BUILDS YOUR PERSONAL BRAND 

If you want people to start listening to you, you have to show up. What I mean by this is there are a lot of you out there who aren't producing enough articles or videos or pieces of content that you should be produced to build your influence. Too many "content creators" think that they only have one at bat-they have to make the one, most beautifully created video or image or rant on Facebook.

But what they don't realize is that their hunger to make the perfect piece of content is what's actually crippling them.

It's true that if you want to be seen or heard on social media, you have to put out valuable content on a regular basis. You should be doing a YouTube vlog or podcast or some sort of long-form audio/video series at least once a week. You should be posting on Instagram and/or Snapchat stories at least 6-7 times a day.

Now you're probably thinking: "Whoa, that's a lot. How do I create 6-7 meaningful things a day?"

I'll give you the biggest tip when it comes to content creation: Document. Don't create.

In very simple terms, "documenting" versus "creating" is what The Real World and the Kardashians is to Star Wars and Friends. And don't get confused-just because you're "documenting" doesn't mean you're not creating content. It's just a version of creating that is predicated more on practicality instead of having to think of stories or fantasy-something that's very hard for most people (including myself).

Think about it: you can ponder about the strategy behind every post and fabricate yourself into this "influential person"... or you can just be yourself.

Creating this influential persona might seem especially hard if you're just someone starting to climb the ladder. And I get it-for some of you there's a lot of pressure in that. You think that some 30 or 40 or 50-year old is going to listen to your rant video with cynicism and think "what does this kid know?"

But, one of the biggest mistakes people make when creating content for their personal brand is trying to oversell themselves because they think that's what's going to get people's attention. Whether you're a business coach or motivational speaker or artist, I think it's much more fruitful to talk about your process than about the actual advice you "think" you should be giving them.

Documenting your journey versus creating an image of yourself is the difference between saying "You should..." versus "my intuition says...". Get it? It changes everything. I believe that the people who are willing to discuss their journeys instead of trying to front themselves as the "next big thing" are going to win.

So, when I say to put out those 6-7 meaningful pieces of content a day, just pick up your smartphone, open Facebook Live, and just start talking about the things most important to you. Because in the end, the creative (or how "beautiful" someone thinks your content is) is going to be subjective. What's not subjective is the fact that you need to start putting yourself out there and keep swinging.

Starting is the most important part and the biggest hurdle that most people are facing. They're pondering and strategizing instead of making. They're debating what's going to happen when they haven't even looked at what's in front of them.

So do me a favor and start documenting.

"Okay, I started Jay Fly Mastering. Now what?" you ask? Keep doing it for another five years and then come back to me before you ask again. 

The idea of "documenting" instead of "creating" is an absolute monster of a concept that I believe will benefit you as it has already started benefiting a lot of people. If you're looking for more advice, check out this video where I explain it to a young man. 

The world is changing, and it's important to acknowledge that certain long held beliefs should be re-examined. So many of us are stuck doing things in an outdated way and it's only leading us to unhappiness. With that in mind, let's rethink the paths people can take from ages 18...

THE 18 TO 28 DEBATE: IS COLLEGE WORTH IT?

The world is changing, and it's important to acknowledge that certain long held beliefs should be re-examined. So many of us are stuck doing things in an outdated way and it's only leading us to unhappiness. With that in mind, let's rethink the paths people can take from ages 18 to 28. I don't have all the answers, so after reading this piece, leave a comment so I can get your perspective on the 18 to 28 debate.

IS EDUCATION THE ONLY WAY SOMEONE WITH FEW RESOURCES CAN FIND SUCCESS?

What's ironic about this question is my answer. As much as I take issue with the "one size fits all" education model (especially in countries like the United States), I am on the board of Pencils of Promise and I'm on the board of Charity Water. I know, in certain underdeveloped parts of Africa, if water is supplied then children, and parents, can focus on their education-instead of water. That's why Pencils of Promise builds schools in Ghana, Guatemala and Laos. They focus on education because in less developed countries, entry level education leads to opportunity in the same way that entrepreneurship, the internet, and self awareness can lead to opportunities in countries like the US.

So, the passion in my activities-not my words but my actions-they aim to show the opportunities present in wealthy countries due to the internet. I encourage people to look at their opinions and not just fall into the limitations of a one size fits all education system. My actions speak to providing education to those in third world countries because it is the most practical. So it's an interesting question for me.

I go far less entrepreneurial in less developed countries, mainly because I believe that the internet is the biggest gateway. Luckily, in the last decade there have been big advances in internet and cell phone dynamics in less wealthy countries. Still, it's not to the level where I feel the practicality of saying, "hey kid become an influencer" or "sell t-shirts on Shopify on your cell phone" isn't actual, practical execution. For me, this is actually a story about the fact that I hate being ideological and that I don't have a passion for any specific thing. But, I do have a passion for what's right at the moment and I put my money and my actions towards believing that education, aka schools, is the real gateway in poor countries.

The way education is packaged in places like the US is too rigid and doesn't speak to the realities of the opportunities. In some countries since there is no other gateway than the serendipity of who your family is, or your life experience, I think the added thing in that environment is a school. 

Education in the macro, period, is the end all be all. If you are living in America where you have complete internet access (and a stunning amount of ten year olds have a smartphone). I believe that the vanilla execution of education in our school system is a huge vulnerability because we're taught that's the way out and I don't believe that's the modern model. In other places, where you don't have the internet and you don't even have schools-I'm a big fan of putting schools and school infrastructure in place because there's a lot of people that learn tremendously well from a school education. I just think it's a lot less than others think, and we've gone through modern first world countries believing everyone learns from that system.

