How to Get Paid to EXIST

Summary

This video script reveals a formula for wealth creation: Value = (Personal Brand + Unique Skills) x Network + Impact / Effort. It emphasizes building a strong personal brand, honing unique skills, expanding one's network, and making a significant impact with minimal effort. The speaker shares personal experiences and actionable advice on investing in oneself, skill enhancement, networking, and leveraging technology to achieve success.

Takeaways

• 💡 The speaker emphasizes the importance of being paid for one's value and existence rather than just time spent.
• 📈 The equation for success according to the speaker is: Value = (Personal Brand + Unique Skills) x Network + Impact ÷ Effort.
• 🏆 Personal Brand is about how you are perceived, including online presence, real-life appearances, and general image.
• 🛠️ Unique Skills encompass specialized knowledge and abilities that set you apart, including both hard and soft skills.
• 🤝 The Network factor involves the relationships and contacts one has, which can include peers, mentors, mentees, and industry contacts.
• 🌐 Impact is about the measurable outcomes and results achieved, such as successful projects and satisfied clients.
• 💪 Effort represents the minimal input needed to generate significant value, highlighting efficiency and leverage.
• 🚀 The speaker shares personal experiences, such as overcoming stage fright and building a strong personal brand through various ventures.
• 💼 The speaker advises investing in one's personal brand by spending time and money to cultivate a compelling and authentic image.
• 📚 Continuous learning and skill enhancement are stressed, including practical application and keeping records of achievements.
• 🔗 Building a strong network is crucial, and the speaker suggests engaging in social activities and following up with meaningful connections.
• 🎯 Setting clear goals for impact and identifying high-impact activities are key to optimizing effort and achieving success.

Q & A

What is the equation mentioned in the transcript for generating wealth?

The equation for generating wealth mentioned in the transcript is Value = (Personal Brand + Unique Skills) x Network + Impact / Effort.

How does the speaker define 'Personal Brand' in the context of the equation?

In the context of the equation, 'Personal Brand' refers to how one is perceived, which includes online presence, real-life appearance, and general image.

What are 'Unique Skills' according to the transcript?

'Unique Skills' are the specialized knowledge and abilities that set one apart from others, encompassing both technical and soft skills.

What role does 'Network' play in the wealth generation equation?

'Network' in the equation represents the relationships and contacts one has, including peers, mentors, mentees, industry contacts, and followers.

Can you explain the 'Impact' component of the equation?

'Impact' refers to the measurable outcomes and results achieved, such as successful projects, satisfied clients, innovations, and contributions to one's field.

What does 'Effort' signify in the wealth equation?

'Effort' signifies the minimal input needed to generate significant value, representing the efficiency and leverage of one's contributions.

How did the speaker overcome stage fright to become a paid speaker?

The speaker overcame stage fright by building their personal brand and leveraging their experience, which led to paid speaking engagements worldwide.

What is the significance of the speaker's investment in over 200 companies?

The speaker's investment in over 200 companies demonstrates their expertise and strategic vision, contributing to their unique skills and personal brand.

How does the speaker suggest one should invest in their personal brand?

The speaker suggests investing in one's personal brand by spending money and time, being consistent in messaging, and engaging with the audience through content creation.

What advice does the speaker give for enhancing unique skills?

The speaker advises enhancing unique skills by identifying skill gaps, taking online courses, getting certified, and applying learned skills through practical application.

How should one build their network according to the transcript?

One should build their network by hosting events, joining professional groups, engaging in social activities, and following up with connections to foster relationships.

Outlines

00:00

💰 The Secret to Wealth Creation

The speaker shares the formula that helped them amass their first million dollars, emphasizing the importance of being compensated for one's existence rather than time. The equation provided is Value = (Personal Brand + Unique Skills) x Network + Impact / Effort. The speaker explains each component of the equation, using their own journey as an example. Personal Brand refers to one's image and online presence, Unique Skills are the specialized knowledge and abilities that set one apart, Network consists of relationships and contacts, Impact is the measurable outcomes one achieves, and Effort is the minimal input required to generate significant value. The speaker's case study includes their investment in companies, authoring books, and organizing events, demonstrating the application of the equation.

05:02

📈 Growing Your Personal Brand and Skills

The speaker advises on how to invest in one's personal brand by spending time and money to cultivate an authentic image. They stress the importance of self-reflection to understand one's strengths and uniqueness. Consistency in messaging across online platforms is also highlighted, with a tip to maintain the same profile picture for brand recognition. Content creation is encouraged as a way to share knowledge and engage with the audience. The speaker also discusses enhancing one's skills through continuous learning, practical application, and keeping records of achievements. They emphasize the importance of building a network and engaging in social activities to foster connections that can lead to opportunities.

