You Can’t Teach 18 Years of Experience (But Here’s What I’ve Learned)

The reality is that actions that led to specific results are usually 12 layers deeper with a sprinkle of context often missing from the 5-step solution sold.

Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash

Not everything can be taught.

Most things aren’t sexy enough to be bought.

That’s the truth, my friend.

The reality is that actions that led to specific results are usually 12 layers deeper with a sprinkle of context often missing from the 5-step solution sold.

I hate to be a pessimist.

After investing 6-figures in furthering my education the biggest lesson I learned was that things are never what they seem.

The email that generated 1 Million in sales.

That’s sexy.

But remember, I’m a skeptic.

A friend (now business partner) wrote an email for a client. This email was a few dollars short of generating 1 Million in sales.

Here’s what we see unfold:

“This Email Template Generated 1 Million In Sales”

Umm…

I think this is missing a teeny bit of context.

• Who was the email sent to?

• What was the email selling?

• What was the relationship like?

• How long had they been nurtured?

• Were they leads or buyers?

• Who was doing the selling? Were they famous?

• What were the preceding actions that led to this launch?

Every question leads to one specific thing…

Can this actually be replicated?

As sexy as the case study is, the real answer is ‘not likely.’

The butterfly effect.

One of the most common questions I get asked is:

“If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?”

Or,

“Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your former self?”

Here’s the reality.

Every action, good, bad, and ugly, I took. Every experience I’ve had. Has shaped me into the person I am today and led me to the business I now have.

Change the cause, change the effect.

Just like the movie The Butterfly Effect, if I were to whisper into the ear of my 18-year-old self there’s no telling what would transpire or what my life and business would look like today.

My anti-climactic response is usually, nothing.

Since I’m happy with my current state — I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t switched careers, taken on $100,000 in debt, lived on the cold flood in a penthouse apartment, moved to Mexico, or got stranded in a Hong Kong airport facing deportation.

I’m sure people hate interviewing me because I have no sexy secrets.

No one wants to buy the truth.

Even when we know it’s true.

There is a little voice in the back of our head whispering sweet nothings that lead us towards chasing instant gratification.

It’s not without a lot of conscious effort, therapy, Brene Brown books, or ayahuasca retreats that we can begin to break this pattern.

Here’s the problem.

The 5 Steps I Used To Start A Newsletter.

vs.

The 5 Steps I Used To Build A Million Dollar Newsletter In 90 Days (And How You Can Do It To)

One of these articles gets more clicks and sales. That’s the problem.

Monetary outcomes and timeframes sell.

I stopped doing business coaching when I realized my path couldn’t be taught.

His question:

“How'd you pack the pipeline? I'm trying to restart my lead-gen again.”

My Response:

“I wouldn't say it was an intentional effort. It ebs and flows. But maintaining content. 5 from referrals. 4 from content.

2 organic inbound from Linked.

2 organic inbound from Substack.

Honestly, if someone were to ask me exactly how I built my business, it would be hard to say. It's such a melting pot of 100 different things coming together.

Ex: 2 clients, and 3 active leads. Stem from 1 person (1 of the leads is a referral from a client he referred).

This person saw 1 post on Facebook which sparked him referring me to people.

He is a connection that was made through someone I met at a conference in 2017.

You can't teach that.”

Let me break it down.

My client pipeline was full.

2 clients and 3 leads came from 1 person.

Let’s peel it back…

This person saw a Substack post I shared on Facebook leading him to start referring me clients.

Let’s peel it back…

I met this person around 2018 I believe. (They didn’t refer me to something till 2024).

Let’s peel it back…

I met this person through a friend.

Let’s peel it back…

I met them at a conference in 2017 that I flew to with my wife. We started chatting while eating greek yogurt waiting for the conference to begin. I joined a mastermind that day that he was also in. A friendship was born.

Now, people sell the content strategy that gets you inbound leads.

That’s never quite been the case for me.

While I have generated leads and clients that did not require relationships that were born and nurtured for 6-7 years.

However, they were the net result of everything I’ve done up until this point. The skills I’ve acquired, the products I’ve built, the network I’ve created, the consistency I’ve established, etc.

The stuff I’m doing today, I couldn’t have done 18 years ago when I started my journey.

Reaping the rewards of failing for 18 years.

Context matters.

I’m not saying to distrust anyone. That’s a shitty way to live.

I simply encourage you to understand that business is not black/white, built with over-generalized 5-step plans, and that speaking in absolutes is often misleading.

Yes, there will always be the edge cases. People that come onto the scene and go from 0 to 6- or 7-figures in a matter of years. It’s possible.

All I know?

Is that it’s never happened to me.

And many, if not all the people I’ve spoken with have never seen the type of results promised in the coaching programs and masterminds.

Through observation, I’ve noticed that most people “at the top” have also been the ones “doing it the longest.”

We reap the rewards of sticking with it.

Things compound over time in ways that we can’t predict or measure.

Or, teach.

All I want to do is share my experiences.

I love business. And I hope you do too. Do not let this discourage you but instead encourage you knowing that every experience you have, good or bad, is a step on your journey.

Landon