I've been obsessed with business for a while now.

The hardest part for me has been that especially at my age there are few people who are interested in the same things as me.

I couldn't hang with your old friends because they bring you down but I'm not yet at that level where I can hang around the people you want to be around

My old friends were obsessed with video games and I realized this wasn't aligned with the life I wanted. This meant I would have to leave the friends I had in order to reach my next level of development. This has happened multiple times in my life. Leaving my video game friends to do better academically. Leaving public high school to join college at 15. Leaving college at 15 to pursue online business.

Each time I had to leave my old friends to reach my next evolution.

With business it can be even harder, your grinding daily so you don't hang with your old friends but your not at the level where the people you admire want to be around you.

When I was building my business I tried many different business models including Short-Form clipping, Faceless Youtube, and Day Trading. I quit all of them.

The common thing between them?

I was doing it by myself. I had no network or community of people. This made it easier to burnout.

I also didn't put myself out there. I was always afraid to commit. A year ago I finally said I would start a personal brand youtube channel. I worked on the video for a while and eventually I quit and never started it.

I was afraid to put my name out there and have accountability.

There's no way you can build a network of amazing people if your afraid to put your name out there.

The Networking Trap

When you decide that you want to build a business and earn money online you likely have to leave the circle of your old friends.

It's what I had to do. The people I was hanging with weren't interested in the same things as me and just brought me away form my passion and purpose.

There's a cost to leaving your old circle of friends - your lonely. This can cause you to turn to instant gratification because you feel depressed and lonely. I know I fell into these ruts where I would just snack all day and watch youtube. It felt like it was me against the world and I was all on my own.

It can also make you antisocial. Since it feels like your an outside it can discourage you from going out and trying to meet with others (both online and in-person).

For some of you, you may be willing to reach out to people but you have no idea where to start. You might be creating content on YouTube but have no idea how to get in contact with people since there are no DMs on youtube. With all the business models I tried and failed I couldn't get in contact with anyone or build a meaningful relationship because I wasn't on a platform that had DMs and I was afraid to put myself out there.

When I did find a platform where I could DM and it was a personal brand I didn't know what to say in the DMs. My first successful DM to a big creator was to Dakota Robertson and I wrote an essay and had to rely on Claude to help me shorten and refine it. Luckily Dakota likes helping beginner's almost as much as he likes pineapple pizza. So he responded because he saw I put effort into the DM and got on a call with me.

That's the power of putting yourself out there.

After months and months of sending DMs I've discovered that there is a formula for opening DMs that helps you get responses.

Rather than sending a DM to a creator you love and making a bad first impression you can make sure to send a good first DM. And don't let the fear of making a bad first impression prevent you from sending a DM. Because in reality people forget what you said unless it's absolutely atrocious. Most people can't remember what they did yesterday and for bigger creators they get 100's of DMs a day. So you either make a good first impression or they just scroll by. There's no downside (unless your being really stupid).

Networking is Play

Imagine having a network of people who you used to look up to. The mentors and idols you had are no long out of reach but instead you can ask them for advice and they can run things by you. This is the power of networking properly.

Instead of feeling drained after being around your friends you feel lifted up with greater ambitions and focus. Right now I have network where if I go to 10-20 other countries besides my own I have someone I can meet up with. The power of networking can help you do the same.

Networking properly requires you to become a person you would want to be around. You need to become honest and humble. Honesty means you can attract the people who you truly resonate with. Humility helps to grow faster and learn from the people in your network.

If you want to be apart of a valuable network you need to dedicate time to learning your craft. If you want a valuable network you must be of value.

Raising the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with will force you to level up. With your network you can also gain referrals and clients. Worst case scenario you can exchange free work with your people in your network to help one another build social proof.

The Bulletproof Networking System

1) DMs

DM’s

DM’s are the easiest way to start building a network.

Here’s the DM framework I use:

1. 3 things you like about them

2. 3 things about yourself

3. 1 question

Here's an example:

2) Meet Big Creators Even When DMs Don't Work

If you DM a big creator and they don’t respond...

It’s time to pay for access:

• Cohorts

• Mentorship

• Communities

Joining my first cohort was scary but it made me start my first podcast, helped me network with millionare's, and helped me reach my first 1000 followers.

But, getting your foot in the door is useless if you don't nurture the relationship(more on that later)...

3) Nurturing Relationships

Use the law of reciprocity.

If you pay for access to a creator.

Don’t view it as a one way relationship.

• Share your story

• Share content that might help them

• Share content that made you think of them

Always make sure to return the favor.

4) Do Calls or Host a Podcast

This is the best way to build relationships.

Talking over text is fine.

But, talking face to face is way more powerful.

If you want to take it further you can start a podcast.

Podcasting helps you meet big creators without paying for access.

5) Be Human

I know this is obvious.

But if your reaching out to someone and aren’t actually interested in them.

Don’t message them!

Only reach out to people you have a genuine interest in.

Update on This Last Week

Sorry for the little break from writing newsletters. I took an unplanned break for the last 1 - 3 weeks and spent some time reflecting on my brand direction.

I'm back now and you can count on a newsletter weekly on topics like philosophy, business, and self-improvement.

PS. The YouTube version of this newsletter will be up in 2 weeks, and I hope you have an excellent rest of your week.