10:02

🤝 Building and Leveraging Your Network

The speaker outlines strategies for building a strong network, starting with organizing small gatherings to facilitate introductions and fostering conversations. They suggest joining professional groups and engaging actively in social activities to contribute and build relationships. The importance of following up with new connections and setting clear goals for impact is discussed. The speaker also talks about identifying high-impact activities and prioritizing them to maximize outcomes with minimal effort. The concept of optimizing effort to achieve a high return on investment in time and energy is introduced, along with the idea of using technology and tools to enhance productivity.

15:02

🔋 Maximizing Impact and Minimizing Effort

The speaker focuses on the effort component of the equation, advocating for the optimization of high-impact, low-effort activities. They discuss the importance of delegating tasks and using technology to save time and increase efficiency. The speaker shares a personal anecdote about setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care to maintain the quality of their work. They emphasize the value of continuous improvement and the pursuit of daily self-betterment. The speaker concludes by reiterating the importance of the equation in achieving wealth and success, and encourages the audience to apply these principles in their own lives.

Keywords

💡Personal Brand

Personal Brand refers to the image and perception that an individual projects in both online and real-life settings. It encompasses how one is recognized and remembered by others, including aspects like reputation, values, and style. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of cultivating a compelling and authentic personal brand to attract opportunities and recognition. The speaker's own personal brand as a prolific investor and public speaker is highlighted as a key factor in their success.

💡Unique Skills

Unique Skills are the specialized knowledge and abilities that distinguish an individual from others. These can include both hard skills, such as technical expertise, and soft skills, like communication and leadership. The video underscores the necessity of identifying and enhancing one's unique skills to stand out in a competitive landscape. The speaker gives examples of their own skills in storytelling and strategic vision that set them apart in the venture capital field.

💡Network

Network refers to the collection of relationships and contacts that an individual has, which can include peers, mentors, mentees, and industry contacts. The video stresses the value of building and nurturing a diverse and robust network to amplify one's reach and create opportunities. The speaker's network, featuring prominent figures like Mark Cuban and a wide array of founders and investors, exemplifies the power of a strong network in achieving success.

💡Impact

Impact in the context of the video represents the tangible outcomes and results that an individual achieves, such as successful projects, satisfied clients, or innovations. It is a measure of the influence and significance of one's work. The speaker discusses their impact through numerous investments and the inspiration they provide to others, which is considered immeasurable due to its broad reach.

💡Effort

Effort, as discussed in the video, refers to the minimal input or resources one needs to exert to generate significant value. It symbolizes efficiency and the leverage of one's contributions. The speaker advocates for strategic focusing of effort on high-impact activities and setting boundaries to ensure that efforts are optimized for maximum return.

💡Equation

The Equation presented in the video is a formula for success: Value = (Personal Brand + Unique Skills) x (Network + Impact) / Effort. It encapsulates the idea that one's value is not solely based on the time invested but on a combination of factors that contribute to one's personal brand, skills, network, impact, and the effort put in. The equation serves as a framework for viewers to understand how to increase their value and achieve wealth.

💡Content Creation

Content Creation is the process of generating and sharing original content, such as videos, blogs, or social media posts, to engage an audience and establish authority in a field. In the video, the speaker encourages content creation as a means to share knowledge and build a personal brand, citing their own YouTube channel as an example of how they have used content to teach and inspire others.

💡Consistency

Consistency in the video script refers to maintaining a uniform message and image across all platforms and interactions. It is crucial for building a recognizable and reliable personal brand. The speaker advises ensuring that one's online presence is consistent to reinforce the personal brand and create a cohesive identity for the audience.

💡Delegation

Delegation is the act of assigning tasks or responsibilities to others to manage time and resources more effectively. The video mentions delegation as a strategy for optimizing effort, allowing individuals to focus on high-impact activities. The speaker recommends using tools and outsourcing to 'buy back' time and increase the return on investment of one's time and energy.

💡Boundaries

Boundaries, as discussed in the video, are the limits or constraints that an individual sets for themselves to protect their time, energy, and well-being. The speaker shares their personal experience of setting strict boundaries to ensure they engage only in activities and relationships that align with their values and goals, which contributes to their overall effectiveness and success.

💡Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement is the ongoing process of enhancing one's skills, knowledge, and performance. The video speaker highlights the importance of daily self-improvement, encouraging viewers to strive to be better today than yesterday. This concept is linked to the video's theme of increasing one's value by constantly learning and growing.

Highlights

The equation for wealth is Value = (Personal Brand + Unique Skills) x Network + Impact / Effort.

