Hello, my friend!
During my 35-year career, I have mastered one thing. Business.
I have built and sold companies. Invested in many others. Made more money than I will ever need.
Now I am sharing some lessons with you.
These go against most of the advice you have probably heard.
But they are the foundation that helped me build businesses, create wealth, and never worry about money again.
Let’s get into it.
1. There’s a strong correlation between success and not having money
Most people I meet truly believe they need money to start a business. They are wrong.
When people start with money, imagination goes out the window.
They do not need to think hard or come up with innovative ways to market their business. They just throw money at the problem, hire people, and move on.
The business model is not well thought out either. Instead of focusing on how to make money, they focus on how to spend it. Investors want to see capital being deployed for growth, so they burn through cash without a real plan.
Not having money is a competitive advantage. It creates the mindset of having nothing to lose. People who start from nothing fight harder and longer. They do not just want success. They need it.
That is the difference.
2. If you don’t pay, you won’t pay attention is a LIE!
This is a lie. A myth created by people who want to sell you courses.
The truth is, pain makes you pay attention.
If you want to stay motivated and do what needs to be done, lean into pain, not price tags.
It will be uncomfortable. But it is necessary.
To make this work, ask yourself:
Who will you disappoint if you do not solve this problem?
Whose life will be worse if you do not follow through?
Find the pain that drives you. Use it to push through when things get hard.
3. Stop selling time
Everything around you teaches you to sell time.
This mindset is a trap. It keeps you thinking small.
The real game is learning how to stop selling and start buying time.
Two rules for you:
Rule 1: Never sell by the hour, sell the outcome.
One of my favorite stories is about a guy who was called by the Navy to fix a submarine. He walked around, tapped a few places, and in 15 minutes, the problem was solved. Later, he sent a bill for 300,000 dollars. They pushed back, saying that was too much for 15 minutes of work. His response was simple. He fixed it in 15 minutes because he spent 20 years learning exactly what to do.
That is the shift.
Rule 2: Learn how to buy time
Buying time comes down to four types of leverage:
- Hiring people so your time is not tied to every task.
- Using technology to automate what you can.
- Investing money to buy back your time.
- Creating content so your knowledge scales without you being present.
This is how you stop selling time and start owning it.
If you want to go deeper, I just posted a new video with 15 brutally honest lessons that helped me build wealth and freedom. Click the image below to watch.
How to create a best seller:
Last Sunday, we hit second place again on the Sunday Times Bestseller List.
Today, I want to take you inside my strategy room so you can see exactly how we did it. Take these tactics, apply them, and use them for your own launch.
Here is a snapshot of the step-by-step process:
In week one, it was all about pre-orders. We spent six months building anticipation and pushing pre-sales. This was when we first hit number one.
In launch week, the focus shifted to selling to the people who were waiting for the book to drop. What surprised me was that we sold the same number of books in one week as we did in six months of pre-sales. Again, we held the top spot.
In week three, we let the momentum take over. This was when we watched what was working and adjusted as needed. That week, we dropped to second place.
In week four, something interesting happened. Bookstore sales overtook online sales for the first time. This told me something important. People were reading it, loving it, and recommending it to their friends. The book was reaching people outside of our direct audience on social media.
This was what I expected.
When launching something like a book, marketing’s job is to push hard in the first few weeks. After that, the product has to stand on its own. If it is truly great, people will feel the need to tell others about it.
That is when you know you have created something that lasts.
And if that happens, your job is to keep the momentum going. Create content, go on podcasts to talk about it, and get your product in front of as many people as possible.
So if you have a great product, your marketing should not stop when the launch is over.
That’s all for today!
I’m gonna go and get some chicken now.
Keep dreaming BIG,
Simon