Edition #010: 📚 12 Books for Business Growth, Avoiding TRT, and Jerry Seinfeld
Hey Risers,
Welcome to EDITION 010 of the TRY HARDER Newsletter.
Let’s be honest, building a business (and a better you) is HARD. Today, I’ve got the books to fuel your growth, a rant about why everyone’s jumping on the TRT train, and some wisdom from Jerry Seinfeld about staying the course (because sometimes, we all want to give up).
Save it for later. Read it now. But don’t ignore this one!!
And if you like it, share it with a friend 🙏🏻.
Enjoy!
In this Edition:
Building the Business
12 Books for Business Growth
Building the Human
Avoiding TRT
Try Harder
Focused on Funny
Building the Business:
12 Books for Business Growth 📚
Study the image below for a minute 🔎.
That image is what I give to any entrepreneur asking me for book recommendations 📖.
I have to know where YOU are at in your journey before I can recommend anything.
How does the diagram work? 🤔 Well, basically, if you are going to make more money 💰 through reading books, you have to educate yourself in the correct order.
Put simply: It would be best if you didn’t jump to studying how to increase the LTV of your customer before you know how to correctly and consistently acquire customers ❌.
And if you miss the base, or it breaks, (mindset & productivity) entirely, all the money will run straight out the bottom 💸, even if you have every other section in place.
If I had to put revenue levels on each area, it would look like this:
Levels 1-2: $0- 6 figures
Levels 3-4: 6 – 7 figures
Level 5: 8+ figures
Now, do an honest assessment 🧐 of where you are in your journey. Then, select a book from the appropriate category.
I am still learning in all these areas. Currently, most of my study is in area 5.
Top 12 Books
1.) Mindset & Productivity
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
The ONE Thing by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan
Deep Work by Cal Newport
The Road Less Stupid by Keith J. Cunningham
10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Hardy
2.) Customer Acquisition (Sales & Marketing)
Pre-Suasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
3.) Systems for Scale
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
The Art of Less Doing by Ari Meisel
4.) Customer Success (Increase LTV)
Never Lose a Customer Again by Joey Coleman
The Startup’s Guide to Customer Success by Jennifer Chiang
5.) Customer Acquisition 2.0 (Multi-Channel)
Who Not How by Dan Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Takeaways:
Know what book you need and when
READ AND IMPLEMENT!
Building the Human:
Avoiding TRT 💉
Today, I’ve got a short snippet for all the men. Let’s talk about TRT (testosterone replacement therapy).
The number of dudes on TRT is alarming 🚨. Everyone from Joe Rogan to Alex Hormozi, and 90% of fitness influencers 🤳🏻 are on TRT. It’s becoming increasingly normalized and incredibly easy to get. It is driven by the truth that “sex sells,” 🍑 and it becomes advantageous for influencers of any kind to look superhuman 🦸♂️.
Though most won’t admit that vanity is involved in the decision to use TRT… everyone has a “good reason.” Here are things I’ve heard…
Eating disorder at 14…
Blood test says low T…
Energy levels are terrible…
Look, I don’t care if you take TRT. That decision is yours and yours alone. However, entrepreneurs are more susceptible to low T than most, and I want to help if possible.
Entrepreneurs tend to grind a little too much…
High unregulated stress for too long
Poor diets due to lack of time
Low quality and amount of sleep
Tendency to over-consume alcohol
If you didn’t know, the above list is a recipe for low-T.
So why not correct the low-T with TRT?? 🤔
My recurring belief about humanity, which I write about in Chapter 5 of my book, Killing Comfort, is that every generation falls prey to their own level of stupidity due to ignorance and following the crowd.
Aside from social media + cell phones, Could TRT be that for our generation?
Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve looked at some of the research on testosterone replacement therapy, and, just like the field of nutrition, it seems like you can cherry-pick the data you want and prove it in either direction (safe or unsafe).
However, I wholeheartedly agree with a recent article Tim Ferris put out on TRT, No Biological Free Lunches; i.e., we can’t expect only to gain an advantage without a reciprocal disadvantage.
Did you know the first reports of smoking being linked to cancer date back to 1795? And the world didn’t start to get serious about smoking until over 200 years later…
Sometimes, it’s better to go with your gut instead of doing what everyone else does. My gut tells me to avoid TRT for as long as possible.
If you get a blood test and you have low-T, let’s TRY HARDER 💪 before we jump to the injections 💉.
The shortlist:
Eat a balanced diet rich in vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Include essential nutrients such as zinc, vitamin D, and magnesium.
Limit sugar and processed foods.
Engage in strength training and resistance exercises.
Incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) + sprinting
Stay active daily and avoid prolonged inactivity.
Manage weight through diet and exercise to combat obesity.
Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.
Use techniques like mindfulness, meditation, and hobbies to reduce stress.
Reduce alcohol intake (or give it up altogether) and quit smoking (if you missed the memo about smoking).
Again, I don’t care if you take TRT. So, there’s no need to reply telling me your justification for why you’re on TRT. Those decisions are yours and yours alone.
I am writing this for the entrepreneur who needs to have their basic lifestyle guidelines dialed in.
I am writing this to be the one person who tells you to TRY HARDER. Dialing in everything on the list above is a hell of a lot harder than getting an injection.
Your health is more important than your income 🏥 > 💰. Stay clear about the order of priority in your entrepreneurial journey.
Takeaways:
There are no biological free lunches
Focus on lifestyle intervention first and always!
Try Harder:
Seinfeld: Focused on Funny
Who’s the master of their domain?
Jerry Seinfeld, that’s who.
Long before “Seinfeld” turned him into a household name, Jerry was a stand-up comedian 🎤 who faced everything from booing crowds to the sheer grind of nightly performances. His first time on stage? He froze 🥶 and was booed off.
Seinfeld’s focused approach to comedy stood out during a time when many popular comedians relied on edgier material. He spent years refining his unique observational comedy brand, facing empty seats, tough crowds, and the relentless grind of the comedy circuit. His breakthrough came from persistence 📝, sharpening his jokes night after night, and never losing sight of the laugh.
From the start, Jerry has been focused on funny. In mastering this art, he was able to reach wider audiences, eventually creating one of the most successful sitcoms ever, “Seinfeld.”
He could have mimicked the style of his peers, but that wouldn’t be authentic. Instead, he stayed focused on funny and funny to all. This level of focus led to his wild success and serves as a crucial part of “trying harder.”
Jerry Seinfeld reminds us that staying true to your core strengths, even when it’s hard, is vital. That’s true for comedians and for building better humans. We can’t take shortcuts to reach our full potential.
My takeaway from this?
My mission is to build better humans. But I often feel I am fighting an uphill battle against a world that wants easy. My message is effort. And few want to hear it. Jerry Seinfeld inspires me to stay focused on what I know is right and not succumb to ‘easy.’