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT TRENDS

Two massive trends. One of those is Covid. I get it, like Forget it, I'm not paying $40,000 for Zoom classes when (back to my point) I can get better classes for free on Youtube. If covid had not happened, and it'd be interesting to see what the numbers were last year, I think they'd continued to drop. You can get better "courses" on the internet and you can take that money and travel the world for 40k as an eighteen year old. Plus, you would really learn...the big argument is, you grow up in college and you meet people. As if that's the only way one gets life experience and meets people. I think if you're crafty as shit, there's a way better way to spend 50,000 dollars a year.

WILL THAT AFFECT HOW COMPANIES VET NEW CANDIDATES?

It's already happened. Google, VaynerMedia, Apple, IBM, Nordstrom, Costco and Bank of America, plenty of companies don't require a college education. That game is crumbling in front of our faces. Not to mention an enormous amount of people are looking at entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is having its highest rise of all time. Here's why, there's a huge confusion-I really really want to change the conversation around entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship has been hijacked by club promoters, i.e. showmen. It completely lacks practicality. What I mean by that is, do you know how epic a life that's making 86,000 dollars a year doing something you're crazy about is? Butterflies, honey, pasta, star trek, beard oils, wine...it's real. It's hard but it's stunningly real to go from 18 to 28 and make 85k a year loving your shit. I think that's really practical and for a lot of people they don't realize it's practical for them. Instead what a lot of people do is get in debt with high interest. Then they take an entry level job at 40,000 a year, that they have no interest in, to pay the debt off. 

THE 18 TO 28 YEAR OLD DEBATE

The 18 to 28 year old debate. Let's debate those ten years. Here's what most people are doing, they're going to college. Luckily, for a small percentage-their parents pay for it. Awesome. Vacation. Enjoy the shit out of it. A lot of people are not though. They're going into severe debt with high interest and no ability to bankrupt out of it. Then they go and take a job they don't necessarily want, a lot of the time.

There's no way to clean the debt. So, they go from 18 to 22 doing that, then they go into a job market that doesn't value the far majority of these diplomas. That game's over. It just is. If you go to a top 5 percent school...people may take more note but not really. It just doesn't carry the momentum of a degree the way 25 or 30 years ago. It's not not the same weight.

I have no clue where some of my employees went to school. If they all said community college, or they didn't go at all, or they went to Harvard-it all would have landed the same way. In a world where the average income in the United States is 63,179 dollars a year (let's not talk about the coasts or the bubbles some of us live in) I just think a lot of people can make 80,000 a year on Shopify or Facebook and live well.

I don't think everybody is an entrepreneur, I really don't. However, I do think a lot of people have entrepreneurial tendencies that can get them to a little success. They'll have the juice if they go hard on their thing. Sports, science, entertainment, music, whatever. 

Then they have to layer practicality; they have to sell something.  

THE TAG TEAM

The other thing that nobody talks about, on this 18-28 year old debate, is the tag team. Tag team champions, the two people who come together. The crazy, artistic entrepreneur who is too wild and would gamble all the money. That's the person who can make money but doesn't have money. Then, the practical person, the secretary, the excel sheet doer, the responsible adult-that team is money.

In a 2021 world, this needs to be talked about. One creative, money, sizzle-and one steak in the ground. Someone who is charismatic and someone who knows how to set up an LLC and makes sure people attend meetings. That team is money. That team is collectively in debt for 87,000 right now working at jobs they hate (at scale).

The examples are every influencer on the internet. There are plenty of people making 100k. Their problem is that they're buying Rollex's and Beamers...and renting fancy houses in LA, so they're underwater. This is real for people who want to play it safe. My model for 18-28 is safer, and happier. I believe this. Show me every 28 year old that's in debt and I'll show you half of my community.

CAREER ADVICE IN A PANDEMIC

Empathy is needed now more than ever. Times are tough right now, that much is a given. But, that phrase, "times are tough" does nothing to help. No one has all of the answers, but we can all lend each other an ear and offer advice when necessary. Keep reading to hear my advice for anyone looking to switch careers during a pandemic.

STEP 1: DO NOT SPEND TOO MUCH TIME DWELLING.

Because the reality is, it happened. Dwelling on the past or what might have been helps no one.

STEP 2: CONVERT IT INTO OPPORTUNITY.

Now that you're on Step 2, here are some questions to ask yourself: Did you love your job? If you didn't, do you even love the career field you're in? And if you don't-turn sugar honey ice tea into something positive. Lemonade.

The reality is that one of the great opportunities in life is taking a shit situation and turning it into something positive. Many people, I would argue 50%, of the people that were laid off during the pandemic, genuinely disliked their job. Furthermore, they genuinely disliked their field. These people should start creating content.

STEP 3: USE YOUR SPARE TIME TO EXECUTE YOUR IDEAS.

Let me give you a really good one. If you're this person, someone that lost their job during the pandemic (and honestly didn't like their job very much in the first place) write a Linkedin post titled A love letter to my future working self. Then, write the letter explaining why you're going to go into the dance industry, why you're passionate about it, and what you see, aka what are the trends occurring in that industry that you can't wait to innovate or imitate.

What's happening is, it's therapy for you, but much more important: you're putting out a manifesto of your ideas and observations on LinkedIn. All you need is one person in that industry to see your post and say, "Holy crap. That's a great point." Then hopefully that person emails you and gives you an entry level job into the "dance" or "music" or "animation" or "sports" industry.

I don't tend to go very literally often, but in this post I am challenging and trying to inspire you to convert your feelings from dwelling to opportunity. Literally here are tactics. Now go on LinkedIn and write that post I just described, then come back to me and email me your crazy success story at Jayflymastering.com

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