Most people never succeed because they never try stuff. They just sit there with the wrong mindset and consume endless information.
You’ve got to get into the driver’s seat. You’ve got to take a risk or you’ll be under-fulfilling your potential for the rest of your life.
Truthfully, my mindset has sucked for most of my life. It was only when I got around people who made serious cash online that things changed.
Being around people like Dan Koe changes your perspective.
- You stop thinking small or playing the victim.
- You stop thinking your problems are unique.
Here’s what the big names taught me about making money online. Use these bits of wisdom to upgrade your mindset and make your first $100k.
Not thinking it’s going to work out is a superpower
I’m not supposed to tell you this. It makes me look weak.
Here goes…
Every day I wonder whether the money I make online will end. I imagine asking friends for a job at their company. And I keep my old bank boss on speed dial in case I need to ring him for a job.
Maybe another recession hits and slaps my pretty face around. Maybe the online trends I’m following cease to exist. Maybe the creator economy collapses or some random cancel culture campaign ruins me.
There just isn’t a day that I’m not scared or don’t think what I’ve built can end. I used to think this was unusual.
I now know this is normal.
Takeaway: Not thinking it’s going to work IS normal. Welcome to making money online. Welcome to the path of enormous personal growth.
Emptying your bank account can be smart
This isn’t the Dan Koe show.
But he did teach me something incredible. I recently learned that he drives a high-end Mercedes Benz AMG C63.
It costs more than $200,000 USD.
Some might think he’s a knob. Who needs a car that fancy? A couple of years ago Dan also rented a house that was 2x what he could afford.
Both purchases forced him to make more money or go bankrupt and go back to a painful web design job he hated.
Spending more money than you’re comfortable with can be great motivation.
I experienced something similar. Every day I look at my 10 month old daughter’s face (her picture is on my desk) and I have all the motivation I need to keep building my online empire.
Takeaway: some of you need to spend some money to get free motivation and escape your comfort zone.
Revisiting a problem is how you have a massive breakthrough
Money is made online by solving one specific problem.
For years I’ve helped people solve the problem of going from nothing to writing online daily to attract opportunities into their lives.
It hasn’t been easy.
But I think about this problem daily. I have more and more nuanced thoughts about it all the time.
James Clear says:
The longer you’re in the game, the more ideas bubble up to the surface.
Time unlocks insights.
That’s how I feel.
I’m become a master at the problem of writing online because I’ve thought about it consistently for 9 years. I continually find new ways to solve the problem and earn a living from it.
Many of you haven’t spent enough days thinking about the big problem you want to solve. And you haven’t taken enough action to see if your solutions are valuable to strangers on the internet.
Takeaway:
- Stop switching from one problem to the next.
- Start with a problem & go deep on it for more than a year. That’s where hundreds of thousands — and even millions — of dollars are found.
The two emotions of this lifestyle aren’t what you think
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are two tycoons of the tech and investing world. Here’s a conversation I’ll never forget:
“Marc: “Do you know the best thing about startups?”
Ben: “What?”
Marc: “You only ever experience two emotions: euphoria and terror.”
There’s no in-between. Make no mistake: making money online is an extreme sport. You’re either scared and feel like it’ll all crumble or you’re experiencing euphoria from a winning streak.
Don’t take my word for it.
Ask Sean Kernan. Ask Zulie Rane. Ask Sinem Günel. They’ll tell you.
Too many creators create art that can never make money
A lot of creators are selfish.
They just make stuff they like and then try to earn money from it. Then when no one buys it they blame the internet, or worse, the platform that they tried to make money on.
Selfish work is art.
Unselfish work is an online business.
To make money online you have to create things you love but for others. Otherwise, you’ll always be a starving artist.
The #1 way to make more money online if you’re struggling
I spoke to a cool guy today named Lucas. He’s struggling.
Here’s why: he’s guessing.
If you’re not making money there are two simple strategies:
- Look at the data. What does your social media content say? What does your PayPal/Stripe dashboard say?
- Talk to more customers. Ask them what they want and they’ll tell you.
More information or Youtube videos is rarely the answer. Do what hurts, what feels uncomfortable, or what’s obvious.
What to do when a tiny idea online starts “working”
To find an idea that works you need to make a lot of small bets. Experiment.
When you find an idea that works (a little) then you double down on it, rather than spread your attention across multiple projects or ways to make money.
If the thing that works stops working again, create more experiments and small bets again and repeat the process.
This framework is better than reading more books, searching for information that’s secretly a form of procrastination.
