How Picking A Fight With Gary Vaynerchuk Made My Career
When I was a teenager, I spent most of my time making zines, playing guitar, and scribbling stories. I assumed that when I grew up, I’d play in a band that changed the course of rock ‘n’ roll. If that didn’t work out, I’d settle for writing novels. The one thing I knew I would never ever do was go into business.
Fast forward a decade. I had kicked around in downtown New York for a few years after college trying to make it in a rock group. The group had broken up, my confidence was low, and I was tired of grownups asking me when I was going to get serious. So I broke down. I got a corporate job.
I figured I’d only be there for a little while, but time has a way of slipping by when you have a comfortable paycheck. Before I knew it I was eight years in, reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer, and had the title of “Vice President of Solution Development.”
On the day my boss told me I was getting a VP in front of my name, she also let me know I was getting a raise and a bonus. I told my wife about it, and she was thrilled for me, especially because we had a baby on the way. I was less so. Achieving something I had never really wanted symbolized to me how far I had drifted from anything I had ever dreamed of doing with my life. I imagined myself in ten years, twenty years, thirty years and did not like what I saw.
So I quit. I decided I was going to become a freelance copywriter. I did the math and figured out that if I completed a project a week, I could replace my salary. Easy, right?
“Transforming Your Project Management Experience to Gain Value Quickly" PMP?, PMI-ACP?, CSM?, TKP?
5 年OMG! This guy is to you what Simon Sinek is to me! I'd love to see that article that you wrote calling out Gary?Vaynerchuk. I'm realizing that in this search for truth, the inspiration could be from the child in the Hans Christian Andersen children's fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes".??
Founder of The Simple Life Hospitality Vacation Rentals * Real Estate Sales Associate with The David Kaster Team Mahler Sotheby's International Realty * Business Coach * Ranked #291 of Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Companies
5 年This is awesome Michael!
Brand Positioning + Brand Integration Expert // Helping companies find a competitive edge.
5 年Michael I LOVE that he actually went after you and you benefited greatly from his huge ego. Amazing. So happy for you - keep the advice coming!
Revenue Accelerator | Community Builder | Empowering Business Growth
5 年Great article with a succinct and proven 1,2,3 close & moral. Thanks for sharing!
Let's build the future, one connection at a time. ??
5 年Interesting insight into your path during young adulthood. I consider GV a virtual mentor and I can also see why others take your position towards him. The best part was telling people to not be afraid of going head up with industry titans and "gurus". That's sound advice on any scale. You can question and have diverging perspectives from your leadership in an organization. They should be secure in their positions, advice, and capacity to not feel threatened by the engagement. Now that you have this successful business, do you have any regrets not staying the course of your rock band dreams?