who want to learn to sell infinite recursion zero actual customers the workshop host made $94k that weekend not from building a real business from teaching people to teach people to teach people he'll never tell you his actual students' success rate because success means they became teachers too not that they built anything real the whole game is a hall of mirrors everyone selling the dream to the next person in line and the only product is the line itself

the "sigma male" is just autism with a marketing budget you're not a lone wolf you're bad at socializing and made it aesthetic actual successful loners don't post about being loners they're too busy being alone your entire personality is a cope for not being invited

accidentally discovered why some cold emails get 40% reply rates while most get 0% wasn't strategy wasn't copywriting wasn't even personalization it was timing down to the minute here's what happened: sent 500 identical cold emails over 2 weeks - same subject line - same body copy - same offer - different send times tracked every reply by exact send time the results broke my brain: emails sent 6:47-6:52am: 41% reply rate emails sent 7:00-7:15am: 12% reply rate emails sent 8:00-9:00am: 3% reply rate emails sent afternoon: 1% reply rate same exact email 13x difference based on WHEN it arrived here's why: 6:47-6:52am is when executives check email while still in bed they're half awake not in work mode yet guard is down they reply to things they'd ignore at 9am by 7:00am they're getting ready by 8:00am they're in meetings by 9:00am your email is buried under 50 others the window is 5 minutes miss it and you're competing with everyone else hit it and you're the first thing they see before their brain turns on tested it again with a different offer: batch A (random times): 4% reply rate batch B (6:47-6:52am only): 38% reply rate this isn't about personalization it's not about subject lines it's about catching people before they remember they're supposed to ignore you your cold email strategy is worthless if your timing is wrong send at 6:47am hit their inbox before their defenses are up thank me later

"money doesn't buy happiness" neither does poverty but at least with money you can be depressed in a nice apartment this phrase was invented by broke people to feel better about being broke rich people aren't happier because they're rich they're happier because they're not stressed about rent that's not the same thing

overheard two guys at a coffee shop arguing about who works harder first guy: "I work 14 hour days bro" second guy: "that's nothing I haven't taken a day off in 3 months" both of them were sitting in a coffee shop at 2pm on a tuesday so I asked what they do first guy runs a "marketing agency" - 2 clients, $4k/month second guy is a "startup founder" - no revenue, 11 months in here's what I realized watching them: they weren't actually working 14 hour days they were AVAILABLE for 14 hours checking email at 7am responding to one slack message at 10pm calling that "work" actual deep work? maybe 2-3 hours combined but they'd both go home and tell their girlfriends how exhausted they were from "grinding" the hustle bros aren't lying about their hours they're lying about what fills them 14 hours of context switching, email refreshing, and trying to look busy isn't work it's performance anxiety stretched across a day the most productive people I know work 4-6 focused hours then stop because they know the difference between being busy and being effective those two guys will "work" 14 hour days for the next 5 years and still wonder why they're not rich while someone doing half the hours makes 10x the money because they actually work during their work hours instead of cosplaying productivity for an audience of themselves

"i journal every morning" bro you write the same 3 affirmations in a $40 notebook then wonder why nothing changes journaling isn't thinking it's writing down the same thoughts you already had your journal from 2022 says the same shit as your journal from 2024 you're not reflecting you're just documenting the loop