“Fake It Till You Make It” is a Scam

Talk is cheap. And mindset platitudes are a dime a dozen. 

Why?

Because everyone knows that you need grit, resilience, and an antifragile mindset…

But how many of the mindset gurus out there have *actually* had to overcome obstacles that destroy the lives of other people?

Coaches, “personal brands”, and even so-called best selling authors have been cashing in on this desire for decades without having anything to show for it…except the money they made convincing you that they’ve learned the hard lessons from the hurt business of life.

The reality is this:

You don’t need to study mindset.

You need to build discipline and hone real skills.

But you don’t build discipline by reading about it.

You get your ass kicked by life, learn from it, and come back better for the next challenge.

It hurts.

It takes time.

And before you listen to anyone telling you how to overcome your problems, ask yourself:

​​​​“Do I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person has had their ego dragged through the mud of tough failures?”

Anyone can write a book about “mindset”, but almost none of these gurus have the balls to tell you the truth:

“Fake it till you make it” is a lie. ​​​​​​​​

You’ve either paid the cost and have the receipts, or you don’t. It’s that simple.

This is why generic self-help books and courses always say the same thing and never have real actionable advice. You feel good when you’re consuming them, then when the high wears off, you’re left wondering:

• Why are there no exact steps?
• How do I apply this stuff to my own life?
• Does this person have any idea what I’m going through?

The internet has made it too easy for anyone to play the role of a coach or expert. 

• Writing coaches who have never been published
• Marketing courses created by 17-year-olds
• “How to make money” courses by people who only made money by teaching other people how to make money (the LITERAL definition of a pyramid scheme, by the way)

No matter what skill you’re looking to build, finding good mentorship in 2023 is damn near impossible.

One thing these so-called “coaches” never talk about:

Learning and skill building are skills in themselves.

There is a right way to learn…and a wrong way to learn.

If you know which is which, you can train yourself to be a skill-building machine.

And you can do it without paying lip service to the same old self-development concepts:

• “Just show up”
• “Consistency is key”
• “Do hard things”

Because for a limited time, I’m inviting you to take advantage of the skill development system I’ve used to go from broke alcoholic living in the projects to amateur boxing champion and multi-6-figure business owner.

Hell, I used this system to get my degree in Physics—even after failing my high school math class, not graduating high school, failing out of college, and failing calculus three times..

Let’s rewind:

In 2012, I had just moved back to Pittsburgh from L.A., where I had been training boxing on a sponsorship.

I was dead broke, and two of my best friends took pity on me and rented me a room for $200 per month.

I was still collecting unemployment benefits from California. When I managed to get a shit job at T-Mobile selling cell phones, all that money went toward financing my nightly drinking habit.

I knew I needed a change.

I decided I wanted to go back to school, so I enlisted in the United States Army on January 4th, 2013.

But I couldn’t ship out to basic until June, so I spent the next 5 months drinking and bullshitting. I was worried my unemployment benefits would run out. I was also disgusted with myself and knew I needed to get away from the lifestyle I’d become addicted to.

I was in a grim position…

But by the end of 2013, I had:

• Completed basic training even after failing 3 out of 3 attempts to qualify for shooting
• Built a relationship with my girlfriend despite being an arguably terrible person in many ways
• Given up my destructive drinking habit for good (I’m still sober with no plans of ever drinking again)

And even though I’d failed a bunch of classes at the nearest community college, I started school again in January of the next year.

I even got a job as a bank teller to help pay the bills.

I kept grinding it out toward my goals and even managed to get going on Twitter and start gaining a few followers.

In 2015, I signed a boxing deal with Roc Nation sports. Life was looking a lot different than it had at my lowest point at the bottom of a bottle.

By now, I was:

• Taking 17 credits of 300-level physics and math work
• Running Army National Guard drills
• Doing professional boxing training
• Running my blog
• Working an internship
• Keeping my relationship intact

Not bad for a dude who was a broke alcoholic just 2 years earlier.

Then, 2016 humbled me:

The first half of the year, I wasn’t doing well in school. I got a D in differential equations and had to retake the class.

And after a boxing career of 13 straight wins, I lost my first fight.

By knockout. On Showtime. 

And Roc Nation sports fired my ass.

But in 2017, I published my first book. I even started tutoring high schoolers in math and science. If you asked a younger me if I ever thought I’d be good enough at math to help people pass the AP Calculus and Physics exams, I’d have laughed at you.

In 2018, I got my degree.

And in the 5 years since, I’ve:

• Grown my network to over 300k followers across all channels
• Built a multi-six figure online income without selling myself out to the lowest bidder
• Landed a book deal with a major publisher
• Become a father to a young son

I’m proud of my growth…

But none of it happened overnight.

And this is just a small snapshot of a few significant years where I happened to make tangible progress.

