Stripping Down the Bullshit: Raw Insights on Life — Volume IX

If I were an entrepreneur 10 years ago, I believe my company could have gotten acquired fairly quickly. As a sports guy with some management skills who has learned tech, there would have been no one like me. Tech wasn’t necessarily the shiny new toy that EVERYONE was talking about. I wouldn’t sound like another asshole claiming to use AI to have the next big thing, sounding like a salesman or much worse, like everyone else. This comes with posting daily on LinkedIn or telling people to listen to their podcasts. There are times when I feel late to the party, and that’s because I was roaming the sidelines with NFL dreams. I quickly realized that was a facade. I am beyond happy I got out of that space.

I was training athletes, and I quickly realized there was no sustainable business model in that industry. It’s a lot of jargon selling something that’s easily accessible; I am no different from plenty of trainers out there. It’s all about relationships, not the science. You gotta play the social media game. You are not selling results, which is what you think you are doing if you want to train athletes, but it’s much deeper. You have to become a mini-celebrity if you want mass influence. The product gets neglected, and now you become more about eyeballs, and brand deals, not the product, or helping your athletes get results. The leader takes no praise — one of my 10 laws. So that career path was a no-go. It’s too late to go back to school — all money in, R.I.P. Neighborhood Nip. I say that because while I have endeavors for when I get out of this game, believe me, I have an exit strategy. There is something I am trying to achieve, and that is to cement myself as a man who defeated capitalism in perhaps the most turbulent, volatile economy in modern American history.

A lofty task, huh? Well, I’m a trailblazer, but what I can’t stand is coming off like everyone else. Why? Because I have actually put the work in. I am a lot of things. Digging up 10 people who crossed paths with me who have something bad to say isn’t hard, but I’m self-aware and I can own my shit. But you cannot deny my work ethic or my intellect, and that’s what matters to me. I speak from the heart, and for better or worse, I believe what I say. I can be real to a fault. This has hurt me in closing deals and with women. Ironically enough, those are one and the same thing if we’re being honest. Oops, there I go again, but all jokes aside, I go above and beyond in everything I do. I must get my hands dirty. When I was scouting opponents, I’d watch film until 4 in the morning. I knew everything about my opponent, ask anyone who ever played for me. In grad school during presentations, I would go above and beyond, and my classmates would hate me because I made them look bad. Don’t meet the standard — exceed the standard. Another one of my 10 laws. If I go out for a night drinking and I know I drank too much and ended the night with 3 slices of pizza or fast food, I’m up early the next morning. I gotta run 3–5 miles. I better hold myself accountable because that’s no one else’s job. That’s how bad habits linger. You gotta earn your leisure, and you must be willing to pay the price.

If you know me, you know my phone is always on do not disturb, but I text back incredibly quick. I guess there’s a game, whether it be dating or meeting new people, regarding how long you should wait before you message. I am not playing fucking patty cake. If I’m talking to you, it’s because I want to or need to. There’s no time to waste. I believe people often love creating an illusion that they are busy or too cool for school. This is so funny to me because let me just say this: I have a broad range of friends — from rappers, techies, academics, people in politics, the medical field, entrepreneurs, and regular 9–5ers (no offense if you fall in that category). But it’s the people who live standard lives, or the ones who I know drink 2x per week, or smoke weed frequently, or are caught up in sports, pop, and culture, who love creating this illusion like they are busy, knowing damn well they aren’t doing anything. They take a long time to text back with no regard for time. While I don’t take it personally, there’s an unconscious undertone in how people text, and if you pay close attention to how someone is in person, you will be able to interpret the intent behind their message. I wipe my hands with these types quickly, but it’s evident nothing in their life has value to create urgency. So why is that someone I want to be around? You are the sum of who you hang out with. This paradox is rather ironic because I have millionaires, business owners, and professors in my orbit, many of whom have families, and when I reach out, and it’s about business, an idea, or to garnish insight, they respond very quickly. Notice a trend?

I meet people on LinkedIn quite a bit. Before meeting, I analyze all their posts. I see if they are early to the meeting, no different than if we were in person. Did they reschedule? You only get one bad with me. There’s something about being thorough, and I am paying attention to everything. But this has got me thinking about various YouTubers and influencers, many of whom are utterly talentless. I won’t start name-dropping YET, but I will in the future because it’s a problem. You have people with legitimate platforms to influence the masses spreading garbage — nothing of substance, nothing well thought out or prepared, rather primitive in its delivery. And that’s what sells and garners attention. The bar is so low, and while I desire to lead a certain type of life that will buy the access to do the things I really want to do, one thing I won’t do is compromise on my values, the quality and substance behind anything I create and share, and how I present myself.

So let’s take a look at some public figures, starting with Dwayne Johnson who has been losing followers as the public is beginning to catch on to how he’s the ultimate everyman, never saying anything of value but general statements to appease the masses. He’s been sounding like a politician for years. Or the rapid falloff of Drake, in which the Jewish boy from Canada, also known as 6 God, defined toxic masculinity and acted as a real-life meme who can and will take your girlfriend if you make fun of him. He operates like the kid who got picked on in school and decided he would create a character and use his acting skills to be that character to stick it to everyone who made fun of him. The true intent of his character couldn’t be more obvious, and now it’s become the consensus that Drake is not who we thought he was. I still love his music and I don’t knock his hustle one bit, but Drake has been acting since day one, literally. Or how about Elon Musk? Go read about his real journey or the fact his dad is an engineer, or his mom was a model. Go read up on his grandfather. The guy was born on third base. Ever heard of Peter Thiel? Elon Musk was not the brains behind PayPal, and he acquired Tesla. He’s been talking about self-driving cars for a while and going to Mars or putting chips in people’s heads. What’s his signature win? Just comparing it to sports, he’s the guy who talks a lot with a lot of headlines but no championship. in simple terms, no notable public wins. If we give him credit for PayPal, he was a rotation player at best. I personally love the fact he’s a troll. I like Elon Musk, but like everyone else, he is full of shit.

I have come to terms with the fact that most people are full of shit, and I don’t think there’s actually anything wrong with that. It’s admirable if you have the humility and self-awareness to be transparent and own the fact that you are. I am so in tune with my flaws I can spot my toxic traits in someone else unconsciously. I believe it’s the fact that most people are on autopilot in their day-to-day, looking to fill their desires with cheap pleasure. They just believe other people’s bullshit, then 30 years go by. You have no meaningful relationships rooted in substance or values. You hate your spouse but stayed because it was easy, your kids didn’t reach their potential, and you had a vision for what you wanted to be but repeatedly you said tomorrow yesterday!

Ohhh, it’s so raw but it’s real. Maybe you should have just been real in the first place, but you wanted to be liked only to realize it’s impossible to be liked by everyone because if you’re trying to please everyone, you face the harsh reality that you are nothing to anyone.

Figure out what you value, and the type of people you admire, and cut out the bullshit. Be real with yourself, and figure out what’s worth chasing, and fuck everything else. No seriously, FUCK EVERYTHING ELSE! Because one day you’re gonna die. Will anyone remember you?

I made the promise to myself, for better or worse, I will make sure they can’t forget me. This was an intermission, a note to self. I must write more. The book is coming… WALK WITH ME!

It’s quite evident I am chasing something different