250K Subscribers and an 8-Figure Exit in One Year? What’s Inside the Mind of Shaan Puri? (Part 1)

Bigger and better circles give you access to new information and fresh perspectives.

I’ve always been surrounded by winners, but recently, I’ve found myself in even bigger rooms, and almost automatically, I’ve started consuming better content.

Take Shaan Puri’s content, for example.

Shaan is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and podcaster who, in my opinion, is massively underrated.

A few weeks ago, I discovered his content and learned that he was the founder behind "The Milk Road," the leading crypto newsletter.

In less than a year, Shaan grew that newsletter to 250,000 subscribers and sold it to Coinbase in an estimated 8-figure deal.

Listening to him has opened my eyes to several lessons that I’ll carry with me as I build my own newsletter.

Today and tomorrow, I’ll be sharing some of those lessons with you. I hope at least one gives you the push you need to keep moving forward.

And honestly? These lessons will be worth your time.

Let’s dive in…

1) Know Your Anti-Goal.

From a young age, the idea of being average and living an average life, both scared and disgusted Shaan. You can hear it in the way he talks and see it in his gestures. He’s practically allergic to “average.”

Even though he didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up, he knew one thing for sure: it wouldn’t be average.

This made me realize that setting anti-goals can be just as important, if not more so, than setting traditional goals.

Ask yourself: What do you NOT want to be? What are you determined to run away from?

Sometimes, the drive to escape something undesirable is the most powerful motivator for change and action.

2) You are 2 millimeters away from changing your life.

Sometimes, one small decision is all it takes to change your life.

Shaan tells the story of when he moved to India to study. He was always the shy kid at school. But right before moving to India, a family member asked him a life-changing question:

“Who is the coolest guy in your last school?”

“Jared! He’s nice to me, popular, and he makes jokes the teachers laugh at” said Shaan.

“Good! When you land in India, be like Jared. Act like Jared. Everyone there is meeting you for the first time. You can be anyone you want. So, why not be the cool guy?”  

That story sat with Shaan… and when he landed in India, he made a decision to be the cool guy.

Shaan mentioned how he reflected on that lesson during a Tony Robbins seminar.

Tony Robbins hired a golf coach because he was missing his shots.

Thirty minutes into their practice session, Tony missed all his shots. The coach? Silent. Eventually, Tony broke the silence and said: “Are you going to help?!”

The coach calmly replied: “You’re not far off. You’re just 2 millimeters away. Adjust your shot by 2 millimeters, and instead of hitting the far-left point or the sand trap on the right, you’ll hit your target.”

The lesson is simple but powerful: small changes can lead to big results.

So, remember, you’re just 2 millimeters away from changing your life.

3) Don’t be a planner, be an action-taker 

Shaan’s first entrepreneurial venture? A restaurant that never got off the ground.

After six months of meticulous planning and compiling a 300-page business plan, Shaan met with a highly successful restaurateur to pitch his idea and confidently slammed the thick binder onto the table.

The restaurateur looked at him and said, “You know this is real life, right? If you want to open a restaurant, you find a location and open the restaurant. You don’t write a 300-page business plan.”

The lesson? Planning has its place, but action is what gets things done.

4) Be a storyteller.

This isn’t something Shaan specifically mentioned, but it’s a lesson I’ve drawn…

It’s the reason I’m writing this long email, and why I’m dedicating not just one, but TWO emails to sharing his insights.

Every point Shaan makes is supported by a real story.

I mean, haven’t you noticed how many stories I’ve shared with you already?

5) Being Middle Class Is Risky Because It’s Comfortable

Shaan’s a contrarian.

Whatever you think he’s thinking, expect the opposite.

It’s like that episode of Seinfeld where George Costanza, a lifelong failure, decides to do the opposite of everything he’s ever done, and suddenly, he starts succeeding.

For example, after finishing grad school, Shaan landed a six-figure job. But just two months later, he quit and chose to take a “purposefully broke” gap year. This ties back to his refusal to live an average life.

Had he stayed in that job, he would’ve become “comfortably numb” (Pink Floyd pun intended) and stayed average.

The moment he realized that he bet on himself and walked away from the security of the job.

6) Someone Who Wears a Doctor’s Robe Can Be an Actor

This is another lesson I deduced while listening to Shaan.

Just because someone claims to be an expert, doesn’t mean they actually are.

And just because something is written in a book, doesn’t make it true.

Study deliberately. Be aware of what you’re learning, its validity, and how you can apply it.

7) You’ll Learn More About Business by Studying Unrelated Subjects

Take working out, for example.

If you do a set of ten reps, which rep actually builds muscle? The 9th or 10th?

None.

It’s the reps after you hit your limit… 11th, 12th, 13th...

The same concept applies to business.

You can fail in 10 different businesses before you finally find your breakthrough.

8) Be Impatient with your actions, but patient with the result.

Ingrain this sentence in your brain. That’s it for this lesson.

9) The fastest road to your first million? It’s not the road, but the company.

Surround yourself with the right people, and find ways to trade value, skills, and ideas with them.

Want to build a tech startup? Move to Silicon Valley.

Dream of being a movie star? Head to Hollywood.

Interested in politics? Washington is the place to be.

I’ll end today’s email with two notes

The first one is that more lessons are coming your way in tomorrow’s email.

The second one is a reminder… these lessons I’m sharing, may not be the next hack, tactic, or strategy, BUT they are essential to your business success, and mine.

A few months ago I couldn’t get myself to watch a 17-minute YouTube video, because quality content is rare nowadays.

But Shaan’s understanding and business insights will help you dominate the business playground.

Tomorrow, I’ll share Shaan’s insights on how to choose the right business to go into, why 'growing' a chicken sandwich is a terrible business idea, and why you should listen to nerds, even if you’re the coolest guy around town.

Also, as always, I’d like to extend an offer to you.

I’ll pay you $499 in value, and in return, all I ask is for $1, a short video, and a share button.

Here’s how it works:

If you have an active list, a tested offer you’ve sold before, or one you’re planning to sell, I’ll help you refine your messaging by just 2 millimeters. Enough to make the end zone.

I’ll write five “not-your-average” email campaigns designed to boost your sales. Each of these emails is worth at least $100, meaning you’re getting $499 in value.

Your investment? Just $1.

And here’s my guarantee: If you don’t like the emails and they don’t deliver results, I’ll refund your $1.

If you’re interested, send me an email at [email protected] or reply to this email, and we’ll set up a short call to get started!