There’s no reason in today’s world not to be creating content online. Whether that’s your vlog on Youtube, pictures on Instagram, articles on Medium, or a podcast on iTunes. My friends, the key to content success online is you’ve got to start doing. Let me tell you how. Just Start.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR?

Look yourself in the mirror right now and ask yourself “What do I want to do every day for the rest of my life?” Do that. Do it now.

People are stuck because the fear of losing trumps the excitement of victory.

This is insane! You have one life. You have to do.

Everyone who ever did anything had to start. Most people don’t begin with a grand vision. They start with an idea and an action. Through the process of doing they build something greater. No one thought Facebook would succeed to this level. The vast majority thought I couldn’t sell wine on the internet. No one believed that computers would be in every home. All ideas are considered insane until executed. The key is to just start.

The truth is that in today’s world, you don’t need much. The cost of being an artist, or starting a business, or connecting with an influencer is practically zero. If you have a smartphone and access to the internet, anything is possible.

There are really only three ways in which humans can communicate. Either through audio, video, or the written word.

It’s fairly simple. And the only thing people need to understand is that the the platforms have changed. Before it used to be writing a book and now it’s on Medium. Before it was drive-time radio and now it’s a podcast. Before it was reality tv and now it’s a vlog. That’s just the truth. STEP 1: START WITH YOUR MANIFESTO

You have to start with your manifesto. Your “what” and your “why.” What are you into? What do you want to do? Do you like health and fitness? Do you want to be in strategy? Do you like social media? Are you trying to sell sneakers?

Tell me where you are and where you want to be. It can be a document, a video or a voice memo. Find your medium and create.

Once you decide where you want to be, you need to share your story and whether it’s your mission or who you are today, it has to be your truth. Don’t tell me you’re an entrepreneur if you have never sold anything in your life. Tell me that you’re aspiring or interested in business.

Tell the world exactly what you are thinking about it.

The practicality of defining your voice is powerful. If somebody made a video eight years ago that said they think fashion should be high/low, and that people should wear expensive clothes and inexpensive clothes together in one wardrobe, they would have been the queen or king of the vision of the fashion industry just by making a 2 minute clip.

It’s pretty cool. That’s what legacy is about.

Whether it’s a video, article or Instagram story, you just have to tell the world and speak your truth.

And by the way, things will definitely change. You may like soccer today or entrepreneurship tomorrow or art the next day. It doesn’t matter. Just get your thoughts out there. Done is better than perfect.

For me, it’s just painful because I create an obnoxious amount of content discussing strategy but none of you actually act. You just keep watching. Scrolling through my stuff. Keep being entertained by my “energy.” Keep being inspired by my “message.” But the fact of the matter is you just don’t do.

Tweet Me @ZarirMerwanji and let me know YOUR $0.02

Ultimately, how much you should work is a conversation of “one.” It’s a conversation you need to have with yourself.

I have no interest in imposing my will on anybody. I love working, but I also don’t want to push people to work super hard because they might have different goals. Working hard might not make them happy or fulfilled.

At the end of the day, my vlog and my content is about sharing my journey and perspectives as an entrepreneur. As someone who loves working, I’m just sharing what makes me happy and what works for me.

And at the end of the day, that’s what I want for other people – I want them to be happy.

If you’re complaining about working a job you hate, I think it makes a lot of sense to give up a little bit of short term leisure to try to solve your problems (by building a side hustle you’re passionate about) instead of escaping them through Netflix or something else.

That being said… I notice a lot of people pushing back against hard work in the recent months.

There’s this concept that you can accomplish enormous things by working “smart” without working hard.

There are a few things I have to say about this mindset…

WHEN YOU’RE DOING WHAT YOU LOVE, WORK DOESN’T FEEL LIKE “WORK”

A big part of why people don’t want to work hard is because we hear stories of older people feeling regret for spending “too much time” in the office. Many people look back on their lives and wish they didn’t work as hard.

Totally respect that. I completely understand where people are coming from in that regard. I get that people have their own perspectives on what they should or shouldn’t have done, and I don’t want to judge that.

What I will say is, many of those people who spent years working for money might have enjoyed their work more if they worked hard on something they loved doing.

When you love what you do, it’s not as difficult to work hard.

Tweet me @ZarirMerwanji and let me know how hard you’re working

IF ONE EMPLOYEE MAKES ALL THE OTHER EMPLOYEES MISERABLE, AND THEY STILL DON’T FIX THEIR BEHAVIOR AFTER YOU TRY TO CHANGE IT A FEW TIMES, THEY’VE GOT TO GO - Tweet me your thoughts @ZarirMerwanji or text me your question at 678-848-3028, and yes this is my actual number.

