7 Life-Changing Lessons From 2024 That Helped Me Become Zac Version 2.0
If you’re a business owner tired of spinning your wheels and want to avoid costly mistakes,
Or if you care about being the best you can be...
This newsletter is for you.
I used to be broke, alone, and lost after my mum died in 2021.
Video games numbed the pain, but nothing filled the void.
2024 is a year I will never forget. I decided to change my life...
I became Zac Version 3.0.
December 2023
I’m making ￡0 and I struggle to pay rent for 6 months…
December 2024
Now I make ￡5,000 per month and understand business (and life) to a degree I couldn’t before.
I actually have friends, opportunities and beliefs I never thought I could have…
7 Of My Most Life-Changing Lessons From 2024
Maybe you’re overwhelmed and feel like you don’t have time. It IS a busy time…
But we all have 24 hours in a day.
Overwhelm is not a sign you're out of place.
It's a sign you're moving on to a better place…
And this article will give you more value than most BOOKS. It condenses 2000 hours of learning from the best and building my business from scratch (as a slightly autistic student who had no experience).
If I can transform in one year — what can YOU do?
Ready to transform in 2025? Here’s what 2024 taught me:
Lesson 1: Be Like Genghis Khan (On The Inside)
One of the most profound lessons I learned this year came from Genghis Khan.
Well, not directly (I wish).
Genghis Khan ruled more than 11 million square miles of Earth with ironclad authority…
(Kind of like some LinkedIn gurus like to think)
But that wasn’t his most impressive achievement…
Most impressive of all is how he conquered his own mind.
He never faltered. Never stopped to doubt himself. Never procrastinated.
If he did — he would be dead and nobody would know his name.
If you want people to know your name?
You must focus on ONE lesson.
Like Genghis Khan, if we want to conquer our external world, we must first conquer the chaos within…
Once I learned to regulate my emotions and reprogram limiting beliefs, everything changed.
I know I’ve already won. Because I’ve conquered the only world that matters…
… The world in between my ears.
With the right mindset you can achieve anything...
With mindset mastery you can:
If I can do it, so can you.
I've invested:
But you can get started with just 10 minutes of meditation...
Not too difficult eh?
Within 6 months, you could BECOME a new person... I did.
Why You Hit Success Ceilings
The #1 reason you’re hitting an income ceiling, unable to consistently break through?
It’s your BELIEFS. Not your skills.
Find the emotions fuelling your beliefs, let them go — and you’re free to grow past that ceiling.
Once you unearth the hidden emotions inside you, regardless of how painful they are, you must process them.
Feel them fully, validate and accept them, and then they go away.
All emotion is just energy in motion.
Let the energy go and it stops bothering you…
Most people are stuck in SCARCITY…
… This is the biggest killer of business — not skill or knowledge.
This chart shows why shifting from a scarcity to an abundance mindset is the foundation of business growth:
People are just looking for someone they TRUST to HELP them… but if you can’t even help yourself, how could somebody give you their valuable time and resources?
“Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping.” — Jordan Peterson
And remember:
—> Abundance is a FEELING. You don’t need to earn it. Only to ALLOW it…
Lesson 2: Happiness Isn’t In Achievement
The further you go, the harder it is to see how far you've come…
Happiness is not achievement. It CAN come from it — but not directly.
Happiness isn’t what you DO in life.
It’s how grateful you FEEL about what you do.
Let me tell you a story about a day I had earlier this month…
It was a rainy cold December day in the UK. Utterly miserable.
I was thinking:
“I'm full on clients now. I have SOO much work to do…” ??
It was frustrating to think of how much gruntwork I had to do, writing all their emails. It felt like a drain (even though I was paid ￡5,000 to do it!)
It’s crazy how quickly we take for granted that which we sought so desperately in the past…
But something stopped me in this negative train of thought:
“HANG ON A SECOND! What the hell am I saying…”
I’m BLESSED to be able to work for amazing clients and do what I enjoy for a career.
What am I complaining about?
I don’t HAVE to do so much work.
I GET to work on spreading impact, helping people I like and getting paid a premium for it!
Don’t Change The World. Change Your Lens
The lens you view life matters more than what’s at the other end.
Your happiness isn’t a product of your environment — it’s a product of how you SEE your environment.
If you look at the worst parts of your life? Of COURSE you’ll be pretty sad or mad.
But if you look at everything you’ve achieved? You’ll be proud and glad.
Trust, not money, drives fulfilment...
Lesson 3: Trust Matters More Than What You Want
Authenticity is what the world needs.
