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why you always feel behind in life
Make money with your mind, not your time.
I’m no stranger to feeling behind in life.
I didn’t reach any meaningful level of success until I was 28 years old.
Up until that point, I only ever made $42,000 CDN a year BEFORE taxes.
And had limited location freedom to travel the world (not that I could afford it).
As bad as this is, I couldn’t help but compare myself to other successful people on social media.
For example, Vincent just turned 15 years old and he’s making $5,000 USD per month as a ghostwriter.
That’s $18,000 more per year than I made as a college teacher (not accounting for the conversion rate between CDN and USD).
He achieved this goal 13 years before I did.
How the hell would I not feel behind in life after seeing young kids with results like that?
If you’re feeling like this, just know you’re not alone.
But also know, you’re at great risk of being behind your entire life if you don’t learn what most people never do…
… Not only at risk of not living up to your potential and settling for a less than ideal life.
But at risk of being exploited by the predators ahead of you.
They know how deeply you desire to change your circumstances and succeed.
They offer you programs, coaching, and strategies with the promise that you’ll finally get ahead in life.
Unfortunately, most people who were in my shoes fall for these pyramid schemes because they don’t understand they’re being sold scraps in over-saturated markets…
Life is a Pyramid Scheme
For better, or for worse, everyone is teaching people a few steps behind them.
This makes life one big pyramid scheme.
And who are the people at the top of the pyramid?
The first movers.
First movers who identify untapped market opportunities and get filthy rich.
These are the ghostwriters who built agencies back in 2021 and 2022 when there were few qualified people to do so.
I was fortunate enough to get into ghostwriting around this time - mainly because of luck.
Now, everyone is a ghostwriter making $10,000+ per month.
And you know what?
This makes complete sense.
Once you prove you can make huge money in these underserved markets, other people reach out looking for a golden ticket.
This is why I ran a stealth ghostwriting cohort back in 2022.
So many people asked me for help, I finally gave in, and created a program to teach them.
I would have been stupid to turn away $25,000 worth of qualified leads.
But why does this matter to you?
Pyramid schemes follow the same economics as animals that stumble across new environments with tons of food.
The first ones to arrive reap the rewards of seemingly infinite food supply.
They eat, f*ck, and multiply until there are so many of them, the food supply runs dry.
What started as high supply, low demand.
Shifts to low supply, high demand.
At this point, only the most well adapted animals can survive by out competing the rest.
This is the 80/20 rule of economics.
Only it’s more like the 5/95 rule.
The 5% at the top of the pyramid reap most of the rewards.
Leaving only the scraps for the other 95%.
In my estimation, that is what happened to many of the online opportunities over the past few years.
Cohorts, online communities, and service based offers have become more and more saturated as the top creators teach those a few steps behind them.
This is important for you to understand to get ahead…
There’s nothing wrong with buying courses and education from experts ahead of you.
But you need to be aware of how important market timing is.
Did you miss the boat on quick, easy profitability?
Or are you early enough to reap insane rewards before the opportunity becomes saturated?
Just think about it.
Why are drop shipping and meta ads agencies no longer as lucrative and popular as they once were?
It’s not because they aren’t profitable vehicles.
It’s because either the meta has changed or there’s so much competition that it’s harder to win as a beginner.
In Alex Hormozi’s best selling book $100M Offers, he mentions the importance of finding underserved markets with a starving crowd.
Don’t let gurus fool you into entering over-saturated markets where the audience already has full stomachs.
This is one big reason why you always feel behind in life.
You’re looking for easy safe opportunities.
Only learning from the gurus ahead of you who have made millions by over-saturating their own markets with paid courses.
If you’re always joining cohorts with 100s of other people in them, the ship has sailed.
In order to get ahead, you need to find your own unique path where you have a competitive advantage.
This comes down to taking asymmetric bets with low down side risk…
How to Actually Get Ahead in Life
Asymmetric bets are how you get ahead in life.
If you’re a huge nerd like me, this is Nassim Taleb’s barbell investment strategy applied to life.
What is it?
Imagine a barbell with tons of weight on one side, and small amounts of weight on the other side.
The side with tons of weight, represents your safe investments.
It’s where you allocate most of your time, resources, and attention to attain steady, slow growth - in every area of life.
The other side with a small amount of weight, represents your asymmetric bets.
Where you take huge risks with a small amount of resources.
If these ventures fail, it doesn’t matter.
You only have a few eggs in that basket.
But if they succeed…
Oh, if they succeed…
… You experience enough rewards to set yourself up for years or life.
You need to take this seriously.
It applies to every area of your life.
❖ 10% of your content should be high risk, high reward posts
❖ 10% of your investments should be high risk, high reward investments
❖ 10% of your attention should be on high risk, high reward opportunities
Without asymmetric bets, you will always be behind in life.
A Market Opportunity for You to Exploit (Today)
Let’s apply this strategy to social media on a macro scale.
Create content on ‘safe’ platforms.
Where you can grow steady over the long term without fear of failure - X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
But also allocate a small amount of your attention and resources to high risk, high payoff platforms that are emerging in the market.
These platforms aren’t popular yet.