When you hear someone discuss business, companies, startups…they never talk about actually working.

It’s higher level, it’s ideas, it’s theories. It’s never the actual freaking work.

Why? Because there is a kind of dreaming in the startup world, and it’s seriously just that: dreaming.

Everybody thinks you’re going to build something and good shit will happen, magically.

Well guess what? That stuff doesn’t just happen. Hoping it will happen isn’t going to do anything.

Chances are, you knew this deep down inside, but you needed to hear someone say it. Well, I’m saying it. Consider me your wakeup call. Hello? ☎️

If you’re building a new business, you need to be prepared for the long haul.

It will take hours from sleep, TV marathons, and video games. It seems like everybody is training for a sprint, but guess what?

They show up and it’s a marathon. Do not sit back and think something will happen. Take action. Make stuff happen. Train for a marathon, then run it.

We’ve been living in a fantasy land for startups the past five years, and it’s dangerous.

There is a complete lack of awareness of what the overall narrative of commerce is.

Things have been going very well, and a lot of amazing businesses have come of it, but I don’t want you guys to be unprepared. Not everything stays amazing forever.

Economically, it will happen, like it always does. The people who are successful now can’t assume it will be the same in five years.

Even if you hustle the hardest out of anyone you know now, who cares. It’s 2019. The question is, can you adapt in 2020? 2023? 2027?

Are you prepared for that marathon?

I guess what I’m really saying is this: when that economic downturn comes, will you get a job? Will you be laid off from the job you love?

Or will you build a real business? Will you have already built a personal brand back up to showcase your skill and talents to get hired to be the next Steve Jobs?

When stuff gets bad, are you going to hustle through, or are you going to give up?

You keep that business going through hard times, and you have just that. A business.

Amazon. Ebay. The companies that won in 2001 and 2002 and 2008 did that. It can happen. And I believe in you.

Let’s Do This!

When it comes to landing your dream job, I have some advice and POVs that go slightly against what most people talk about.

But I really believe in it. If you read and execute on these 5 steps, you’ll put yourself at an advantage to level up your career and land your dream job over time. Tweet me @ZarirMerwanji and let me know what your dream job is

Listen, many of you reading this are just leaving school, getting ready to graduate, have just entered or are preparing to enter your first big job. You may be working at a big media company or a small startup with a lot less employees. Either way, I’ve got some advice to help you navigate this transition. I know it feels like “the world is watching” and your parents, friends, teachers, classmates and colleagues are “setting expectations” for what it looks like to succeed. From the hundreds, if not thousands of interactions I’ve have with individuals that are 16-25 in the exact same position, here’s what I have historically seen people get caught up with and where I think I can help. Hit me up on Twitter @ZarirMerwanji it would mean the world to me.

A Message For Those Feeling Lost In Their 20s

Zarir Merwanji

(How to figure out your life after college)

Society puts a lot of pressure on people in their 20s to “figure out” their lives.

The reality is, most 45-year-olds like me don’t even have their lives figured out.

There’s no reason to put pressure on yourself so early in the process.

Here are a few things to remember as you’re navigating life in your 20s:

HOW TO SELL IN 2019

Sales, sales, sales.

It’s something I don’t talk about enough, but it is absolutely the foundation of my career. I’m challenging myself to go deeper in 2019, because it is 1000% the bedrock of business. And if you don’t understand that, you will lose.

When I think about making something happen in the world, i.e selling something, getting a donation, getting voted for in an election, whatever the “transaction” is, I always break down my strategy into sales and marketing. Obviously, and for anyone reading this, you know that I spend an enormous amount of time talking about brand, the importance of marketing, awareness and gathering attention which sometimes distracts you from my foundation in sales. Marketing and branding is only one part of the equation. Ultimately you need to facilitate transactions if you want to stay in the game. Numbers don’t lie and sales is absolutely the foundation of your business. There is simply no other way.

“When is a deal a deal? What causes us to say, “Wow, that’s a great deal”? The answer is, when we hear a price that is lower, and even better, significantly lower than what we perceived to be the normal purchase price.”

Hit Me Up On Twitter Please @ZarirMerwanji

I’m sharing the story because I’m not sure that if my wife who I met in high school 27 years ago didn’t set the example of hard work that I would even have the ability to think that one could work this hard. Tweet me @ZarirMerwanji