Author: admin

  • A warm, compassionate kick in the teeth

    “Blame is the coward’s solution to failure.” – Pat Riley
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    A well-known business guru just dropped a post that made me want to reach out, pull him close, and give him a warm, compassionate kick in the teeth.

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    Here’s what it said…
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    (post is shortened but all words are his — if you want to see the full post hit reply)

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    ​”I parted ways with 90% of my staff this week.

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    People in this industry don’t know sh*t. I’ve hired people that worked that worked for big names, but they couldn’t even set up an automation without it breaking.

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    Total trash. From now on everything will be built by me.

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    Starting with these garbage reels I put out. I’m putting a FULL STOP on all IG posts by my team.”
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    ​And, as a hollow chorus of cheers rose from the comments section, I couldn’t help but think:

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    You’re screwed, dude.

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    You’re screwed, and you haven’t even realized it yet.

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    Not because you’re stuck building everything on your own now (tough, but it can work)…

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    …But because somehow, after all these years, you still don’t know what you signed up for when you became an entrepreneur.

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    ‘Cause here’s the deal:

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    ​When you become an entrepreneur, everything that goes wrong is now your fault.

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    Period, full stop, end of story.

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    If you’re in charge, you don’t have the luxury of pointing the finger at anyone else, because everyone else is your responsibility.

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    If your employees aren’t performing, it’s your fault for hiring and/or mis-managing them.

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    If your customers are complaining, it’s your fault for selling a product they complain about.

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    If the market is changing and sales are slowing down, it’s your fault for not adapting fast enough.

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    ​The buck stops with you, bucko.

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    Nobody else.

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    After all, isn’t that why you became an entrepreneur in the first place?

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    To take your future into your own hands, and step fully into your own creative power?

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    If it is, then just remember:

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    ​Power follows responsibility.

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    Whoever we point the finger at, we give power to.

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    And pointing it at others leaves us powerless, because we don’t control others.

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    So I recommend turning that finger back around, pointing it where it belongs, and stamping two simple words into your mind ’till they stay there:

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    ​”My fault.”

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    Then, get back to work.

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    • T

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    ​P.S. This just dropped:

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    ​5 Ways To Signal Confidence Without Saying A Word

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    Banger clip from our Advanced Communication & Charisma session, on how your body, energy, and attention are silently speaking to everyone you meet.

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    If you want more, the full 3 hour session is available to watch now inside The Path.​

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    P.P.S. I’m still playing with the format of these weekly emails.

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    I want to include the section below but I’m not sure where to put it yet, so I’m just gonna stick it here for now:
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    ​3 Things To Make Your Weekend Better

    What to watch, listen to, and be inspired by this weekend.

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    ​Chris Williamson: Why we really do this work.​

    This entire vlog is beautiful… But 18:30 is a moment I hope every entrepreneur gets to experience: The moment you realize you’ve built something you’re truly proud of, and in the process have become someone you’re truly proud to be.

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    ​The Brutal Truth About Running a $100k/mo Startup

    A very real, very insightful, and very endearing story of two founders who are deep in the trenches right now… And winning.

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    ​Theo Von Bought A Katt Williams Statue​

    Theo remains undefeated.
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    “Did perpetual happiness in the Garden of Eden maybe get so boring that eating the apple was justified?” – Chuck Palahniuk

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    ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile | 5-420 Erb St. W, Suite 433, Waterloo, ON N2L6K6

  • The Hogwarts guide to building your personal brand empire

    I’ve had one of those days where I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.

    So a little TLC was had. I woke up. Did a few things and then got back into bed and got watching one of my many favourite films.

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone.

    (Yes people are still mad to this day because of the swap of names)

    Anyways.

    With the doom and gloom of the internet at the moment, where everyone is worried about A.I. taking over their souls (It’s already doing it tbh)

    Us creatives need to be looking to build a world people will throw their money at faster than first years rushing the Honeydukes Express cart. Chocolate frogs anyone?

    And as it pains to be type this… There’s blueprint hidden right in the first film.

    Buckle up. We’re getting a little sweary.

    LESSON #1: THE DRAMATIC FUCKING ONBOARDING EXPERIENCE

    Remember Harry’s journey from miserable cupboard under the stairs kid to actual wizard? That’s customer onboarding done right.

    Hagrid didn’t send a goddamn email newsletter. He kicked down a door during a lightning storm on a remote island and said “YER A WIZARD, HARRY” Then whisked the kid to Diagon Alley. A hidden world of wonder where even buying a stick (wand) feels like a religious experience.

    Business translation:

    Make your customer’s first experience with your brand memorable as hell.

    I get that we have to sell a product or a service but you need to initiate people into a world they didn’t know existed.

    Create “Diagon Alley moments” where ordinary transactions feel magical and think to yourself how can you make that first purchase amazing. What else can you give them to make them feel special.

    When someone discovers your brand, are they getting a form letter or are they getting Hagrid? Are you selling wands, or are you selling “the wand chooses the wizard” moments? The difference is everything.

    LESSON #2: HOUSES, LOYALTY & TRIBAL PSYCHOLOGY

    In the business world when someone is coaching someone or whatever people are always referred to as “Students”

    When you attend Hogwarts you think just a typical school with students and magic, but what they actually have is Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Each with distinct values, aesthetics, and a built in rivalry system that makes people care about arbitrary differences more than they care about their actual blood relatives.

    The Sorting Hat is low key the most brilliant customer segmentation tool ever created and you might just think it’s there for sorting but it gives them identity. Something to defend, represent, and wear on everything from scarves to underpants.

    Business Translation:

    Create tribal identities within your customer base.

    Develop clear value systems that people can self identify with.

    Foster friendly competition that drives deeper engagement.

