Why Proximity Is The Secret To Growth
I had these thoughts mid flight back home from Las Vegas last Wednesday, and it hit me, some of the big pillars in my life can follow a golden thread back to interactions with friends and acquaintances.
Quite literally, points where if i never had these interactions, my days would look far different from today.
The first that comes to mind, is a conversation I had with my friend Taylor.
Taylor, is one of the most connected men in the Golf Industry as a whole. He’s consulted, on the Social Media, Marketing and Community Building side of a handful of different brands.
Around this time, I was feeling pretty unsatisfied in my current job and I’m looking to do something more purposeful and meaningful to me..
We’re on a golf course, and I get to asking him, how he gets involved on the Social Media side of brands, and what kind of things go on his Resumé..
He hits me with this
You have social media right? Im like “Yeah, of course you know me, you’ve seen it.”
You run it right? You make your own captions and choose your pics?
Im like “Dude, i’m a normal dude haha of course”
He goes, well you’re a Social Media Manager and a Copywriter, a bad one but one nonetheless.
Im like “Oh! It’s that simple huh? You’re right..”
Fast forward 2 weeks to me seeing a story from Bedros Keuilian, I’ve been following him for 5+ years by this point.
He posts a story saying “Looking for a badass Social Media person, could it be you?”
And if it wasn’t floating around my head that we are all Social Media managers, whether great ones or bad ones, we are.
I wouldn’t have had the courage to reach out, and have a figure-it-out attitude that I can gain the skillset needed to be great at any job.
Boom! Fast forward, and I begin my career with Bedros Keuilian and a speeding train of a team and organization at HQ.
A second story that comes to mind is, meeting a friend Alec. Alec works with Dan Fleyshman as his right hand man, the guy who Dan would recognize “runs his companies”.
Alec was with Dan at our HQ for them to film some content together with Bedros.
Through some small talk I find out that Alec is from Vallejo, the city that i’m from. That quickly rolled into, what street we grew up on, what High school we went to, what year we graduated, etc. We connected immediately.
As we get to talking, we go a little deeper into how small towns affect us, and our limitations we set for ourself. I ask him how he got to the position he is in with Dan and his own personal success?
He gives me the Masterclass of Creation, Productivity and breaking through glass ceilings..
Im just amazed, simply, how this guy comes from where I’m from, same culture, same surrounding, same background, and makes a life like he has.
It sent my mind down the rabbit hole of how many limitations I set for myself, mainly from being from where i’m from. If you’re from Vallejo, or from what I’ve found out from meeting many entrepreneurs and high performers, every state has their “small town” and they all effect us the same. So I know it’s real, and that theres a real game plan to break out of it.
For weeks after It stirred around in my soul, of what’s the best way I can extract the most out of my current situation?
I bring this vision for myself with Bedros, I say “Hey can i run by you a selfish goal and direction for myself within your ecosystem?” He replies, “Sure dude, shoot”
I tell him, '“After meeting Alec, I’ve gotten some clarity on his role with Dan. When Dan has a new venture, Alec puts together the skeleton of what’s needed, he plugs the right people in the right place, and ensures everything is optimized and delivers the most of what’s possible.”
And I told B, “I want that role for you, I want to be your right hand man who can take brain power off of you, gain the skillset to be the right person to lead a new venture, project, or business across the finish line”
Bedros says, “What’s needed to make that happen”
I reply, “Mentorship, skillset and the goggles you see business through”
He says,” Great, next Coaching Program I do, sit in not as my team member, but as my Coaching Client. Lets get together bi-weekly 3-5 times to get you drummed up to make this happen.”
I proceed, “Great” and I walk away thinking about the power of chasing possibility and putting it into the universe.
With the right purpose, a path will become clear.
But none of that would have been possibly without my proximity to great people.
That doesn’t mean you go around and “network” and vomit words to get around people..
You be yourself, you build value and skillsets that you can provide, and that will help you enter rooms.
This past year I did $600,000 in personal sales in under 1 year but was a delivery driver prior,
My proximity told me that my purpose was to sit in traffic, wait for orders, handle important packages for other people, keep my head down, do as little work as possible, and avoid punishment at all cost.