This Email Changed My Life
1% Better 3/23/23
Happy Thursday everyone! With the insane unpredictability going on in the global economy, I can’t urge you enough to decentralize your income. I’m not trying to cause fear; it’s just more important than ever to de-risk as much as possible.
Relying solely on one income, especially from a 9-5 is dangerous. With the number of free resources available, anyone can start a side hustle rather easily.
I’ve been ramping up my social media consulting business lately. Consulting is a straightforward way to earn additional revenue every month, even if you have a hectic schedule. Hyperfocus on one skill, create a system, sell the system. I’ll talk more about this blueprint in a future newsletter.
Anyway, onto the alpha…
Contents:
Latest Twitter Thread
Job Board
Main Column: This Email Changed My Life
1% Club Updates
Replies of the Week
Interested in sponsoring a newsletter and getting your project in front of 22,000+ self-improvement, technology, finance, and Web 3 enthusiasts? Reach out to alex@1percentbetter.io
Latest Twitter Thread (click for entire post)
1% Better Job Board
Looking to hire for a Web 2 or Web 3 job? Need a freelancer?
If you are looking to hire for a position for Web 2 or Web 3, or just need a freelancer or an extra set of hands, please reply to this email, shoot me a DM, or email alex@1percentbetter.io
I get a ton of messages from teams looking to hire for different positions. I’m considering putting a small section in one of my newsletters for a job board.
If you’d like to get your job opening in front of 22,000 for a small fee, let me know.
This Email Changed My Life
This isn’t hyperbole. In 2015, at the age of 24 (I’m 32 now), an email I received at work dramatically changed my trajectory in life. I transformed from a slacking, mediocre, underachieving piece of shit to someone who would stop at nothing to achieve greatness.
This email completely changed my mindset.
This dramatic mindset shift is the reason my 1% Better business exists today.
Take my lessons learned and use them to shift your mindset as well.
Let me explain.
Until that email, I was a completely unmotivated loser who was 100% convinced I was an idiot.
It’s not even like I was down or depressed about it. I just accepted that I was a lower-intelligence individual. It’s something I would have to deal with for the rest of my life.
2.6 GPA in high school. 2.4 GPA in college. A solid C- student from 5th grade to the day I graduated college with $160,000 of debt. Oh well, I was just dealt a crap hand.
I had the world’s most static mindset.
I showed up to class just hoping I’d muster enough brain power to pass the exam. I put on my collared shirt for work praying my boss wouldn’t figure out I was sneaky a stone-cold moron.
I put the absolute bare minimum effort into any activity I did. What’s the point of trying? I wasn’t cut out for any level of success. I was the personification of mediocrity.
In May 2015, everything changed. A few months into the second job of my career (first job I was a failed software developer) I was given a task by my boss. At this gig, I was a tech consultant brought onto sales calls to demo analytics software. At the time, the software company I was working for was trying to sell analytics tools to a dating app called Grindr.
My task? Build a demo iOS dating app. Being brand new to this gig, coming fresh off a firing from my last job, the last thing I wanted to do was screw this up and get fired again. No way another company was going to hire me if I got let go back to back.
With insane pressure by my company placed on my shoulders, I googled the hell out of “how to build an iOS app”.
I worked 12 hours a day for that week to get this app out the door.
Friday comes around and I demo the app to Grindr. I thought it went alright.
That evening I got the email that changed everything.
The VP of the company sends an email to the whole company praising the app. He said it was the reason we were getting the deal.
Honestly, in my 24 years on the planet, it was the first time I received true praise from someone outside my family.
It was an awakening moment. Holy shit. I can actually learn things and improve.
I truly believed I was stuck with the cards I was dealt. And now I realized it wasn’t that way. With enough energy you can reshuffle the cards into the deck and get a whole new hand.
I am capable of putting my mind to something, picking up new skills, then executing on those new skills. My life was never the same.
At that moment I went from a static to a growth mindset.