    People will forget what you sell them, but they’ll never forget what team you put them on. What’s your version of “house pride”? How can you make customers feel they belong to something bigger than a transaction?

    Find that, and you’ve found brand loyalty that’ll stick no matter what it is that you do.

    LESSON #3: ACCESSIBILITY LAYERED WITH MYSTERY

    The brilliant thing about Hogwarts isn’t just that it’s magical it’s that it’s knowable magic with unknowable depths.

    First years understand classes, points, and Quidditch immediately. But what’s in the forbidden corridor? What’s Nicolas Flamel’s deal? What’s with Snape’s whole… everything?

    Rowling created a world with clear entry points and hidden trapdoors. You can enjoy the surface and be rewarded for going deeper.

    Business translation:

    Make your core offering immediately understandable.

    Layer in mysteries, insider knowledge, and discovery paths.

    Balance accessibility with the thrill of exclusivity.

    Your business needs its own version of “restricted section in the library” energy.

    Something customers can discover after they’ve mastered the basics. The goal is to create both casual fans and obsessives who will fight a mountain troll to learn more about what you offer.

    The real magic of Harry Potter wasn’t just wizards and wands. It was creating a world so immersive that people would rather live there than here. Your brand doesn’t need actual spells (though if you have them, call me), but it does need to feel like a place worth visiting, again and again.

    Do it right and you won’t only have customers. You’ll have first years arriving wide eyed at your platform, ready to spend seven years (and their Gringotts vault) exploring everything you’ve built.

    And a lot of the way I’ve started to think about this is because of my main man Ben Settle

    If you’re wanting another look into it all grab his book here

    It’ll get you thinking about worlds instead of just offering your things and stuff.

    Stephen Walker

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    Stephen Walker
    Unit 146317
    PO Box 7169
    Poole
    BH15 9EL
    United Kingdom

  • The Friendship Triangle from Hell

    So a little while ago I happened to participate in the weirdest threesome of my life.

    NOT THAT KIND

    You perverts.

    I don’t mean anything sexual.

    I mean from a friendship and relationship point of view, the kind that makes you question if the sky daddy up there is just playing out some reality show for bored interdimensional teenagers or whatever…

    But as the kids say nowadays.

    Let me spill the tea.

    It’s more of a clusterfuck but I’m sure you’ll find it entertaining cause it involves yours truly.

    WOMAN #1: The one that got away, then came back, then nuked everything from orbit.

    We reconnected after months of radio silence.

    And I shit you not. It’s like someone out there has a voodoo doll of me and out of the blue it’s like “hey remember that person you adored? HERE THEY ARE AGAIN, SUCKER.” and so the messenger icon lights up and low and behold I get a message from her.

    The thing is. We had history. Like a punch to the gut type of history.

    WOMAN #2: Industry adjacent cool person with gaming cred and cheese opinions. NOT ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH ME. I repeat for the people in the back.

    JUST. FUCKING. FRIENDS.

    ME: The idiot standing in the blast radius with a “this is fine” coffee mug.

    Here’s what happened.

    Woman #1 and I rekindled whatever smoldering ember remained of our previous connection. It felt good. Like finding that one sock you thought the dryer demons had claimed for their cloth sacrifice ritual. Meanwhile, I’d made friends with Woman #2

    (who is well known in my industry and once dated someone in our mutual circle because life loves a good six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon situation)

    Woman #2 and I just hit it off. Pure platonic chemistry. The kind where you find yourself sending World of Warcraft memes at 2 AM and having existential debates about whether Gouda is overrated. (It isn’t. Fight me.)

    Just two humans enjoying each other’s company without the complication of wanting to see each other naked.

    (And yeah yeah, I hear you. “Men and women can’t be friends without sexual tension!”

    That’s some When Harry Met Sally bullshit we can dissect another time. The 1980s called, they want their heteronormative assumptions back.)

    But here’s where everything went sideways fast.

    Woman #1 developed thoughts (the dangerous kind)

    Insecurities bloomed like toxic flowers.

    Woman #2 got dragged into our emotional shit show.

    Things escalated from “slightly awkward” to “probably gonna bomb Russia if they had the chance”

    Despite my honesty with Woman #1 Because I’m a grown ass adult who uses words instead of passive aggressive Instagram stories and Facebook posts, everything went full nuclear. The emotional equivalent of Chernobyl, except instead of radiation it was just hurt feelings and misunderstandings spreading through the atmosphere.

    It’s sad really, because if anything had progressed further with Woman #1 and we started actually dating, Woman #2 would have been the first to know. I would have sent her a formal notification, possibly via carrier pigeon or one of those singing telegram gorillas. That’s how fucking clear I would’ve made it.

    So while everything went to hell in a handbasket. A particularly stylish handbasket with flames painted on the sides

    Woman #1 vanished from my life like she entered the witness protection program.

    Meanwhile, Woman #2 stuck around, still sending memes and occasionally mentioning that Woman #1 was “stupid to let it get to this point.”

    And I’m trying to pull some creative / marketing / magical lesson here…

    But there’s no fortune cookie wisdom to wrap this shit show in a bow.

    Sometimes people’s insecurities just get them.

    I don’t hold it against them. I wish them happiness, success, good hair days, and whatever else people wish for others they once cared about.

    But damn if it doesn’t sting watching something pretty amazing get discarded like that.

    That’s just life I guess.

    Stephen Walker

    P.S. Feel free to buy yours truly a couple of Guinness to wash away the ugh from this clusterfuck you’ve just put yourself through. I guess I’m better off sticking to what I’m good at. Writing and reading books.

    If you’re not diggin’ these tasty little emails anymore you can hit the unsubscribe button right here >>> unsubscribe

    Stephen Walker
    Unit 146317
    PO Box 7169
    Poole
    BH15 9EL
    United Kingdom