Personal Brand includes online presence, real-life appearance, and general image.

Unique Skills are the specialized knowledge that sets you apart, including hard and soft skills.

Network consists of relationships and contacts, including peers, mentors, mentees, and industry contacts.

Impact is the measurable outcomes and results achieved, such as successful projects and satisfied clients.

Effort represents the minimal input needed to generate significant value.

The speaker overcame stage fright to become a well-paid international speaker.

The speaker's personal brand includes being a prolific investor and author.

Skills include investment knowledge, storytelling, and strategic vision.

The speaker's network includes influential figures like Mark Cuban and thousands of founders and investors.

The speaker's impact is immeasurable due to numerous investments and inspirational work.

Effort is about strategically focusing on high-impact activities and setting boundaries.

Invest in your personal brand by spending time and money on cultivating a compelling image.

Consistency in messaging across all online platforms is key to building a personal brand.

Content creation is essential for sharing knowledge and engaging with an audience.

Enhance your skills by identifying skill gaps and engaging in continuous learning.

Practical application of learned skills is crucial for skill enhancement.

Building a network starts with fostering connections and asking for help with challenges.

Joining professional groups can significantly expand your network.

Engaging and contributing in social activities is essential for network building.

Setting clear goals for impact helps to measure and document achievements.

Optimizing effort for high impact and lower effort leads to a higher ROI in life.

Delegating and outsourcing tasks can help to focus on the highest impact activities.

Creating boundaries is crucial for maintaining quality and avoiding burnout.

Continuous improvement in personal and professional life leads to better outcomes.