Now, I’ve taken the almost ridiculous number of failures, successes, and breakthroughs I’ve experienced throughout my life and packaged them into an easily digestible format that anyone can learn from..

But instead of making another course for $497, tweeting about it, and trying to make a few extra bucks on the back end, I’m doing something completely different:

I’m bringing you into my world.
​​​​​

The Hard Lessons Inner Circle

The problem with mindset coaching and self-development offers is they exist in a vacuum.

There is almost no connection between the advice offered and the real world. You end up shelling out hard-earned money to hear vague “motivational” statements and regurgitated general advice…only to be left on your own to adapt the teachings to your life and (hopefully) turn them into some sort of tangible result.

The Hard Lessons Inner Circle solves this glaring problem. 

Inside, you’ll get: 

• The all-new Action Beats Platitudes Skill Development System video course
• The 1.5 hour Vice Breakers video course for conquering destructive habits
• My “5 Pillars of Learning Mastery” ebook
• Access to future group coaching calls and live Q&As to get specific advice
• Ongoing training and video modules based on feedback inside the community
• Instant access to all my future courses, trainings, and Q&As
• Access to me and a network of other high achievers inside the group chat

Inside the All-New Action Beats Platitudes Video Course, you’ll learn:​​​​

• Exact steps to develop and maintain a growth mindset, including why most mindset advice falls flat, how to train your brain, why it’s necessary to even talk about mindset, and what to do next with this information (all based on brain chemistry, not generalist statements or corny visualization techniques)
• A specific framework to transform your mindset changes into tangible results by focusing on skill building and “flexing your learning muscle”
• A roadmap to building and training grit and antifragility to allow you to reframe challenges and setbacks as opportunities
• Why most coaches overcomplicate gratitude and why it’s important to cultivate a grateful worldview if you want to build skills and see real results
• The simple process I use to manage stress, beat anxiety, and perform under pressure (works great for complex goals and skillsets)
• How to use the “80/20 rule” to make far more progress by spending less time training and practicing
• The 4-step problem solving process I used to go from being horrible at math to getting a Physics degree (with a Math minor) and even start tutoring high school students
• How to turn learning and skill development into a repeatable process (and how to transfer your current skillset over to almost anything else)

But there’s a catch:

I’m not your personal development guru. I’m not guaranteeing any kind of outsized result. And I’m not going to fill the rest of this page with outlandish claims or even attempt to persuade you to join.

If you follow the training inside the launch course and implement for 60 days, you will develop a level of discipline and fluency of skill most people never achieve. But it will be work, and I can’t do it for you. I’m creating this community for people who have already decided to become the best version of themselves.

To top it off, the membership is expensive.

Anyone inside this community needs to have skin in the game and cash on the line. If you’re not willing to invest in yourself, this is not for you.

In fact, I’ll tell you who else I don’t want as part of the Hard Lessons Inner Circle:

If you’re just now deciding to get your life together, this community isn’t for you. I’m proud of you, but this isn’t for people who have made a commitment to themselves. Come back in 6 months after you’ve committed to leveling-up.

If you’re searching for direction and have no clue what you want to do with your life, this isn’t for you. You don’t need to know EXACTLY where you’re trying to go, but you can’t be going in the complete wrong direction.

If you are financially unstable and the investment to join seems like a lot, this isn’t for you. I don’t want your money if you feel stressed about giving it. The information is good, but I’m not a miracle worker.

If you’re looking for social media advice and frameworks to grow on Twitter, this isn’t the group you’re looking for. Just to be clear, this isn’t a group focused on marketing, selling, making money online, copywriting, social media, or any other buzzwords. I’m teaching you to think, learn, and build skills.

If you’re looking for a “yes man” to tell you how great you are, please exit this page. The Hard Lessons Inner Circle is here to learn and grow. Not to placate. Rudeness won’t be tolerated, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

And if you’re looking for an outlet to funnel your negative energy, a group to post complaints, argue over politics, and another digital distraction to avoid being honest with yourself about your shortcomings?

This group is not for you.

However, if you:

• Want to break through your limitations using a solid system
• Are sick of “flying solo” when it comes to chasing your goals and developing your skills
• Are ready to take your skills to the next level, but are unsure where to invest your time and effort
• Want to reignite the passion and discipline you’ve had in the past with your career
• Feel like the only way to make more progress is to sacrifice stability (or even worse, sacrifice sleep)
• Have goals but don’t know how to make them happen
• Want a clear, actionable roadmap to cut through the noise and focus on what matters
• Are sick of doing what the masses do, and want to find like minded people to connect, share, and learn with and from
• Crave a network of people holding themselves to a higher standard

And if you’re ready to do the hard, inner work necessary to reach these goals?

Welcome to the Hard Lessons Inner Circle.

Click the link below, submit your payment, and we’ll get you onboarded.