The reason you lose deals, lose relationships and lose faith…
… Isn’t about how good you are or how skilled.
People have evolved for TWO purposes:
We are biologically compelled to survive and thrive.
This is the reason why marketing isn’t about convincing or pushing people to buy.
That REPELS leads. You know why?
Because people are wired to sense when you have an AGENDA. If you need something…
… You make it about YOU instead of them. You tell them to buy because YOU want them to.
But this pushes away deals and relationships because it shows you’re lower status.
And make no mistake, marketing is a status game.
So how does this relate to trust?
People trust experts who not only have KNOWLEDGE (this has been commoditised)…
… But they trust experts who have walked the walk. Those who have AUTHORITY.
Authority is power manifest. It’s usually indicated by status and non-neediness.
After all — if you had all the choice of clients in the world…
Would you care so much about that one deal?
I’ve had calls with 7 & 8-figure Founders, as well as sales coaches and copywriting mentors.
Ari Galper, Nicolas Cole, Alexander Lenard and Hamza Ahmed to name a few.
They ALL say the SAME thing:
If you want to build more trust with your audience or potential clients…
… You must focus on what THEY want.
“Sell them what the want, then give them what they need.” ~ Alex Hormozi / Seth Godin
Use This Chart Below And Sell The SHORT TERM Desires:
Sell Them What They Want
The reason why we target short-term desires is because this is how MOST people think.
It’s human nature to care most about what is immediately relevant and pressing.
If you have a tiger chasing you? You don’t care about the wedding you’re missing…
So when selling — focus on immediate problems, pains or desires as well as the “big dream”.
But once you have sold your service — give them what they genuinely NEED to progress.
Give Them What They Need
This is a matter of having PASSION and caring about your clients.
My clients say the main reason they start working with me is because I'm authentic. I have integrity…
Why does this matter?
It means YOU can close ￡5,000 deals as I have, without needing a 10-year track record or a ton of case studies.
But if you don’t give people what they need?
They won’t come back to you after.
It’s our DUTY to close deals so we can help people. It’s not sleazy unless you are…
“If I’d given the people what they wanted I would have given them faster horses.” — Henry Ford
INNOVATION is the single highest creative power we have.
And if you apply it to your business? You become legendary.
Don’t stay stuck in groupthink — a slave to the masses. Think for yourself. Create.
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Lesson 4: People Aren’t Stupid. They Just Act Like It
Hear me out on this one.
I used to be so blind to the different forms of intelligence. There are many…
The biggest two? LOGIC and EQ (emotional intelligence).
I may have been smart logically, but I lacked emotional intelligence or intuition…
When I started my business I was desperate to land my first client:
Which led to me taking over FIFTY sales calls without a single deal being signed.
It took me so many tries to realise what I was missing. Potential clients weren’t choosing me because they didn’t feel a connection. They weren’t stupid — they could sense I had an agenda (I wanted my first client!).
Maybe you haven’t got your first client, or you’re struggling.
The hardest part is…
… The more you struggle — the bigger a problem it becomes.
And all that emotional investment you place into it makes you less likely to get what you want.
We are our own worst enemy…
Why do we sabotage ourselves so much or push away what we need the most?
Because of emotions...
Emotions Are Our Programming Language
People act on EMOTION, not logic. Even I do (and I’m super logical).
But this means the more you understand yourself, the more you understand OTHERS.
And that allows you to level up your marketing to a god-tier level…
Most customers aren’t aware enough (like us) to understand the benefits yet. So you need to EDUCATE them — for their own benefit.
Linking back to Lesson 3… sell what they WANT but make it link to what they genuinely do NEED.
Use emotion in your marketing to SHOW people what they need (that they weren’t even aware of)…
How To Add More Emotion To Your Marketing:
Here’s an example of all 5:
My breath creates a cloud of stale ice as I slug through the December snow.
The bustle of London surrounds my ears and leaves me feeling almost nauseous. This is the day I sign my first 5-figure client, but I’m shitting bricks with anxiety.
That’s when I realise… I forgot the #1 rule of sales:
Lesson 5: Your Body, Mind & Soul Are Connected
Everything you say matters.
The stories you tell yourself, and the state you’re in — they determine what you get from life.
You operate in life according to your “Mental Feedback Loop”…
If you’re in an angry state — you can’t cry or laugh easily.
If you’re in a happy state — you can’t shout or complain easily.
The strongest human desire is to be congruent with how we perceive ourselves to be (self-image).
So if your beliefs (the cause of your self-image) are not serving you? You’ll stay stuck.