Transcripts

this is the equation that helped me make

my first $1 million and once you learn

this equation money will be automatic

and wealth will be inevitable I used to

have debilitating stage fright but now I

get paid to speak all over the world and

my rates are available if you look hard

enough online so someone asked me how in

the world did you get paid so much

to speak for 45 minutes and I told them

I didn't get paid that much five figures

to speak for 45 minutes I got paid that

much for 40 years of my experience what

I'm going to teach you in this video is

how to get paid not for your time but

for your very existence I want you to

write down this equation value equals

personal Brand Plus unique skills and

that's in parentheses times Network plus

impact and that is in parenthesis

divided by

effort your personal brand is how you

are perceived this includes your online

presence how you show up in real life

and your general image unique skills

this is the special itiz knowledge that

sets you apart from other people this

can include technical or practical so

hard skills and what they call soft

skills your network these are the

relationships and contacts that you have

and that you build this can be your

peers your mentors your mentees industry

contacts and more in your network your

followers are also included impact the

measurable out outcomes and results you

achieve this can be in the form of

successful projects satisfied clients

Innovations and contributions to your

field effort the minimal input that you

need to exert to generate significant

value this represents an our equation

the efficiency and leverage of your

contributions so let's break it down and

look at me as a case study my personal

brand is something that helped you find

this video whether this is the first

time you're ever hearing of me or you've

been riding with me for a long time my

personal brand had a lot to do with you

being here most people know me as

someone who is a prolific investor I've

invested in more than 200 companies in

the last decade someone who has my own

companies including yacht waterer H

runner. and more someone who put on a

2,000 person event nla in 2024 called

your first million live where Issa Ray

Rich Paul and TLC were just some of the

guests a paid speaker an author of two

books on major Publishers it's about

damn time from 2020 and your first

million from 2024 and so on and so forth

you know me from one or more of these

themes and if you didn't before now you

do my skills I've invested in more than

200 companies I know a thing or two

about making investments in startups and

championing underestimated Founders I

have a way of Storytelling that helps

draw people in and I have a strategic

Vision that some people say is inspiring

so this sets me apart in a lot of ways

from traditional Venture

capitalists my network my network is

really interesting you have people like

Mark Cuban who I have a $6 million joint

venture with I have thousands and

thousands of Founders in my network that

I can call upon at any time and

thousands of investors that I know and

in my close Circle there are doctors and

lawyers and authors and teachers and

mechanics and all sorts of people who I

can call upon and brainstorm with almost

any time and they feel the same way

about me there are people in my network

who have made millions and millions of

dollars in the last few years alone and

live lives that I once only dreamed of

my network helps me amplify my reach and

create opportunities for other people so

my impact probably is immeasurable

because of so many Investments made and

so many people watching and being

inspired by the work that I do effort

this part is important I have learned to

strategically Focus my effort by

focusing on high impact activities I

also have learned a lot of boundaries

and how to say no to 90% of what is

offer to me make sure you are a

subscriber of my YouTube channel and

that you hit the like button right now

when you hit the like button what it

does is it tells YouTube in the

algorithm that people are interested in

this video and that they're watching a

lot of it and then that helps it get

seen by more people there are more

Impressions and then it's my job to make

people click and to keep people

interested so it'll help me out so much

if you hit the like button right now and

subscribe more than 60% of the people

who watch my videos do not subscribe to

my channel so if you don't want to miss

a video if you're getting any type of

value from this and if you want more

people to learn this equation hit the

like button and subscribe all right I

want to teach you how to apply this

equation in your life starting today

first thing you're going to do is invest

in your personal brand and I mean invest

money and time and if you don't have a

lot of money spend more time if you

don't have a lot of time spend spend

more money your job is going to be to

cultivate a compelling and authentic

image so said another way you're just

going to be yourself in front of more

people this starts with some

self-reflection you're going to start to

understand what some of your strengths

are your values your beliefs what you

hold dear what is true about you and

what makes you unique and before you say

there's nothing that makes you unique I

guarantee you there is you start with

points on board because there's only one

of you in the entire world this

introspection this looking inward is a

crucial First Step the next part of the

personal brand is consistency in your

messaging ensure for instance that your

online presence is consistent across all

of social if you have a personal website

if you have a LinkedIn if you have a

YouTube if you have anything online try

to keep it consistent now we know we use

different platforms for different parts

of ourselves and we contain multitudes

but if someone visits a different page

they should see the same person maybe

just a different mood and one hack I

learned from a guy named Ryan Hoover who

runs product Hunt is that you should

keep the same image consistently I have

an image that is eight or nine years old

on my Twitter account and I refuse to

change it because if I change it I'm

disrupting that personal brand that I

have created I'm disrupting that person

personal brand that I have cultivated

for so long content creation share your

knowledge and experience and wisdom with

other people through content like a

YouTube channel I have videos on my

channel that teach you how to start a

YouTube channel why you should start one

and how you can actually get paid to

promote your company or brand you also

want to engage with your audience once

you have one that's all part of your

personal brand you'll noticed that I do

that so much and I've been doing that

for more than 20 years and there are

people who have been following me for

those 20 years or for 10 years or five

years and it's because I responded to a

comment or liked something that they

posted or retweeted reposted shared

their stories that is really how you

cultivate your audience they become part

of a community that you're building next

you want to enhance your skills you want

to Stack your skills you want to

identify where there may be skills gaps

you can take online courses you can take

online quizzes to help you with that

things of that nature you can read

different job descriptions in your lane

and see what you're able to do and what

you're not able to do at a job that pays

you more than you get paid now that's

one way to understand what skill Gap you

may have you're going to do continuous

learning online courses going to events

you're going to get certified if you

need to and there are really unlimited

way that you can stack your skills I

still do this every single day I read I

watch a lot of YouTube videos that are

tutorials educational in my Lane in what

I'm interested in and I'm always trying

to get better and smarter and better and

smarter every single day because when I

was broke I had no money I was on food

stamps 10 years ago or so and I was

trying to raise a venture capital firm

that now I have backstage Capital when I

didn't know if I was going to eat what I

did know is that I could learn every

single day and nobody could take that

away from me so that was an empowering