Meaning they’re digital environments with tons of food and little competition.
An asymmetric bet I’m placing is on IG Threads.
Right now, no one is talking about it.
Most big creators are saying it’s a waste of time.
Which is why it’s an asymmetric bet worth considering…
… A few weeks back I started posting my existing content on it.
And guess what?
I’m averaging 100 newsletter subscribers per long form post!
7x higher than my average subscriber from a long form post on X or LinkedIn.
IG Threads might crash, burn, and become irrelevant.
Which is why it’s a risky bet in terms of time and attention.
But what’s the downside?
I’m reposting content I’m already writing.
And funnelling all traffic to my newsletter.
If the platform fails, I keep my valuable newsletter subscribers.
Because of this bet, I’m growing my newsletter faster than ever.
This is the power of asymmetric bets with low downside risk.
Do what no one is talking about until it becomes popular.
Then identify the next unpopular opportunity before it becomes popular.
Stop fighting over the scraps left behind by first movers.
Instead join them, by becoming a first mover yourself.
The Traits You Need to Win in Life
To win in life you must find the courage to become a first mover.
And cultivate the traits needed to succeed where most fail.
❖ Become comfortable with uncertainty
❖ Become comfortable with taking risks
❖ Become comfortable with being called a fool until the masses realize you’re actually a genius
To quote Mr. Beast:
“You’re called crazy until it works. Then you’re called a genius.”
Only those who fear failure and have a pessimistic world view are ignorant enough to call you crazy.
These people lack the perspective, experience, and knowledge to see the hidden upside that most people are too blind to see.
It isn’t until the upside becomes so obvious that the masses can no longer ignore it.
That’s when most people hop on board.
Once this happens, it’s too late, the profitable opportunity is no longer highly profitable (for beginners).
Back in 2020, building an online business off the back of Twitter traffic seemed insane.
But you know who did it anyways?
Justin Welsh, Dan Koe, and Dickie Bush.
And who are the most successful creators in the space in terms of audience size and annual income?
Justin Welsh, Dan Koe, and Dickie Bush.
A hard lesson you need to hear:
Waiting for other people to reassure you that you’re on the right path is the quickest way to find yourself on the wrong one.
It’s hard to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.
It goes against the evolutionary psychology designed to keep you alive by conforming you to your tribes social consensus.
When you see everyone signing up for cohorts, you feel the pull to hop on the band wagon.
These opportunities make you feel good because the results others have gotten give you a sense of FOMO and false security.
You think:
“If I don’t get on this opportunity now, I’m missing out.”
But the harsh truth is, you’ve already missed out.
The top 5% of creators are milking these opportunities dry.
Making all the money and leaving only the scraps for you.
If you want to build true wealth and influence you need to find new digital environments with tons of fresh grass to eat.
Only then do you rise to the top of the pyramid. Have tons of amazing sex. And populate the area to the point of saturation.
Start Your Own Pyramid Scheme
To join your hero’s at the top of the pyramid, you need a competitive advantage.
What does this mean?
❖ Identify your unique strengths
❖ Find the courage to bet on yourself
❖ Find a fresh environment where you’re positioned to win
The real reason I moved away from ghostwriting wasn’t because of over-saturation.
It’s because I realized I couldn’t compete long term.
Guys like Legacy Builder were spending all of their time, energy, and attention acquiring clients, perfecting offers, and nailing fulfillment.
Just the thought of trying to compete drained my energy.
But you know where I can compete?
In the decentralized education space.
Who else on X and LinkedIn has 7 years of college teaching experience and is on love with mastering the art of content creation?
No one!
My unique advantage is teaching in fun and innovative ways.
So I moved into an environment where my chances of losing are slim.
What happened when I pivoted?
I made $140,000 in 4 days when I launched Digital Identity and The School of Thought - Creator Economy Hogwarts.
My goal with The School of Thought isn’t to provide a one size fits all solution to winning online.
It’s to provide personalized guidance so you can win by playing the online game your way.
To help you become a first mover who wins big with asymmetric bets.
No other creator is offering this in my space.
And even if they did, I’m confident I can do it better.
Stop buying into the pyramid schemes being offered by other top creators online (unless you’re sure you’re positioned to win).
It’s time to forge your own path, leverage your unique skills, and become a first mover.
You’re 6 to 12 months away from being a top 1% creator and being ahead for the first time in your life.
You just need the right guidance to get there.
Until next time,
Taylin John Simmonds
P.S. You might be thinking…
… Taylin, aren’t you offering a pyramid scheme as well?
How is The School of Thought different from all the other online communities out there?
First, if you’re thinking this, congrats.
You’re thinking for yourself, and I deeply respect it.
Second, I’m not offering a one size fits all solution.
I’m offering to show you the evergreen skills that apply to any market.
That way, you can forge your own path…
… Life is an open world video game.
One size fits all solutions don’t usually work.
You need someone to show you the map and help you discover the unique skills you already possess that will position you to win where others fail.
If you don’t believe me, I get it.
You should be skeptical of this approach.
Oh. Are you still hungry?
If your mouth is salivating for more goodies, check out these free courses and cheat sheets (more coming soon):