Pay for Access

If I told myself 3 years ago that I just spent almost $2,000 to join a membership club. I would have sucker punched future me right in the kidney.

Guess what? I did just that.

Good news.

That’s 3 years ago me.

Today I know how that $2k is going to be worth wayyyy more than that in 12 months.

Hear me out.

Different Priorities

3 years ago me would not be able to fathom spending that amount of money on something that would be a way to make friends. I would have thought: “Why would I do that? I don’t need to pay to be around those people. I am great at making friend already. I’m incredibly social”

This was true. At that time. I was great at meeting new people. I could find a way to connect with some I met at a coffee shop, on a ski chair, or at a music festival.

My priorities were different back then. I justified my spend onto other things.

Think about it…

It’s spring 2021. There’s this incredible music festival that get’s announced in Chicago Labor Day weekend. I get a text from my friends. “This line-up is absurd, we have to go.” I take a look, this lineup is indeed ~nasty~. I purchase a ticket. That ticket was ~$375 after fees. Side note: I think added ticket “fees” are a disgusting deceptive tool to stroke more money from consumers and should be illegal or baked into base ticket cost, but I’ll save that for a different time.

Alright, $375 for a ticket. Next up a plane ticket. San Diego to Chicago? That’s going to run you ~$250-$350 if you’re lucky. Now I need to get a hotel, airbnb, or convince a friend to let me crash on their couch (which I am good at). In this case, lets say you are coming with a group of friends from out of town. You’ll likely get an airbnb and split it with 6-8 people. That’s going to cost you another $250-300 as well.

Before you even go to this festival. You’ve already spent almost $1,000 to go.

Then it’s the week of the actual event. Ubers/Lyfts to/from the airport, Ubers/Lyfts around the city, groceries, meals, drinks?, aftershow tickets? I don’t do public math, but since this is written in private I’ll humor you. That’s going to be another $500 there in total.

You’re sitting at around $1,500 for ONE WEEKEND! Imagine doing those kinds of trips every other month. That’s what was happening in 2021 when people were so eager to get back out and dance to music again. Hey I get it. If you’ve been around for a while you know I love house music. My priorities were different back then.

I really did go to a music festival in from 2021 to late 2022 about every other month or two. In 18 months, thats around 6-9 music festivals (nice). I could have easily spent $10K on that in a year.

Hold tight and let me check something real quick.

…

$10k/yr is close to 5 times more than $2k/yr

My priorities were different.

If you have rich friends, you’ll become rich

If you want to be rich, wealthy or successful, you need to surround yourself with people that are exactly that. Put yourself in scenarios you don’t deserve to be yet. If you keep showing up. You will end up becoming one of those people. Learn by copy.

When I was in college I was in a fraternity. People make fun of frats. “You’re just paying for friends.” Yeah you are. Where I went to school Fraternities have an average annual membership of $3000. You’ll make some great friends. It might turn out that one of your frat (or sorority) members might be able to get you a summer internship at a PE firm, Goldman Sachs, or a hot tech company.

I’m all for equal opportunity. But learn how the game of life is played and you’ll learn how to win.

You win with relationships. Find a way to create valuable relationships.

Pay for Access

I entered my credit card information to pay for this new membership club. I was scared as hell. This sounds so dumb. Why would I be doing this? This could be a huge waste of money.

I don’t think it will be.

Here’s why.

I’m paying for access to brush shoulders with founders, venture capitalists, and very influential people. That’s why I moved to San Francisco. To be in the arena where it all happens. I just paid to increase those odds in my favor.

I am increase the odds that i might:

• Meet a future investor

• Learn from future founder friends

• Find new customers for my start-up

• Meet my future partner there

I am paying to put myself in a room where I don’t deserve to be. But I know I want to be there.

This is my backchannel for success.

Do this Your Way

You can do this too. Your way.

You don’t have to join a membership club full of investors and founders.

• Want to get better at pick-up basketball? —> Show up to where the D3 guys play

• Want to learn how to invest in real estate? —> Go to real estate meet-ups

• Get good at skiing? —> Go on a ski trip with friends that rip

• Learn how AI works? —> Go to a AI hackathon, shadow an AI engineer

• Want to make more money? —> Move to where wealthy people live

You got this! Reply below and tell me what you’re working on and where you going going to put yourself to make it happen.

Keep Going,

Jared

One more thing…

I just got accepted to Andrew Wilkinson’s IP2 conference in Victoria this July. I did not think I was going to get in. I just took this whole thing to another level.

I Dig So You Don’t Have To

1 Set:

2 IDs:

Gentlemen’s Agreement 🤝🏻

I need a favor from you. Every week I spend several hours crafting this email to give you entirely for free. Banger, after banger. Except it’s not actually free.

I love doing this, but I also love seeing this growth. You might say I’m flawed, but you’re not my therapist. To keep this free it would mean the world to me, and my ego, if you shared this with just 1 person who you think would also like this.

They can subscribe here 🙌🏻