thing for me is to know no matter what's

going on in my life I can learn and be

better than the day before you also want

to do practical application don't just

learn you also want to implement so you

can volunteer to do something for

someone you can take on a new project

you can do something that other people

get paid to do if you're just learning

so you can become The Apprentice for

yourself there are a lot of options

there too that we should think about

when we're thinking about stacking those

skills think about when you're trying to

learn a new language you can learn a lot

in the textbook and on the app but until

you're talking to someone who speaks

that language it doesn't click all the

way that's what you want to do with all

types of learning while you're learning

keep receipts you want to be able to

later on say what your credentials are

say what you've learned it doesn't have

to be oh I went to this college it just

needs to be that you know certain things

that you created a school for yourself

this is what I did and this is how I

made my first million and Way Beyond

your network you are going to build your

network starting today one main way to

do this if you haven't started building

your network I talk about this another

video where you can have a five or six

person dinner maybe you invite 10 people

to it and half of them say yes they come

to the dinner you introduce them to each

other you have everybody go around the

table and say who they are and what's

important to them and then you Foster

conversation and at some point during

that dinner you're going to say there's

one ask that I have and you're going to

talk to them about maybe one challenge

that you have do not ask them for money

because you just met them or you it's

not the right time but ask them does

someone know a mentor does someone know

the answer to this question I've had

does someone know how I should approach

this challenge because I'm stuck and

that's going to be the beginning of an

outpouring of help for you because

you're fostering that with other people

they're going to want to reciprocate

that so don't expect anything that same

day do this have it be a cool experience

and then somewhere in the universe it'll

come come back to you you might want to

join a professional group I have worked

with Chief before for women Executives

that's a good example there's so many

other examples I know that afrotech has

an executive program I know there's so

many places you can go but you want to

join these it doesn't have to be for

corporates either it can be for

entrepreneurs it can be for teachers it

can be for writers there's so many

places they're all over the internet and

all you need to do is vet

talk to a few people who are already in

the group and ask to join and obviously

some of these cost money and if you

can't afford it right now what did I say

before if you don't have a lot of money

use a lot of time so maybe there's a

bartering thing that you can do or maybe

you're simply going to raise and earn

that money by doing other things and

that is going to be your aspirational

next step it's important to engage and

contribute during these different social

activities I know for some people that

can be difficult but honestly even if

you offer someone help oneon-one and not

in front of a big group it's going to

come back tenfold to you it's so

important that you engage it's just like

being online you know the algorithm

rewards you when you like other people's

content and when you watch other

people's content and you're not just

someone who is on a platform only trying

to get likes and Views so the more you

contribute to the ecosystem system

whether that's online or in person

whether that's for a social platform or

for a group you're in that is going to

really reward you in the end make sure

that you follow up so if you meet

someone and you have a great

conversation with them try not to drop

the ball there that's why it's important

not to try to meet as many people as

possible when you go to conferences or

concerts or events you're trying to meet

one or two people that you have a true

connection with that you can then follow

up with impact for your impact you want

to set clear goals if you think about me

10 years ago I said I want to invest in

100 companies led by underrepresented

Founders by 2020 now my Venture fund

backstage Capital reached 100 companies

in May of

2018 because I had that Clear Vision and

that statement of what I wanted to make

happen in the world yours doesn't have

to be that big it doesn't have to be

that impactful just yet but if you have

something where you say this is a

milestone that I want to do this is why

I say write your own headlines in my

first book it's about damn time there's

a whole chapter about writing your own

headlines giving yourself that North

Star another thing you're going to do

which is also part of effort is you're

going to identify high impact activities

things that over index on outcomes for

less amount of time or effort and make

sure that you prioritize things that

align with you align with what you want

and what you want the world to look like

again you're going to measure and

document you're going to keep the

receipts because what you're going to do

with that later you're going to use

those earned achievements in so many

ways for instance maybe you'll write a

book of your own or if you already have

a book maybe there are two or three more

books in you but it's that lived

experience that impact and that

documenting that gets you there so the

big one is effort if you can get the

effort right and calibrate it to be

optimized you're going to be unstoppable

just what I said about impact you're

going to optimize for high impact lower

effort and this is not because we're

going to be lazy this is because the

more leverage we have the more we'll be

able to do in our lifetime and impact

the world you want a high

Roi return on investment when it comes

to your time and your effort one way to

do this really well is to delegate and

Outsource there's a book called buy back

your time by Dan Martell that I want you

to pick up or listen to the audio

version as soon as you can and this will

show you how to take back your life buy

back your time so that you can focus on

only the highest impact activities

you're also going to use technology and

tools and yes even AI to collapse time

we are very fortunate people we live in

a very opportune time where things take

so much less time to accomplish than

they have in the past so you're going to

turn those tools that you may be afraid

of right now into a jetpack I said

before that one of the things that has

helped me make my first million and

Beyond is creating boundaries for myself

I used to have no boundaries whatsoever

now I have strict boundaries who I speak

with who I spend time around whose

energy gets to be around me what I say

yes to and what I say no to these are so

important I'll give you a quick example

a few weeks ago I had a three or four

week stretch of travel appearances paid

speaking all sorts of things that were a

high responsibility for me that I was

excited to do but I found myself so

burned out because I have been on the

road for six months this year alone so I

said to myself I can't do that at the

highest quality and standard that I feel

like I should and even though it was

going to disappoint some people I knew

that at the end of the day I had to do

what was right so I cancelled three to

four weeks of really fun activities I'm

talking about Essence fest can lion

traing all over the country but I

instead sat at home worked my butt off

from home watched a lot of TV and

refreshed I got a lot of rest and now I

look forward to the months of travel

that I have for the rest of the year and

I'll be a better person for it this is

all about continuous Improvement we talk

about improving our videos on YouTube by

1% every time we post we talk about

Improvement here and there what about

Improvement of ourselves every single

day how can I be better today than I was

yesterday and I look forward to being

better tomorrow than I am today so again

your personal Brand Plus your unique

skills multiplied by your net work and

your impact and then divided by the

effort