Don't Become a Life Coach

I get it, 22-30 year old who wants to own their own business and live the good life.

It looks super attractive. You can help people. You can be location independent. You can charge thousands of dollars.

But who told you that? Somebody who's selling a $5k course on closing high ticket clients?

Think for a moment - if they were so successful at that, why would they need to sell this to you?

Because you're where the money is at - they're selling you a dream and getting you in a heightened emotional state with their insta flexing.

Why is Tony Robbins such an in demand coach? Or any coach, really?

Because they made their mark elsewhere, and that generated demand for their individualized time.

In other words, they had "narrative aircover." They were doing something interesting that drew people in, was permissionless, and gained them notoriety.

They didn't start as coaches. They started as something else. And as they got people to see their worldview, they drew people in enough that they generated demand for coaching.

If you're starting entrepreneurship purely by coaching, you'll always be on the hamster wheel of finding the next client. When you're done coaching, you have no asset to show for your work.

If you're building narrative aircover by doing things you actually find interesting, you're setting yourself up for long term success by providing a lead flow to whatever you eventually do.

A final note on this, 22-30 year old friend. The labels we choose matter.

When your identity is as a coach, and you bring that into every interaction, people sense that.

I ask myself: is this person acting this way to be my friend or because I'm about to be pitched?

It's a dark side that no one really talks about. And it's the same thing with sales.

Nobody wants to talk to a salesman. But if I'm a project manager working on cool AI and I happen to get on the phone with someone and they buy from me, I still get the same end result but have far more trust based on my narrative aircover.

I know you want all the independence and money - but take a long term view. Are you building an asset, or are you building yourself a shitty job?