That weekend I taught myself HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
I started building web apps. I started building stock scanners.
For six years I chased one skill after another. Making sure I was constantly chasing curiosities every day.
I was addicted to learning. I was addicted to getting better. I cut booze and nightlife from my routine. Why nuke my weekend with a few beers when I can spend it getting better?
It was a violent mindset shift.
In an instant, on one single day, I went from 24 years of being 100% convinced I was an idiot to fully believing my brain was malleable and could shift and grow based on my actions. I went from a victim of circumstances to in control.
March 2020, COVID hits. I take a Python course on Code Academy with my new found spare time.
Python turns into a crypto scanner. A crypto scanner introduces me to an article about NFTs. That article gets me obsessed with Web 3 technology. That obsession turns into NFT God and this newsletter. This newsletter turns into a business that changes my life forever.
It took one small win. Just one small win turned into another, then turned into another, then turned into another. Eventually, those wins turned into this life-changing newsletter and community.
Just aim to get one small goddamn win.
The moment you gain a growth mindset, your entire world transforms. Seriously. You look at everything differently.
The universe starts moving the puzzle pieces around you to make life happen in your favor.
You go from life controlling you, to you controlling life.
You were born with a body and brain. You were born with a certain level of intelligence. But you truly have control over those variables, not the other way around.
Developing a growth mindset is the single most important skill you can harness.
That email and that demo dating app changed everything for me. It woke me up to the power of taking action.
I really should let that VP know how much he changed my life that day.
You control your mindset, not the other way around. Act accordingly and the entire universe will move in your favor.
1% Club Update
If you’re not in the 1% Club yet, you are missing out on the best private community for builders and creators on the internet.
Every single day we have a mastermind call + me and many other top creators online hanging out in the voice chat to answer questions.
You also get: A digital coworking space I promise will boost your productivity, exclusive newsletters, live and recorded masterminds, quarterly 1 on 1s, and the most supportive community of creators on the entire internet.
Want a taste of the culture? We now have a free section! Feel free to join the Discord here: https://discord.gg/1percentbetter
This week we’ve had some incredible mastermind sessions in the Discord. Here is next week’s schedule:
Every day: Digital shared workspace (I’m in there every day answering questions)
Monday: Mental Health Club Call w/ LoneWolf
Monday: Twitter Workshop w/ Greg Lunt
Tuesday: Content Creation Office Hours w/ NFT God (weekly)
Wednesday: Accountability Meeting w/ J0nga (weekly)
Thursday: Notion Masterclass w/ NFT God
Friday: Town Hall
Friday: Editing Banger Shorts in CapCut w/ Amir
By far the best part of the club is the work sessions. All day every day there are people in the voice chat working together. It’s almost like a digital coworking space.
No pressure to turn on your mic or camera, everyone just sits quietly and works. Every once in a while a conversation breaks out and ideas are exchanged. It’s an awesome experience! Plus I’m in there every single day to answer questions.
If you’re not in the Club yet, join 680 others by signing up below. I promise it’ll be an investment in yourself you won’t regret. If you find you’re not getting value from it, I’ll personally refund you the membership fee. Hit the button below to enter the club:
Replies of the Week
Thank you so much to everyone who’s replied to my tweets or emailed me this week! Look forward to hearing from more of you soon! Take care and have an excellent weekend!
An absolute banger as always, Alex...but you absolutely MUST write to that VP who sent that email. Even better would be to coordinate a coffee or lunch (if possible) to tell him in person. As a former teacher, when I have students reach out to me years later to talk about some positive impact I had on them, I am deeply humbled and grateful by it. I think it would be the same experience for this VP ;-)
The truth is that VP was your trigger to become your starting point. During the 24 years, you were at that time, perhaps nothing had made you think about making a change in your life. But it was there, when that spark was lit that was always in you to build what you are today. It's a great life experience story that has helped you remember why you started and where you're headed over the years.
Reading what you write motivates me, thanks, Alex!