Unless you can rewrite your story and change your focus…
NOTHING is impossible if we set our minds to it — and ALIGN our body and soul WITH it…
"The brain is a machine that can be continuously improved by thoughts and ideas. Our limits are set only by our imagination." — Thomas Edison
Not Everyone Is Ready To Change
You might not be ready for this level of change. That’s alright.
There are only 5 reasons why people change:
(I do NOT recommend reason 1 — trust me!)
Change doesn’t come for most people. They stay stuck in an identity given to them by others…
But if you’re reading this — you’re not like that. You’re ready to change. You already have.
If you want:
Develop in the following 3 areas…
The 3 Key Areas Of Development
Most people are missing one of the 3 key areas and this stops them being connected to their deep inner wisdom.
They constantly ask OTHERS what to think, what to believe — or how they should feel.
They don’t even know who they are, what they’re good at — or how they can serve the world.
If you want to build a great business…
… You need to set yourself free.
So growth in life is a balance between these 3 areas:
“The more you invest in your own mind, the more of a money-making, people-serving, world-changing tool of mass impact it becomes.”
To grow your business? Grow your performance...
Lesson 6: Detoxification Is Essential For Peak Performance
Business isn’t about professional excellence. It’s about personal performance.
And this is why you need to detox — to reach peak performance…
We live in a world filled with chemicals, parasites and toxins.
Almost every product in the store has toxic seed oils, manmade chemicals and crap inside. The tap water has chlorine and Fluoride — not to mention toothpaste! These toxins poison us over time.
The single most profound difference I’ve made in my physical health…
… is Detox.
This year I’ve spent over ￡1,800 on supplements, detoxification kits and courses...
Remember how our body, mind and soul are all connected?
Well if you lack mental clarity right now, or feel like you’ve made some less-than-ideal decisions — it might be because your body is full of chemicals and toxins.
I’ve cured my existential anxiety, bloating and perpetual fatigue…
Detoxing your gut does more for your brain than most brain training exercises or books.
If you’re mentally fatigued, low energy or burned out… the digestive system and your stomach are the first culprits.
Detoxing your liver, your lungs, your blood and your kidneys is also important.
But I would start with my GUT.
After all, EVERY nutrient or supplement you ever take goes through there. And if the gut is out of whack, you’re going to struggle to clear your other systems. The gut is the second brain of the body.
The gut is like the epicentre of your body. If it’s sick — YOU are sick.
Here's how to know if your gut is unhealthy:
Most deaths and diseases come from the gut…
Our body is a system.
If you have blockages or inefficiencies in one system? It creates a bottleneck.
Your performance goes down and you don’t even realise. You can’t see the problem.
If you detox — within the next year you could feel 5-10 years younger and get rid of many diseases the doctors say “medicine” can’t cure…
But you should probably look at some of the habits that are killing your energy...
Avoid the 8 gut-destroying habits below:
As for everything… don’t just trust my word for it.
So research detox on your own…
”See for yourself, know for yourself.” — Josh Macin (8-figure detox expert)
Lesson 7: Fear Hides Our Greatest Purpose
This lesson is about how to achieve your greatest purpose in your life, manifest CONSISTENT success and STAY as your best self…
The way to your dreams is through your nightmares.
Our fear hides our greatest desire.
So only once you look in the mirror and see what you fear, may you find your greatest purpose.
This is why some of the biggest entrepreneurs, experts or innovators come from such tragic backgrounds…
Our greatest wound becomes our greatest power…
This is because it’s so DIFFICULT to overcome that we become passionate about it, and we also study it in obscene levels of detail. This allows us to be far deeper of an expert than people who are “naturals” or “talented”.
Working so hard for so little teaches us the principles behind WHY things work.
This is why I’m becoming one of the deepest experts on all things psychology, marketing and communication. It’s what I struggled with — and it’s what I will be the best at.
Once you crawl up from the bottom and reach average…
… You realise that you don’t need to STOP where everyone else does.
You can keep winning until you simply are the best.
Learn from the best and what shall you become?
You know it.
Nothing is beyond your grasp if you dare to extend your reach.
Maybe this is scary to you — the idea of facing what you fear.
"One of the scariest things in our lives is actually doing what we know we want to do."
Maybe you’re in the safety zone right now — just reading this to pass the time:
"Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear." — Cheri Huber
I wasted 22 years settling for less because I couldn’t face my fear…
Don’t let yourself be the same.
Don’t try to stop being who you are. Just focus on being someone more than you are right now.
1% better every day for ONE year… is a 37X improvement!
Let’s make 2025 the best year yet…
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