🔴 What You Know. Who You Know. Where You Go.

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

It’s also where you go.

I grew up in a small farm town called Webberville, MI.

At last count, Webberville is home to 1,288 people.

We have a single stop light in the downtown area.

For reference, here’s the entire downtown of Webberville.

Webberville is so small that a brewing company is the only notable reference on the Wikipedia page.

The brewing company went bankrupt in 2012.

Truth be told, Webberville isn’t a place teeming with possiblity.

It’s a blue-collar town where working hard for your living is respected.

You have to fight to get and keep your head above water.

That’s why those that do well in Webberville deserve their respect.

Most people in Webberville aren’t 🔴 investing their spare cash in stocks, real estate, or business equity, which is how most American millionaires make their wealth.

I don’t give you these details to belittle Webberville but rather to illustrate the environment I grew up in for the first 22 years of my life.

Your hometown shapes your worldview. It shapes your mindset.

Your hometown shapes your limiting beliefs.

It was only this weekend that I realized… I’ve been putting a glass ceiling over what I think is a realistic lifestyle for my future self.

I’ll explain.

Last week I spent five days in Michigan getting my house ready to sell.

I was doing yard work, painting the walls, moving things into storage, and riding my brother’s BMX bike to get coffee in the morning because my car in Michigan had been broken since I moved to NYC.

My brothers and I packed a U-Haul to the brim, and then put my busted car in neutral and pushed it up onto the tow trailer.

Minutes later I barreled through rush hour traffic while dodging construction cones and roadside barriers on I-696. The trailer with the car on top of it seemed extra wide and extra heavy. The loose steering wheel wouldn’t stay straight, so I was stressing about staying inside the lines for an hour with the most precious cargo I’ve had all year.

The whole time I counted the distance driven because every mile is $0.79. I did everything I could to stay under 150 miles.

I was doing physical labor for three days straight while stressing about spending money during the process.

It was a stressful few days.

Once the house work was finished, I spent all of Memorial Day Weekend relaxing in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in New Jersey.

In New Jersey, I went to a barbeque and relaxed in a newly renovated backyard with brand new miniture waterfalls and delicious, endless food and drinks.

Shortly after, I walked across the street to the homeowner’s spare house where I stayed for a few nights.

The following days we played pickleball, enjoyed some drinks around the fire pit, ate a lot more food, and genrally just took in scenes of the fourth most wealthy borough of New Jersey.

The streets we walked down consistently had homes valued at over one million dollars.

I was blown away by the stark contrast between the reality I experienced at my house in Michigan and the reality I experienced as a guest in New Jersey.

Getting to know the home owners and a few others who call this neighborhood home made me realize that not everyone is strapped for cash.

As a kid, I thought that most people simply don’t have money to spend, which meant I devalued myself and my services.

Charging “too much” was always on my mind. I had a scarcity mindset with any freelance products or services I sold.

This weekend showed me that there are plenty of people who aren’t strapped for cash and will buy a cute pet mug because it’s adorable and it reminds them of their fur baby.

In Webberville, I don’t remember stepping foot in a house that cost a million dollars.

In New Jersey and New York, I walk by million dollar homes all the time.

These million dollar homes have people inside with vast knowledge and connections that you can use to grow your knowledge, network and opportunity.

That’s why where you spend your time matters.

You’re one person away from changing your entire life trajectory.

And you’re one good experience away from changing your mindset forever.