Success Advice

How A 19 Year Old Kid Got The Chance To Work For Gary Vaynerchuk

Published

6 years ago

Jun 12, 2017

“Crazy things happen when you know who you are. Certainty breeds influence”

This is the story of a new buddy of mine named Swish. I met him over Skype when my friend Joel Brown told me that we should chat. Within minutes of having a phone call with young Swish, I saw something quite incredible.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew that this chance encounter was going to change the way I think. As I got to know Swish through the few Skype calls I had with him, I learned something about him that blew my mind:

Swish had been headhunted to join Gary Vaynerchuk’s team in New York.

This is no small achievement. Gary is one hell of a successful man, and there are not too many people that haven’t read one of his books or listen to The Ask Gary Vee Show. His book “Jab Jab Jab Right Hook” changed the way I thought about asking my followers to do stuff.

So how did a 19-year-old kid get the chance of a lifetime? Read below.

1. Age means jack sh*t

Use your weaknesses to your advantage. Being nineteen could be perceived as a weakness. You have little life experience and are still finding your place in the world. Swish didn’t care about his age. He let his passion and enthusiasm light up the world.

The kid has infectious charisma and his certainty breed’s influence. He may not have all the answers at age nineteen, but he certainly doesn’t let you think that. Swish has started more businesses at nineteen than most people start in a lifetime.

He has a wearable tech company that is looking to change the game within the sports industry. Most people thought he was crazy and despite that Swish didn’t listen to them.

2. Surround yourself with winners

Swish didn’t have the contacts to get his wearable tech company into the NBA initially. What did he do? Hired Trevor Booker from the Brooklyn Nets NBA team to join his advisory board. You don’t need all the contacts; you just need to bring the right people with you on the journey.

3. Hustle harder than anyone else

Swish spends lots of time on social media. In the early days, Swish built connections with a few key people on Gary Vaynerchuk’s team via social media. He regularly tagged them in relevant posts. He shared his content with them.

What Swish did that very few do is hustle harder than anyone else. He’s a nice guy at his core so when he asks you to do something you feel compelled to hear him out. Swish is too cool and too nice to ignore. People are drawn to the guy because of who he has become.

He’s the kind of guy that everyone wants as their brother. I’ve often wondered what makes the difference between success and failure. People like Swish have shown me time and time again that it’s a strong work ethic, combined with an infectious human character.

Beautiful people on the inside are not the type of people to be lost in a crowd. Their spirit shines through and that’s what makes them get the results we all want. Swish getting the chance of a lifetime is no accident. It’s not chance. It’s not good fortune. It’s hustle.

4. Back yourself when no one else will

If you go back two years, most people hadn’t heard of Swish. He was unknown and finding his way in a sea of social media influencers. This didn’t stop Swish from following his dream. Fundamentally, like me, Swish is an entrepreneur.

He wants to make the world a better place through his various business pursuits, speeches and content. He’s cast a pretty wide vision and he achieves goals every single day that gets him towards his ideal life. People are drawn to that vision.

A vision for change and a vision for the future is what we all want. The trouble is there aren’t too many people that are bold enough to dream up a vision like this and then execute on it. I believe Swish is one of those people who will achieve the impossible.

There’s no way someone with that much guts can’t influence the right people to bring on the journey. Swish can’t achieve his goals alone and he knows that.

He’s taken the first step though which is backing himself above all else. He believes in himself and so it’s only natural that we will all start to believe too.

5. You have no freaking idea how powerful social media is

I think sometimes we forget the age we are living in. With enough patience, we can literally get in contact and build a relationship with anyone we want. A friend of mine said to me that this idea is limited. He said to me, for example, that if I want to get in touch with Tony Robbins via social media, I couldn’t.

That’s BS though. It would be challenging, but very achievable to get in touch with Tony via social media. High achievers won’t ignore you forever. If I sent messages to Tony and his team every single day and helped spread Tony’s message, then there is no way he would ignore me forever.

I’d probably have to follow this strategy for at least a year and that would require a high level of determination. My point is that I’ve seen it work before. It’s possible.

Swish followed a similar strategy to build a few key contacts that have transformed his life and career. Some of those contacts were part of Gary Vaynerchuk’s team. Next time you think that social media is some tool that everyone uses now and you can’t make a difference, think again.

Yes, it’s harder to cut through now on social media although I still think it’s way more powerful than many of us believe it is.

6. Mega successful people can see your greatness

Successful people have had to fight hard to get where they are. When they see other people, who are doing similar things to what they did on their way to the top they, sit up and take notice. Successful people can spot the same traits that they once relied on to build their careers.

In Swish’s case, Gary Vee saw the same hustle and storytelling ability that he had on his rise to fame.

“We all love an underdog who is just like us: the secrets sauce is that this underdog is happy to work his face off when others would have given up”

Persuade, inspire and influence people with your message. Tell your story even when you think no one is listening. There’s always someone listening and your brilliance will be discovered when the time is right. You must see your own brilliance first though.

If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net

Up Next

I Hadn’t Read A Book Since High School. Here’s Why You Should Read Daily

Don't Miss

In Order to Succeed You Have to Stay Hungry and Humble

Tim Denning

Aussie Blogger with 500M+ views — Writer for CNBC & Business Insider. Inspiring the world through Personal Development and Entrepreneurship You can connect with Tim through his website www.timdenning.com

1 Comment

Success Advice

How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

Published

16 hours ago

Dec 4, 2023

M.S. Rao

Image Credit: Midjourney

What is it that makes some people great leaders while others remain followers? What magic do they have that others don’t? What special blessing gives them the power to bring significant change? (more…)

Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Published

2 weeks ago

Nov 20, 2023

Jane Frankel

Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)

Image Credit: Midjourney

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.