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One specific move professionals can implement today.
Get the email every WednesdayThe business connections no one talks about
Barbie and Hot Wheels. Adidas and Puma. The PayPal alumni. Some people magnetise everyone around them — and proximity to one quietly resets what feels realistic for you.
While Instagram can be a time-sucking vampire, it has the occasional gold-nugget video that blows me away.
In one reel I heard about the business connections nobody talks about: the founders of Barbie and Hot Wheels were married. The creators of Adidas and Puma were brothers. A handful of employees at PayPal left and started Tesla, YouTube, Yelp, LinkedIn and Palantir.
You might be wondering why this matters, and you’re about to close this email. Just trust me. Keep reading.
5
people you spend the most time learning from. Write them down.
12
months out — who already lives where you want to be?
1
room. Proximity beats motivation every single time.
Those people are what we call magnets.
Think about an actual magnet for a second. It doesn’t just lift metal on its own — it magnetises the metal it touches, so that piece can attract other metal without ever touching the original.
See what I mean? There are people out there who do the exact same thing. Being around them expands what your reality could look like.
Why this matters for your goals
When you have a big goal for yourself, it can also be a limiting belief about what you can achieve. What if your big goal is really only 25% of what you could actually do?
That’s why you need to go find yourself a magnet. Magnets make amazing things happen. They influence others to be part of the dream. They lift you up when your willpower is depleted.
A magnet’s belief is so solid, so grounded, that it changes what feels realistic for everyone around them.
They don’t convince you. They don’t hype you up. They just operate at a level that resets your internal bar.
That’s what happens when you spend time around big thinkers. Your standards shift. Your decisions change. Your actions get cleaner and faster.
Not because you’re trying harder — but because your sense of what’s possible expands.
Questions I get about this one
What if I don’t know anyone operating at that level? Then the gap itself is your answer. You don’t need an introduction to start — you need to be in rooms where those people already are. Events, masterminds, coaching groups. Proximity comes before relationship.
Isn’t this just networking? No. Networking is collecting contacts. This is deliberately changing what you consider normal by standing closer to people whose normal is bigger than yours.
Go find yourself a magnet.
1
Audit your circle.Write down the five people you spend the most time learning from. Be honest about whether they raise your standards or reinforce comfort.
2
Identify the gap.Look at where you want to be in 12 months. Now ask who already lives at that level. That gap points you to your next room.
3
Get closer on purpose.Join the room. Attend the event. Book the call. Say yes to the environment that stretches you. Proximity beats motivation every time.
4
Borrow belief before you have it.You do not need full confidence to move forward. You need exposure to people who already believe it’s possible.
5
Raise your personal standard.Pay attention to how magnets operate. Their pace. Their decisions. Their follow-through. Then match it.
This exercise is designed to do one thing: set appointments. Track your progress and pay attention to what is converting.
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